4.5 CLE Approved
Austin College will host the annual Dr. Kenneth Street Law Symposium, focusing on “The Law and Social Change” on Friday, February 17. Lawyers, students, and others interested in the law profession are welcome to attend discussion of timely issues in law and ethics. Sessions begin in Sherman Hall’s Hoxie Thompson Auditorium at 11 a.m. and continue through 5:15 p.m.; a reception follows from 5:30 to 7 p.m.
Registration is $50 for lawyers, $15 for members of the Grayson County Bar Association, $20 for the general public, and free to students and faculty. The State Bar of Texas has approved 4.5 hours CLE (2.0 hours ethics). Registration deadline is February 14; complete details and registration are available online.
The keynote luncheon speaker is Austin College 1982 alumna and trial lawyer Charla Aldous, a partner in the Aldous/Walker firm of Dallas. She has received many awards and recognitions during 30 years of work, including numerous “Top Lawyer” listings and has amassed settlements and verdicts for her clients in excess of a billion dollars. Her session address will focus on “A License to Help Others.”
Other speakers and sessions for the event include attorneys: Lewis Sifford, “Living an Impactful Life in the Law;” Dicky Grigg, “Guantanamo: It is Not about Them; It Is About Us;” Gabriella McDonald, “Texas Appleseed: Providing Solutions to Systemic Problems,” and Diana Faust, “The Truth Matters: The Fight to Free Michael Morton.”
Lewis Sifford is a partner in Sifford, Anderson & Co., P.C. in Dallas and is an accomplished trial lawyer, college educator, and Diplomate of the American Board of Trial Advocates. Along with being named to the D Magazine’s “Best Lawyers in Dallas” and Texas Monthly’s “Super Lawyers” list, he is a recipient of The Mark P. Robinson Lifetime Achievement from the Foundation of the American Board of Trial Advocates—on of only two recipients in the 58-year history of the organization.
Dicky Grigg is a partner in Spivey & Grigg, LLP, in Austin where he has been actively trying civil cases for 40 years. He has received awards of excellence and distinction from the State Bar of Texas, the Austin Bar Association, the American Board of Trial Advocates and also listed as a Texas Monthly “Super Lawyer.”
Gabriella McDonald is the Pro Bono and New Projects Director at Texas Appleseed where she connects private law firms ,and practitioners to new and ongoing projects to promoting social and economic justice for all Texas. Prior to coming to Texas Appleseed, McDonald worked in private practice for four years in Los Angeles.
Diana Faust is a shareholder at Cooper & Sully in Dallas. She has represented parties in appeals and original proceedings in a variety of courts including the Supreme Court of Texas, all Texas Courts of Appeals and other state appellate courts around the nation. She is admitted to practice before the Fifth, Eighth, Tenth and Federal Circuit Courts of Appeals of the United States and the United States Supreme Court. She has received numerous awards and has been named in the Nation’s Top One Percent by the National Association of Distinguished counsel and Texas Monthly’s “Texas Lawyers Rising Star” and “Super Lawyer.”
The event honors Austin College Professor Emeritus Kenneth W. Street. A professor of political science at Austin College from 1959 to 1997, Dr. Street held the John D. Moseley Chair of Government and Public Policy, and founded and directed the Social Science Laboratory. An award-winning teacher, he also served many years as the advisor for students considering careers in law and launched many professionals in the field.
The law symposium is organized by the Alumni “L” Law Association and Austin College Pre-Law Society, under the direction of Dr. Frank Rohmer, associate professor of political science. Each year’s outstanding line-up of panelists is made possible through the generosity of donors including the Hatton S. Sumners Foundation, Austin College Student Assembly, and the Austin College Pre-Law Society. Additional 2017 sponsors include the Litigation Section of the State Bar of Texas; Andrews Kurth Kenyon, LLP; Grayson County Bar Association; Judge Paul Brown American Inn of Court; The LeCrone Law Firm of Sherman; and Reed Carter, PLLC.
Austin College, a private national liberal arts college located north of Dallas in Sherman, Texas, has earned a reputation for excellence in academic preparation, international study, pre-professional foundations, leadership development, committed faculty, and hands-on, adventurous learning opportunities. One of 40 schools profiled in Loren Pope’s influential book Colleges That Change Lives, Austin College boasts a welcoming community that embraces diversity and individuality, with more than 40 percent of students representing ethnic minorities. A residential student body of approximately 1,275 students and a faculty of more than 100 allow a 13:1 student-faculty ratio and personalized attention. The College is related by covenant to the Presbyterian Church (USA) and cultivates an inclusive atmosphere that supports students’ faith journeys regardless of religious tradition. Founded in 1849, the College is the oldest institution of higher education in Texas operating under original name and charter.