The first Texas public law school since 1967
June 23, 2009
Mary Alice Robbins
When Gov. Rick Perry signed S.B. 956 on June 19, he gave the go-ahead for the creation of the first public law school in Texas since 1967, when the Legislature established Texas Tech University School of Law in Lubbock. S.B. 956 authorizes the creation of a law school that will become a part of the University of North Texas at Dallas. State Rep. Dan Branch, R-Dallas, chairman of the House Higher Education Committee and S.B. 956’s House sponsor, says the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex is the largest metropolitan area in the United States that does not have a public law school. The area has two religiously affiliated law schools – Southern Methodist University Dedman School of Law in Dallas and Texas Wesleyan University School of Law in Fort Worth. But Branch, a shareholder in Winstead, says it is important that the citizens of the Dallas-Fort Worth area have access to an affordable public law school. Branch says the law school’s first class is planned for 2011. The University Center Building, formerly the Joske’s building in downtown Dallas, will temporarily house the law school while the old City Hall building is refurbished, Branch says.