Outreach Project Report 2022 – 2023

Inn of Court Table 4 – Outreach

Outreach activities extend the mission of the American Inns of Court by providing exposure to the broader community and offering opportunities for Inn members to represent the ideals of the American Inns of Court.

This year, Table 4 lead the Texas Tech University School of Law Inn of Court in two outreach projects.  First, the Inn supported the Lubbock Area Bar Association Law-Related Education Committee’s program, “Applying the Constitution to Our Lives.”  This is an offshoot of the “Now You Are 18” program that the Lubbock Area Bar Association puts on for local area high school juniors and seniors, teaching them about the rights and responsibilities that accrue to them as they attain ages of maturity.  Although Inn members also participate in the “Now You Are 18” program, that occurs in the Spring semester after the reporting period.  The Constitution program, however, occurs during the Fall semester, usually shortly after Constitution Day, September 17th each year.

The Constitution program arose at the request of the Lubbock Independent School District, after the great success of the “Now You Are 18” program.  They asked if local attorneys would be willing to talk to those same high school students about the relevance and applicability of our federal Constitution to our citizens.  Our local Bar Association responded, and this past Fall, Inn members donated 14 hours of their time to present scenarios focusing on the First Amendment and the Fourth Amendment to students to show them exactly how the Constitution applies and is relevant to their lives.  These are discussion-oriented presentations, where the lawyers seek to engage the students in conversation about their lives, how the Constitution and law relate to them, and help them to appreciate the law and those who practice it.

Secondly, the Inn supported the Texas Tech University School of Law’s Public Interest Auction by donating $5,850.00 towards scholarships to help law students be able to afford to take government sector summer internships that pay little or nothing but benefit the community.  This year’s auction raised over $20,000, of which Inn members contributed a significant amount.