Mission of the School of Law

The University of Texas at Austin School of Law is dedicated to the professional training of future lawyers, to the deeper understanding of law and legal institutions, and to the improved administration of justice. The School seeks to advance these objectives through excellence in teaching, scholarship, and public service.

Legal education aspires to do more than expand students' substantive knowledge of the law; it also seeks to hone students' analytical abilities, to improve their skills in research, advocacy, and oral and written communication, to nurture their sense of justice, and to convey a vision of their responsibilities as citizens and lawyers. The School also seeks to prepare students for a profession that demands familiarity with other disciplines and other legal systems and cultures.

The law faculty strives through its scholarship to advance understanding of the law and legal institutions and their impact on the social, political, and economic life of the nation. This scholarly mission includes examination of jurisprudential problems; doctrinal, cross-cultural, and historical analysis of law and legal institutions; application of social science tools and empirical research to law and its effects; and evaluation of law as an instrument of social change and a mechanism for the protection of rights and the resolution of disputes.

Finally, the School seeks to improve the administration of justice through public service. The School provides clinics that offer valuable legal services to local, national, and international communities. It instills in students the obligation to provide legal assistance to all members of society, educates them about the crucial role played by lawyers in resolving issues of public policy, and provides students and faculty with opportunities for public and pro bono service.