March is Women’s History Month and time to celebrate the tremendous strides that women are making in law school, the legal profession, academia, business, politics, the courts, and other fields. The first woman to graduate from the University of Houston law school was Kathleen "Rita" Keenan who became a lawyer in 1952. For the past four years, women are now the majority of the entering classes at UH Law Center. Yet more work remains to be done to make sure the legal profession is an accurate reflection of our society. According to the American Bar Association, in 2020 only 37% of all U.S. lawyers were women. According to Law360’s Glass Ceiling Report, about 23 percent of equity law firm partners were women in 2021 despite the increasing number of women entering law school in recent years.

It brings me a great sense of pride to commemorate the countless women who have earned their J.D. or LL.M. from the Law Center and who have become tireless advocates, business leaders, elected officials, entrepreneurs, academics, and jurists among other careers.

Carol Dinkins, a 1971 graduate of the Law Center is a shining example of UH Law’s trailblazing women alumnae. The majority of Dinkins’s career was spent as a partner at international law firm Vinson & Elkins. After serving as an associate for six years, Dinkins was named a partner in 1980 becoming the first woman partner in any large firm in Texas. Appointed by President Ronald Reagan in 1981, Dinkins served in the Department of Justice as Assistant Attorney General of the Land and Natural Resources Division. In the two years she spent as Assistant Attorney General, she also chaired the Reagan’s Task Force on Legal Equity for Women.

In 1984 Dinkins again made history when she was named as the first woman U.S. Deputy Attorney General, the second-most prominent position in the Department of Justice. The appointment made Dinkins the highest-ranking woman in the department until that time and served as Acting Attorney General when the Attorney General was unavailable. Dinkins returned to Washington D.C. in 2006, when then-president George W. Bush appointed her to chair the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board.

We applaud Dinkins’s distinguished service and celebrate all women during Women’s History Month and at other times during the year. As lawyers, we must ensure our profession increases its gender diversity for future generations.

I am also pleased to announce a significant gift from Stephen and Kristine Wallace. The gift will establish the Stephen (J.D. ‘83) and Kristine G. Wallace Endowed Scholarship, support the Dean’s Society at the Leadership Council level, and provide match funds for UH Law Center’s Student Scholarships & Awards Fund on UH Giving Day 2022-2024 and throughout the Fuel the Future Initiative.

You can ensure the continued gender diversity of the legal profession by supporting Law Center scholarships. UH Giving Day was March 7 and there is still time to give. Click here to learn more about the matching initiative and UH Giving Day.

Sincerely,

Leonard M. Baynes
Dean & Professor of Law
University of Houston Law Center

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