School: School of Law

Patricia Roberts

Dean | Charles E. Cantú Distinguished Professor of Law

Biography

Roberts became the tenth dean of St. Mary’s School of Law on June 1, 2020. A legal educator for two decades, the majority of her career has been spent in clinical teaching, supervising law students in providing assistance to underserved members of the community. She is in her fourth year as dean, and is a Marianist Educational Associate.

Roberts’ initial term as dean included the Law School’s creation of the first entirely online J.D. program accredited by the American Bar Association, increased applications and financial aid awarded to entering classes, improvements in LSAT and GPA medians, advocacy team ranking of 12th in the nation, higher graduate employment, and hosting of the inaugural Lawtina Network Summit to increase the presence of, and support for, Latinas in the legal profession. The last three years also included creation of a First Generation Bootcamp for entering students, an intensive clerkship preparation program, and student Mentor Circles with members of the bench and bar. The Law School’s five-year Strategic Plan was also adopted in anticipation of its Centennial in 2027, and significant funds are being raised to support its future.

Roberts earned her Bachelor of Arts degree from Randolph-Macon Woman’s College in Lynchburg, Virginia, with a double major in Biology and Psychology. She practiced law for eight years as a solo practitioner and later as a managing partner of a civil practice law firm after earning her law degree from William & Mary.

She returned to William & Mary in 2000 and held numerous administrative roles until her appointment to the clinical faculty in 2008 as Director of Clinical Programs. In 2017, after holding numerous administrative and academic positions, she was named Vice Dean, a position she left to become the Dean at St. Mary’s.

As Vice Dean, Roberts was William & Mary Law’s chief academic officer, responsible for academic programs and policies that are essential to an excellent legal education. She  simultaneously served as the Director of Clinical Programs, overseeing a center and nine legal clinics that provided pro bono representation to underserved clients in Virginia’s Hampton Roads area. The school’s first in-house clinics, including those specializing in veterans’ benefits, elder law, special education, appellate and Supreme Court litigation, and a center for coastal policy, were created during her tenure as director. She also helped create the Institute for Special Education Advocacy, an intensive one-week program to train attorneys and advocates to maximize their effectiveness. A similar program has now been created at St. Mary’s, the Special Education Advocacy Summit.

Roberts has been a nationwide leader in legal efforts to aid veterans. She was the inaugural President of the Board of Directors of the National Law School Veterans Clinic Consortium and creator of Military Mondays, a program that began at William & Mary Law School and served as a model for providing advice and counsel to veterans in numerous Starbucks locations across the country. She was a regular speaker on issues related to veterans’ law and access to justice nationwide.

Roberts is the host of the Aspen Leading Edge, and was the founding host of EdUp Legal, both podcasts about legal education and its future.

Organizations

  • Member, Board of Trustees, Law School Admission Council (2023-present)
  • Fellow, San Antonio Bar Foundation (inducted 2023)
  • Co-editor, Volume 3, Antiracist Approaches to Admissions and Financial Aid, “Building an Antiracist Law School, Legal Academy, and Legal Profession” book series (2022-present)
  • Member, Executive Committee, AALS Dean’s Section (2022-present)
  • Member, Equal Opportunity Committee, San Antonio Bar Association (2022-present)
  • Texas Young Lawyers Association Board Liaison for Texas Law School Deans (2022-2023)
  • Fellow, American Bar Foundation (inducted 2017)
  • Fellow, Virginia Law Foundation (inducted 2016)

Publications

Articles

Patricia Roberts

Dean | Charles E. Cantú Distinguished Professor of Law

Contact Information

Education

  • J.D., William & Mary Law (1992)
  • B.A., Randolph-Macon Woman’s College (1989)

License to Practice

  • Virginia (associate status)
  • Supreme Court of the United States
  • U.S. Court of Appeals for Veteran Claims
  • U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit
  • U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit
  • U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit
  • U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
  • U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Virginia
  • U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Eastern District of Virginia

Specialties and Courses

  • Veterans Benefits Law
  • Clinical Legal Education
  • Access to Justice
  • Special Education Law
  • Negotiation
  • Legal Writing
  • Practice of Law
  • Professional Responsibility
  • Law and Leadership

Dean’s Newsletters

Zoe E. Niesel

Associate Dean for Academic Affairs | Albert Herrman Professor of Law

Biography

Professor Niesel joined St. Mary’s University School of Law in May 2016. Professor Niesel’s legal scholarship focuses on civil procedure, federal court jurisdiction, and conflict of laws. In her scholarship, she examines difficult issues of civil and administrative procedure and how procedural concepts are challenged by advanced technology. Her work has been published in the Indiana Law Journal, Cardozo Law Review, SMU Law Review, and George Mason Law Review, among others.

Professor Niesel also serves as the law school’s Director of Assessment and Statistics. In this role, she uses data and research-based best practices to design programming and assessments for use throughout the law school curriculum and in bar preparation.

Professor Niesel began her teaching career as a Visiting Assistant Professor of Law at Wake Forest University, where she taught classes in Civil Procedure, Complex Commercial Litigation and Transnational Litigation. In addition to her experience in academia, she previously clerked for the Hon. Thomas D. Schroder, U.S. District Judge for the Middle District of North Carolina, and spent time in private practice as an associate attorney in the area of complex commercial litigation.

Professor Niesel received her Bachelor of Arts, magna cum laude, from Southern Methodist University, and her law degree, summa cum laude, from Wake Forest University School of Law. She and her husband Tom reside in San Antonio.

Publications

Books

  • Legal Research Guide: Patterns and Practice (Carolina Academic Press, 8th ed. 2019) (with Linda Schlueter).

Articles

Zoe E. Niesel

Associate Dean for Academic Affairs | Albert Herrman Professor of Law

Contact Information

Education

  • J.D. (Summa Cum Laude), Wake Forest University, 2012
  • B.A. (Magna Cum Laude), Southern Methodist University, 2008

License to Practice

  • Texas
  • North Carolina

Specialties and Courses

  • Conflict of Laws
  • Civil Procedure
  • Administrative Law

Kimberly Underdown

Director of Student Engagement

Biography

Kimberly Underdown serves as the Director of Student Engagement in the Office of Career Strategy. She counsels law students and graduates and handles all ABA employment data collection for OCS. Underdown manages student participation in regional job fairs and maintains CORE, the web-enabled recruiting site for law students and legal professionals. She currently serves on the Sunbelt Recruitment Program Board (formerly Sunbelt Diversity Recruitment Program), is actively involved in the National Association for Law Placement (NALP), and currently serves as a member of the NALP/ABA Employment Outcome Advisory Group.

Underdown joined the Office of Career Strategy in January 2014. In her time at St. Mary’s, she has served as Office Coordinator, Recruitment and Programming Coordinator, and Assistant Director, Employment and Recruitment. She earned her Bachelor of Science in Communication and Psychology from the University of Houston-Victoria in 2011 and is currently pursuing a Master of Art in Clinical Mental Health Counseling at St. Mary’s University. In her free time, she enjoys reading, playing board games, and spending time with her family.

Presentations

  • Negotiations Nuggets, NALP Annual Education Conference, Co-Presenter, April 2024.
  • Salary Negotiations, St. Mary’s University School of Law, Co-Presenter, October 2023.
  • Collecting, Maintaining, and Reporting Graduate Employment Data Using 12Twenty, NALP Annual Education Conference, Co-Presenter, April 2023.
  • Expanding Reaching by Working with Student Ambassadors. NALP Annual Education Conference, April 2023.

Kimberly Underdown

Director of Student Engagement

Education

  • B.S., University of Houston-Victoria, 2011

Contact Information

Shannon Sevier

Assistant Dean for Graduate Law Programs

Biography

Sevier has over 20 years of experience in higher education administration holding the positions of Assistant Registrar at Trinity University, Associate Registrar at the College of Charleston and currently serves as Assistant Dean of Graduate Law Programs for the School of Law. Sevier oversees all aspects of the graduate law admissions process and advising working with faculty and administrators to ensure successful admissions, registration, advising and graduation processes to support the recruitment and enrollment of a diverse and qualified student body of both domestic and international students.

As adjunct professor, Sevier teaches incoming Master of Jurisprudence students for one of their introductory courses, Fundamentals of American Legal System. She taught for the University of Maryland University College (UMUC) for 5 years in the fields of Business Law and Professional Ethics while overseas and is certified to teach online through the Quality Matters program as well as UMUC’s proprietary Webtycho program.

Before joining St. Mary’s Law Sevier was the Lead Trainer for Curriculum and Instruction for a child development center located on United States Army Garrison (USAG) Grafenwoehr and led the team to NAEYC accreditation. Her center was the first Army child development center to achieve NAYEC accreditation in the European Command. After that she became the program manager and lead trainer for a multiple site transition network (Soldier for Life) in Western Germany based at

USAG Vilsek. She was in charge of counselor training and curriculum implementation and delivery. She also supervised outreach, marketing, counseling and case management of 150+ new soldiers monthly, with a running population of 1500+.

Sevier has been an active volunteer for many years, helping non-profits overseas navigate garrison regulations, host nation laws and Status-of-Forces agreements. She received the Volunteer of the Year Award in 2012 from the Garrison Commander of USAG Grafenwoehr for her contributions. Concurrently Sevier also served as European PTA President for two terms and on the National Board of Directors for an additional 6 years. The final three years as the Vice President for

Advocacy for the National PTA, where she led advocacy efforts to include congressional testimony, federal rulemaking and legislative comments during mark-ups for National PTA positions on the topics of net neutrality, education policy, education funding, federal nutrition guidelines, student data privacy, special needs early intervention and services, and juvenile justice reform.

Shannon Sevier

Assistant Dean for Graduate Law Programs

Contact Information

Programs

Education

  • M.P.A., St. Mary’s University, 2021
  • J.D., St. Mary’s University, 2007
  • M.A.T., College of Charleston, 2001
  • B.A., Washington State University, 1997
  • B.A., University of Puget Sound, 1994

License to Practice

  • Texas

Specialties and Courses

  • Education law
  • Constitutional law
  • Fundamentals of the American Legal System

Arturo Zapata

Coordinator of Student Success Programs

Biography

Zapata serves the School of Law community as the Coordinator of Student Success Programs. In this role, he assists students in attaining access to resources to ensure success in law school, bar preparation and beyond. He works specifically with the Academic Success, Bar Success and LCAP (Legal Communication, Analysis, and Professionalism) Programs and also assists the Legal Writing Center. Zapata assists in managing operations, logistical planning, event management, communications and supports data tracking for these programs. He also assists with other School of Law initiatives when the need arises.

An alumnus of the University of the Incarnate Word (UIW) in San Antonio, Texas, Zapata received his Bachelor of Science in Biology with a concentration in Environmental Science in 2012 and a Master of Education in Student Services in Higher Education (with distinction) in 2017. Prior to coming to St. Mary’s in 2019, he served at The University of Texas at San Antonio and UIW. In his 15 years of higher education experience, Zapata has served in the functional areas of student life, residence life and housing operations, undergraduate and graduate enrollment management, and academic success.

As a product of lifelong Catholic education, he is committed to Catholic higher education and the Marianist mission and values. Zapata works to ensure student have the tools and support necessary to succeed and develop into responsible and well-formed legal professionals who serve the common good with a service-oriented, family spirit.

A native San Antonian, he grew up not too far from St. Mary’s and attended schools in its vicinity, including St. John Bosco Salesian School and Holy Cross of San Antonio. Zapata is a life-long parishioner of St. Philip of Jesus Catholic Church, located in the Lone Star District. He serves his parish community as a member of the Gala and Festival committees, manages the parish’s social media platforms, and assists parish organizations with programming outreach. In his free time, Zapata loves to explore San Antonio and all it has to offer. He enjoys leisurely walks on the Riverwalk and participating in San Antonio’s many festive traditions and events. 

Arturo Zapata

Coordinator of Student Success Programs

Education

  • B.S. Biology with a concentration in Environmental Science, University of the Incarnate Word, 2012
  • M.Ed. Student Services in Higher Education (with distinction), University of the Incarnate Word, 2017

The Hon. Beth Watkins

Practicing Faculty

Biography

Justice Beth Watkins (J.D. ’02) was elected to Place 2 on the Fourth Court of Appeals in 2018. Before joining the Court, she represented clients in more than 200 appeals to state and federal appellate courts, including the United States Supreme Court, the Texas Supreme Court, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, and most intermediate appellate courts in Texas. Justice Watkins has been Board Certified in Civil Appellate Law since 2008.

Justice Watkins is a committed community servant. She is a Past President of the San Antonio Bar Association, San Antonio Bar Foundation, and Community Justice Foundation. She has served on the State Bar of Texas Grievance Committee, the Amicus Committee of the Texas Trial Lawyers Association, and the Boards of Directors of the San Antonio Trial Lawyers Association and St. Mary’s Law Alumni Association. She is a Life Fellow of both the San Antonio Bar Foundation and Texas Bar Foundation. She currently serves on the Board of Editors for the Texas Bar Journal.

In addition, Justice Watkins has held several teaching positions at her alma mater, St. Mary’s University School of Law. She currently teaches constitutional law. She also taught legal research and writing to first-year law students from 2006 to 2016. From 2005 through 2008, she served as the Associate Director of the Office of Academic Excellence, and from 2015 until 2017, she served as the law school’s Institutional Legal Research Manager.

Justice Watkins was born and raised in San Antonio. She enjoys her hometown’s vibrant arts, culture, and restaurant scene. In her free time, she loves to visit far-flung locales and experience new and different cultures.

Honors and Awards

  • Super Lawyer-Appellate Law-Texas Monthly, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019
  • Rising Star-Appellate Law-Texas Monthly, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016
  • Best Lawyers in San Antonio-Appellate Law-Scene in SA Monthly, 2007-2019
  • Outstanding Young Lawyer of San Antonio-San Antonio Young Lawyers Association, 2007

The Hon. Beth Watkins

Practicing Faculty

Education

  • J.D., St. Mary’s University School of Law
  • B.A., University of Missouri—Columbia

License to Practice

  • Board Certified—Civil Appellate Law, Texas Board of Legal Specialization
  • United States Supreme Court Bar
  • United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
  • United States Western District of Texas
  • State Bar of Texas

Melissa Bezanson Shultz

Assistant Dean for Legal Writing | Professor of Law

Biography

Shultz is a Professor of Law and the Assistant Dean of Legal Writing at St. Mary’s University School of Law. In her current role (as well as her previous roles at Mitchell Hamline School of Law and UNT Dallas College of Law), Shultz’s teaching focuses primarily on legal writing, but she also teaches Texas family law and professional responsibility. Shultz’s scholarship focuses on legal writing, legal education, law school curricular reform, and the NextGen bar exam. She is dedicated to the incorporation of skills teaching and assessment into all law school classes to better prepare law students for the practice of law.

Shultz graduated from Grinnell College with a B.A. in English and a concentration in global development and The University of Texas School of Law. After graduating from law school, Shultz joined the firm of King & Spalding LLP in Washington, D.C., where her practice focused on commercial litigation and criminal and civil antitrust law. After moving back to Texas, Shultz started her own freelance law firm (ReLegal Group) and then went to work in the legal ethics department of Gardere Wynne and Sewell LLP. Shultz is licensed in Texas and Washington, D.C.

Publications

  • Practice Perfect: Professional Responsibility (Aspen Pub., 2024) (co-authored with Andy Perlman and Nancy Rapoport)
  • Legal Writing Made Simple: A Step-by-Step Approach (Carolina Press, 2024) (co-authored with Christine Tamer).
  • Professor, Please Help me Pass the Bar Exam: #NextGenBar2026, 71 J. Leg. Ed. 141 (Spring 2023).
  • Change is Inevitable. Exhaustion is Optional: Get Your Students NextGen Ready with an Upcycled MPT, 36 Second Draft (May 2023) (co-authored) (co-authored with Maggie Eilertson).
  • Writing by Numbers: Legal Writing Made Easy (Texas Edition) (Carolina Press, Jan. 2020) (co-authored with Christine Tamer).
  • The Adaptable Law Professor: Ten Tips for Keeping the Magic of an Oral Argument Competition Alive on Zoom, Syllabus (Am. Bar. Assoc., Winter 2021) (co-authored with Christine Tamer).
  • The Basics of Protective Orders in Dallas and its Contiguous Counties, Accessible Law by UNT Dallas L. Rev. (2020).
  • Mastering Legal Analysis: Achieving the Best by Understanding the Bad, UNT Dallas Center for Writing Excellence (2018).
  • How to Locate a Writ or Petition History and Create a Greenbook Citation for Civil Appellate Cases in Texas, UNT Dallas Center for Writing Excellence (2017).

Presentations

  • “Golden Ticket”: Using PR to Teach and Assess UBE and NextGen Skills, AASE Annual Conference (forthcoming Boise, May 2024).
  • Pedagogy Pivots: Leading Legal Education’s Transition to the NextGen Bar Exam, AALS Annual Meeting (San Diego, Jan. 2023).
  • A Grimm Future? Pick a Nextgen Curricular Change that Fits Your School—the Wee-little Change, the Medium-sized Change, or the Great-big Change, Legal Writing Institute Workshop (Charleston, Dec. 2022).
  • Rediscovering Your Inner Writing Guru: Top Legal Writing Conventions to Remember and Top Legal Writing Conventions to Forget, CLE for Dakota County (Nov. 2022).
  • NextGen Bar Exam, Southeastern Association of Law Schools (Summer 2022) (invited).
  • NextGen Fullsend, AALS Clinical Conference (May 2022) (invited).
  • The End Game: Teaching Legal Writing by Engaging Students in Social Media, Networking, and Reputation Building Exercises, ALWD Biennial Conference (June 2021).
  • From IRAC to CRuPAC: Does Structure Matter in Legal Analysis?, a Continuing Legal Education Course offered via videoconference and on-demand to MHSL alumni (May. 2021).
  • Keeping the Magic of an Oral Argument Competition Alive on Zoom (Pandemic be Damned), NOVA Law Rev. Legal Writing Symposium (Feb. 2021).
  • From IRAC to CRuPAC: Does Structure Matter in Legal Analysis? a Continuing Legal Education course prepared for the Court of Appeals Quill & Bagel Society (Feb. 2021).
  • The Adaptable Law Professor: Ten Tips for Keeping the Magic of an Oral Argument Competition Alive on Zoom, Legal Writing Institute One-Day Conference at California Western (Dec. 2020).
  • Back to the Basics: Top Tips to Improve Your Legal Writing, a Continuing Legal Education course offered via video conference and on-demand to MHSL alumni (Oct. 2020).
  • Using Multiple Assessments to Improve Learning Outcomes for the Modern Law Student, Institute for Law Teaching and Learning Conference (June 2019).
  • Legal Writing for New Associates, Haynes & Boone, LLP (Oct. 2018).
  • Legal Writing Made Easy (June 2018) Continuing Legal Education course offered to attorneys and alumni, UNT Dallas College of Law.
  • Legal Writing Made Easy (Aug. 2018), a Continuing Legal Education course offered via video conference to eighteen offices of Legal Aid of North Texas.
  • Legal Writing in an Electronic World (Jan. 2017) at the TIPPS section of the Dallas Bar luncheon.
  • Teaching Legal Writing in a Multilingual World, Legal Writing Institute’s Rocky Mountain Conference (Mar. 2016).
  • The Art and Ethics of Lawyering in a Bilingual World (Jan. 2016, Dallas Bar Association).
  • Keep It Simple: Giving Feedback in Large Classes, Southeastern Association of Law Schools Conference (July 2019).
  • Relativity of Miracles, Texas State Bar Meeting (July 2017).

Melissa Bezanson Shultz

Assistant Dean for Legal Writing | Professor of Law

Contact Information

Education

  • J.D., The University of Texas School of Law, Austin, Texas, 2002
  • B.A., Grinnell College, Grinnell, Iowa, 1998

License to Practice

  • Texas

Specialties and Courses

  • Legal Research and Writing
  • Advanced Legal Writing
  • Professional Responsiblity
  • Texas Family Law
  • From Bar to Practice Readiness

Amanda Stephens

Assistant Professor of Practice of Law

Biography

Amanda Stephens, J.D., joined St. Mary’s University School of Law as a Law Success Instructor in 2022 and is now an Assistant Professor of Practice of Law.

Before joining St. Mary’s, Stephens practiced general civil litigation at Ferguson law (Bloomington, Indiana) and insurance litigation defense at Valdez & Treviño (San Antonio, Texas). Throughout and after law school, she has also engaged in various pro bono activities in mostly of the area of family law and served on local city boards. 

Stephens grew up in Huntington, West Virginia, where she earned her B.A. and M.A. in English from Marshall University. Thereafter, she obtained her J.D. and Ph.D. in Gender Studies from Indiana University-Bloomington. Her qualitative research centers on women volunteers in northern India who navigate India’s patriarchal societies.

In her free time, Stephens enjoys weightlifting; being outdoors; and spending time with her spouse, dog and cat.

Honors and Awards

  • Internal Faculty Research Grant Award, for research project entitled, Brahman Saviors: Confronting Our Investments in Women’s Inequality, St. Mary’s University, 2023
  • Fulbright-Nehru Student Research Grant, Indiana University-Bloomington, India, 2017
  • Critical Language Enhancement Award—Hindi, Indiana University-Bloomington, India, 2016
  • Critical Language Scholarship—Hindi, Indiana University-Bloomington, India, 2015
  • Kenneth and Louise Yahne Fellowship, Indiana University Maurer School of Law, 2014
  • National Association for Women Lawyers Outstanding Law Student Award, Indiana University Maurer School of Law, 2014
  • Terry and Judy Albright Pro Bono Publico and Public Interest Award, Indiana University Maurer School of Law, 2014
  • Robert McConnell Memorial Scholarship, Indiana University Maurer School of Law, 2013
  • A* (Highest Grade in Class) in Feminist Jurisprudence, Indiana University Maurer School of Law, 2013

Publications

Academic Publications

  • Sean Viña and Amanda Stephens, Minorities’ Diminished Psychedelic Returns, 9 Drug Sci., Pol’y & L. 1 (2023).
  • Psychedelics and Workplace Health Promotion, 14 Frontiers in Psychiatry 1(2023).
  • Book Review, 115 Feminist Rev. 193 (2017) (reviewing Rethinking Peacekeeping, Gender Equality, and Collective Security (Gina Heathcote & Dianna Otto eds., 2014)).
  • Amanda Stephens and Sean Viña, On Women Professors Who Teach Legal Writing: Addressing Stigma and Women’s Health, Vermont L. Rev. (forthcoming 2024).

Articles in Periodical

  • Women Volunteers’ Navigation of Patriarchy and Respectability in Rajasthan, Indiana University-Bloomington, ProQuest Dissertations Publishing (2022). (Doctoral Dissertation.)
  • Review of Rethinking Peacekeeping, Gender Equality, and Collective Security, by Gina Heathcote and Dianna Otto, eds, Feminist Review (Mar. 2017).
  • Women with Short Hair, Marshall University, ProQuest Dissertations Publishing (2010). (M. A. Thesis.)

Presentations

  • “Brahman Saviors: Confronting Our Investments in Women’s Inequality,” St. Mary’s University’s Annual Research Symposium and Creative Activities Exhibition, 2023, San Antonio, TX, 2023.
  • “Addressing Stigma in the LRW Classroom,” Annual Rocky Mountain Legal Writing Conference, 2023, Las Vegas, NV.
  • “Law, Religion, and Gender: Strategic Entanglements for Women’s Empowerment,” Fulbright-Nehru Annual Conference, 2018, Delhi, India.
  • “Women’s Empowerment: Looking through the Prism of Law, Religion, and Gender,” United States-India Educational Foundation Speakers Series, 2018, Chennai, India.
    “Decolonial Methodologies in Jain’s Gulabi Gang,” National Women’s Studies Association Annual Conference, 2016, Montréal, Québec.
    “From Feminist Mother to Militant Feminist: Changes in Women’s Rhetoric in India’s Gender Reservation Debate, 1974 to 2014,” National Women’s Studies Association Annual Conference, 2015, Milwaukee, WI.

Public Commentaries

  • Commentary, Seek Gender Equity at Space Command, San Antonio Express-News, Dec. 8 2020.
  • Letter to the Editor, Brief Experience (criticizing the lack of legal and judicial experience of then-Supreme Court nominee Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett), San Antonio Express-News, Oct. 25 2020.
  • Letter to the Editor, Denounce Lawmakers’ Comments (criticizing Indiana state legislators’ sexist comments about the 2017 Women’s March in Indianapolis), Herald-Times, Feb. 16, 2017.
  • Guest Column, A Call for Daily Resistance to Rape, Indiana Daily Student, Apr. 26, 2016.

Amanda Stephens

Assistant Professor of Practice of Law

Contact Information

Education

  • Ph.D., Gender Studies, Political Science Minor, Indiana University-Bloomington, 2021
  • J.D., Gender Studies Minor, Indiana University Maurer School of Law
  • M.A., English, Marshall University, 2010
  • B.A., English, Marshall University, 2008

License to Practice

  • Indiana (inactive)
  • U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana (inactive)
  • Texas (active)
  • U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas (active)
  • The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas (active)

Specialties and Courses

  • Legal Communication, Analysis, and Professionalism (LCAP) I & II
  • Negotiations
  • Gender Studies
  • Feminist Legal Theories
  • Social Inequality

David White

Practicing Faculty

Biography

David White, J.D., LL.M., has concurrently held both law and CPA licenses for over 30 years. In addition to being admitted to practice before all Texas courts, White is admitted to practice before the United States Supreme Court, the United States Tax Court, and the United States Court of Federal Claims.

White’s law practice helps clients protect, preserve and transfer wealth.  White advises clients on estate planning, asset protection, wealth preservation, probate/estate administration, federal transfer tax planning, trust creation, trust administration, trust taxation, incapacity planning, special needs planning and related topics.

White is a member of the American Bar Association, American Institute of CPAs, Texas Society of CPAs, Texas Bar College, San Antonio Estate Planners Council, San Antonio CPA Society, and the San Antonio Bar Association. He is also accredited by the American Institute of CPAs as a Personal Financial Specialist (PFS) and a Chartered Global Management Accountant (CGMA).

White is a fifth generation Texan and has lived in San Antonio for over 20 years. He has served as a member of the practicing faculty of St. Mary’s University School of Law for over a decade.

Honors and Awards

  • Texas Comptroller’s Business Tax Advisory Committee (Dec 2006 – Aug 2008)
  • Texas Comptroller’s Taxpayer’s Advisory Group (Jan 2007 – Aug 2008)
  • Vice Chair, State and Local Tax Committee, State Bar of Texas (May 2004 – Aug 2008)

Publications

Books

  • Chapter 12: The Bundling of Taxable and Exempt Communications Services, Telecommunications: Taxation of Services, Property and Providers, at 237-58 (CCH 2002 ed.) co-authored with William A. Walsh

Bar Journal Publications

  • State & Local Tax: Recent Developments, Texas Tax Lawyer, Feb. 2005, at 13, 13-19 co-authored with Geoffrey Polma and Daniel Timmons
  • Implementation of the New Assessment Cap, Michigan Bar Journal, Feb. 1995, at 188, 188-90

David White

Practicing Faculty

Contact Information

Education

  • LL.M. in Taxation (with distinction), Certificate in Estate Planning, Georgetown Law School, 2009
  • J.D., (with distinction) Western Michigan University Cooley Law School, 1994
  • B.B.A. (Accounting), McCombs School of Business, University of Texas at Austin, 1989

License to Practice

  • Texas
  • Michigan
  • District of Columbia

Specialties and Courses

  • Trusts
  • Estate Planning

Stephanie Stevens

Clinical Professor of Law | Director of the Summer Skills Enhancement Program

Biography

After graduating from St. Mary’s School of Law, Professor Stevens worked for the law offices of Mark Stevens as a criminal defense attorney. She volunteered as a pro bono attorney to represent death row inmates in conjunction with the Texas Death Penalty Education and Resource Center.

Professor Stevens also taught constitutional law as an adjunct professor for Trinity University. She joined the Criminal Justice Clinic as Supervising Attorney in 1996 after serving in the clinic’s mentor program during the previous year.

Professor Stevens also serves as the director of the Summer Skills Enhancement Program, an intensive program designed to help prospective students develop the skills necessary to succeed in law school.

Honors and Awards

  • Texas Best Lawyers, 2019
  • San Antonio Scene Top DUI/DWI Lawyer, 2019
  • San Antonio’s Top 30 Criminal Defense Lawyers, 2015
  • Fellow of the Texas Bar Foundation, 2012
  • Texas Top Rated Lawyer, 2012
  • Distinguished Faculty Award, 2009-2010
  • Best Lawyers in America, 2005 to present
  • Best Lawyers in San Antonio, 2004 to present
  • Kimberly E. Young Defender of the Year Award 2006
  • Kimberly E. Young Defender of the Year Award 2004
  • Martindale-Hubbell AV rating, ongoing

Publications

Sampson, Tindall, and England’s Texas Family Code Annotated, Title Three Updates from 2005 to Present.

Stephanie Stevens

Clinical Professor of Law | Director of the Summer Skills Enhancement Program

Contact Information

Education

  • J.D., St. Mary’s University, 1991
  • B.A., St. Mary’s University, 1987

License to Practice

  • Texas
  • U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas
  • U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals
  • U.S. Supreme Court

Specialties and Courses

  • Criminal Law, Board Certified since 1998
  • Juvenile Law
  • Texas Criminal Procedure
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