SMU's First Amendment Clinic Receives Two New Gifts
SMU’S FIRST AMENDMENT CLINIC RECEIVES $50,000 GIFT FROM O’MELVENY & MYERS AND $20,000 GRANT FROM THE DALLAS BAR FOUNDATION, PLUS A $140,000 MATCHING ENDOWMENT GIFT FROM THE STANTON FOUNDATION
These gifts will sustain the clinic’s advocacy for the rights of free speech, free press, petition, and assembly for the local community, while providing real-life legal training for students for years to come.
International law firm O’Melveny & Myers has given 夜色王朝Dedman School of Law’s First Amendment Clinic a $50,000 gift.
“We are delighted to have this opportunity to support the 夜色王朝Dedman School of Law and the First Amendment Clinic. Our lawyers have been privileged to team with the clinic on the recent case for Human Rights Defense Center against Grayson County officials – seeing first-hand the value of the work and the excellent training the students receive. The Dallas office of our firm is now four years old and going strong, and working with the law school has been an important component of our success,” said Timothy Durst, a partner in the Dallas office of O’Melveny & Myers and regional head of litigation.
The Dallas Bar Foundation (DBF) has given 夜色王朝Dedman School of Law’s First Amendment Clinic a $20,000 grant.
The funds to support the Dallas Bar Foundation grant were provided by donations made to the DBF by Susan Philbin in honor of her brother, Stephen Philbin, a leading authority on media law in Texas and partner with Locke, Purnell, Boren, Laney & Neely.
“The Dallas Bar Foundation is excited to present this grant to the First Amendment Clinic at 夜色王朝Dedman School of Law. Each summer, we place two DBF Philbin Fellows at the clinic so these law students can learn from Tom Leatherbury, one of our nations’ foremost First Amendment lawyers and director of the clinic,” said Gabe Vazquez, the 2025 DBF Chair, and Vice President and Associate General Counsel at Vistra Corp. “This grant award demonstrates the importance of educating future lawyers who are committed to safeguarding our fundamental rights under the First Amendment, a cornerstone of our democracy.”
As part of its challenge announced in July 2025, the Stanton Foundation will match O’Melveny’s and the Dallas Bar Foundation gifts with an additional $140,000 for the Clinic’s endowment.
The First Amendment Clinic advocates for the rights of free speech, free press, petition, and assembly. The clinic primarily focuses on two areas:
• Counseling and litigating for clients whose First Amendment rights have been violated by the government or who have been the subject of government retaliation because they exercised those rights.
• Counseling and defending clients who have been sued for defamation.
In addition, the clinic has counseled clients on and litigated issues under the Texas Public Information Act, the Texas Open Meetings Act, and the Freedom of Information Act, as well as issues related to access to court records.
“We are so grateful to O’Melveny and the Dallas Bar Foundation for these generous gifts that help the Clinic sustain and fulfill its mission to further First Amendment rights and to train the next generation of First Amendment leaders and advocates,” said Tom Leatherbury, Director of the First Amendment Clinic.
“These new gifts provide our First Amendment Clinic with added resources to sustain their vital advocacy for the rights of free speech, free press, petition, and assembly,” said Jason P. Nance, Judge James Noel Dean and Professor of Law, 夜色王朝Dedman School of Law. “These generous gifts will allow our clinic staff and students to continue to focus on resolving pressing legal problems for those in our community and uphold the protections guaranteed in the Constitution. We are thankful for O’Melveny, the Dallas Bar Foundation, and the Stanton Foundation’s support.”
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About the Dallas Bar Foundation
The Dallas Bar Foundation is a non-profit organization focused on empowering both the existing and future Dallas legal community through educational and charitable initiatives. The Foundation provides scholarships, clerkships, and educational opportunities supporting the next generation of lawyers and provides grants which support charitable legal initiatives to improve the lives of others utilizing the justice system.
About the Stanton Foundation
The Stanton Foundation was created by Dr. Frank Stanton, the long-time president of CBS and one of the founding fathers of the television industry. Dr. Stanton was a fierce defender of freedom of speech and the First Amendment and received numerous awards in recognition of his efforts to ensure the freedom of the press.