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The Rio Grande Valley has long been called a legal desert, with one lawyer for every 780 residents. This compares to a state average of one for every 310 Texans, and even more in larger metropolitan areas.
That lack of legal services is even more acute considering the greater need for legal services along the border, where many people have to deal with legal challenges regarding immigration and cross-border travel and trade.
Unfortunately, there has been no law school in the region that would help address that shortage, with the brief exception of the Reynaldo G. Garza School of Law that operated from 1984 to 1993 but never received accreditation from the American Bar Association.
It’s a problem that exists all along the border. UT-El Paso has a Law School Preparation Institute offering pre-law courses but does not offer law degrees, although officials there have announced they hope to establish a degree-granting program by 2030.
The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley is working to create an oasis in that legal desert. Last week the university announced a cooperative agreement with the St. Mary’s University School of Law. Beginning this fall, UTRGV will provide classrooms, support personnel and library resources to help students take online courses from St. Mary’s.
The need for a law school access in South Texas — anywhere along the border, really — can’t be overstated. Residents’ needs for legal services is just as great as anywhere else — even greater, some might say, because of the specialized needs of residents dealing with immigration issues.
Law schools can help address those needs and more. Many schools across the country provide labs through which students can help offer services to low-income residents who might not be able to afford legal counsel. Texas RioGrande Legal Aid provides such services in Brownsville, helping residents with issues related not only to immigration but other legal matters ranging from spousal abuse to navigating complicated disaster relief applications.
Legal counsel also is invaluable in the business world. Most companies either have in-house attorneys or contract with law firms to handle contracts, government regulations and other issues.
A law school in the Valley not only would help make such services available to local residents, but it also would create opportunities for local students who wish to pursue law degrees and help address those needs.
Those opportunities — especially for bilingual lawyers and their staffs — are likely to expand as border issues are expected to become more complex and numerous.
Efforts to address this need have existed beyond the Reynaldo Garza school. Every legislative session for nearly 20 years, state Rep. Armando Martinez has filed bills to establish a law school in the Valley, but those bills haven’t succeeded.
The Texas A&M University Higher Education Center in McAllen has announced a medical-legal program with DHR Health to assist patients, but grant funding for that program is only for two years.
Any effort to address the legal desert along the border is welcome, and should help policy makers recognize such attention is vital and should continue.
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