ABOUT THE PROGRAM
The Charles Hamilton
Houston Pre-law Institute, commonly called "CHH", was
founded in 1979. The Institute is named in
honor of the late Charles Hamilton Houston as a tribute
to his selfless advocacy on behalf of equal justice. The
Institute is also taught in the spirit of Houstonian
jurisprudence. In 1980, Temple joined forces with
Everett Bellamy, then a first year Associate Dean at
at Georgetown Law Center. Since 1980, classes have been held at
Georgetown. Temple and Bellamy taught CHH
through 1985. In 1986, they added four professors and
extended the five week program to seven weeks and 100
class hours.
CHH offers
its students a rigorous introduction
to law study. Its orientation
familiarizes students
with
the substantial legal
accomplishments of Charles Hamilton
Houston in a film titled: "The Road
to Brown." During the program's
first week, CHH students are
introduced
to the American judicial
system, the civil litigation
process, legal
vocabulary
and surgical case and
legal analysis
techniques. Their first assignment
is the Dred Scott decision. During
the second week, students begin the
first of four first year law school
courses: Civil Procedure,
Torts, Contracts and Research and
Writing. CHH also features an
annual Charles Hamilton Houston
Lecture given by a
celebrated jurist
or attorney. Appellate Advocacy
lectures begin in week three and in
week four
students are assigned an
appellate issue to brief and argue.
Appellate briefs are submitted in
week six and argued in week
seven before a panel of judges
and/or lawyers. Students are also
required to write a legal memorandum
and take three law school
examinations. The program culminates
in a formal law school graduation.
CHH
Professors include a list of
accomplished and dedicated
lawyers
and educators including District of Bar Association President and
former National Bar Association Bar
President, Kim Keenan, Professor
Charles Ogletree, Professor Tanya
Washington,
Georgetown University Law Center's Former Senior
Assistant Dean Everett Bellamy, Judge Jennifer Long, David Simmons,
and Donald Temple. Additionally,
many area judges and lawyers
participate in CHH's annual moot
court competition.
Guest
speakers have included,
among
others, the late Dean Wiley Branton
(Former Dean of Howard University
School of Law), Attorney James Cobb
(former President of the National
Bar Association), The Honorable
William Coleman (Former Secretary of
the U.S. Department of
Transportation), the Honorable
Eleanor Holmes Norton, Attorney
Lennox Hinds, Attorney Timothy
Jenkins, the late Thomas Duckenfield
(former President of the National
Bar Association), Attorney Frederick
Abramson (former President of the
District of Columbia Bar
Association), Professor Angela
Davis, the Honorable Judge William
Pryor, the Honorable Theodore
Newman, the Honorable Inez Smith
Reid, Professor Michael
Higginbotham, Attorney Themba
Mthetwa, Attorney James McCullum,
Attorney Felcia Chambers, Barrister
John Robotham, the Honorable Gerald
Bruce Lee and the Honorable
Alexander Williams.
CHH graduates
have attended and graduated from law
schools across
the country. This
year marks the Institute's 30th
consecutive year. CHARLES HAMILTON HOUSTON
Charles Hamilton
Houston entered
Harvard Law School in 1919 and in 1923. He became
the first African American to serve as the editor of the Harvard Law
Review. After graduating from Harvard Law School, Houston attended
the University of Madrid to complete his work in law. He was
appointed Vice-Dean of Howard University Law School in 1929
and he
embraced this as an opportunity
to forge legal challenges against
Jim
Crow Laws. He was responsible for training and inspiring many
lawyers who played key roles in fighting for true equality for African
Americans, including the late Justice Thurgood Marshall. Later, as
special counsel to the National Association for the Advancement of
Colored People (NAACP), Charles Hamilton Houston argued several key
civil rights cases before the U.S. Supreme Court and laid the groundwork
that led to the landmark decision of Brown v. Board of Education.
In honor, CHH is designed to equip students with the
tools necessary to successfully manage the study of law. CHH's
goal is to demystify the law school process and provide students with
pragmatic techniques for achieving success.
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"I rather die on my feet than die on
my knees."
-Charles Hamilton Houston
What's New!
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On Sunday May 7,2011, Judge Nathaniel Jones was
presented the 2011 Charles Hamilton Houston
Medallion of Merit at the Washington Bar
Association's Annual Law Day The following is
an excerpt of his remarks. The complete speech can
be found
here.
"As teenager, prior to World
War II, I spent time pondering the mysteries of the skies, and the
wonders of nature. Through access I had to the black newspapers of
the day, I followed the reports of the stellar performances of
players in the Negro Baseball league, and the campaign being waged
to break the color bar of Major Baseball. I was also intrigued over
civil rights leaders pressing President Roosevelt to end
discrimination against blacks in the military -blacks had to fight - and for the President
to compel contractors who were landing defense contracts during
World War II to hire black workers.
At the time, I was embraced by a black lawyer in my hometown of Youngstown, Ohio, who exposed me to lawyers who looked like me. As I sat in the corner of the parlors where those lawyers gathered from all across Ohio, I heard them discuss legal strategies to attack racial discrimination. It was during their often spirited debates that I first heard "lawyer talk" such as the term invidious discrimination," and was later to ask for a definition of the term. And it was also when I first heard the name, Charles Hamilton Houston. This superbly educated lawyer gave this nation a gift - a school of jurisprudence that provided an opportunity for national redemption."
ENDOWED SCHOLARSHIPS:
The Totlee J. Dixon Brown Memorial
Scholarship
The Arthur S.
Dixon Living Trust is
pleased to present its
annual memorial scholarship
award to the Charles
Hamilton Houston Institute
in memory of Totlee J. Dixon
Brown. Ms. Brown, a very
charismatic and charming
personality, was a graduate
of New Rochelle High School
and Toledo University where
she produced award winning
shows and received her
Bachelor’s of Art degree.
After graduation from
college, she embarked upon a
very successful and
noteworthy career in the
communications field. She
founded and served as
President of Black Media
Women (BMW), a national
organization that addressed
matters of importance to
black women involved in
media. BMW hosted various
events in different forums
that featured well known and
outstanding speakers.
In the media
and communications field,
she was well recognized as
the Co-Producer of the
television show, “Soul
Alive”. She also produced
various programs for ABC T.V.
including “For You Black
Women” which featured
appearances by Muhammad Ali,
Congressman Harold Ford,
Sr., Rev. Ike, Dr. Priscilla
Hambrick Dixon and other
well known personalities.
She also worked closely with
Barbara Walters and Hugh
Dowson on ABC’s 20/20
television show and she was
involved in other
productions for Ossie Davis
and Ruby Dee. Ms. Dixon
Brown received national
acclaim when she was
presented with an “Emmy” for
her work with ABC Sports and
its President, Roone Arlidge
at the 1984 Olympics. In
addition to these
publications, she spoke at
New York’s famous Apollo
Theatre with Rev. Al
Sharpton and other notables
and she hosted a gospel
radio show in Brooklyn.
Ms. Dixon
Brown was also an activist
participating in the March
on Washington where Dr.
Martin Luther King, Jr.
delivered his famous “I Have
a Dream” speech and was
involved in other civil
rights activities.
Posthumously, she was
awarded a lifetime
achievement award by
Columbia’s School of
Journalism for her
outstanding work in the
communications field. She
was sought out as a speaker
and lecturer at local
schools where she lived and
worked and she also served
as a mentor for
African-American youth
interested in pursuing a
career in the field of
communications. Ms. Brown
passed away in 2000 from
cancer.
Arthur S. Dixon Family Trust
Scholarship
CHH Young Alumni Scholarship Award
The Charles Hamilton
Houston Young Alumni Scholarship
Fund will award a scholarship to the
graduating CHH student. In
accordance with prior years, the
students have the option of
competing for the scholarship by
completing a brief writing
submission. The Fund will present
an award to the qualifying student
at the CHH graduation program.
McGuireWoods Moot Court Competition
McGuireWoods
is a global law firm with approximately 900
lawyers and 19 strategically located offices
worldwide. Sharply focused on their clients,
McGuireWoods ensures that all of the firm's
actions are based on what will best benefit
their clients. Tracing the firm's roots back to
1834, McGuireWoods has a long history of growth
through mergers with predecessor firms in
existing markets, as well as client-centered
expansion into new markets. Working with clients
to develop these strategies, the firm is able
to keep pace with their changing needs – helping
them meet their goals. This has been their
philosophy for more than 175 years, and it
continues to direct their endeavors as they look
toward the future.
As stated in their 2010-2012 Strategic Plan,
“For us to achieve our destiny, diversity and
inclusion must be woven into our very fabric. At
McGuireWoods, we define diversity as recognizing
and valuing the differences in our workforce.”
Chairman Emeritus Robert L. Burrus Jr. chairs
the firm's Diversity Committee – an
exemplification of McGuireWoods' commitment to
diversity. Their lawyers and staff work to
promote diversity throughout the legal
profession and in our communities. McGuireWoods
saw the value of diversifying its legal team
decades ago. As early as 1977, it initiated a
joint venture with a minority-owned law firm.
Today, they continue to receive numerous awards
for their diversity efforts.
McGuireWoods proudly supports the Charles
Hamilton Houston Law School Preparatory
Institute and are honored to sponsor this year's
Moot Court Competition.
For more information:
www.mcguirewoods.com
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