The South Texas College of Law Houston Alumni Association will honor three accomplished alumni Sept. 19 at the 2024 Alumni Awards Luncheon at the Julia Ideson Building: former member of the Texas Supreme Court The Honorable Eva Guzman ’89, Distinguished Alumni Award; Dominique Hinson ’14, Young Alumni Award; and Jennifer Falk ’06, Public Service Award.
The Alumni Awards are presented annually by the South Texas Law Alumni Association to recognize highly distinguished alumni for extraordinary achievements and contributions to their professions, local communities, and the college. Award recipients are selected by the Awards Committees of the Alumni Association Board of Directors.
For the first time, all three Alumni Award recipients are women. Here are more details about each recipient’s achievements.
Eva Guzman ’89
Partner, Wright Close & Barger, LLP
2024 Distinguished Alumni Award
Eva Guzman’s appointment to the Texas Supreme Court in 2009 marked a significant milestone for Latina lawyers in Texas. She was the first Latina to serve on the Texas Supreme Court and the first Latina to be elected to a statewide office in Texas. Her appointment showed thousands of aspiring lawyers that anything is possible.
During her 12-year tenure on the court, Guzman decided some of the most complex legal issues in Texas, ruled on thousands of appeals, and was among the highest rated judges on the court.
On Sept. 19, Guzman will be recognized with the prestigious 2024 Distinguished Alumni of the Year award. The highest award presented by the Alumni Association, this honor recognizes outstanding civic contribution to the community. Each recipient must demonstrate significant leadership to STCL Houston and significant contributions to the legal profession.
In recommendations of Guzman for this award, she was described as a shining example of the transformative power of a legal education and the impact alumni can have on their communities.
“So many graduates of South Texas College of Law Houston have had transformative and inspirational careers,” Guzman said. “It is a great honor to be on this list.”
Though proud of all her jurisprudential contributions, Guzman finds her work as chair of the Supreme Court of Texas Commission for Children, Youth & Families especially rewarding. She helped lead transformative reforms that have had a lasting impact on children in the child welfare system. As the court’s liaison to the Texas Access to Justice Commission and Foundation, Guzman was at the forefront of finding solutions to the crisis in legal representation for the poor.
“Serving as a voice for the most vulnerable communities has been a privilege and an honor,” she said.
Guzman is grateful for law school experiences that set her on her career trajectory. “South Texas Law changed my life,” she said. “Without the tremendous opportunities, mentorship, and examples of leadership I experienced at my beloved alma mater, my life in the law would not have unfolded in the way it has. Law school opened the doors to a career in the judiciary that fueled my passion for public service.”
Now a partner at Wright Close & Barger, LLP, Guzman focuses on appellate litigation in state and federal courts, at both the trial and appellate levels. With more than two decades of judicial experience across all levels of courts, her dual perspective as a former litigator and judge provides unparalleled insight into the judicial decision-making process. Her deep understanding of how judges analyze complex legal issues, as well as how those issues fit within the broader framework of the state’s jurisprudence, enables her to offer strategic guidance that few others can provide — whether in court or in an arbitration tribunal.
Guzman earned her law degree in 1989 and practiced in Houston for 10 years. She served as Judge in the 309thFamily District Court of Harris County from 1999-2001, and as Judge in the Texas 14th Court of Appeals from 2001-09.
After joining the Texas Supreme Court in 2009, Guzman pursued an LL.M in Judicial Studies at Duke University School of Law. The stellar faculty included U.S. Supreme Court Justices Antonin Scalia and Samuel Alito.
“Understanding judicial decision making — how judges think — has been invaluable as I returned to the practice of law,” she said. Not long after completing her studies, Guzman was asked to follow Justice Scalia as a keynote speaker for an American Bar Association conference. It was a challenge she accepted, “but not without the proper amount of trepidation and exhilaration,” she noted.
What’s next for the trailblazing Guzman? She intends to continue serving on statewide boards and making an impact on the lives of others. She is passionate about advancing the next generation of lawyers — especially women and Latinas — through mentorship. She encourages law students to look closely at the field of appellate advocacy.
“I want to make sure they understand this field is accessible to them, and to help them seize the career opportunities it can open up to them,” she said.
But in the meantime, there’s another challenge Guzman is eager to tackle: serving as a keynote speaker for Red Mass in Austin in October. This time, the STCL Houston Distinguished Alumnus will be following another distinguished jurist: Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court Amy Coney Barrett.
Dominique Hinson ’14
Associate Professor, University of the Pacific McGeorge School of Law
2024 Young Alumni Award
Every semester for the past 10 years, Dominique Hinson has volunteered her time to coach and mentor law students. With a passion for helping aspiring lawyers find their way around the profession, Hinson exemplifies the South Texas College of Law Houston tradition of service.
This year’s Young Alumni Award honoree served as director of appellate advocacy and an adjunct professor at STCL Houston until July 2024. She continues to educate law students in her new role on the faculty and as the associate director of trial advocacy at the University of the Pacific McGeorge School of Law.
The Young Alumni Award is presented to an alumnus who has graduated in the past 10 years and has made significant leadership to South Texas Law and service contributions to and the legal profession.
STCL Houston alumnus Jordi Vargas ’23 — now a practicing attorney — summed up his Hinson’s ability to instill confidence and professionalism. “She invested countless hours refining our arguments, imparting invaluable courtroom etiquette, and emphasizing the importance of integrity in advocacy. She embodies the essence of being a mentor: compassionate yet demanding, visionary yet grounded, prolific yet humble.”
“I love helping students develop their authentic voice in the courtroom and use that ability to represent people who can’t speak for themselves,” said Hinson. “I love empowering people to help others. It brings me joy when I can help students who are historically underrepresented to find their place in a courtroom.”
At STCL Houston, Hinson served as a volunteer alumni coach before joining the staff full time in 2021. As the director of appellate advocacy at South Texas Law, she developed and taught advocacy courses, coached students, and was an active promoter of collaboration and connection between lawyers and law students. In her current role at the McGeorge School of Law, Hinson teaches courses in trial advocacy, taking and defending depositions, and jury selection.
Her love for advocacy has gone beyond developing law students’ skills. She contributes as a faculty member for the National Institute of Trial Advocacy, where she teaches trial and deposition skills training programs. She served as the 2023-24 vice president of moot court for the National Association of Legal Advocacy Educators. Hinson has presented at the Educating Advocates: Teaching Advocacy Skills (EATS) conference at Stetson University College of Law and the Training Advocates Conference at Temple University Beasley School of Law and Fordham University School of Law.
Reflecting on her years at STCL Houston, Hinson said she appreciates the college’s history of giving back, with lawyers willing to give back so much of their time.
“Students at South Texas are passionate, gritty, hardworking, and service-oriented,” she said. “I am genuinely honored to receive the Young Alumni Award. I view it as a representation of the fact that my peers have seen and respected my service to the students. And I hope that each student I’ve ever had the chance to educate, mentor, or coach remembers the power of giving back in the places where people have given so much to them.”
Jennifer Falk ’06
Partner, McCathern, Shokouhi, Evans in Dallas
Public Service Award
Jen Falk’s interest in public service was sparked by then South Texas Law Associate Dean Michael Wheeler when he shared with students his powerful closing statement from a case he had prosecuted. Her choice was solidified during a lunch with the legendary and former Harris County District Attorney (DA) Johnny Holmes, who encouraged her to consider a career in prosecution.
Next week, Falk will be recognized by her law school alma mater with the Public Service Award, which recognizes an alumnus who has done significant and sustained work in a public service position.
After involvement in South Texas Law’s Advocacy Program, Falk was offered a precommitment position from the DA’s office. This gave her an opportunity to try cases before even being licensed. “Immediately, I loved being in trial,” she said. “I loved having the opportunity and ability to do the right thing in every case.”
Doing the right thing, Falk explained, often involved fighting for victims or their families, and it also meant being able to assist a person who was wrongfully charged.
Falk said her perspective of her role was greatly influenced by another professor and mentor at South Texas Law, Susan Crump. “She impressed upon me the immense amount of power I would have as a prosecutor. She counseled me to consider the impact on others’ lives – those ‘collateral consequences.’ I learned to be highly aware of how one small decision could have a serious impact on victims, defendants, witnesses, juries, and all those involved in the criminal justice system.”
As Assistant District Attorney in the Harris County DA’s Office from 2006 to 2015, Falk handled cases involving violent felonies and vulnerable victims. While in Houston, Jen also taught Trial Advocacy as an adjunct professor at South Texas Law and served as a course instructor for the Houston Police Department.
In 2016, Falk relocated to Dallas and joined the Dallas County DA’s Office, where she was part of the Sexual Assault Unit. She later supervised felony prosecutions in nine of the district courts while managing the training for the roughly 300 attorneys on staff. In 2018, she was named the office’s Prosecutor of the Year.
Now a partner at McCathern, Shokouhi, Evans in Dallas, Falk uses experience gained through approximately 150 jury trials to advise high-profile, high-exposure clients. “The cases I work on now often involve crisis management and a different but equally immense level of pressure,” she said.
In this role, she still has the opportunity to perform pro bono work, helping victims and families of victims navigate the criminal justice system, which she considers “an absolute honor.”
Another way Falk gives back is as an active member of the Dallas Women Lawyers Association and its Women’s Mentoring Circle that provides mentorship for young attorneys.
“Many people supported me and gave me opportunities to shine, and I view mentoring as my professional legacy,” said Falk. “I have a moral obligation to pour into younger attorneys. Seeing them grow and thrive is not only rewarding but also maintains the excellence of our bar.”
