Two alumni of St. Mary's University School of Law have donated $1 million to their alma mater for a program that helps law students succeed in class, ace finals and pass the all-important bar exam.

Former 41st District Judge Mary Anne Bramblett and El Paso solo Coll Bramblett, who met when they attended St. Mary's Law in the late 1970s and early 1980s, gave the money to endow the new Bramblett Second-Year Success Program, which is part of St. Mary's three-year Law Success Program. They wanted to donate to their alma mater because it had done so much for them. “They gave us the tools to have a great life,” Mary Anne Bramblett said. Coll Bramblett added, “I would not have been a lawyer today if it wasn't for St. Mary's. I know many lawyers in the same boat. They're lawyers today because St. Mary's gave them that opportunity.”

The program, administered by the Office of Law Success, has a director, six instructors, a coordinator and a licensed professional counselor. The program is most intense for 1Ls, who must attend an orientation, take a course and attend workshops. They focus on skills such as legal writing and editing, critical thinking, logical argument, reading and briefing cases, study skills and more. Students take assessments that provide instructors with performance indicators, allowing them to hone in on areas for improvement. 2Ls take an experiential legal analysis course that covers trial court writing, legal reasoning and the multi­state performance portion of the bar exam. “The second year of law school is a key time for law students, with more complex legal questions that require more sophisticated legal analyses. First-year reading, writing and analytical skills are no longer sufficient, and law students must hone their abilities in order to excel,” said assistant dean Michael Barry, who helped create and implement the program. The program continues for 3L students with voluntary courses on taking the bar exam, entering legal practice and searching for jobs. Students in the bottom 50 percent of their class take a mandatory bar exam prep course. In the future, St. Mary's will require 3L students to take a graduation exam to see how ready they are for the bar exam. St. Mary's Law Dean Stephen Sheppard said that the Brambletts left a mark on the Texas legal profession and, now, on their law school, too.