On November 2nd, the Texas State chapter of Pi Sigma Alpha, the national political science honor society, sponsored a talk by Maureen Scott Franco, a Federal Public Defender for the Western District of Texas. She has been a Federal Public Defender since 2013, and she served as a Deputy Federal Public Defender from 2007-2013 as well as a Supervisory Assistant Federal Public Defender from 2004-2007. Ms. Franco graduated with honors from UT-Austin in 1986 with a degree in Government, and then graduated from Baylor Law School in 1989. She was licensed in Texas that same year and joined the Federal Public Defender in July 1993.
Currently a fellow of the Texas Bar Foundation, she is a member of the El Paso and San Antonio CJA Selection Committee and the Western District of Texas Disciplinary Committee.
Ms. Franco talked about the process of law school, what she would’ve done differently, managing student debt, AI and how it may play a role in the future of law practice, and her role as a federal public defender. Topics discussed during the question and answer period included her most memorable cases, working on a case that made it to SCOTUS, and managing a home/life balance in a stressful job.
Grace Schlafer, a Pi Sigma Alpha member, described the event as “extremely informative” adding that it “was especially useful for those thinking about going to law school or having a better understanding of our federal judiciary.”
