Class Notes

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Class of 1966

Photograph of Jerry L. Adams

Jerry L. Adams

Class of

Jerry L. Adams passed away Jan. 6, 2024. He spent his 41-year legal career with Greer Herz & Adams L.L.P. and was the firm’s managing partner for many years. While at Texas Law, Adams was honored as a Chancellor and was associate editor of the Texas Law Review.

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James Hammett Jr. headshot

James Hammett, Jr.

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James Hammett, Jr. passed away on Dec. 31, 2023. Hammett was a highly regarded oil and gas litigator, and managing partner at Stubbeman, McRae, Sealy, Laughlin, and Browder.

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Ernest Altgelt headshot

Ernest Altgelt

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Ernest Altgelt passed away on Oct. 7, 2023. A celebrated veteran, he was recognized by the State Bar of Texas for providing outstanding service to low-income Texans. During his career, he worked for the State of Texas in various departments, in litigation private practice, and in oil and gas corporate practice.

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Photograph of Larry Ray Jones.

Larry Ray Jones

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Larry Ray Jones passed away Nov. 22, 2023. Jones served as head of law enforcement and security at Texas Parks and Wildlife before returning to his hometown of Stephenville to continue practicing law.

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Photograph of the Hon. John L. "Jack" Placke.

Hon. John L. “Jack” Placke

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The Hon. John L. “Jack” Placke passed away Nov. 21, 2023. Placke was appointed 21st Judicial District Judge in 1975 and was re-elected without opposition until his retirement in 2000, after which he served as senior district judge for several years.

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Garland Andrews headshot

Garland Andrews

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Garland Andrews passed away on Sept. 14, 2023. Andrews was a successful patent litigator best known for changing the standard of proving inequitable conduct in virtually every patent case; he retired in 2000.

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A photograph of Anne Gardner.

Anne Gardner

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Justice Anne Gardner has passed away. Gardner was a justice on the Second Court of Appeals for 17 years, during which time she served on the Texas Supreme Court’s Advisory Committee and as president of the Tarrant County Bar Association.

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A photograph of Bill Sherbert.

Bill Sherbert

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Bill Sherbert passed away on April 19, 2023. Sherbert opened his own law firm in Houston – Sherbert & Campbell – specializing in personal injury cases. He enjoyed a legal career that spanned 50 years.

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A photograph of Robert Forrester.

Robert D. Forrester

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Robert D. Forrester passed away on April 18, 2023. A double Longhorn, he wrote extensively in the areas of probate, intestacy, and tax law over his five decades of practicing law. Forrester retired from Peterson, Farris, Pruitt & Parker where he was of counsel.

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Boone Slusher

Boone Slusher

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Boone Slusher passed away on Jan. 13, 2023. Slusher had a lengthy legal career, as a partner in the firm Wilkins & Slusher for 20 years, then practicing with his son Chan in the firm Slusher & Associates for 24 years.

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Vernon I. "Skipper" Lay

Vernon I. “Skipper” Lay, Jr.

Class of

Vernon I. “Skipper” Lay, Jr. passed away on Nov. 22, 2022. His legal career included working for the Railroad Commission and in private practice, focusing on Oil & Gas and Environmental Law.

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Paul Philbin

Class of

Paul Philbin passed away on Oct. 28, 2022. Philbin was a double Longhorn, attending the University of Texas for his undergraduate degree on a basketball scholarship. After graduating with his law degree, Philbin served in the Army’s Judge Advocate General’s Corps. He later worked with the Texas Water Quality Board and the law firm Smith, Strock & Rowe before opening his own practice.

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John Younger

John Younger

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John Younger passed away on August 18, 2022. Described as a “champion of the underdog,” Younger served in the U.S. Marine Corps, then became a trial attorney in San Antonio.

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Robert P. "Bobby" Perel

Robert P. “Bobby” Perel

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Robert P. “Bobby” Perel passed away on August 14, 2022. A double Longhorn, Perel was an avid worldwide traveler. He practiced law in West Texas for more than 50 years,  specializing in criminal justice.

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Floyd H Christian

Floyd H. Christian Jr.

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Floyd H. Christian, Jr.  passed away on June 14, 2022.  After attending Texas Law, Christian served in the military as a Captain, then became a practicing lawyer for the next 50 years. Christian was a member of the Texas Trial Lawyers Association and the Angelton ISD School Board, and he served as president of the Brazoria County Bar Association.

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James Gayle

James Ray Gayle III

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James Gayle III passed away on May 18, 2022. Gayle was a double Longhorn, having also earned a bachelor’s degree in accounting from UT. Upon graduation from Texas Law, he served as a trial attorney in private practice and as a county judge, then was elected as judge of the 239th District Court of Brazoria County. Gayle was a veteran, having served in the United States Navy and in the Navy Reserves.

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Charles D. Scarborough

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Charles Scarborough passed way on April 30, 2022. After graduating from Texas Law, he worked as a criminal and civil attorney. Scarborough was a founding member of the Texas Criminal Defense Lawyers Association and served as Director of the State Bar of Texas.

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Jo Betsy Szebehely

Jo Betsy Lewallen Szebehely

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Jo Betsy Lewallen Szebehely died on March 16, 2022. Szebehely was a double longhorn and graduated from Texas Law in 1966. She served as a partner of Hearn, Knolle, Lewallen, Livingston, and Holcombe for nine years, before working in private practice. Szebehely offered numerous pro bono professional services and community volunteer services during her time as a lawyer.

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Marion Sanford Jr.

Marion “Sandy” Sanford, Jr.

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Marion “Sandy” Sanford passed away on Jan. 27, 2022. In addition to his law degree, Sanford also spent his undergraduate years on the Forty Acres and served as the student body president. In his career, he worked as both a lawyer and an influential lobbyist in the Texas government. Sanford’s work impacted many areas of business, government, and political activity.

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Herbert Jay Green

Herbert Jay Green

Class of
Colonel

Colonel Herbert Green died on Dec. 27, 2021 in North Richland Hills, Texas. Green served over 27 years in the U.S. Army, culminating his military judicial career as Chief Judge, 3rd Judicial Circuit, Fort Hood, Texas until he retired in 1994. He took on a second career as an Administrative Law Judge for the Social Security Administration until his retirement in 2019.

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William Junia Hudspeth Jr.

William Junia Hudspeth, Jr.

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William Junia Hudspeth, Jr. passed away on Nov. 28, 2021. Upon graduation from law school, Hudspeth stayed in Austin and went into banking, starting as a cashier at Capital National Bank. He worked his way up, serving as Vice President and Trust Officer of Austin National Bank and head of Republic Bank’s Trust Department. In 1987 he founded Austin Trust Company after Texas law was changed to authorize the incorporation of independent trust companies. Austin Trust Company is the first company to be chartered under the new law.

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Charles Curson

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Charles Randolph Curson passed away in October 2021 at his home in Georgetown, Texas. The double Longhorn began his career as an Assistant District Attorney in Houston, Texas and then went on to work as a Real Estate Attorney for Mitchell Energy and then National Convenience Stores before retiring. He was a member of the Coast Guard before enlisting in the Navy as an Officer serving in the Judge Advocate General’s Corp.

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Charles Curry

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Charles Nathan Curry passed away on Jan.21, 2021, surrounded by his loving family. He began his career at Shannon, Gracey, Ratliff, & Miller in Fort Worth, TX where he became a partner and practiced for 50 years. He was a member of the State Bar of Texas and served as both Chair and Vice-Chair of the Real Estate, Probate and Trust Section’s Financial Institutions Committee. He was a Life Fellow and served on the Legal Forms Committee and the Business Law section of the State Bar of Texas. Curry was also a founding member of the Texas Association of Bank Counsel and served two terms as Director. He was a member of the the U.S. Court of Appeals Northern District of Texas. Curry was Of Counsel for Bonds Ellis Eppich Schafer Jones law firm.

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Portrait of Tom Thomas in a brown cowboy hat

Tom Thomas

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Tom Thomas passed away on Oct. 31, 2020. Thomas graduated from Texas Law in 1966. Thomas’s skill landed him in Forbes magazine by winning the landmark case of Farah Manufacturing v. State National Bank of El Paso in which, for the first time, tort claims were successfully applied to oppressive lending practices. That case sealed his status as one of the premier trial attorneys in the country. Memorials can be made to DFW Pug Rescue of Dallas.

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Hon. Reagan Helm

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Hon. Reagan Cartwright Helm died peacefully on Aug. 24, 2020, surrounded by his loving family and caregivers at their family cabin in Estes Park, Colorado. Helm was a double Longhorn. After graduating from Texas Law, he entered the FBI and served in Denver and New York City. Helm then owned and operated the first BMW dealership in Houston, where he won several BMW North America Dealer of the Year Awards. He went on to own Galleria Area Ford. In 1994, Helms was elected Judge of Harris County Criminal Court #1, where he served until is retirement in 2010. Those wishing to make a contribution in Helm’s memory may donate to St. John’s School or The Rocky Mountain Conservancy in Estes Park, CO.

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C. Fielding Early, Jr.

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C. Fielding Early Jr. passed away Aug. 7, 2020. He was a double Longhorn, earning his undergraduate and law degrees from The University of Texas at Ausin. Fielding worked at Texaco in Houston and several state agencies in Austin. He loved to travel and spending time on the family ranch in Brownwood, TX. Those who wish to leave a remembrance of Fielding or express condolences are encouraged to do so at the link below.

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Dudley Oldham

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Dudley Oldham of Houston was selected as one of four recipients of the 2020 Texas Bar Foundation’s Outstanding 50 Year Lawyer Award. The award recognizes attorneys whose practice has spanned 50 years or more and who adhere to the highest principles and traditions of the legal profession and service to the public. Over the 50+ years of his litigation-centered law and arbitration practice with at Norton Rose Fulbright US LLP, Oldham was lead counsel in many domestic and international cases. The Bar Foundation commissioned an oral history to recognize and preserve the accomplishments of Oldham’s legal career. He is now a retired partner of his firm and resides in Houston with his wife of 55 years, Judy.

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