Kirk Watson, the mayor of Austin and a former Texas state senator and gubernatorial appointee, shared words of wisdom from his long career as an attorney and public servant as he spoke at the 2024 Sunflower Ceremony on May 11, 2024.
“It’s a profound pride I have in the ideals of this profession and what I’ve always felt it meant to be a lawyer that I think most defines who I am,” said Watson in remarks delivered to the 423 Texas Law graduates and more than 4,000 guests in attendance, along with another 1,700 guests watching the ceremony live on YouTube. “A big part of the pride I have in being a lawyer comes from a sort of personal code or an articulation of ethics of what we should be and how we should do things.”
Watson has been immersed in public policy, spanning local and state government in Texas, for three decades. He first was elected mayor in 1997 and served two consecutive terms before being elected to the Texas Senate. Watson served 13 years in that role, where his leadership advanced causes including education, transportation, and government transparency. Among his numerous health care initiatives, he led the development of the Dell Medical School at The University of Texas at Austin. Watson’s long-held commitment to the state of Texas was exemplified in 2019 when his peers elected him president pro tempore of the Texas Senate. He has been honored with UT-Austin’s prestigious President’s Citation.
Dean Bobby Chesney praised Mayor Watson when announcing him as this year’s speaker. “I cannot think of a finer role model for public service, civil discourse, and hard work on behalf of all Texans,” Chesney said.
Watson’s charge to the graduates was simple and direct. “My request of you is to feel it in your guts that this is more than a degree; it’s a responsibility,” he said. “The system, including one that must evolve because society evolves, depends on you.”
A full transcript of Watson’s remarks can be viewed below the video of his speech.
Dean, Graduates, Distinguished Faculty, Families and Friends—
I’m really honored to be speaking today at this pretty great moment for you folks.
The way I see it, being a lawyer is likely the most defining part of who I am. I’m a husband, a father, and now a grandfather. I hold a religious faith. I survived cancer when I was a young lawyer. And I’ve held elective offices that carry fancy titles I’m proud of.
But it’s a profound pride I have in the ideals of this profession and what I’ve always felt it meant to BE a lawyer that I think most defines who I am.
It’s from that perspective that I say—with respect, admiration, and not just a little bit of envy for you commencing this next part of your lives—congratulations. You should be so excited about what you’ve achieved.
My deepest hope for you is that decades from now your pride lets you say that you’re defined by what it has meant to be a lawyer.
To some degree I was likely always destined to be a lawyer, even though we didn’t have any lawyers in our family. In fact, my dad likely set me on this course at a very young age. I was in the 2nd or 3rd grade—back then, they gave you grades for conduct, and if you talked to much, you got a lower grade. I got a lower grade. I was maybe 8 or 9 years old when my old man said to me, “Son, we need to figure out a way for you to make a living with that mouth of yours, otherwise it’s just going to get you in trouble.”
I admit a big part of the pride I have in being a lawyer comes from a sort of personal code or an articulation of ethics of what we should be and how we should do things. When I was in your position, I found strength in becoming part of a profession that was defined by precedent and not politics; that celebrated the strength—and yes, in some cases, the elasticity–of things like the Constitution to protect and assure rights over fear; and that relied on integrity, collaboration and problem solving, even in an adversary system, instead of burning the village in the name of saving it.
My generation inherited something pretty special. Things were different than before, sure. Society moves on. But lawyers had been and were guardians—of people AND the system. That sounds cliché, and I guess it is. But that doesn’t mean it wasn’t and isn’t truth. Including today.
As a profession, we had been and have been embraced—we are and were embedded in society—we were looked to as the arbiters, the holder of the rules, the keeper of values. So much so that the people essentially gave us a monopoly over the third branch of government. Put us in control of the judiciary and, consequently, over the balance of our democratic institutions. We were expected—and lawyers tended to accept the responsibility—of public service because we held a special training, knowledge and place.
And I don’t think this is just an old man being sentimental. People feel that today. Most people. They understand we can’t be functional without the rule of law. We want justice—or say we do. Our basic empathy—the fundamental empathy we feel as a person—demands equity and equality. We dream of freedom and we celebrate human rights.
Doing all of this well—functioning in a way that builds hope, meets dreams, values both the person and all of the people living together—is essentially a fundamental human desire.
And the law and lawyers are in the center of where it all seems to come together. The generosity of the laws and a system created with the intention of so much good.
There’s value that comes from certainty of the law. There’s protection in the cloak of a rule. Dr. King said, that “the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice”. There’s hope found in being a champion of the law so that you help assure that justice sooner and better.
We can debate and discuss what you’re being handed and how healthy the system and the profession is today. And depending on my mood, I can argue strongly both good and bad.
But this time today, well, that’s all about the future. Let’s focus on just that—the future. In 43 years, it will be 2067. I use that future date because, while it’s hard to visualize, it’s easier if you think about the fact that I’ve been a lawyer for 43 years.
You will serve us during that increment of time. You are the people who will carry the system into the last third of the 21st century. It will require work. We know there will be changes, some impossible to predict that will require the role of law to also change. How fast will those changes come? What will you hand off? What will being a lawyer mean?
My request of you is to feel it in your guts that this is more than a degree; it’s a responsibility. The system, including one that must evolve because society evolves, depends on you. In fact, we can’t do the next generation of laws, the practice of law, the role of lawyers in society, government and the success of our country, state and city without you.
Look for—seek out—your role, and make it meaningful—how you practice, public service, the day-to-day example and actions in everyday life.
This pretty great institution called the University of Texas has a phrase that only the flagship in the great state of Texas could get away with saying, “What starts here changes the world.”
But, if you really accept your responsibility, if you set the values, if you become the guardians our society needs—what starts here with you today will be made better—again for individuals and our society—by assuring greater justice, happiness and a system that thrives.
Well, I guess I’ve gone to preaching—maybe I could have done that with this mouth, too.
I pray for your happiness and success. God Bless You. Good luck.