Three Texas Law alumni have been recognized by the Texas Bar Foundation for exemplifying the highest standards of the legal profession. Senior Justice Debra Lehrmann ’82 of the Supreme Court of Texas has been selected for the 2025 Samuel Pessarra Outstanding Jurist Award. Andrew L. Kerr ’74 and Luther H. “Luke” Soules III ’67 are two of this year’s five recipients of the Outstanding 50-Year Lawyer Award.
“The Texas Bar Foundation awards showcase what a tremendous impact Texas Law alumni have on the legal profession, here in Texas and worldwide,” says Dean Bobby Chesney. “We are so proud of this year’s honorees and grateful for all they do to burnish the excellent reputation of our school!”
Samuel Pessarra Outstanding Jurist Award
The Samuel Pessarra Outstanding Jurist Award honors an active or retired federal or state judge with an exceptional reputation for competency, efficiency, and integrity. Justice Debra Lehrmann, the senior justice on the Supreme Court of Texas and the Court’s longest-serving woman justice in Texas history, is this year’s honoree. A trial judge in Tarrant County for 23 years prior to her 2010 appointment to the Supreme Court, she has served the bar in leadership capacities at both state and national levels. Lehrmann is past chair of the ABA Family Law Section, a commissioner on the Uniform Law Commission, and a member of the American Law Institute. She also was inaugural chair of the State Bar of Texas Child Protection Law Section and is past president of the Lochridge Inn of Court, an emeritus member of the Mahon Inn of Court, and a fellow of the American Bar Foundation, the Texas Bar Foundation, and the Tarrant County Bar Foundation.
Lehrmann has received numerous awards, including the University of Houston’s Justice Ruby Kless Sondock Lectureship in Legal Ethics Jurist-in-Residence, the Champion for Children Award, the Texas Women Lawyers Pathfinder Award, the Child Protection Law Section Founder’s Award, the Texas Bar Foundation’s recognition for Best Law Review Article, the CASA Scott Moore Award, and the Eva Barnes Award.
Outstanding 50-Year Lawyer Award
The Outstanding 50-Year Lawyer Award is given to attorneys whose practice has spanned a half century or more, recognizing their dedication to justice and adherence to the principles and traditions of the legal profession. Andrew Kerr and Luther H. “Luke” Soules III were nominated and selected for the award based on their outstanding contributions to the legal field and their service to the public.
Kerr began his legal career as a JAG officer in the U.S. Air Force, prosecuting and defending soldiers in court martial and administrative discharge actions, among his other duties. He spent two years at F.E. Warren Air Force Base in Cheyenne, Wyoming, followed by a three-year stint at Zweibrücken Air Base in Germany.
After leaving the Air Force in 1980, Kerr joined the Stubbeman, McRae, Sealy, Laughlin & Browder, Inc. in Midland. While there, he was elected to the board of the Texas Young Lawyers Association and served as secretary of the board. In 1985, he and his family moved to San Antonio where he continued his litigation practice and is currently with Clark Hill.
Kerr has served the legal profession in various roles, including director and administrative vice president of the Texas Association of Defense Counsel, chair and later trustee of the Fellows of the Texas Bar Foundation, director of the Texas Access to Justice Foundation, commissioner of the Texas Access to Justice Commission, president of the Texas Association of Bank Counsel, president of the San Antonio Bar Association, a director of the State Bar of Texas, and an active member of the State Bar of Texas Litigation Council.
Soules, meanwhile, began his 57-year career serving as the court-appointed law clerk to the Supreme Court of Texas Chief Justice Robert W. Calvert and then working as a business and commercial trial and appellate courtroom lawyer in San Antonio. He served as lead trial counsel in more than 100 jury cases and argued as lead appellate counsel in over 50 appellate court decisions.
His service to the courts and State Bar of Texas includes 30 years as a member of the Supreme Court of Texas Rules Advisory Committee, appointed successively by six chief justices, and as chair for 20 of those years. Soules chaired many state bar standing practice and ethics committees, including chair of the litigation section and on the State Bar of Texas Board of Directors. In 2001, The Luther “Luke” H. Soules III Award for Outstanding Service to the Practice of Law was established in his honor. The Litigation Section presents the award annually to a Texas lawyer who “embodies excellence in the practice of the law and exemplary service to the state bar.”
After dedicating more than 6,000 hours to pro bono legal services over many years, Soules now focuses on pro bono defense in foreclosure and eviction cases, continuing his service despite being legally blind.