FROM THE EDITOR

By RYAN J. MAIERSON Baker Botts L.L.P.

Aging Gracefully

By the time you’ve reached this page, you’ve already seen the cover of the magazine and the President’s Message from Mike Connelly heralding the anniversary of The Houston Lawyer. As Mike notes, it is only appropriate at the passing of a milestone such as this to pause
and reflect, not just on this magazine’s notable history but also on who we were—and who
we have become—as lawyers and as people.
In this issue, we have striven to give our readers a wealth of perspectives on where our community was when this publication was launched in 1963 and how our community has evolved in the intervening 40 years. Professor Edieth Wu of the Thurgood Marshall School of Law, Sheila Hansel of the South Texas College of Law and Leah Gross of the University of Houston Law Center delve into the history of their institutions and tell us with remarkable detail about academics and student life at each of Houston’s three area law schools in 1963. Ann Zeigler interviewed a group of lawyers who were practicing law in Houston in 1963 and provides us with their interesting recollections of the Houston bar 40 years ago.
Eric Fredrickson retells the compelling history of the integration of the Houston Independent School District based on interviews with the lawyers who played a role in the desegregation lawsuits and a review of the newspaper accounts of the time. Harris County District Clerk Charles Bacarisse writes about his office’s important efforts to preserve our rich legal past through electronic document preservation.
Looking beyond our own community, Mark Lambert of the South Texas College of Law recounts the fascinating, little-known history of the Trinity University School of Law, one of the state’s first law schools and the only one that focused on teaching the principles of Hispanic law.
In addition to exploring the evolution of the Houston bar community, we also felt it appropriate—for the first time since our 25th anniversary—to recap the history of the magazine itself. Tara Shockley, the managing editor of The Houston Lawyer and the communications director of the HBA, has provided an insightful look back at the evolution of this magazine. This is a good occasion to thank Tara for another anniversary: 23 years of her tireless efforts on behalf of this publication and the HBA.
This special anniversary belongs not just to this magazine—it belongs to all of the members of the Houston Bar Association. We hope you enjoy it.

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