SCHOOL OF LAW

UT Law Graduate Named to Texas Supreme Court

AUSTIN, TEXAS - Xavier Rodriguez, a 1987 graduate of the University of Texas School of Law, was appointed to the Texas Supreme Court by Gov. Rick Perry on Tuesday. Rodriguez, a 39-year-old labor and employment lawyer from San Antonio, fills the vacancy created after Greg Abbott resigned to run for lieutenant governor.

Rodriguez is the second UT Law grad nominated to the high court this year, only five months after the appointment of Wallace Jefferson, a 1988 UT Law graduate and the first African-American justice to serve on the Texas Supreme Court. With Justice Albert Gonzales' resignation earlier this year to serve as special counsel to President George W. Bush, Rodriguez will be the only Hispanic member of the court.

"We are delighted that Governor Perry appointed Xavier Rodriguez to the Texas Supreme Court. Xavier will make an excellent justice and, of course, we're delighted that he went to the University of Texas School of Law," said Dean Bill Powers of the UT School of Law.

Rodriguez is a partner in the San Antonio law firm of Fulbright & Jaworski and practices in the areas of labor and employment law and general litigation. A first-generation Mexican-American, he also has a bachelor's degree from Harvard University and a master's degree from UT's LBJ School of Public Affairs.

Rodriguez is a member of the American Bar Association, the State Bar of Texas, and the San Antonio Bar Association. He holds leadership positions with the State Bar of Texas and is an alumnus of the Leadership San Antonio program. He also serves as Vice Chair of the State Board of Educator Certification, and is Chair of the Standing Committee on Legal Assistants for the State Bar. He is a contributor to the 2000 cumulative supplement of BNA's Employment Discrimination Law and co-author of "Written Employment Contracts," published in Texas Employment.

Rodriguez will be up for election to the court next year. The Texas Supreme Court begins its 2001-02 term next week.

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UT Law grad first African-American on Texas Supreme Court