AUSTIN, Texas — After forty-six years of teaching law, John F. Sutton, Jr., UT Law class of 1941 and the A.W. Walker Centennial Chair Emeritus for The University of Texas at Austin School of Law, will retire after teaching his last class on Wed., Dec. 3. His final class - one on Professional Responsibility, will be held from 10:30 a.m. to 11: 20 a.m. in Room 2. 124 of the Law School.
A former dean of the Law School, Professor Sutton taught in the areas of professional responsibility and evidence. He is co-author of Cases and Materials on Professional Responsibility (West, 1989) and Cases and Materials on Evidence (West, 8th ed., 1996). He is a member of the standing committees of the State Bar of Texas on Administration of Rules of Evidence and the Texas Disciplinary Rules of Professional Conduct. In 1983 he was elected as a Fellow of the American Bar Foundation, the research affiliate of the American Bar Association. Membership at the time was limited to one-third of one percent of the lawyer population of each of 52 U.S. jurisdictions. He is a Life Fellow of the Texas Bar Association, a member of Order of the Coif, and a recipient of the teaching excellence award at the Law School.
"For nearly a half century, John brought to the law school his wisdom, conscientious scholarship, and compassion. He served ably as a dean and professor. His kind presence will be missed by our faculty and our administrators. We wish him the best," said UT Law Dean Bill Powers.
A 1941 graduate of the Law School, Sutton served in private practice in both San Angelo and San Antonio. During World War II (1942-1945) he served as a special agent for the Federal Bureau of Investigation, U.S. Department of Justice. He joined the Law School faculty in 1957 making his reputation in evidence, legal ethics and torts. He was one of the co-drafters of the American Bar Association's Code of Professional Responsibility.
Sutton served as dean of the Law School for one five-year term from 1979 to 1984 during which the Law School improved its physical plant, a program that had been initiated by his predecessor, UT Law Professor Ernest E. Smith. When Sutton resigned and returned to full-time teaching, then UT-Austin President Peter T. Flawn said, "Dean Sutton has brought to the Law School a steady hand and great wisdom in the conduct of its affairs. We will miss his leadership."
Sutton, for his part, commented at the time, "I am proud of the progress the Law School has made during the time I have been privileged to serve as its dean. The Law School faculty is outstanding; the faculty members are working together harmoniously for the good of the Law School."