ADELFA CALLEJO
JUNE 10, 1923 - JANUARY 25, 2014

Adelfa Callejo was the first Hispanic to graduate from Southern Methodist University School of Law and was one of the first Hispanic women in the country to receive a law degree. She earned a reputation throughout Texas as a tireless advocate for equality of the underprivileged. A leader of the Hispanic legal community, she served on the State Bar of Texas Board of Directors and as past regional president of the Hispanic National Bar Association, the Mexican American Bar Association of Dallas, and the Dallas County Criminal Bar Association. Callejo won countless honors and awards throughout her career, including the Sandra Day O’Connor Award from the Texas Center for Legal Ethics and Professionalism (now called the Texas Center for Legal Ethics). The award celebrated the accomplishments of outstanding women lawyers who have not only reached a level of professional excellence in their field but also actively made the way easier for future women in the profession.

GIBSON GAYLE JR.
OCTOBER 15, 1926 - SEPTEMBER 16, 2016

Gibson Gayle Jr. spent his legal career at Norton Rose Fulbright (then Fulbright, Crooker, Freeman and Bates and previously Fulbright & Jaworski) in Houston as an associate, partner, managing partner, executive committee chairman, and of counsel from 1950 to 2016. After serving on the State Bar of Texas Board of Directors and as vice president, Gayle became president of the State Bar in 1976. As president, he presided over the opening of the Texas Law Center. In addition to receiving numerous professional honors throughout his career, Gayle was recognized by the State Bar for his more than 50 years of outstanding service to his profession, to his fellow attorneys, and to the state of Texas.

RAUL A. GONZALEZ JR.
MARCH 20, 1940 -

Raul A. Gonzalez Jr. was the first Hispanic appointed or elected to statewide office in Texas. Before he was appointed to the Supreme Court of Texas by Gov. Mark White in 1984, Gonzalez sat for the 13th Court of Appeals and the 103rd District Court. He served on the Supreme Court of Texas until 1998. Gonzalez received his JD from the University of Houston College of Law in 1966, graduated from the National Judicial College in Reno, Nevada, and earned a Master of Laws in judicial process from the University of Virginia School of Law in 1986. He is a recipient of the prestigious St. Thomas More Society Lifetime Achievement Award from the St. Thomas More Society of Dallas and was granted an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters from St. Edwards University.

DAVID G. HALL
NOVEMBER 10, 1941 - OCTOBER 11, 2023

David G. Hall served as the executive director of Texas RioGrande Legal Aid (formerly Texas Rural Legal Aid), a nonprofit organization specializing in legal services to indigent Texas residents, for more than four decades. He served on several State Bar of Texas committees and served on the board of the Texas Access to Justice Commission. Prior to joining Texas RioGrande Legal Aid in 1975, Hall was the director of the American Civil Liberties Union Foundation and a staff attorney with the United Farm Workers Organizing Committee, AFL­-CIO. 

JAMES H. “BLACKIE” HOLMES III
SEPTEMBER 10, 1935 - OCTOBER 8, 2014

James H. “Blackie” Holmes III began his civil practice with the Dallas firm Burford and Ryburn, where he remained his entire 52-year career. Holmes co-authored the Texas Lawyer’s Creed, which inspires attorneys to adhere to the highest principles of professionalism. Holmes won numerous honors and awards, including the prestigious Lola Wright Foundation Award from the Texas Bar Foundation. He also served as mayor of the city of University Park.

LLOYD P. LOCHRIDGE JR.
FEBRUARY 3, 1918 - APRIL 13, 2021

Lloyd P. Lochridge Jr. practiced law in Austin with McGinnis, Lochridge & Kilgore, where he was a member since 1959. He had a long record of service to the State Bar of Texas, including serving as the president of the State Bar from 1974 to 1975. Prior to moving to Austin, Lochridge practiced in Mission and throughout the Lower Rio Grande Valley. He served in the U.S. Navy from 1941 to 1945. He is a graduate of Princeton University and Harvard Law School.

KLEBER C. MILLER
AUGUST 11, 1924 -

Kleber C. Miller is an attorney with Lacy Malone Ryder & Menefee in Fort Worth. He was elected chair of the State Bar of Texas Board of Directors in 1967. While serving as chair, Miller guided the State Bar through Sunset Review and such controversial issues as legal specialization and appointment of lay members to the board. Miller received the Texas Bar Foundation Outstanding 50-Year Lawyer Award in 2005.

JUDGE MORRIS L. OVERSTREET
JULY 10, 1950 - MARCH 3, 2024

Judge Morris L. Overstreet was the first African American elected to a statewide office in the state of Texas. He served on the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals from 1990 to 1998. Prior to taking the bench, Overstreet was a prosecutor for the 47th Judicial District in Amarillo, where he advanced to first assistant district attorney. In 1999, Overstreet became a certified contract adviser with the National Football League Players Association and negotiated contracts between players and NFL teams. Overstreet served as the presiding judge of the City of Prairie View Municipal Court.

JOE H. REYNOLDS
NOVEMBER 21, 1921 - DECEMBER 18, 2009

Joe H. Reynolds, a highly respected Houston litigator, began his practice in 1947. While attending law school at Baylor University, he volunteered for the U.S. Marine Corps and fought in two of the fiercest battles ever fought by the Marines: the Battle of Iwo Jima (World War II) and the Battle of Chosin Reservoir (Korean War.) In addition to his numerous professional accomplishments, Reynolds served on the Texas A&M University System Board of Regents for 16 years.  

JAMES B. SALES
AUGUST 24, 1934 - FEBRUARY 11, 2023

James B. Sales was a trial lawyer with Fulbright, Crooker, Freeman and Jaworski, became a partner in Fulbright & Jaworski in 1971, served as head of the firm’s litigation department from 1982 to 2000, and then served as of counsel to Norton Rose Fulbright. He graduated from the University of Texas in 1955, following which he was commissioned a second lieutenant in the USMC. Sales graduated from the University of Texas School of Law in 1960. He served as president of the Houston Bar Association and president of the State Bar of Texas from 1988 to 1989. Sales served as chair of the Texas Supreme Court Access to Justice Commission from 2003 to 2009.

CHARLES L. SMITH
JUNE 7, 1931 -

Charles L. Smith, a retired partner in Jackson Walker, has more than 60 years of litigation experience. He served as both chair of the State Bar of Texas Board of Directors and president of the State Bar of Texas (1985-1986) and was instrumental in implementing the IOLTA program and mandatory continuing legal education. Smith was the 2001 recipient of the prestigious Lola Wright Foundation Award by the Texas Bar Foundation for Outstanding Public Service in the Enhancement of Legal Ethics in Texas.

SARAH R. WEDDINGTON
FEBRUARY 5, 1945 - DECEMBER 26, 2021

Sarah R. Weddington, at the age of 26, argued the landmark U.S. Supreme Court case Roe v. Wade, which she ultimately won. She was elected to the Texas House of Representatives in 1972 and was the first woman elected to represent Austin in that capacity. Weddington was the first woman appointed as general counsel to the U.S. Department of Agriculture in 1977. From 1978 to 1981, Weddington was special White House adviser to President Jimmy Carter. She was an adjunct professor at the University of Texas and a well-known author and lecturer.

To read more about the Legal Legends series, read the Texas Bar Journal article [PDF].

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