Breaking New Ground

Finding Joy (and Keeping It) in the Practice of Law

BY LEE SMITH

Recently, I was asked by a friend: “Why do you still love being a lawyer?” I pointed out that question was presumptuous, but in truth, I do still love being a lawyer. I certainly did not start out in a family of well-educated lawyers like many successful lawyers of my generation did. I grew up in one of the poor historic neighborhoods in South Dallas, at a time when in Dallas there was a very strict racial divide. My parents were wonderful, loving people who tried in every way possible to give me everything they could. I attended public schools in my neighborhood until I was accepted to and graduated from St. Mark’s Preparatory School of Dallas. I was St. Mark’s first Black student graduate. I earned a Baccalaureate degree at Harvard University in 1969 and served as the first Black managing editor of the Harvard Yearbook. I then was accepted to the University of Washington Law School, where I earned a JD. I spearheaded litigation against the Washington State Bar Association that led to an exponential increase in Black lawyers being eligible to practice in Washington state. Of that I am very proud.

Lee Smith covering the 1967 Dow Chemical sit-in protest in Harvard’s Mallinckrodt Hall

A young Smith as a student activist and managing editor of Harvard Yearbook in 1969

I spearheaded litigation against the Washington State Bar Association that lead to an exponential increase in Black lawyers being eligible to practice in Washington state. Of that I am very proud.

I returned to Texas and was appointed chief regional civil rights attorney for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services enforcing civil laws, important laws that helped many economically disadvantaged people to get what they had an absolute right to receive. Then, I led a litigation team that filed suit against The University of Texas and Texas A&M to strike down the Texas Constitutional provisions that declared education related to many services as separate but equal. This directly led to a portion of the multi-billion-dollar Permanent University Fund to be perpetually allocated to the historically Black college and university (HBCU) then called Prairie View A&M University. Even though the suit was against The University of Texas as a defendant and I was representing the plaintiffs, I guess things turned out OK because I was then offered a job with The University of Texas, where I spent the next 31 years in the legal department, retiring as associate vice president for business affairs and associate vice president for legal affairs in 2017.

Recently, St. Mark’s declared my name as the ongoing name of its prestigious award: the “St. Mark’s School for Texas Lee. S. Smith ’65 Courage and Honor Distinguished Alumni Award. What I was able to do because I became a lawyer, probably had a lot to do with why they gave me that honor. Because I developed extensive knowledge and experience in information technology systems, security, and forensics, my lifelong passion as a photographer and my skill as a lawyer are combined. What I mean by this is that I know what to do to protect my work and I know what to do to help artists and others who create text or images or other creative works to protect their work. That gives me a great deal of satisfaction. Some of my work is displayed at my website , TravelerSmith (imagesofmorocco. com), and lawyers in Austin display my work even though the framed art has nothing to do with law practice. Also, through the Harvard Hutchins Center for African and Afro American Research and Harvard Archives, I continue to be a resource for documenting the history and origins of black studies at Harvard.

Smith at his induction to the alumni wall of honor at James Madison High School, the segregated Black high school in Dallas he attended before he integrated to St. Mark’s Preparatory School.

I love what I do. I have always loved what I do. I love it even more now as I approach my 50th year as a licensed attorney. With that said, frankly the most amazing thing about being a lawyer is all the fascinating people who seem to literally fall out of the stars. Not just the wealthy and powerful, of whom there are many in Austin now; but the humble and the hard-working, who with the help of a seasoned attorney can achieve so much more than they likely could ever hope to accomplish alone. Helping others, a hand up when they need it, without any expectation of return, is something that richly rewards any lawyer who gives of his time and resources. To me, that kind of giving is the purest form of joy. So yes, at the ripe age of 75, licensed as an attorney since 1974, I still love being a lawyer. The feeling grows. AL

The most amazing thing about being a lawyer is all the fascinating people who seem to literally fall out of the stars. Not just the wealthy and powerful, of whom there are many in Austin now; but the humble and the hard-working, who with the help of a seasoned attorney can achieve so much more than they likely could ever hope to accomplish alone.

Smith sharing his photo of a young Guatemalan girl, Gabrielle, with her mother, Ruth, and other Mayan women in Antigua, Guatemala

Lee Smith is a University of Washington Law School graduate with an undergraduate degree from Harvard University. He was the first Black managing editor of the Harvard Yearbook. He retired from The University of Texas as associate vice president for business affairs and legal affairs.