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In Memoriam 2022

Lawrence Alan Beck

Lawrence Alan Beck died in March at the age of 71. Beck was a lifelong resident of San Antonio and a graduate of Alamo Heights High School. He received his undergraduate degree from the University of Virginia and his law degree from The University of Texas. He practiced law with his father, Marvin Beck, in the law firm of Beck and Beck PC in San Antonio, with an emphasis on commercial litigation. Beck was board certified in both business and consumer bankruptcy law.

Judge Solomon Casseb III

Judge Solomon John Casseb, III died in December at the age of 74. Casseb was a graduate of Lee High School. He received his undergraduate degree from St. Mary’s University and his law degree from The University of Texas. He practiced law with Jim Pearl for many years. Governor Rick Perry appointed Casseb to the 288th Judicial District Court in 2008, and he served for more than ten years. Following his service as a district court judge, he continued to serve as a visiting judge, arbitrator, and mediator.

Judge Solomon Casseb III

On December 7, 2022, Bexar County lost a pillar of our legal community: Judge Solomon Casseb III passed away after a short and unexpected illness. Judge Casseb was a wise servant- jurist, a mentor to young lawyers, one of the best mediators in San Antonio, and a noble family law lawyer. In addition to a stellar career, Judge Casseb was a dedicated father, grandfather, and husband. He loved to take care of his three daughters and his six grandkids--from washing and gassing up their cars to being involved in their lives and helping them through major life decisions. They could always count on him. And most of all, Judge Casseb loved his wife of fifty years, Celeste. They were inseparable and he treasured his time with her. He was proud of his legal career and also loved music. He was an accomplished drummer in rock bands, from high school until recently. He was especially proud to be the drummer for The Court Jesters, “San Antonio’s Band of Lawyers,” for over 15 years. Judge Casseb’s daughters shared what they learned most from their Dad: “Treat everyone with respect, and that means everyone, whether a stranger on the street, waitress at a restaurant, a client, or opposing counsel. Even if you don’t agree, you can still be respectful.”

- Joe Casseb and Judge Renée Yanta, on behalf of the Casseb Family

Allan DuBois

Allan K. Dubois died in January at the age of 76. The product of a military family that ultimately settled in San Antonio, Dubois attended Central Catholic High School and was Cadet Lieutenant Colonel of one of its two ROTC brigades. He attended The University of Texas on an ROTC scholarship. In one very busy year, 1967, Dubois graduated from college, entered law school, and married. He received his law degree from The University of Texas in 1970. Following a stint on the East Coast, Dubois and his family returned to San Antonio. He was a civil trial attorney with the firm of Lang, Ladon, Green, Coghlan & Fisher for twentyfive years. Dubois served the legal community in many capacities, including as President of SABA and of the State Bar of Texas.

Allan K. Dubois

In the early 1990s, Sue Hall walked into my office to tell me about Allan DuBois’ donation to a Bexar County Women’s Bar fundraiser. During the conversation, Sue described Allan as “the nicest man she knew.” For three decades, I joined Allan and Pam DuBois at many San Antonio Bar and State Bar activities where one theme remained constant: “Allan DuBois was the nicest man I knew.” But Allan was not just nice—he was selfless and humble. Allan only wanted to serve and serve he did—always with Pam at his side. Allan’s commitment to others pervaded his legal career and made him an outstanding trial attorney. When Allan was sworn in as President of the State Bar of Texas, his entire family was there. His grandchildren led the pledge of allegiance, and Maddy, then a very young granddaughter, sang the national anthem. “Surrounded by family” was Allan’s life. Every Texas attorney knows Allan’s recovery story and message of hope. Allan made it “ok” for Texas attorneys to not only seek help; but also, to talk about their recovery experiences so that others would seek help. Reflecting on the life of Allan DuBois, my tears are met with another theme—Allan made me a better person. I am sure that this belief is shared by every Texas attorney and many others in the communities he served.

- Sara Dysart

Warner Frederick Fassnidge

Warner Frederick Fassnidge died in October at the age of 85. The San Antonio native was reared in the Woodlawn Lake area of San Antonio and graduated from Thomas Jefferson High School. He received his undergraduate degree from Trinity University and his law degree from The University of Texas. He served as a real estate attorney for the City of San Antonio and taught Business and Real Property Law at UTSA.

Kermit W. Fox Jr.

Kermit W. Fox Jr. died in December at the age of 80. The Austin native received his law degree from The University of Texas in 1970. He was in private practice in San Antonio for thirty years.

Judge Alvaro T. Garza

Judge Alvaro T. Garza died in July at the age of 81. The Laredo native received his undergraduate degree from The University of Texas and his law degree from St. Mary’s University. He was among the first attorneys with the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund and later served as a District Director of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Subsequently, Garza had a private law practice in Laredo prior to his appointment in 1994 by President Clinton as a Federal Administrative Law Judge.

Michael Ray Hedges

Michael Ray Hedges died in October at the age of 68. Hedges grew up on a cotton farm between Springlake and Olton, Texas. He graduated with honors from Texas A&M University (1976) and received his law degree from Baylor University School of Law (1979). He was a longtime civil litigator with the firm of Goode, Casseb, Jones, Riklin, Choate & Watson and a member of the American Board of Trial Attorneys.

A. L. Hernden

A. L. Hernden died in March at the age of 83. Born in San Antonio, A.L. attended Central Catholic High School, St. Mary’s University, and St. Mary’s University Law School. He was a fearless, tireless, and imaginative lawyer with a sense of humor. The local bar is populated by many who went to law school under his tutelage.

Frank Young Hill, Jr.

Frank Young Hill, Jr. died in April at the age of 90. The Laredo native was a thirdgeneration Texas attorney. He was the grandson of Lucius David Hill, whom President Woodrow Wilson had appointed as International Boundary Commissioner in 1917 to oversee the U.S./ Mexico border. Hill received his undergraduate degree from the University of the South in Sewanee (1953) and his law degree from St. Mary’s University School of Law (1959). Hill served in the United States Air Force as an Intelligence Officer during the Korean War. Following law school, he served as an Assistant Criminal Defense Attorney in Bexar County and later as briefing attorney for the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals. Hill practiced law for nearly fifty years in the San Antonio/Hill Country area.

Roger D. Jones

Roger D. Jones died in March. The Ohio native received his law degree from the University of Toledo in 1976. After law school, he joined the United States Army and was stationed at Fort Hood. Upon separation from the Army, he entered the private practice of law in San Antonio.

Royal W. King, Jr.

Royal W. King, Jr. died in February at the age of 97. He was a graduate of Thomas Jefferson High School and The University of Texas. He received his law degree from St. Mary’s University School of Law. King served in the Pacific Theatre during the Second World War. As an attorney he worked in the oil and gas and banking industries.

Douglas Wayne Sanders

Douglas Wayne Sanders died in December at the age of 66. Sanders was born in Baytown. Sanders was an honors graduate of both The University of Texas (1978) and Bates Law School at the University of Houston (1981). In the early 1990’s Sanders became a commercial litigator with the San Antonio law firm Oppenheimer, Blend, Harrison & Tate. He retired from the firm in 2005. In more recent years, Sanders was in private practice in Horseshoe Bay and embarked upon a political career which included service as Chairman of the Llano County Republican Party.

Leonard Wayne Scott

Leonard Wayne Scott

Leonard Wayne Scott died in September at the age of 83. Scott was raised in Lockhart. He attended Southwest State Teachers College, earning both undergraduate and graduate degrees in American Studies. He received his law degree from The University of Texas. He entered the practice of law in 1965 with the Sheehy and Lovelace firm in Waco, while also teaching as an associate professor at Baylor University School of Law. In 1971, Scott accepted a position as a full professor with St Mary’s University School of Law and in 2021 received the fifty-year pin for his service. Board certified in civil appellate law, Scott was the Editor of the Texas Lawyer’s Weekly Digest and its successor the Texas Lawyer’s Civil Digest, for more than thirty years. He was a driving force in the creation of the External Advocacy Program at St. Mary’s University.

L. Wayne Scott was a lawyer’s lawyer. The highly respected St. Mary’s Law Professor always made time for his students and poured his passion for the law into everything he did. His fifty-plus years of experience in the field of conflict resolution, and as Founder and Director of Conflict Resolution Studies at St. Mary’s Law, greatly contributed to his ability to provide first-hand experience to his students, and enriched their understanding of ADR, negotiations, evidence, Texas Civil Procedure, Federal Courts, and Appellate Practice. His tenure at St. Mary’s Law was nothing short of extraordinary and his legacy includes his influence over multiple generations of law students and his role in creating the Conflict Resolution Institute. He also served as the primary architect of St. Mary’s Law’s external Advocacy Program whose National ADR team is currently ranked #14 by U.S. News World Report and #11 by the ABA. His leadership helped create one of the top advocacy programs in the country.

- Dan Naranjo

Robert Carlyle Scott

Robert Carlyle Scott died in August at the age of 76. He received his law degree from The University of Texas in 1973. Scott devoted much of his time to nonprofit organizations and his church. He led the building committee that planned the move of Alamo Heights United Methodist Church from its old location on Broadway to its current home on Basse Road.

North Ottis West

North O. West died in January at the age of 81. West was born in San Antonio on Veterans’ Day. He was a 1959 graduate of Harlandale High School. He was a member of the Corps of Cadets at Texas A&M University, from which he graduated in 1963. He received his law degree from St. Mary’s University in 1966. He served in the United States Army from 1966 to 1968 as a Military Intelligence Officer during the Vietnam conflict. Following military service, he joined his father’s law practice, West & West, Attorneys, where he remained until his death.

North Ottis West

North Ottis West was destined to be a great lawyer. His legal roots started long before he became an attorney. His grandfather Ancil Sylvanis West (licensed 1924) was Dean of the San Antonio Public School of Law whose facilities and books would help start St. Mary’s School of Law. North’s father Ottis Ancil West (licensed in 1934) was the youngest Bexar County Justice of the Peace (age 26), and while he was away during WWII, Ottis’s wife Laverna served his term and became the first female Justice of the Peace in Bexar County, Texas. After being a member of the Corps of Cadets, and graduating from Texas A&M University and St. Mary’s School of Law, North served from 1966-1968 in Vietnam as an Intelligence Officer. Thereafter North came home in 1968 to join West & West Attorneys with his father. Named after the direction on a compass, North guided generations of San Antonio families during his fifty-five years of practice. He served as general counsel for Bexar County Appraisal District, Bexar Metropolitan Water District (thirty years) and Harlandale ISD (forty years). Whether you were rich or poor, your case big or small, North treated each with kindness and care. If you knew North, you knew how smart and gifted he was and what a brilliant mind he had. There will never be another North O. West. An inveterate storyteller, clients “in the know” would schedule an appointment for two hours: the first hour discussing the legal issue and the second hour listening as North would say: “Let me tell you a quick story.” If it involved Aggies, it would be longer and your bill would have a line item “discounted for stories.” North strived, and succeeded, to be a man of integrity in all areas of his life. He believed in being honest and loyal in all matters. This was especially true of the “troops” who were by his side for over twenty years, with some serving for more than fifty years, including his son and daughter. A true keeper of the spirit as an Aggie, attorney, and family man, he will be missed. WHOOP! WHOOP!

- Jennifer West, Daughter Dean Greer, Friend

John F. Younger, Jr.

John F. Younger, Jr. died in August at the age of 82. Younger was raised in Midland and graduated from Midland High School. He received his undergraduate degree from Yale University in 1963 and his law degree from The University of Texas in 1966. He served with the United States Marine Corps from 1967-1969. Younger was Board Certified in Personal Injury Trial Law, a Life Fellow of the Texas Trial Lawyers Association, and a member of the American Board of Trial Advocates.

Robert E. Zepeda

Robert E. Zepeda died in March at the age of 72. The San Antonio native graduated from Fox Tech High School in 1968. He attended St. Philips College and was its first Latino Student Body President. At St. Philips, Zepeda enrolled in a class taught by Frank Madla, a longtime Democratic member of both the Texas House and the Texas Senate. With encouragement from Madla and others, Zepeda attended The University of Texas, from which he graduated in 1973 and St. Mary’s University School of Law, from which he graduated in 1976. Zepeda’s legal career spanned forty-six years.

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