Legal scholar, able practitioner at law, former Associate Justice and now Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Texas, and Chairman of the Board of Visitors of the University of Texas School of Law, he is respected for the thoughtful and careful analysis of his well reasoned opinions. As the Chief Justice of a state court, which is daily, beset with a relentless pressure of matters in dispute, he continues to inspire his colleagues to work effectively and efficiently towards a fair and just resolution of conflicts of ever increasingly complexity. To this capable and energetic Chief Justice, to this competent legal scholar, to this good friend, we are pleased to confer the degree of Doctor of Laws, honoris causa.