Justice Wainwright to step down from Texas Supreme Court at end of month

Texas Supreme Court Justice Dale Wainwright has announced he will resign his seat on the court to join an Austin law firm.

In an announcement Wednesday, Wainwright stated he will step down on Sept. 30 and will join Bracewell & Guiliani LLP's Austin office.

“We are losing a great friend,” Chief Justice Wallace B. Jefferson said. “Dale’s scholarship, his attention to the administration of justice and his dedication to the Court are all part of a legacy that will long outlive his years of service.”

Gov. Rick Perry will appoint a replacement. It is too close to the November election to name a replacement in time for this year's ballot, so the position will be up for grabs in 2014.

Before his election to the Texas Supreme Court in November 2002, Wainwright served almost four years as a Harris County district court judge after private practice with the Houston offices of Haynes and Boone and Andrews Kurth law firms.

He is a graduate of the University of Chicago School of Law and earned his bachelor’s degree summa cum laude in economics from Howard University. While at Howard he studied for a semester at the London School of Economics.
“My service on the Court has been profoundly satisfying,” Wainwright said. “Over the last decade, I have worked with outstanding jurists at the Court in the development of the law and have made and solidified life-long friendships. I greatly enjoyed private practice, and it is time to return to it.”
Wainwright serves as trustee of the Center for American and International Law board and as an elected member of the American Law Institute.He and his wife, Debbie, live in Austin with their 15-year-old son. Their adult sons live in California and Austin.