Former Texas Supreme Court Justice Eva Guzman ’89, who received the Distinguished Alumni Award from South Texas College of Law Houston earlier this year, will be the fall Commencement speaker for her law school alma mater.
The Dec. 14 ceremony will honor 63 graduates earning their J.D. degrees. It begins at 10 a.m. in Joe Green Auditorium on the law school campus. It will be livestreamed and can be found at stcl.edu/commencement when it is time for the program to begin. The promotional hashtag is #STCLgrad.
Guzman is a partner at Wright Close & Barger, LLP. After she earned her degree from South Texas Law in 1989, she practiced in Houston for 10 years then served as a judge in the 309th Family District Court of Harris County and a judge in the Texas 14th Court of Appeals.
She served as a Texas Supreme Court justice from 2009-21. During her tenure, she decided some of the most complex legal issues in Texas, ruled on thousands of appeals, and was among the highest rated judges on the court.
In addition to her J.D. from South Texas Law, Guzman earned an LL.M. in Judicial Studies from Duke University. Eva is a proud Houstonian and a great friend of South Texas.
This fall’s valedictorian, Jordan Austin Cooney, also will speak. The native Houstonian took a land-use course while studying political science at Texas A&M, and that class led to his interest in becoming a commercial real estate attorney. He is passionate about the preservation and restoration of historic buildings and places in Texas.
Jordan is an associate editor of the South Texas Law Review, a member of the Real Estate & Construction Law Society, and previously served as an editor on the Construction Law Journal at South Texas Law. After clerking at Wilson, Cribbs & Goren every summer of law school, he has accepted a full- time position there — which he will begin after passing the bar in February.
“We applaud Jordan’s remarkable academic achievements and his commitment to work hard and to collaborate with others to achieve the greater good,” said President and Dean Jeffrey Rensberger. “He exemplifies the law school’s mission and values.”
During the ceremony, Jennifer Stogner ’06 and Of Counsel at Abraham Watkins, will give a welcome from the South Texas Law Alumni Association. During law school, Stogner was on the Dean’s List, was nominated to the Order of the Barristers, and received the Dean’s Outstanding Student Advocate Award.
Original source can be found here.