At a time when JD degrees were mostly held by men, Susan Crump, Pamela George, and Elaine Carlson ’79 had no reservations about going to law school and becoming attorneys. The 1970s saw a nearly four-fold increase in the number of women lawyers in the U.S., according to the American Bar Association. Women attorneys in 1970 made up 8.6% of the profession, and by 1980 that number stood at 34.2 per cent.
Below are the stories of the first female professors to earn tenure at South Texas College of Law Houston.
Susan Crump
After beginning law school at Southern Methodist University and finishing her studies at the University of Houston Law Center, Susan Crump became an attorney in 1975.
“There were very few women in law school at that time,” she said. “Perhaps 6 to 8% of my peers were female. Later, wherever I worked in the law, I was always only one of a small number of female attorneys, and sometimes the only one. Times were very different.”
Crump’s ambition was to be a trial lawyer. She clerked for the Hon. John R. Brown, chief justice of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, then spent three years as an associate at a large Houston law firm, Butler Binion. While there, she was only able to try three jury trials.
“I was a bit frustrated,” she said. “I would prepare for a trial only to see the case settle at the courthouse at the last minute. Not atypical of civil cases.”
Determined to be in front of a jury, Crump took a position at the Harris County District Attorney’s office. “I went to court the third day I was in the office and ended up trying over 50 jury trials in three years. I loved the excitement and the comradery.”
After several years as a prosecutor, she was expecting her third child. In search of more flexible hours and control over her schedule, she applied for a position at South Texas College of Law Houston and was hired as an assistant professor in 1982.
During her almost 40-year career at South Texas Law, Crump taught mainly Criminal Law, Federal and Texas Civil Procedure, and Evidence. She also taught European Union Law in Malta and England during the summers. “I really enjoyed working with my colleagues, the staff, and my wonderful students,” she said. “The biggest moment for me was the excitement I felt when a student got it; that ‘aha!’ moment was priceless.”
“South Texas Law has always produced high quality lawyers, and I am glad to have been a part of it,” she said. Being a professor also gave Crump the flexible family time she needed as a single mother after she went through a divorce.
Though pleased to have the distinction as the first female professor at South Texas Law to earn tenure, Crump said it was not her primary concern as a professor. “Oddly,” she said, “I really didn’t think much about tenure. It was 1986, and I was primarily focused on writing, teaching, community service, and my three young children. I thought it was too early for tenure, but my husband encouraged me to apply.”
Since her retirement in 2022, Crump has continued to update her national casebook on evidence, which is still widely used. And, she finally has the time for other activities — such as sewing quilts for a children’s hospital, taking classes on Shakespeare, going to the gym, gardening, playing classical piano, and spending more time with her family, particularly her precious grandson Gabriel, “who always makes life interesting.”
Prof. Pamela George
Self-described as “a student at heart” and “bookish,” Prof. Pamela George holds three degrees from the University of Texas. After earning her undergraduate diploma, George completed a master’s degree in library science, a degree which seemed logical in light of her love of books.
While pursuing that degree, she made her way into a law libraries class taught by Prof. Roy Mersky, long-time director of the Tarlton Law Library at UT Law School. Mersky, who became a trusted mentor, advised that she should become a lawyer. “So, I did,” said George. “I loved law school. I was challenged – being taught by brilliant, intimidating, and demanding professors and surrounded by exceptional students who could also be quite intimidating.”
George graduated with her JD in 1977, when women were very much a minority in law school and the profession. A successful career, she felt, would come if she worked hard, proved herself, and set herself apart from other attorneys. She would find a niche and be the best at it.
George also understood that to succeed in the “world of men” that was the legal profession then, she would need to accomplish more than her male counterparts, to not be offended easily by their attitudes or comments, and to handle situations with humor. She was ready to approach practice with that in mind.
Immediately after law school, George went to work in Austin writing briefs for Texas Attorney General John Hill. Thereafter, she moved to Houston and worked as an associate for a family law specialist.
George had become interested in marital law while in law school, volunteering at a legal aid clinic. “I found it fascinating,” she said. “This specialty is never boring, and the fruits of your labor are easily seen. Everybody has a story. You use that story to help your client.”
In 1981, George was offered a position as the first tenure track female professor at the South Texas College of Law Houston.
Pay disparity was frequently the case in the early 1980s. STCL Houston had just offered a male candidate with similar credentials a higher starting salary than George was being offered. “Upon learning this, I attempted to negotiate a higher salary before signing my acceptance letter,” she said. “I was informed that a man with a family was going to be paid more than a single female, end of discussion.”
George was also informed she was at liberty to pursue outside legal work or become affiliated with a law firm to supplement her income. “I accepted the offer and the challenge.”
As a newly minted professor with a research background and the ability to write, George was in demand. She was hired on a contract basis by the then premier family law firm in Houston, Piro & Lilly. It was there that she was given the opportunity to work on complex cases involving vast estates and bitter custody battles. She became well known in the Texas family law community. After a new dean was appointed, exclusive relationships with law firms were no longer allowed. She then ended her arrangement with Piro & Lilly, while remaining available to consult and work on cases she found intriguing and relevant to the courses she taught.
George’s experience would help her become board certified in both family law and in Texas civil appeals. She remains one of only seven lawyers in the state of Texas who are double certified in these two areas of practice. Her experience also helped her teach law. “To be exposed to this level of cases was a gift,” George said. “Everything made its way back to my students; that experience still resonates in my classes.”
Offered tenure in 1987, George was the second woman to achieve this status at South Texas College of Law Houston and was honored to accept. “Tenure truly sets you apart,” George said. “In addition to having stability and academic freedom, you can read, analyze, understand, and challenge from a different place.” She has authored a vast number of law review and CLE articles, along with chapters of books and two textbooks which are in use in Texas law schools and can be found on the bookshelves at lawyers’ offices and in judges’ chambers.
Over the last 43 years, George has been at the forefront of family law in the courtroom and in the classroom. She has been the lead or co-counsel on hundreds of family law cases. She has presented appellate arguments that judges have transformed into precedent, effectively giving her a deserved reputation for “making law.”
George recently became the Stanley J. Krist Distinguished Professor of Texas Law, after the retirement of Prof. Elaine Carlson in 2024. This professorship is reserved for those South Texas Law faculty members who have shaped Texas law. George is still teaching, and her classes are always filled. Sometimes there is a wait list. “I love teaching and treasure the opportunity I have to expose my students to legal analysis and strategy – to think like lawyers,” George said. “I want all my students to continue the STCL Houston tradition of being great Texas lawyers.”
A long-time patron of the arts, both in Houston and in Santa Fe, NM, George has served on various art-related boards of directors and supports many non-profit organizations. She also supports and mentors South Texas Law students and has established an annual $5,000 scholarship benefitting a student who is focused on appellate practice.
Prof. Elaine Carlson ’79
Elaine Carlson ’79 fell in love with the subject of social science in the eighth grade, and after she saw the musical 1776 as a high school student, her future was decided. “That was it.” she said. “The show was fascinating, and all about democracy. At that point I knew I had to be involved in law.”
She attended Southern Illinois University, earning her undergraduate degree in political science in only three years. “I went to school all year, with no break in the summer,” she said. She got married to her college sweetheart, who convinced her to marry him by promising her that marriage and becoming a lawyer would not be mutually exclusive. The couple — who recently celebrated 50 years of marriage — moved to Toronto, Canada, where her husband had taken an engineering job.
While living in Toronto, Carlson earned a master’s degree in political economics in 1975 from McMaster University. Not long after that, her husband’s employer transferred him to Houston. Carlson decided it was time to pursue her law degree. She applied to and was accepted at South Texas College of Law Houston in 1976. Her goal was to become a litigator.
Attending law school in late 1970s meant being the one student in ten that was female. Graduating in 1979, she found even fewer women in practice. After clerking for 18 months for Justice Jim Wallace at the Texas First Court of Appeals, Carlson was hired to be part of the legal department at Gulf Oil.
“I was part of a small group of women who were hired at roughly the same time to join the legal department as litigators,” Carlson said. Gulf, a major global corporation, handled their legal matters in-house. There was much to do and learn. “It was so amazing to be able to be encouraged by other women who were attorneys. Jesse Luton, Gulf’s general counsel, made that possible. We formed strong friendships.”
As the number of women attorneys increased, the American Bar Association was encouraging law schools to hire women as professors. “I believe there was one woman who was an adjunct when I was a student at South Texas Law,” Carlson said. Her experience as an appellate clerk and a litigator made her a strong candidate for a professorship.
She became an assistant professor of law at South Texas College of Law Houston in 1982. A civil procedure expert, Carlson taught Texas pre-trial procedure, Texas trial and appellate procedure, and litigation related seminars. She co-authored the definitive textbooks on Texas civil procedure, and a six-volume treatise on Texas civil practice along with numerous law review articles on a variety of procedural issues.
As an appointed member of the Texas Supreme Court Advisory Committee on the Rules of Practice and Procedure, Evidence and Professionalism, Carlson has served the profession with pride for many years. She continues to work with her colleagues in this capacity and feels strongly about its importance. “There were no women on this committee when I was appointed,” she said. Carlson has also served on the Texas Supreme Court Task Forces on Ancillary Proceedings, Code of Judicial Conduct, Judicial Speech, and Civil Justice Reform. She is an elected member of the American Law Institute.
Carlson readily gives credit and thanks to her mentors, both male and female, in helping her achieve success over the last four decades. “I have been very blessed,” she said. “Justice Wallace, Luke Souls, and William Dorsaneo were all helpful and supportive, as was the entire faculty and the librarians at South Texas Law.” Carlson, grateful for the friendship and camaraderie of fellow trailblazers, reflected on her peers. “Susan Crump was brilliant and independent, and I have learned so much from Pamela George about so many things, including music and art.”
Earning tenure was an accomplishment that made her happy. “It was wonderful to get the news about tenure,” she said. “However, I think there is a misconception about tenure. It does not mean you can say anything you like. It does allow you to teach different perspectives. And teaching strategy and analysis by discussing both sides of an argument is vital.”
Over the course of her successful career, Carlson was also a wife and mother. “I have an enormous amount of gratitude to my husband, Bob, for his unfaltering support,” she said. “And we are both so proud of our daughter, Courtney Carlson.” Now a practicing litigator, she was a winner in national advocacy competitions as a student at South Texas College of Law Houston.
Carlson acknowledges that she could have continued teaching for a while longer. “However, I felt it was time to make room for the next generation,” she said. She publicly announced her retirement during the commencement address she gave at South Texas College of Law Houston in May 2024.
Original source can be found here.