U.S. District Judge Royal Furgeson Named Founding Dean for the University of North Texas College of Law
Chancellor Lee F. Jackson announced today the appointment of U.S. District Judge Royal Furgeson as founding dean of UNT Dallas College of Law, effective April 2013, in anticipation of the law school’s opening in August 2014. Dean Designate Furgeson is enthusiastic about assuming his new duties as soon as he can fulfill his obligations to the federal judiciary.
“Our extensive search brought us into contact with many highly regarded legal educators,“ Jackson said. “But Judge Furgeson, besides possessing a fine legal mind, brings the kind of broad range of practical experience we were looking for. He’s a distinguished judge well known throughout Texas, a respected litigator, and he shares our vision of providing students with an affordable and accessible high-quality legal education.”
A Clinton appointee, Judge Furgeson has ridden the federal circuit in Texas for 17 years, first presiding in El Paso, then Midland-Odessa, San Antonio and now Dallas. Prior to taking the bench, he was a shareholder in the prominent El Paso law firm of Kemp, Smith, Duncan & Hammond, where during his 24 years with the firm, he headed the commercial litigation section and remained committed to the pro bono efforts of the firm.
His résumé reflects years of accomplishment and recognition. Among his many honors, he received the Jurist of the Year Award from the Texas Chapter of the American Board of Trial Advocates and the Spirit of Excellence Award from the American Bar Association’s Commission on Racial and Ethnic Diversity—both in 2004. Texas Tech University Law School bestowed its 2008 West Texas Legal Legend Award upon the judge, who was born in Lubbock and attended undergraduate school at Tech. He is also a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers and a member of the American Law Institute and the American Board of Trial Advocates.
“Several colleagues have asked me why I would give up a lifetime appointment to take on a start-up law school during these tough economic times, when tuition is rising and demand for lawyers is declining,” Judge Furgeson said. “But the prospect of pioneering a new law school that addresses these issues head-on was too challenging and exciting to pass up.”
Gov. Rick Perry signed SB 956 on June 19, 2009 to authorize the new law school. The law school will be located in the heart of downtown Dallas, where it can develop partnerships with major law firms, countless solo practitioners and the judicial and legal communities centered in the four courthouses within its two-mile radius.
UNT Dallas College of Law will be the only public law school in North Texas, and will provide the region with an affordable alternative to private law schools, attracting a high percentage of minority students and easing the debt on all students, as they embark on their legal careers.
Judge Furgeson said he is “eager to get on with the business of running the law school,” but first is committed to fulfilling his responsibilities to the federal bench. The judge is currently the president of the Federal Judges Association, a voluntary organization of Article III judges devoted to protecting the role of the judicial branch in our constitutional framework. His personal commitment to this leadership role requires him to remain on the bench for the next 15 months, after which his service to the association ends. Until he formally resigns his judgeship, he will adhere to the Code of Conduct for United States Judges, which will limit his work with the law school.
“Because a brand new law school has no track record, the only evidence of its quality is the integrity of its leaders,” said Frank Newton, the former Dean of Texas Tech School of Law, who supported the judge’s appointment. “In Royal, you have the perfect pick, a confident, gregarious leader whose record of accomplishment adds a clear aura of credibility to the new school.”