For Random Profiles, we randomly pick one of our 80,000-plus attorneys, call them, and do a Q&A. We’ve found that every Texas lawyer has an interesting story. Will yours be next?
Family: Single, two children, six grandchildren.
Areas of practice: civil trial law/health care law and policy/university teaching.
Education: M.S., J.D. – American University; LL.M. Health Law & Policy Institute – Univ. of Houston Law Center; Ph.D. – UTMB
Bet you didn’t know: I have an interest in end-of-life legal and medical issues; a doctorate with emphasis on bioethics.
Another little known fact: I have a ranch in Wyoming; although I never go, I just love knowing it’s there.
Mentors/heroes: There are so many! Two favorite Lawyers: Mahatma Gandhi & Clarence Darrow & my high school English teacher, Dorothy Waisner, our own “Good Morning Miss Dove.”
Best thing about being a lawyer: So many wonderful things: i.e., meaningful involvement and opportunity to make a difference in peoples lives.
Most important career lesson: Choose your law partners very carefully.
Current Project: Taking a deep breath and reflecting on 30 years of a wonderful private practice and several years of university teaching.
Favorite saying/quote: There are so many, one perhaps, “ I want nothing,” “I fear nothing,” “I am free.” Nikos Kazantzakis, Report to Greco.
Pet peeve: Political spin as fact.
Secret for staying young: If anyone knows, please tell me.
Favorite TV program: Charlie Rose.
Favorite artist: Pieter Brueghel/ Thomas Hart Benton.
Favorite composers: Ludwig van Beethoven.
Favorite album: Concert by The Sea – Erroll Garner.
Favorite music/musician: Frank Sinatra.
Favorite place to find albums: Mail-order catalogues.
Generally likes to read/Last book read/Current reading material: A Lucky Child – A Memoir of Surviving Auschwitz as a Young Boy. Thomas Buergenthal.
Memorable vacation: Greek Islands.
My favorite weekend retreats are: Home.
If I had more time, I would: Read & travel.
Bad habit: Can’t sleep
The part of my job I do best is: In trial; In court; in the class room.
The best piece of advice ever given to you and by whom: If For Boys, Rudyard Kipling.
What do you think is the biggest challenge facing attorneys today? I could write a book on this subject, we often are the best; perhaps self- image and dedication to the profession of the law; “Attorney heal thyself.”
Who is your favorite on-screen or literary attorney, and why? Clarence Darrow /Louis Nizer: real literary lawyers through their writings and recorded trial presentations.
If you weren’t an attorney, what profession do you think you would be in? Surgeon, perhaps, perhaps not.
What’s the turning point that made you decide to become an attorney? Graduate School.
When you are not practicing law, what do you like to do? Read, grandchildren, workout, ride my horse.
Favorite movie: Shane.
The last movie I saw: Glengarry Glen Ross.
Favorite sport: Football.
Favorite food: Steak.
Favorite restaurant: Las Palomas.
Who are the people you admire most, and why? People who believe in what they are doing with their life, and try to do it the best they can.
What has changed the most technologically or practice wise since you have been licensed? Computerized virtual reality and the loss of human interaction.
How do you think the practice will change in the next 15 years? More computerized virtual reality and more loss of human interaction.
Thomas W. George is a private practitioner.
You can also view Thomas’ TexasBar.com profile
Prizes
It’s not every day that you’re randomly picked from among 80,000 peers. To commemorate, randomly-profiled attorneys receive a TexasBar.com t-shirt and a law firm link (a $50 value).
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Opinions and statements expressed in these profiles are those of their subjects – not the State Bar of Texas.