William Royal Furgeson Jr. (born December 9, 1941) is a retired
United States district judge
The United States district courts are the trial courts of the United States federal judiciary, U.S. federal judiciary. There is one district court for each United States federal judicial district, federal judicial district, which each cover o ...
of the
. After leaving the bench, he became the Founding Dean of
University of North Texas at Dallas College of Law in June 2013, where he served for five years. He retired in June 2018 as Dean Emeritus and now practices with the law firm o
Furgeson Malouf Law PLLC
Education and early career
Born in
Lubbock,
Texas
Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...
, Furgeson received a
Bachelor of Arts
Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...
degree from
Texas Technological College (now Texas Tech University) in 1964 and a
Juris Doctor
The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law
and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice law ...
with honors from the
University of Texas School of Law in 1967. While in law school, he was an associate editor of the ''Texas Law Review''. He served in the
United States Army
The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...
from 1967 to 1969, attaining the rank of captain. Returning to Texas after his military service, he shortly served as an assistant county attorney of County Attorney's Office, Lubbock, Texas, before he was appointed a
law clerk
A law clerk or a judicial clerk is a person, generally someone who provides direct counsel and assistance to a lawyer or judge by researching issues and drafting legal opinions for cases before the court. Judicial clerks often play significant ...
for Judge
Halbert O. Woodward of the
from 1969 to 1970.
In 1970 he started private practice in El Paso, practicing law for twenty-four years until 1993 with the law fir
Kemp Smith He is a fellow of the
American College of Trial Lawyers, a member of the American Law Institute, and Board Certified by the
Texas Board of Legal Specialization
The Texas Board of Legal Specialization (TBLS) was established on July 16, 1974, by the State Bar of Texas. TBLS oversees the recognition and regulation of attorneys who specialize in particular areas of law in the state of Texas. Today, the orga ...
in Civil Trial Law. While in private practice, he was general campaign chair and president of the El Paso United Way, president of the El Paso chapter of th
American Board of Trial Advocates and president of th
El Paso Bar Association
Federal judicial service
On November 19, 1993, President
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson Clinton ( né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and agai ...
nominated Furgeson to a new seat on the
created by 104 Stat. 5089. He was confirmed by the
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States.
The composition and pow ...
on March 10, 1994, and received his commission on March 11, 1994. In 2008, after taking senior status, Furgeson was reassigned to the
. He assumed
senior status
Senior status is a form of semi-retirement for United States federal judges. To qualify, a judge in the Federal judiciary of the United States, federal court system must be at least 65 years old, and the sum of the judge's age and years of servi ...
on November 30, 2008 and retired on May 31, 2013 to become the founding dean of the
University of North Texas at Dallas College of Law, which opened in the fall of 2014.
During his time on the bench, in addition to his ongoing district court obligations, he was a panel judge on the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation, President of th
Federal Judges Association and a member of the Judicial Branch Committee of the
Judicial Conference of the United States
The Judicial Conference of the United States, formerly known as the Conference of Senior Circuit Judges, was created by the United States Congress in 1922 with the principal objective of framing policy guidelines for administration of judicial cour ...
. He has also served as chair of the Judicial Resources Committee of the Judicial Conference of the United States.
Notable quotes
"Law school is not easy. We will require you to work hard. Law practice is not easy. Representing people in their most important affairs is hard work. But, being a lawyer is a unique and rewarding opportunity to help others structure their lives in accordance with the law. It is a high calling."
References
Sources
*
UNT Dallas College of Law
{{DEFAULTSORT:Furgeson, William Royal Jr.
1941 births
Living people
Judges of the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas
Deans of law schools in the United States
People from Lubbock, Texas
Texas Tech University alumni
United States Army officers
Military personnel from Texas
United States district court judges appointed by Bill Clinton
20th-century American judges
21st-century American judges