By Dutton                                            H.C.R. No. 236
         77R11743 PCM-D                           
                             HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
 1-1           WHEREAS, Shelton Smith of Houston has had a profound impact
 1-2     on the State of Texas over the course of his distinguished career;
 1-3     and
 1-4           WHEREAS, A prominent Lone Star attorney, he is a graduate of
 1-5     St. Mary's University School of Law, where his accomplishments
 1-6     included being elected to the Order of the Barristers, serving as
 1-7     president of the Board of Advocates, winning the State Moot Court
 1-8     Championship, and earning the International Academy of Trial
 1-9     Lawyers' Award for Excellence in Advocacy; and
1-10           WHEREAS, Following graduation, Mr. Smith joined the Houston
1-11     law firm of Fisher, Roch and Gallagher and, from 1981 through 1985,
1-12     handled hundreds of complex cases, including work in the Howard
1-13     Hughes heirship trial, and did extensive appellate work in both
1-14     state and federal courts across the United States; and
1-15           WHEREAS, He established his own firm in 1985, a venture that
1-16     in the first year alone received the highest rating possible, and
1-17     today his firm remains one of the most respected firms in Texas;
1-18     elected president of the Houston Trial Lawyers' Association in
1-19     1989, he founded the Houston Trial Lawyers' Foundation during his
1-20     tenure, and this charitable organization has since made a positive
1-21     difference in the lives of countless young students at John F.
1-22     Kennedy Elementary School in inner-city Houston; and
1-23           WHEREAS, For more than a decade, Mr. Smith has specialized in
1-24     representing the rights of working Texans and their families, and
 2-1     his well-known advocacy in behalf of his fellow Texans led to his
 2-2     appointment in 1993 as special counsel to Governor Ann Richards,
 2-3     who sent him to Washington, D.C., to work on the Superconducting
 2-4     Super Collider (SSC) project; after the project failed to pass the
 2-5     U.S. House of Representatives, Mr. Smith was appointed chair of the
 2-6     Texas National Research Laboratory Commission and assigned the
 2-7     monumental task of recovering the state's investment in the SSC;
 2-8     and
 2-9           WHEREAS, For 15 months, this dedicated public servant devoted
2-10     himself full-time to his weighty mission, during which period he
2-11     paid all of his own living and travel expenses and performed his
2-12     legal work for Texas on a pro bono basis; settling the claim for
2-13     $720 million in cash and property, he saved the taxpayers of this
2-14     state nearly $600 million in future SSC bond payments; and
2-15           WHEREAS, The recipient of the 1994 Governor's Award for
2-16     Distinguished Service to Texas, Mr. Smith was also the Texas
2-17     nominee for the National Governors' Association annual award for
2-18     public service; and
2-19           WHEREAS, In addition to his law practice, this accomplished
2-20     Texan owns and operates a small oil and gas company and gives
2-21     generously of his time and talent to benefit the Democratic Party
2-22     and numerous civic organizations; and
2-23           WHEREAS, Throughout his career, Shelton Smith has set an
2-24     outstanding example of leadership and public service, and his
2-25     exemplary record of achievement is an inspiration to all who know
2-26     him; now, therefore, be it
2-27           RESOLVED, That the 77th Legislature of the State of Texas
 3-1     hereby honor Shelton Smith and extend to him best wishes for
 3-2     continued success and happiness; and, be it further
 3-3           RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be
 3-4     prepared for Mr. Smith as an expression of high regard by the Texas
 3-5     House of Representatives and Senate.