In Memoriam: Honorable Thomas M. Reavley

The Honorable Thomas M. Reavley, Senior United States Circuit Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, and long-time friend of Pepperdine Caruso School of Law, passed away on December 1, 2020 at the age of 99 in Houston, Texas. Earlier positions included Texas Secretary of State, Associate Justice, Texas Supreme Court, and Special Judge, Texas Court of Criminal Appeals.

Pepperdine Senior Vice Chancellor and Caruso School of Law Dean Emeritus Ronald F. Phillips remembers of Judge Reavely, "Judge Reavley served for decades on the Law School's Board of Visitors, joining the Board along with his close friends, plaintiff's lawyer, Ron Krist, and defense lawyer, John Boswell, both of Houston. On one occasion, the three made a most unique presentation to our law students regarding a case where the two lawyers had opposed each other, and Tom Reavley was the judge. They discussed the case from each one's perspective. A number of Pepperdine Caruso graduates have served judicial clerkships with Judge Reavley. He spent a semester at the Law School as Distinguished Jurist in Residence. He and attorney Ron Krist, father of Law School alumna, Karyn Krist Scott, established the Krist-Reavley Endowed Minority Scholarship at the Law School in 1993, long before such scholarships were common. Judge Tom Reavley will long be remembered as an extraordinary public servant who used his great talents to benefit our system of justice and the citizens of our nation."

Judge Reavley is honored as the oldest circuit judge on the federal bench and as a friend and aide to President Lyndon B. Johnson in the Houston Chronicle here

Photo by John Everett