Rufus Cormier

Rufus Cormier
Born (1948-03-02) March 2, 1948[1]
Beaumont, Texas
OccupationLawyer

Rufus Cormier (born:March 2, 1948) is an American lawyer and the first African American partner of Baker Botts LLP firm.[2][3][4]

Early life and education

Cormier grew up in the town of Beaumont, Texas.[5] He graduated in 1970 and received his J.D. degree in 1973 from Yale University Law School. He studied here with Clarence Thomas, Robert Reich, and the future first couple, Bill and Hillary Clinton, who refer to the Cormier as long-time friends.[6][7][8]

Football career

He moved to Dallas to play varsity football at Southern Methodist University (SMU).[9] He played on the varsity team for Coach Hayden Fry, who joined the University on the condition that he would be able to recruit African American players, integrating the Southwest conference with Jerry LeVias, his school's first Black scholarship football player who joined the team a year before Cormier.[10]  In 1968, Cormier was named the Bluebonnet Bowl Most Valuable Player.[11] [12]

Law Career

In 1974, he joined the Baker Botts LLP firm, where, in 1981, he became the first African American partner at this law firm.[13]  One of his most recognizable cases was his work as the special assistant for the lead counsel to the House Judiciary Committee for the Nixon impeachment inquiry.[14][15]  As an attorney, he was the first black member of River Oaks Country Club.[16][17][18]

Personal life

He married his class fellow, Yvonne.[19] They have three children: Michelle, Geoffrey, and Claire.

Awards

  • The Leon Jaworski Award from the Houston Bar Association Auxiliary to honour his lifetime of volunteer service.
  • Anti-Defamation League’s Karen H. Susman Jurisprudence Award
  • The Silver Anniversary Mustang Award from Southern Methodist University.

Boards

In 1991, Cormier was appointed to the Board of Regents at Texas Southern University,[20][21] and he served on the board of directors for the Memorial Hermann Healthcare System, the Center For Houston’s Future, and the Gulf Coast Legal Foundation. In addition, he served on the executive board of SMU School of Law.

References

  1. ^ "Rufus Cormier | The HistoryMakers". 2018-08-16. Archived from the original on 16 August 2018. Retrieved 2025-05-11.
  2. ^ "Baker Botts Selects 2024 Diversity Fellowship Recipients as Program Renamed in Honor of Rufus Cormier | News". Baker Botts. Retrieved 2025-05-11.
  3. ^ Spearman, Joah; Harrison, Louis (2013-04-04). Real Role Models: Successful African Americans Beyond Pop Culture. University of Texas Press. ISBN 978-0-292-73679-5.
  4. ^ "State Bar of Texas-Rufus Cormier". www.texasbar.com. Retrieved 2025-05-12.
  5. ^ "Biographical Description for The HistoryMakers® Video Oral History with Rufus Cormier" (PDF). www.thehistorymakers.org. Retrieved May 13, 2025.
  6. ^ "An Oral History Interview with HILLARY CLINTON" (PDF). www.nixonlibrary.gov. Retrieved May 12, 2025.
  7. ^ "A Double Brush With Greatness". Super Lawyers.com. Retrieved 2025-05-11.
  8. ^ Clinton, Hillary Rodham (2012-12-06). Living History. Headline. ISBN 978-0-7553-6467-1.
  9. ^ Shanahan, Tom (2021-02-04). "The End Game: Race and Sports". Tom Shanahan Report. Retrieved 2025-05-12.
  10. ^ "The Change of Plans That Made Rufus Cormier a Trailblazer". Houstonia Magazine. Retrieved 2025-05-11.
  11. ^ "THE HISTORY OF SMU FOOTBALL" (PDF). Retrieved May 12, 2025.
  12. ^ "Thursday Night Lights: The Black football stars who once played segregated games in Texas". khou.com. 2022-02-10. Retrieved 2025-05-12.
  13. ^ "Barristers' Ball 2015 | Spouses of Houston Barristers". Retrieved 2025-05-12.
  14. ^ "An Oral History Interview with RUFUS CORMIER" (PDF). www.nixonlibrary.gov. Retrieved May 12, 2025.
  15. ^ Judiciary, United States Congress House Committee on the (1975). Impeachment Inquiry: Hearings Before the Committee on the Judiciary, House of Representatives, Ninety-third Congress, Second Session, Pursuant to H. Res. 803 ... U.S. Government Printing Office.
  16. ^ "Attorney first black member of River Oaks Country Club". www.bizjournals.com. Retrieved May 12, 2025.
  17. ^ Becker, Charles Dain Becker and Joan Blaffer Johnson with Ann Dunphy (2016). Houston's River Oaks. Arcadia Publishing. ISBN 978-1-4671-1734-0.
  18. ^ George, Cindy (2017-02-28). "Houston voices join national archive of African-American experience". Houston Chronicle. Archived from the original on 2021-05-06. Retrieved 2025-05-12.
  19. ^ "Homemade Hope — This Gala Shows Just How Big Houston's Heart Really Is". www.papercitymag.com. Retrieved May 13, 2025.
  20. ^ Pitre, Merline (2018-04-19). Born to Serve: A History of Texas Southern University. University of Oklahoma Press. ISBN 978-0-8061-6160-0.
  21. ^ "Rufus Cormier". bbpsetx.com.
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