Facing a bit of a midlife crisis, Baker Botts government relations partner Jim Grace of Houston signed up for an eight-year stint in the U.S. Naval Reserve. Nearly four years later, Grace, who entered the Reserve with a direct commission as an officer, will take a leave from Baker Botts for nine months because he’s being deployed to Afghanistan. Grace, a lieutenant junior grade, says he can’t reveal much about his mission. He’s in “intelligence” — not a military lawyer — and can’t say specifically where he is going, to what unit he will be attached or what his responsibilities are. Grace says he joined the Reserve on Sept. 5, 2007, the day before his 40th birthday, because he wanted to get in through a direct commission program that called for recruits under age 40. “It’s sort of an abbreviated officer training program. . . . This program was available and seemed to fit with my practice,” says Grace. “They were looking for people who were experienced and had critical thinking skills,” Grace says about the Navy. “I had regretted not serving as a young man.” Grace says the timing of his deployment actually fits well into his lobbying practice, since he will return to Texas in July 2012, in time to prepare for the next session of the Texas Legislature. He spent much of the first six months of this year lobbying for clients before the Legislature. Grace says Baker Botts has been supportive of his military commitment and is making up the difference between his military salary and his income as a partner for the time he’s deployed. “Without the support of the firm, I couldn’t do this,” Grace says. Baker Botts managing partner Walter Smith says, “Jim’s courageous choice to serve his country in this manner inspires us and makes us proud to call him our friend and colleague.” While he’s out, Grace says others in the Baker Botts government relations group will assist his lobbying clients. He says his wife, Michele, and his son Connor, 13, and daughter Isabelle, 8, support him, although they are concerned about his safety. Grace planned to work at the firm through Aug. 19, then start a month of training on Aug. 28 before he flies to Afghanistan.
Dean Search
Lawrence Sager , dean of the University of Texas School of Law , announced in an Aug. 12 letter he emailed to law school faculty that he will “not ask to be appointed for an additional term” once his current six-year term expires in 2012. The letter, provided by Alex Martinez, Sager’s assistant, notes accomplishments under Sager’s tenure, such as the appointment of 16 new professors, nearly $80 million in fundraising and the school’s rise in the U.S. News & World Report rankings from No. 17 to No. 14. Many projects are “in mid-stride,” Sager wrote, adding, “I plan to bend every effort in the coming year to continue our success, and I hope and expect that you will as well.” In an emailed statement, former UT Law Dean William Powers Jr. , now president of the University of Texas at Austin, writes, “I thank Larry for his years of service. The law school has advanced under his leadership. We look forward to a smooth transition and to conducting an extensive national search for a new dean. We anticipate and absolutely hope Larry will stay on faculty. He’s a great asset to the university.” Sager did not return a telephone message seeking comment.
