Justice David Gunn
Governor Greg Abbott has appointed longtime appellate lawyer David Gunn to the First Court of Appeals, Place 4, for a term set to expire on December 31, 2026. Gunn replaces Justice April Farris, whom the Governor appointed to the new statewide 15th Court of Appeals.
Justice Gunn is quite simply one of the best appellate lawyers in Texas. It has been the highest of privileges to work with him for past many years on appellate matters of crucial interest to TCJL members. His official biography is given below, but I want to point out a couple of things. A UT grad in chemical engineering, Justice Gunn went on to earn graduate degree from MIT in in that subject. Only then did he turn to law school and a legal career. Chemical engineering’s loss was definitely the legal profession’s gain. In my view, what makes Justice Gunn such an outstanding lawyer (and what will make him an equally outstanding jurist) is the breadth of his education, his tremendous intellectual curiosity and commitment to lifetime learning in various disciplines, and his ability to think through legal problems with the brain of a scientist and a humanist at the same time. He is also a wonderful conversationalist and one of the most interesting people I have ever met. One might use the term “Renaissance man” to describe Justice Gunn, but even that wouldn’t quite capture the enormous extent of his interests and expertise. Governor Abbott has done our judiciary and all Texans a real solid for appointing Justice Gunn to the bench.
David Gunn of Houston is a partner at Beck Redden LLP. Previously, he was a partner at Hogan Dubose & Townsend and Rothenberg & Gunn, and clerked for the Fourteenth Court of Appeals. He is a member of the State Bar of Texas, Houston Bar Association, and the International Association of Defense Counsel. Additionally, he served as a city councilmember and a member of the Zoning Board of Adjustment for Hilshire Village. Gunn received a Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering from The University of Texas at Austin, Master of Science in Chemical Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Juris Doctor from Baylor Law School, and a Master of Laws from the University of Houston Law Center.
