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Observations on the Legal Profession
Options, Opportunities, and Objectives

JUDGE MARCIA A. CRONE ’78
United States District Court for Eastern District of Texas

Friday, February 11, 2022 | 11:30 am - 1 pm central
Houston, Texas 77204
Visitor parking available in the Elgin Street Parking Garage

Approved for 1 hour of Texas CLE credit with 1 hour of Ethics.
Box lunch will be provided

For questions or more information, please contact the Office of Alumni Relations at lawalumni@uh.edu or 713-743-2201

Judge Marcia A. Crone’s Bio

Marcia A. Crone

Marcia A. Crone received a B.A., summa cum laude, from the University of Texas at Austin in 1973 and a J.D., summa cum laude, from the University of Houston Law Center in 1978. She began her legal career in 1978 at Andrews Kurth, LLP, now Hunton Andrews Kurth, LLP, in Houston, Texas, where she became a partner in 1986, practicing in the areas of litigation and employment law. In 1992, she was appointed as a United States magistrate judge for the Southern District of Texas, Houston Division. She served in that capacity until 2003, when she was appointed as a federal district judge for the Eastern District of Texas. She now presides over cases in the Beaumont and Lufkin Divisions.

Judge Crone is a member of the Federal and Jefferson County Bar Associations, is active in the American Inns of Court, having held several leadership positions with the Garland Walker Inn in Houston and the Michelle Mehaffy Inn in Beaumont, where she has served on the Board of Directors since 2004, and completed six years of service on the Committee on Court Administration and Case Management of the United States Judicial Conference. Judge Crone is also a member of the American Bar Association, a member of the Federal Judges Association, and a life fellow of the Texas Bar Foundation. In addition, she is involved in the Beaumont Rotary Club, having served on the Board of Directors from 2011 to 2014, and was an officer of the District Judges Association of the Fifth Circuit from 2014 to 2018, when she served as the president. Judge Crone also serves as a member of the Fifth Circuit Criminal Pattern Jury Instructions Committee and has participated in the preparation of the 2012, 2015, and 2019 issues.

The University of Houston is a Carnegie-designated Tier One public research university and an EEO/AA institution.


About the Sondock Jurist in Residence Program

The Justice Ruby Kless Sondock Lectureship in Legal Ethics Jurist-In-Residence program brings sitting jurists to campus for a day of interaction with students, faculty and the Houston legal community.  Each jurist provides a lecture on a legal ethics issue important to the community.

"Through the Sondock Jurist In Residence Program, the Law Center brings outstanding jurists to the campus who will give lectures and meet with UHLC faculty, alumni and students," said Law Center Dean Leonard M. Baynes. "These interactions will bring the Law Center community closer to the bench so we can learn from each other.  It also will help inspire our students to be the next generation of outstanding jurists. We are very proud to host the Jurist in Residence Program so aptly named after Justice Ruby Kless Sondock who is a role model and trailblazer."  "Justice Ruby Sondock is truly a living legend," said Professor Meredith Duncan who coordinates the program. "It is a privilege for UHLC to host prominent jurists from around the country in her honor.  We are thrilled for the opportunities this program provides for our students, faculty and the Houston legal community."

The Jurist In Residence program is named in honor of Sondock, a pioneer in the law who graduated as valedictorian and one of only five women in the UH law school class of 1962.  After practicing law for many years, Sondock was appointed to the 234th District Court in 1977, making her the first female state district judge in Harris County. She was appointed to the Texas Supreme Court in 1982, making her the first woman to serve in a regular session of the court. In 2015, the litigation section of the State Bar of Texas named her a “Texas Legal Legend.”

Past Jurists-In-Residence