Why “600 Hemphill”?

Part of the answer, of course, is that our firm, Lynn Pinker Hurst & Schwegmann, already has two successful blogs that start with “600”: 600 Camp and 600 Commerce. By pure coincidence, the Dallas Court of Appeals and the Fifth Circuit both have “600” street addresses.

The Texas Supreme Court, unfortunately, is located at 201 W. 14th Street in downtown Austin – a wonderful building, to be sure, but no “600.”

But some reflection about Texas history led to a natural choice that reflects this state’s dynamic history and legal tradition. By 600 AD, the foundation of the civil law tradition – the Code of Justinian – was complete. Many centuries later, the founding of the Republic of Texas placed that tradition (inherited from Spain, and later Mexico) in direct conflict with the English common-law tradition. The hard work of sorting through those conflicts fell to the “John Marshall of Texas,” the extraordinary Chief Justice John Hemphill, whose deft opinions stitched together those disparate legal traditions and built the legal foundation for modern Texas.

The specific problems that faced Justice Hemphill have long since faded into the history books. But the fundamental challenge – integrating disparate sources of legal authority into a coherent path forward – is confronted every day by Texas’s highest court. This blog’s name honors the hard work and creativity needed to carry out that important work.