At the class reunion dinner April 16, 2011, Dan was recognized for his twenty-year service to South Texas College of Law as an adjunct professor of trial advocacy and entertainment law.

An except from the program follows:

Dan Downey, 20-Year Adjunct

Dan Downey brings extensive experience as a civil trial lawyer, a mediator, an arbitrator, and a former judge to his classes in civil trial advocacy and entertainment law at South Texas. A solo attorney with offices in both Houston and Austin, Downey has been practicing civil trial law for 34 years. He specializes in commercial and business disputes, including those involving pension fund negligence and fraud as well as violations of state and federal insurance statutes.

Downey also represents automobile dealers in disputes with manufacturers that involve contested hearings before administrative law judges at the Texas Department of Transportation. In addition, he handles matters involving governmental regulations, including the representation of clients in the Texas legislature and state agencies.

Downey has mediated or arbitrated more than 500 civil cases throughout the United States. He is a member of a special panel of arbitrators hearing disputes involving contracts between the city of Houston and its various contractors. He also has been frequently appointed by the courts to serve as a special master and a special judge.

From 1988 to 1994, Downey served as judge of the 295^th Judicial District Court, in Houston. Having served as a Texas state representative in 1979, he was appointed as the legislative liaison to the Texas Legislature for the Harris County civil district judges.

Downey has been an adjunct professor at South Texas for 20 years, and received the college’s Professor Excellence Award for 1990–91. His trial advocacy course highlights proven techniques in presenting a case to a court or jury and involves intensive analysis of both the state and federal rules of evidence. His course in entertainment law concerns the application of copyright and trademark law to litigation in the entertainment industry, primarily involving the music business.

“I give my students a lifetime privilege to call me anytime with any questions,” says Downey, “and I do get some calls.”

Why We Teach

Dan Downey’s View

We really do it because we enjoy it, but we also have a great responsibility. Unlike medical students, who have a mentoring program through their residencies, law students have no such formal program. They can go hang up their shingles after they pass the bar. Therefore, because adjuncts bring real life into the classroom, they provide invaluable “residencies” to law students.

In addition, a great majority of our graduates are going to represent the public, and in doing so will face huge ethical issues. Adjuncts therefore pepper in ethics in their classes so students can recognize ethics traps and be prepared for them.

When I was a judge, it was really fun to see one of my former students trying a case in my court. I was also nervous about it because if the student didn’t get it, it was my fault—I didn’t teach it well.