The Center for American and International Law (CAIL) has announced that William McRaven, the retired U.S. Navy four-star admiral who led the Navy Seals raid that killed Osama bin Laden, will be the featured speaker of the 2019 Higginbotham Lecture on April 17 in Houston.
A veteran of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, McRaven was commander of the U.S. Joint Special Operations Command from 2011 to 2014. His talk is titled “The Rule of Law in a Troubled World.”
The former admiral made headlines last fall after publishing an op-ed in the Washington Post criticizing President Donald Trump for revoking the security clearance of ex-CIA director John Brennan and resigning from the Pentagon’s technology advisory board.
McRaven graduated high school in San Antonio and attended the University of Texas on a track scholarship. He graduated with a bachelor’s degree in journalism in 1977 and recently served as chancellor of the UT System from 2015 to 2018.
McRaven is currently a professor of national security at his alma mater and has published two books: SPEC OPS: Case Studies in Special Operations Warfare and Make Your Bed: Little Things That Can Change Your Life and Maybe the World.
Houston trial lawyer and fellow UT alum David Beck will also be honored at the Higginbotham Lecture. Chief Judge Lee Rosenthal of the Southern District of Texas will present the CAIL Award for Achievement in the Pursuit of Justice for All to Beck, a former chair of the CAIL board of trustees.
Please visit www.cailaw.org/lecture for more information on the 2019 Higginbotham Lecture.