The governor on Tuesday appointed David Gunn, 63, of Beck Redden to serve as the newest justice on the First Court of Appeals in Houston.
He is filling the seat vacated by April Farris, who was appointed to the Fifteenth Court of Appeals by Gov. Greg Abbott in June. Justice Gunn’s term will expire in December 2026.
He’s no stranger to public service, he told The Lawbook in an interview Tuesday afternoon, having previously served as both a member of the zoning adjustment board and the city council in the tiny town of about 800 on the west side of Houston, Hillshire Village.
“Those seven years were pretty formative to me,” he said of his time on the city council, from 2012 through 2019. “We had to deal with issues that affect real people that are not particularly exciting — things like drainage, and are the street lights bright enough. That was really fulfilling.”
Gunn, whose entire career has been focused on appeals, has been a partner at Beck Redden for 21 years, and previously worked at the appellate boutique of Hogan Dubose and Townsend. He’s handled a wide variety of cases — oil and gas disputes, personal injury claims, business litigation, constitutional law and intellectual property cases.
“I’ve been lucky to have had the benefit of working with some exceptional colleagues for my entire career, for more than 30 years,” he said. “I’ve just been the beneficiary of assistance and support and encouragement from a large number of people.”
“I want the record to reflect nobody has ever had better colleagues in his career than me.”
He earned a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from the University of Texas at Austin in 1982, a master’s in chemical engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1984 and is a 1987 graduate of the Baylor University School of Law.
Right after law school, he served as a clerk for the Fourteenth Court of Appeals in Houston.
Justice Gunn won’t be starting in his new role right away, as he works to wind down his law practice and said he has no firm start date set at this time.
“I’m excited and grateful to the governor for choosing me,” he said.
Alistair B. Dawson, chair of Beck Redden’s Executive Committee, said in a news release that hiring Gunn 21 years ago was integral to launching the firm’s appellate practice.
“When our firm wanted to start an appellate practice twenty-one years ago, all signs pointed to David
Gunn as the person to hire,” he said. “We were fortunate to hire him and he has built an incredibly strong and talented group of appellate lawyers at our firm. While we will miss having him at our firm, we are pleased that the Governor saw fit to appoint such a stellar appellate lawyer and person to the First Court of Appeals.”
Gunn’s partner Russell S. Post said Gunn will be missed at the firm.
“David brought a deep passion for the law and a distinct voice to his career as an appellate specialist, which marked him as one of the leading appellate lawyers of his generation,” he said in a news release. “All of us in the Beck Redden appellate group, and his many friends among the appellate bench and bar around the state, have been enriched by his talent and his friendship.”