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This Wednesday, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in a $160,000 pay dispute between a Killeen-based subcontractor and a Virginia construction company building a child development center at Fort Hood. The issue is whether a company can incorporate into a contract a forum-selection clause requiring that disputes involving the contract are to be decided by a specific court in a particular city or state.

After 32 years’ judicial service, the past 25 on the Supreme Court of Texas, I am honored and humbled that Governor Perry has appointed me Chief Justice. The Court has an established, national reputation for adherence to the rule of law in its decisions, and for strong leadership in making the justice system more efficient, fair, open, and accessible to all. Having helped build that reputation over many years, I am ready to lead the Court I greatly respect.

Nathan Hecht, who will be sworn in chief justice Tuesday, has been on the state’s highest court for a quarter of a century. He’s served with 32 other supreme court justices, authored more than 350 opinions and seen the court shift from being comprised largely of Democrats to its current all-Republican composition.

Seven Texas lawyers made the 2013 edition of Forbes 400 richest people in U.S. Some of them even practiced law.

Jeff Brown, a judge on the Houston Court of Appeals, will be the newest justice to serve on the Supreme Court of Texas, Gov. Perry announced Thursday. “Jeff is a solid judge. He is a clear, lucid writer and his opinions are easy to follow. He explains what the problem is, what the answer is and how he got there,” former Texas Chief Justice Tom Phillips, now a partner at Baker Botts in Austin.