Al Ellis (pictured), of counsel at Sommerman & Quesada in Dallas, has been selected for induction into the University of Texas at Arlington Military Science Department Hall of Honor.
Ellis says the Hall of Honor honors people who went through ROTC and graduated from UT Arlington.
“A lot of the people who were honored had a career in the military,” he says. “The other portion are those who are ROTC graduates and stayed a shorter period of time [in the military].” Ellis says people in the latter group were recognized for their post-military achievements.
A former classmate at UT Arlington who is also a member of the Hall of Honor nominated him for induction into the hall of honor, Ellis says.
“It’s a great honor to be included with other folks, especially guys who spent their career in the military and gave their entire lives to public service,” Ellis says.
He says he joined the military after graduating from UT Arlington, where he majored in history and was the ROTC cadet core commander and drill team commander.
“My original intent was to be a career Army guy,” he says.
Ellis says he was an Airborne Infantry officer stationed in the Dominican Republic and then at Fort Bragg in North Carolina. Then, he went to Vietnam.
After four years of service, Ellis says he was honorably discharged as a captain, and he received the Bronze Star and other commendation medals.
Following his discharge, Ellis says he decided to go to law school. “I loved Perry Mason, so I went to law school,” he says.
Ellis says he earned his JD from Southern Methodist University in 1971 and, his entire 40-year practice has been spent focusing on plaintiffs’ personal injury law.
Ellis says his favorite part of practicing law is the people. “Over the years I’ve had a tremendous amount of really great clients that I fell in love with and enjoyed representing their interests and trying to find a successful result for them,” he says. “I like lawyers, and I like the profession. I considered it a calling, and I like what we do.”
— Christine Lesicko
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