A native Houstonian from a highly respected family of lawyers, Susman worked his way through Yale University, graduating magna cum laude. Returning to his home state and the University of Texas Law School, he was Editor-in-Chief of the Law Review. After serving as law clerk to The Honorable John R. Brown of the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, Susman clerked for United States Supreme Court Justice Hugo Black. In 1980, he founded Susman Godfrey, the first firm in this part of the country to limit its specialty to commercial litigation. Susman Godfrey has grown to more than 85 lawyers with offices in Houston, Dallas, Seattle, Los Angeles, and New York. Steve and Ellen split their time between the Houston and New York offices. Although the stakes are high and the challenges immense in his private practice, that doesn’t stop Susman from pursuing issues of justice and reform. Teaching lawyers around the world effective advocacy, instituting reforms in the civil justice system, and through ABA Task Forces on which he serves, improving jury comprehension, streamlining class actions, and promoting efficient trials are top priorities in his dedication to law.
PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS
- State Bar of Texas (Chairman, Section on Antitrust and Trade Regulation,
1976-77) - District of Columbia Bar Association
- New York Bar Association
- Colorado Bar Association
- American Bar Association, Current member of the Commission on the Impact of the Economic Crisis on the Profession and Legal Needs, Section of Antitrust Law (member of Council, 1989-91), Section of Litigation (current co-chair of the Fellows Program, current member of Trial Advisory Board and Federal Practice Task Force, former co-chair of Task Force on Training the Advocate, chairman of Task Force on Fast Track Litigation, and member of Committee to Improve Jury Comprehension), and Section of Intellectual Property
- American Law Institute
- Editorial Advisory Board, BNA Civil RICO Reporter
- Advisory Board, University of Texas School of Law’s Review of Litigation
- Texas Supreme Court Advisory Committee
- Director of Texas Association of Civil Trial and Appellate Specialists
- American Board of Trial Advocates
- Director of the University of Houston Law Foundation
- Charter Member of the Institute for Responsible Dispute Resolution
- Texas Supreme Court’s Task Force on Civil Litigation Improvements
- National Council of Human Rights First
- Board of Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights under Law of Texas
- MD Anderson University Cancer Foundation Board of Visitors
- The University of Texas Health Science Center Development Board
- The University Of Texas Development Board
- The University of Texas Law School Foundation Board
- American Intellectual Property Law Association
- Houston Intellectual Property Law Association
- The New York Intellectual Property Law Association
- Member, Warren Burger Society
- Board Member, American Constitution Society
- Leadership Council of the Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies
Term: 2013-2016