A steadfast advocate for access to justice and the rule of law, Longley has brought a spotlight to the current immigrant family separation crisis. Earlier this year, he traveled to the Texas border and met with a number of dedicated attorneys and organizations working to reunite children with their parents. “Pro bono and legal aid attorneys are accustomed to working with clients in difficult situations,” said Longley, “but the sorrow they witnessed at these detention centers was on a wholly different level.”
The state bar now provides a
webpage
with a list of training, volunteer, and donation opportunities for attorneys who would like to assist families who have been separated upon entering the U.S.
“This is not about politics,” said Longley. “It’s about access to justice. The people involved in this crisis may not be citizens, but they are still entitled to due process in a land that values the rule of law.”
Longley first made his mark on Texas law at age 29, while serving in the Texas Attorney General’s Consumer Protection Division. Drafting legislation that passed into law as the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices-Consumer Protection Act in 1973, it is today the state’s primary consumer protection statute.
In 1975, he established a private law practice with a focus on insurance bad faith litigation, deceptive trade practices and commercial litigation. He has argued cases before the Supreme Court of Texas, the Texas Court of Appeals, and United States Courts of Appeals.
He has taught insurance law at The University of Texas School of Law (where he earned his JD degree), served on the State Bar of Texas Board of Directors, and as chair of the State Bar Consumer Law Section, now called the Consumer and Commercial Law Section.
In 2000, Texas Lawyer named him to its elite list of “100 Legal Legends” and, in 2002, recognized him as its “Number One Go-To Lawyer for Insurance Law” in the state. In 2011, the State Bar Insurance Section honored him with its prestigious Insurance Legend Award.
Longley was chosen as Tau Man of the Year in 2002. He and his wife, Maggie, live in Austin and have three grown children and six grandchildren.
