Stephen R. Alton

Executive Professor

 Publications 

Stephen Alton

“Law school should be useful, interesting, and fun—but not too fun.”

Get to Know Stephen R. Alton

What drew you to the law?

I came to the law through my interest in my family’s small real estate business. When I was younger, I expected to assume the management of that small business one day, and I thought (correctly) that law would be an excellent preparation for business.

What do you enjoy most about teaching?

I like helping change students’ lives through the unique form of education we use in law schools. I also like the give-and-take in class between the students and the teacher. (Some of my students might say that I do more giving than taking but, in reality, that varies from class to class.)

What do you hope students gain from your courses?

I hope that my students will learn in my classes not only the knowledge of the relevant legal issues, rules and policies, but also the discipline to be prepared, which will benefit them and their clients.

What did you do prior to entering academia?

Immediately before I began teaching, I managed my family’s small real estate business.

What are you passionate about outside the law?

I love the arts. My wife and I particularly like the visual arts, especially works of art that were created on paper in the first half of the 20th century.

What are your research interests?

I have written in the fields of legal education, legal history, and law and literature. Currently, I’m researching the property law issues that arise in Victorian literature.

Publications

Link to my publications.

Presentations

Presentations are listed on my CV.

Expertise

  • Real property
  • Wills and decedents’ estates

Courses

  • Property
  • Texas Real Property
  • Wills & Estates
  • Borderlands Law class at Texas A&M International University in Laredo (May - June 2016)

Academic Experience

  • Professor of Law
    Texas A&M University School of Law (2013-present)
  • Associate Dean for Planning and Evening Programs
    Texas A&M University School of Law (2017-2019)
  • Associate Dean for Planning, Compliance and Evening Programs
    Texas A&M University School of Law (2016-2017)
  • Professor of Law
    Texas Wesleyan University School of Law (1995-2013)
  • Fulbright Professor of Law, Wuhan University, Wuhan, China (2001)
  • Associate Professor of Law
    Texas Wesleyan University School of Law (1992-1995)
  • Assistant Professor of Law
    Dallas/Fort Worth School of Law (1990-1992)

Education

  • LL.M., Columbia University School of Law
  • ED.M., Harvard University Graduate School of Education
  • J.D., University of Texas School of Law
  • A.B. in History, Harvard University

Awards / Honors

  • Association of Former Students' College Level Distinguished Achievement Award (Fall 2015)
  • CASETA Distinguished Service Award
  • Texas A&M Faculty Senate, Richard Stadelmann Faculty Senate Service Award
  • Fort Worth Country Day School Distinguished Alumnus
  • Texas Wesleyan University Faculty Scholar
  • Texas Wesleyan University School of Law, Teacher of the Year (four times)

Other Professional Activities

  • Member, American Bar Association
  • Member, State Bar of Texas
  • Member, Tarrant County Bar Association
  • Life Fellow, Texas Bar Foundation
  • Board of Directors, Center for the Advancement and Study of Early Texas Art (CASETA) (2007-present)