Texas Tech Law School Honors Distinguished Alumni
February 2, 2010
School celebrates 40th anniversary of the first graduating class.
Written by Sherrel Jones
The School of Law will recognize Mark Griffin, John Huffaker and Roger Key on Feb. 5 at the Sixth Annual Law School Gala & Distinguished Awards Dinner at the Frazier Pavilion. The Distinguished Alumni Award is given annually in recognition of service to the bench, the bar and the public. The Distinguished Service Award is given annually in recognition of outstanding service to the Texas Tech University School of Law.
Members of the first graduating class also will be recognized. The class of 1970 set the stage for the law school’s success by earning a 100 percent pass rate on the Texas Bar Examination including the five highest scores.
Mark Griffin
Mark Griffin, class of 1979, is the president and general counsel of the Rip Griffin Companies, headquartered in Lubbock. He was a member of the Texas Tech University System Board of Regents from 2005 to 2009, and served as chairman for the Academic, Clinical and Student Affairs Committee.
Griffin is a former trustee of the Lubbock Independent School District and Covenant Health System, as well as a director for Plains National Bank. He has served on many boards including the Texas Guaranteed Student Loan Corporation and Lubbock Independent School District Foundation.
John Huffaker
John Huffaker, class of 1974, is a shareholder in the Amarillo law firm Sprouse, Shrader, Smith and is board certified in civil trial law.
Appointed to the Texas Tech University System Board of Regents in February 2009, Huffaker currently is a member of the Audit Committee and the Facilities Committee. He also is past chair of the Amarillo College Board of Regents and was the founding president of the Amarillo Education Foundation. Huffaker served on the Texas Tech Law School Foundation Board of Trustees from 1982 to 2010.
As a practicing attorney, Huffaker is a member of the State Bar of Texas (member and former chair, Committee on Agricultural Law, 1986-1994; and member, sections on: litigation; corporation, banking and business law; and labor and employment); the Amarillo Bar Association; and the Texas Association of Bank Counsel and College of the State Bar.
Roger Key
Roger Key, class of 1976, is a named partner in the Lubbock law firm of Key and Terrell and also is chairman of the board of directors of Lubbock National Bank. Key’s law practice concentrates on banking law; bankruptcy law; general civil litigation; corporate law; real estate law and employment law. He is admitted to the State Bar of Texas, where he is a member of the Banking Law Section, and also to the U.S. District Court, Northern District of Texas, Western District of Texas, Eastern District of Texas and the U.S. Supreme Court.
There has been a member of the Key family on the Texas Tech Law School Foundation Board of Directors since the foundation was created. Roger Key replaced his father, Lubbock attorney Marion Key, and has rendered many years of service to the Law School Foundation and the School of Law. He is serving as chair of the Law School Foundation Fiduciary Committee.