Building Charles Alan Wright's Legacy Through Giving

C L O S I N G
A R G U M E N T
BY SOFIA HARBER BOWDEN
IWAS A LAW SCHOOL
busybody. At the end
of first year, I designed, ordered, collected money, and
distributed a T-shirt to my section commemorating our
fun, fabulous year (seriously). In the following two years
I was a dancer in Assault and Flattery, on the board of
Texas Law Fellowships, a member of CHLSA, and editor
in chief of the Review of Litigation. Among my best
friends are Law School classmates. I even married a guy
from my section.
So it pained me that as I entered practice I lost the
drive to be involved in the legal community. On the outside,
I was on the path to legal stardom: a successful law
school career, followed by a judicial clerkship and an associate
position at a prestigious law firm. But there was one
nagging problem. I didn’t like the day-to-day work of an
attorney. The structure of legal practice just
did not fit my personality, and it affected my
perception of everything law-related.
I began looking in the other direction
when I drove past the Law School. I knew it
was illogical to blame an inanimate object for
my unhappiness, but it was hard to look at
the place where I had once dreamed of being
a superstar lawyer and know that dream would
not come true. When I finally accepted
the fact that a legal career was not a
good fit for me regardless of where
I practiced, I took a deep breath and
left the law.
I found real estate because I opened
my mind to the possibility of a life outside
of law. My husband and I were looking
for our first home together. Being voluntarily
unemployed, I had lots of time to
master the area where we were looking
for houses, and I loved it. Our realtor
(now my broker) encouraged me to get
my license and join his company.
After some soul-searching
and self-evaluation, and
with the support of my saintly
husband, I became a residential
real estate agent.
And real estate is a great
fit. My law degree bestows
on me the same valuable in-
80 UTLAW S pring 2005
Coming Home to
Townes Hall
tangibles lawyers enjoy: credibility, trustworthiness, intelligence.
My experience working for a judge reinforced the
importance of behaving with the utmost integrity at all
times. The law firm experience taught me how to be a professional
and provide truly top-quality service to clients.
And now I love my subject matter. I just love houses
and everything they mean—shelter, family, warmth. I love
being outside and meeting new people all over town.
One of my favorite things is to drive by a client’s house
and see some labor of love they’ve accomplished—a
bright flower bed, a freshly mowed lawn—and imagine
them comfortably safe and warm inside. A home allows
people to express their love of life and family in a tangible
vessel, and to be the one who helps bring that vessel
into someone’s life is a wonderful feeling.
And it is with these new, positive feelings
about my career that I reengaged
with the Law School. I read about the Non-
Practicing Alumni Advisory Council (NPAAC)
in this magazine, and it was like a lifeline to
bring me home.
At the first NPAAC meeting I attended I
volunteered to be a co-chair for the Careers
and Mentoring Committee. I have since met
students and other nonpracticing lawyers
who appreciate having the moral support
that NPAAC offers. For me, it is a way
to feel connected and supportive of
the place that brought me the most
formative experiences of my adult
life: best friends, laughter, hopes,
dreams, Hopwood, disillusionment,
enlightenment, excitement, disappointment,
falling in love, success.
I know my life would not be as good
as it is now without the three years I
spent in that crazy place with the bells
and the green couches and the World
War II posters. I feel like I’ve
made up with an old friend.
And I’m actively trying to
become a Law School busybody
again.
Sofia Harber Bowden,’95,is a
real estate agent in Austin, Texas,
and a member of the NPAAC.
ILLUSTRATION BY ALETHA ST. ROMAIN