University of Texas School of Law - Peregrinus Yearbook (Austin, TX)

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The University in general and the law school in particular lost a great friend when Elton M. Hyder Jr. died this year. A 1943 graduate of the UT School of Law, Hyder enjoyed the kind of suc- cess that attracts people to the profes- sion in the first place. Hyder worked his way through school when it was possible to get a bachelor ' s degree in law without hav- ing to first get an undergraduate degree. He was in such a hurry that he took advantage of a rule that let law enrichment of the University from rigs in the Gulf. The Tidelands cases made many careers. It made Tom C. Clark U.S. attorney general and eventually a Supreme Court justice. And it gave Jimmy Allred, a former Texas governor and state attorney general, a unique opportunity. World War II had just ended, and the Allies were about to conduct two war crimes trials. The prosecution team for Nuremberg and lead counsel for Tokyo as the absence of law, and by participat- ing in the restoration of the rule of the law after a war of tyranny, regarded lawyers as a special class of profession- als charged with a responsibility to guard the uncertainty of peace. Back in the United States, Hyder trad- ed on his experience in oil and gas and his reputation as a celebrated young attorney, and settled down to the art of making money. But he never forgot the source of his success - the University and the law school he knew made his Liton M- hyder Jr, students in their final semester sit the Bar Exam, and graduated a fully licensed attorney. At the time he entered law school, no one in the profession made any real money, except the law professors. So he went into it, not expecting to make an exceptional living, just a decent one. He secured a job in the Oil Gas Section of the state Attorney General ' s office as it battled a hostile bid from Uncle Sam to reduce Texas ' oil-rich ter- ritorial waters from three leagues to three miles. He distinguished himself among the team of lawyers who even- tually won the Tidelands case, assuring among other things, the continued had already been selected when Allred and Hyder visited Tom Clark in Washington. Clark offered Allred the open slot on the Tokyo team, but he saw sitting sec- ond chair as a demotion. He declined, so Clark asked him if he knew anyone he could recommend in his place. The governor pointed to his trusted assis- tant and said Elton. So at the incon- ceivable age of 25, Elton Hyder served as the youngest lawyer at the Japanese war criminals trials, personally leading the prosecution of General Tojo. The experience instilled within Hyder a deep respect for the traditions and the obligations of the law, for he saw war success possible, and he started giving back. Hyder funded student scholarships, contributed his time and money to the Law School Foundation and served on its Board of Directors, and most con- spicuously, bestowed an invaluable col- lection of antiques, engravings, histori- cal documents and art on law students, the Hyder Collection that enables the UT Law School and stands as a perma- nent memorial, not merely to a man, but to a tradition that upheld the law as an honored profession. So though the world should never miss another lawyer, the University should grieve the loss of Elton Hyder. 2 -Elton M. Hyder Jr.

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Clontents features 2 Organizations Z6 5tu Jents 60 paculty 96 Staff 6 Index 122 Sponsors 127 Advertising 125 1 5 ' t? feregnnus, Volume -ft? Tne (Jniversitij of Texas cliool of Law, Austin, Te

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Elton M. Hyder Jr. - 3