2020 - Leadership and the Law
"Leadership and the Law"
James A. Baker, III, Former United States Secretary of State
Tuesday, October 13, 2020
12:00 PM – 1:00 PM
CDT (Waco, TX)
Hosted in Partnership with the 2020 Vision for Leadership Conference at Baylor Law
About the Lecture
Former U.S. Secretary of State James A. Baker, III, whose 30-year legacy of public service includes senior positions under three U.S. presidents, was interviewed at the 2020 Starr Federalist Lecture at Baylor Law on Monday, October 13 at noon CDT. Secretary Baker was interviewed by accomplished author and distinguished trial lawyer Talmage Boston, as they discussed Secretary Baker’s remarkable career, the leadership lessons learned from his years of experience in public service, and the skills and capabilities of lawyers that contribute to success as effective leaders and problem-solvers.
Baker and Boston also discussed Baker’s newly released biography, The Man Who Ran Washington: The Life and Times of James A. Baker III, by Peter Baker and Susan Glasser. The Wall Street Journal calls The Man Who Ran Washington “an illuminating biographical portrait of Mr. Baker, one that describes the arc of his career and, along the way, tells us something about how executive power is wielded in the nation’s capital.” In Talmage Boston’s review of The Man Who Ran Washington, published in the Washington Independent Review of Books, Boston states, “[This] book provides a complete, persuasive explanation of how this 45-year-old prominent but politically inexperienced Houston transactional lawyer arrived in the nation’s capital as undersecretary of commerce in July 1975, and within six months, began his meteoric rise to the peak of the DC power pyramid…” The New York Times calls it “enthralling,” and states that, “The former Secretary of State’s experiences as a public servant offer timeless lessons in how to use personal relationships, broad-based coalitions and tireless negotiating to advance United States interests.”
The Federalist Papers are a collection of 85 essays written by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay between 1787 and 1788. The authors wrote under the name "Publius," making the case for the ratification of the U.S. Constitution, outlining how the new government would operate and why it was the best choice for the United States of America.
This course has been approved for Minimum Continuing Legal Education credit by the State Bar of Texas Committee on MCLE in the amount of 1 credit hour. CLE forms available here.
James A. Baker, III
James A. Baker was appointed Secretary of State on January 22, 1989, and served until August 23, 1992. Baker brought almost two decades of experience in politics, both behind the scenes and in key administration positions with him to the State Department. As Secretary of State, Baker successfully oversaw United States foreign policy during the end of the Cold War, as well as during the First Persian Gulf War.
Born in Texas on April 28, 1930, Baker attended prep school in Pennsylvania, and went on to graduate from Princeton University in 1952. Following a two-year active rotation in the United States Marine Corps from 1952 to 1954, Baker received his law degree from the University of Texas at Austin in 1957. He practiced law at the firm of Andrews and Kurth from 1957 to 1975, but it was not until the early 1970s that he became involved in politics.
Through the influence of his first wife, Baker became involved in the Republican Party and began a long political relationship with George H.W. Bush. Baker chaired Bush’s unsuccessful Senate campaign in 1970. In 1971 Baker became the Finance Chairman of the Republican Party and played a significant regional role in President Nixon’s reelection. During the Ford Administration he was appointed Under Secretary of Commerce.
Baker also managed President Gerald Ford’s election bid in 1976. In 1981, following a short run as chairman for George H.W. Bush’s Republican presidential primary campaign Baker was named President Ronald Reagan’s White House Chief of Staff.
During the second Reagan Administration, Baker simultaneously served as Secretary of the Treasury and as Chairman of the President’s Economic Council. Baker served as Secretary of State in George H.W. Bush’s cabinet from January 22, 1989 until August 23, 1992, when he was appointed Senior Counselor and White House Chief of Staff for President Bush. Baker continues to be active in politics and U.S. foreign policy.
As Treasury Secretary during the second Reagan Administration, Baker was instrumental in passing the Plaza Accord of September 1985, a multilateral agreement, which devalued the dollar in order to reduce America’s account deficit and help the U.S. economy recover from a recession that had begun in the early 1980s. He also tried to implement the Baker Plan, which proposed using Japan’s trade surplus to relieve Third World debt.
Baker served as Secretary of State during a very interesting and important time period in U.S. foreign relations. He was influential in overseeing American foreign policy during the tumultuous and touchy times following communism’s downfall in Eastern Europe and the break-up of the former Soviet Union.
As the head of the State Department, Baker was also the driving force behind creating a coalition of nations to repel Saddam Hussein and Iraq from Kuwait during the First Persian Gulf War.
Baker continues to play a role in U.S. diplomacy and international affairs. He served as a Personal Envoy of the United Nations Secretary-General for Western Sahara from 1997 to 2004. In 2006, the former Secretary of State served as the Republican co-chair of the Iraq Study Group, tasked with assessing America’s policy toward Iraq.
Talmage Boston
Talmage is a partner in the Firm’s Dallas office who handles commercial litigation in both trials and appeals. During his 40-year career, he has successfully represented clients in state and federal court lawsuits and arbitrations involving oil and gas, real estate, banking, intellectual property, partnership disputes. He has successfully tried many jury trials throughout Texas and prevailed in appellate courts all over the state including the Texas Supreme Court and the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. In 2019, Talmage received the prestigious Terry Lee Grantham Memorial Award from the Texas Bar Foundation which is given annually to the Texas lawyer who is “an accomplished, talented, and dedicated Texas lawyer who is a servant of the profession and a dedicated advocate.”
View all of Talmage Boston's Books, here: https://talmageboston.com/portfolio-item/books/.