Texas Tech Law Meet the Faculty Biographies

Professor Susan Saab Fortney

Paul Whitfield Horn Professor of Law
Director, Health Care and Bioethics Mediation Clinic
(806) 742-3990 x233
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Admitted to practice in Texas.

Prior to joining the faculty, Professor Fortney practiced law in both the public and private sectors. She first served as briefing attorney for Chief Justice Carlos Cadena of the Fourth Court of Appeals of Texas. She continued her public service as an attorney with the Division of Corporation Finance and the Division of Enforcement at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Thereafter, Professor Fortney entered private practice, handling securities and corporate matters. With that background, she developed an expertise in business and coverage litigation, principally handling legal malpractice and directors and officers liability cases. While in practice, Professor Fortney developed her love of teaching, first as an instructor in the business schools at the University of Texas at Arlington and Dallas, and later as an adjunct professor at the University of Texas School of Law. She currently lectures and publishes in the areas of professional liability and ethics.

Professor Susan Saab Fortney has developed a reputation as an expert in law firm governance and ethics. She has conducted various empirical studies, including one on law firm peer review and another one on law firm culture, ethics and billable hour expectations. In 2005, she completed a national cross-profession study of lawyers practicing in firms, as well as government and corporate offices. The study, funded by the National Association for Law Placement Foundation, focuses on work-life conflicts and best practices for employers. Upcoming speaking engagements include presentations at the 3rd Annual International Ethics Conference in Australia and the Association of Professional Responsibility Lawyers Conference in Amsterdam.

As a Fulbright Scholar, Professor Fortney taught a comparative legal ethics course in Slovenia. For the course, Slovenian and Texas law students communicated weekly, discussing the professional and moral responsibility of attorneys.

Professor Fortney has earned recognition for her contributions as a teacher, scholar, and public servant. In 2005, she received the Texas Tech University President’s Academic Achievement Award for excellence in teaching, service, and research. In 2006, she was the Texas Tech University recipient of the Chancellor's Distinguished Teachers Award, the highest teaching award in the university. In 2007, she received the law school's Distinguished Researcher Award and was elected as a member of the American Law Institute.

Degrees

B.A., Trinity University, 1974

J.D., Antioch, 1977

LL.M., Columbia University School of Law, 1992

J.S.D., Columbia University School of Law, 1997

Courses

Torts, Professional Responsibility, Legal Malpractice, Bioethics, Comparative Legal Ethics, Health Care and Bioethics Mediation Clinic

Selected Publications

LEGAL MALPRACTICE LAW: PROBLEMS AND PREVENTION (2008) (434 pages) (Thomson-West Publisher) (co-authored with Vincent Johnson).

TEACHER'S MANUAL LEGAL MALPRACTICE LAW: PROBLEMS AND PREVENTION (2008) (238 pages) (Thomson-West Publisher) (co-authored with Vincent Johnson).

CONCISE RESTATEMENT OF LAW GOVERNING LAW (2007) (compiled with Vincent Johnson).

IN PURSUIT OF ATTORNEY WORK-LIFE BALANCE - A NATIONAL CROSS-PROFESSION STUDY OF ATTORNEYS (National Association of Law Placement Foundation study and publication based on empirical study of over 6,000 attorneys in law firms, government offices and corporate legal department) (2005) (135 pages).

The Billable Hour Derby: Empirical Data on the Problems, Pressure Points, and Possible Solutions 33 FORDHAM URBAN LAW JOURNAL 171 (2005) (article solicited for the Fordham Conference on Professional Challenges in Large Law Firm Practices).

Law Firm General Counsel as Sherpa: Challenges Facing the In-Firm Lawyer's Lawyer 53 KANSAS LAW REVIEW 835 (2005) (article solicited for the Unviversity of Kansas Law Review Symposium on General Counsel for Law Firms).

Chicken Little Lives: The Anticipated and Actual Effect of Sarbanes-Oxley on Corporate Lawyers' Conduct, 33 CAPITAL UNIVERSITY LAW REVIEW 61 (2004) (article solicited for the National Symposium on the Role of a Corporate Lawyer).

Law Student Admissions and Ethics - Rethinking the Use of Criminal History Information 45 SOUTH TEXAS LAW REVIEW SYMPOSIUM ON LAW STUDENT ETHICS 983 (2004) (article solicited for the SYMPOSIUM ON THE ETHICS OF LAW STUDENTS).

Legal Malpractice Insurance: Surviving the Perfect Storm 28 JOURNAL OF THE LEGAL PROFESSION 41 (2003-2004).

A Jurisprudential Analysis of Government Intervention and Prenatal Drug Abuse 17 JOURNAL OF LAW AND HEALTH 11 (2002-2003).

High Drama and Hindsight: the LLP Shield, Post-Andersen, BUSINESS LAW TODAY, Jan.-Feb. 2003, at 47.

Fortifying a Law Firm's Ethical Infrastructure: Avoiding Legal Malpractice Claims Based on Conflicts of Interest (with Jett Hanna), 33 ST. MARY'S LAW JOURNAL 669 (2002).

Symposium, Ethics Counsel's Role in Combating the 'Ostrich' Tendency, 2002 PROFESSIONAL LAWYER 131 (2002).

Is It Educational Malpractice Not to Teach Comparative Legal Ethics? 3 JURIDIKUM 144 (2001).

Soul for Sale: An Empirical Study on Associate Satisfaction, Law Firm Culture, and the Effects of Billable Hour Requirements, 69 UMKC LAW REVIEW 239 (2000). This article is based on an empirical study of 1000 associates. The State Bar of Texas provided the funding and support for the study.

Symposium, Insurance Issues Related to Lateral Hire Musical Chairs, 2000 PROFESSIONAL LAWYER 65 (2000).

Professional Responsibility and Liability Issues Related to Limited Liability Law Partnerships, 39 SOUTH TEXAS LAW REVIEW 399 (1998).

Seeking Shelter in the Minefield of Unintended Consequences - the Traps of Limited Liability Law Firms, 54 WASHINGTON AND LEE LAW REVIEW 717 (1997).

Are Law Firm Partners Islands unto Themselves? An Empirical Study of Law Firm Peer Review and Culture, 10 GEORGETOWN JOURNAL OF LEGAL ETHICS 271 (1997).

Law Firm Risk Management and Peer Review, 51 CONSUMER FINANCE LAW QUARTERLY REPORT 98 (1997).

OTS vs. The Bar: Must Attorneys Advise Directors That the Directors Owe a Duty to the Depository Fund, 12 ANNUAL REVIEW BANKING LAW 373 (1993).

Where Do You Get Coverage? Consumers Basic Guide to Attorneys' Professional Liability Insurance, in A GUIDE TO THE BASICS OF LAW (Alliance Press, 1996). This article is revised and published annually.

Am I My Partner's Keeper? Peer Review in Law Firms, 66 UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO LAW REVIEW 329 (1995).

Attorneys' Malpractice Policies: Regulatory Exclusions and Public Policy, 109 BANKING LAW JOURNAL 116 (1992).