(March 16, 1929 - July 27, 2014)

BLAKE TARTT
State Bar President, 1983-1984

Blake Tartt of Houston was a partner in Beirne, Maynard & Parsons, L.L.P. Born in Houston, Tartt received his bachelor’s degree in 1949 and his LL.B. degree (cum laude) in 1959 from Southern Methodist University. He received the Outstanding Senior Law Student Award in 1959 and began working at Fulbright & Jaworski, where he later became a partner.

During the Korean conflict, Tartt served as a First Lieutenant in the U.S. Air Force and flew with the 98th Bombardment Wing in Korea. He was awarded the Air Medal, Korean Service Medal with two battle stars, United Nations Service Medal, and United States and Korean Presidential citations.

Tartt had been active in both the State Bar of Texas and the Texas Bar Foundation. From 1972 to 1975, he served on the State Bar Board of Directors and from 1975 to 1976 on the Executive Committee. He served as first chair of the State Bar Insurance Trust from 1972 to 1975 and as trustee until 1978. He also chaired the State Bar Liaison Committee on Federal Rules of Evidence and was vice chair of the Litigation Section.

Tartt served on the council of the International Law Section and the James C. Watson Inn of Former Officers and Directors. He had chaired the State Bar Committees on Administration of Justice, Long Range Planning, and Convention and was appointed by the State Bar to the board of directors of the Magna Carta in America Foundation.

Tartt served as chair of the board of the Texas Bar Foundation from 1974 to 1975 and as chair of the Texas Bar Foundation Fellows from 1978 to 1979. He also served as vice chair and secretary of the Fellows. He was a Life Fellow and Sustaining Life Fellow of the Texas Bar Foundation and a Fellow of the American Bar Foundation. Tartt served on the ABA House of Delegates and as a director of the Texas Lawyers’ Insurance Exchange. He was named “Committee Member of the Year” of the Houston Bar Association in 1970 and held memberships in the International Association of Insurance Counsel and the Texas Association of Defense Counsel. Tartt died on July 27, 2014.