Essays in Honor of Professor Stephen T. Zamora

Book excerpt: One of Stephen T. Zamora’s former students entered law school with little idea about his future direction. He was fortunate to have a class on contracts with Zamora, Sten Gustafson writes, because “after that first year with him, my path became clear.” The professor made a topic intriguing that could easily be esoteric and tedious, and “opened my eyes to a career path that I could not have imagined otherwise.” This collection of 19 academic essays honors the memory of Dr. Stephen T. Zamora, the Leonard B. Rosenberg Professor of Law at the University of Houston Law Center, who died unexpectedly in 2016. An international authority in the field, Zamora’s areas of expertise were international trade and investments, international banking, conflicts of laws, international economic relations, Mexican law and US-Mexico relations. In addition, he was the driving force behind the establishment of the Center for U.S. and Mexican Law, the only one of its kind at a US law school. Written by colleagues and friends, the scholarly articles included in this volume reflect Zamora’s commitment to Mexican law, education and the promotion of US-Mexico cooperation. Topics such as regulating lawyers and legal education, environmental issues and dispute settlement are covered, and articles include “Economic Sovereignty and Oil and Gas Law,” “What Should Immigration Law Become?” and “Freer Trade between the United States and the European Union?” Through this collection, Zamora’s contemporaries aim to expand his legacy and continue his life-long work as an educator, attorney and uniter of peoples.