Texas Tech University. Photo: Johan Hendrikse, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:TTU_English_Philosophy_Building.jpg)
Texas Tech University. Photo: Johan Hendrikse, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:TTU_English_Philosophy_Building.jpg)
John Hogan Mason was born on January 27, 1948, in Searcy, Arkansas, United States. Searcy is the county seat of White County in central Arkansas.
Documented details of his family and early childhood are limited. His higher education took place in Texas, beginning in Lubbock and continuing in Abilene before he returned to Lubbock for legal training.
Mason's higher education took place at three Texas institutions, beginning with Lubbock Christian College, where he earned an Associate of Science degree in 1967. The college had been chartered in 1954 as Lubbock Christian School, and its junior college opened on September 24, 1957, with 110 students and 16 faculty members. Affiliated with the Churches of Christ, it became a senior college in 1972 and a university in 1987.
He then attended Abilene Christian College, which received a Bachelor of Science degree from him in 1969. The institution began in 1906 as Childers Classical Institute and used the name Abilene Christian College until it became Abilene Christian University in 1976. It was accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools in 1951, during a period of postwar enrollment growth.
Mason completed his legal education at the Texas Tech University School of Law, then part of Texas Technological College, receiving the Juris Doctor degree in May 1972. The law school was founded in 1967 with a first class of 72 students, gained ABA accreditation in 1970, and was admitted to the Association of American Law Schools in 1969. During his legal studies he was associated with Phi Alpha Delta, a professional law fraternity.
Mason entered legal practice in Texas after his admission to the bar. The State Bar of Texas, which licenses and regulates the state's lawyers, recorded his license date as September 25, 1972.
He is a partner of Mason & Snodgrass, a law firm based in Wichita Falls, Texas, and established in 1983. The firm's work covers general civil practice, personal injury, and workers compensation matters. Mason's practice emphasizes personal injury and trial work, and his partnership places him within a firm that handles both civil litigation and claims-based representation.
His trial specialization is reflected in board certification in Personal Injury Trial Law from the Texas Board of Legal Specialization. The board, created by the Supreme Court of Texas, first offered the personal injury trial designation in 1978. Certification requires substantial involvement in personal injury practice, continuing legal education, and peer evaluation.
Mason's memberships are in bar associations and trial-lawyer organizations. The American Bar Association, founded in 1878, is the national professional association of American lawyers. The State Bar of Texas is the integrated bar that regulates lawyers in Texas, and he is also a member of the Wichita Bar Association, a local bar association in Wichita Falls.
His trial-lawyer memberships include the Texas Trial Lawyers Association, the Association of Trial Lawyers of America, now known as the American Association for Justice, and the New York State Trial Lawyers Association. These organizations bring together lawyers who represent injured people and other plaintiffs in civil litigation. From 1975 to 1977 he also held a directorship associated with Wichita County.
American Bar Association , United States
Director
Wichita County , United States
1975 - 1977
Wichita Bar Association , United States
State Bar of Texas , United States
September 25, 1972
Texas Trial Lawyers Association , United States
Association of Trial Lawyers of America , United States
New York State Trial Lawyers Association , United States
