His strong legal background and connections to the Bush family led to his appointment in 1995 as general counsel to then-Texas Gov. George W. Bush, fulfulling similar duties to the ones he holds now at the White House.

And in 1998, Bush appointed Gonzales to be Texas’ 100th secretary of state.

On the Bench

But while serving under Bush in both Texas and Washington, D.C., his work in the courtroom has been his main career focus.

In 1999, Gonzales recieved yet another appointment from Bush, who selected Gonzales to serve on the Texas Supreme Court.

Fellow HLS grad and Texas Supreme Court Justice Thomas R. Phillips served with Gonzales. He holds his colleague in high regard both personally and professionally, saying Gonzales was generally the first judge to arrive each morning to work.

“He did an outstanding job on the court. [He was] very hardworking, very thorough,” Phillips says. “I think it’s fair to say that everyone on the court developed a great affection for him and his family.”

While serving on the court, Gonzales began to show the moderate conservatism that has characterized his legal background.

“[Gonzales was] one of Bush’s moderate appointees to the court and was very cautious while on the court,” says Craig McDonald, the executive director of the public interest group Texans for Public Justice. “He helped shift the court from a very right wing court to a more moderate conservative court.”

The most widely known instance of Gonzales’ divergence from traditional conservative legal opinion occured with his majority opinion opposing a requirement that minors notify their parents before having abortions.

But while Gonzales was considered a moderate on some social positions, his opinions also took a strong pro-business stance that reflected his background in corporate law, as well as financial backing from pro-business lobbying groups.

“He was clearly a pro-business justice and very harsh on the rights of consumers,” McDonald says.

The President’s Lawyer

Gonzales’ work as a judge in Texas may merely be a stepping stone to a future U.S. Supreme Court appointment, with his careful centrism paving the way for his nomination when a vacancy opens.

Last month, a New Republic article considered the factors that would play into a possible nomination of Gonzales to the Supreme Court.