A Desire to Serve

Thirty-five years with the Air Force, finishing as a two-star General,??and 20 with the Texas Air National Guard; four years in state government under Gov. Rick Perry and 31 years with Cantey Hanger.??

Brian Newby, who became Cantey Hanger’s Managing Partner in 2019, was destined to succeed.??

"I have marveled with joy as I’ve watched his career progress," long-time friend Chris Rodgers told?Super Lawyers?magazine, which profiled Brian in its annual?Super Lawyers?rankings. Rodgers is the Executive Director of St. Paul Lutheran Church and School in Fort Worth. "(Brian’s) done it with humility and dignity, and he has a desire to serve and a desire to lead. That’s one of the secrets to his success -- being others-focused. He helps makes others successful."??

Brian's father, a B-52s navigator, and Rodgers were strong influences that led him to Texas Tech.?The university had a pre-law course of study and an Air Force ROTC program that would allow Newby to attend law school before his commitment to four years of active duty.?

"The idea of being in the service, of flying airplanes, was attractive to me. But things just didn’t work out that way," Brian said. Eye exams indicated his sight was subpar at a time when corrective eye surgery was not allowed by Air Force regulations.??

"One of our attorneys knew Brian and knew he was getting ready to graduate from UT Law School," Cantey Hanger attorney Allan Howeth told the magazine. Howeth, who was Managing Partner at the time, interviewed him. “He was just the kind of person we wanted,” Howeth said. “He was intelligent, he had a good personality and seemed very sincere."??

Newby excelled in his first few assignments as a military prosecutor, becoming part of the Air Force’s circuit trial counsel, a lead felony prosecutor serving bases up and down the West Coast. When he joined Cantey Hanger full-time in 1991, he continued to prosecute cases with the Air Force Reserve. As he moved from base to base, Newby also served as general counsel to each base commander, whether negotiating utility contracts or dealing with the aftermath of aircraft?accidents. He found he had an affinity for serving the legal needs of a single entity or individual.?

Today, Brian?is on the?Executive Board of the U.S. Air Force Museum Foundation and Vice Chair of the?Air Force Judge Advocate General's School Foundation.?

He?says his desire to serve is built around making lasting connections. "It’s relationships. People opening themselves up and building relationships."?