Associate Dean for Students, Professor of Law
B.A., The University of Texas
J.D., University of Houston Law Center
Ph.D., University of Houston
Areas of Expertise
- American Legal History
- Consumer Transactions
- Internet Legal Research
- Torts
Office: 615T
Mark E. Steiner teaches American Legal History, Consumer Transactions, Immigration Law, and Texas Pretrial Procedure. He has twice been selected as a Fulbright Scholar. In 2011, he taught in the Faculty of Law at the University of Latvia. In 2005, he taught at the College of Law at National Taiwan University. He also has taught at the University of Houston Law Center and William Mitchell College of Law. He is a former associate editor of the Lincoln Legal Papers.
Steiner is the author of Lincoln and Citizenship. His previous book, An Honest Calling: The Law Practice of Abraham Lincoln, was named among the “Best of the Best” by the Association of American University Presses and given a superior achievement award by the Illinois Historical Society. His articles about legal education and American legal history have appeared in such journals as Marquette Law Review, Missouri Law Review, Journal of Legal Education, Wisconsin International Law Journal, and the Illinois Historical Journal. He frequently presents talks about Abraham Lincoln before bar, civic, and academic groups.
Steiner is actively involved in efforts to assist immigrants on the path toward citizenship. He regularly participates in Citizenship and Immigration forums and Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival workshops organized by NALEO Education Fund and BakerRipley. He was the first recipient of the Mark Steiner Award for Immigration Altruism presented by BakerRipley, NALEO, City of Houston Office of New Americans & Immigrant Communities, and Univision. He is a member of the Notario Fraud Prevention Working Group, Houston Immigration Legal Services Collaborative.
Steiner is a member of the Pro Bono College of the State Bar of Texas. Steiner is serving his third term as a member of the council for the Consumer and Commercial Law Section of the State Bar of Texas and is the former chair of the Consumer Law Task Force of the Houston Bar Association. He is a member of the Professional Ethics Committee of the Immigration and Ethnic History Society. He is on the Editorial Board of Latvijas Universitātes Źurnāls: Juridiskā zinātne (Law Journal of the University of Latvia).
In 2017, Steiner was named as a “Hero of Houston” by Shell for his post-Harvey volunteer efforts.
Internet Legal Research (Resources link)
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ARTICLES
Texas Civil Procedure Update, 26 J. Consumer & Com. L. 1 (2022).
The DTPA and Warranty Law: An Overview, 23 J. Consumer & Com. L. 45 (2019).
Lawyer Lincoln, Case by Case, J. Abraham Lincoln Ass’n, Winter 2019.
Using Consumer Law Against Notorious Notarios, 22 J. Consumer & Com. L. 11 (2018).
When American Exceptionalism isn’t Exceptional: Consumer Arbitration in the United States, 10 Latvijus Universitates Zurnals: Juridiska Zinatne (L.J. Uni. Latvia) 5 (2017). Reprinted as Senior Discount: Arbitration of Nursing Home Disputes, 21 J. Consumer & Com. L. 2 (2017).
Inclusion and Exclusion in American Legal History, 23 Asian Am. L.J. 69 (2016).
Will El Apple Today Keep Attorneys’ Fees Away? 19 J. Consumer & Com. L. 114 (2016)
Abraham Lincoln and the Rule of Law Books, 93 Marq. L. Rev. 1283 (2010).
Abraham Lincoln’s Books , Marq. Law., June 2010, at 24.
“The Sober Judgement of Courts”: Lincoln, Lawyers, and the Rule of Law, 36 N. Ky. L. Rev. 279 (2009).
Abraham Lincoln, Esq.: A Docket That Reflects Then and Now, 95 A.B.A. J., Feb. 2009, at 38, 39.
Does Lawyer Lincoln Matter? 72 Tex. B.J. 100 (2009).
Internet Resources for Texas Criminal Lawyers, 70 Tex. B.J. 784 (2007).
Cram Schooled, 24 Wis. Int’l L. J. 377 (2006).
Consumer Choice and American Competition and Consumer Protection Law, 9 Competition Pol’y NewsL. _____ (Taipei, Taiwan, P.R.C.: Competition Policy Information & Research Center, Fair Trade Commission) (December 31, 2005).
General Catalogue of Law Books, Alphabetically Classified by Subjects (1859), 18 Legal Reference Services Q’ly 47 (1999).
Without Precedent: Footnotes in Judicial Opinions, 12 App. Advoc., Sept. 1999, at 3.
Not Fade Away: The Continuing Relevance of “Writ Refused” Opinions, 12 App. Advoc., Feb. 1999, at 3.
Interview with Judge Evans, 11 App. Advoc., Feb. 1998, at 6. (with Lynne Liberato)
Lawyers and Legal Change in Antebellum America: Learning from Lincoln, 74 U. Det. Mercy L. Rev. 427 (1997).
The Secret History of Proprietary Legal Education: The Case of the Houston Law School, 1919-1945, 47 J. Legal Educ. 341 (1997).
The New Jersey Radium Dial Workers and the Dynamics of Occupational Disease Litigation in the Early Twentieth Century, 62 Mo. L. Rev. 281 (1997). (with Kenneth A. DeVille)
Abolitionists and Escaped Slaves in Jacksonville, 89 Ill. Hist. J. 213 (1996).
The Lawyer as Peacemaker: Law and Community in Abraham Lincoln’s Slander Cases, 17 J. Abraham Lincoln Ass’n 1 (1995).
Abraham Lincoln, Appellate Lawyer, 8 App. Advoc., Jan. 1995, at 13.
The Empire Strikes Back: A Postscript to “Heroes of the Revolution”, 4 Scribes J. Legal Writing 133 (1993).
Abraham Lincoln’s Continuing Legal Education, 95 Lincoln Herald, Spring 1993, at 11.
Heroes of the Revolution: Henry Dwight Sedgwick and Timothy Walker, 3 Scribes J. Legal Writing 43 (1992).
Texas Civil Appellate Update, App. Advoc., Regular column (Spring, 1988 – Spring, 1991).
State Civil Appellate Update, 4 App. Advoc., Wint. 1990, at 10.
State Civil Appellate Update, 4 App. Advoc., Fall 1990, at 9.
State Civil Appellate Update, 3 App. Advoc., Summer 1990, at 15.
Reversals of Civil Judgments by Texas Appellate Courts, 3 App. Advoc., Spring 1990, at 3.
State Civil Appellate Update, 3 App. Advoc., Spring 1990, at 12.
State Civil Appellate Update, 3 App. Advoc., Wint. 1990, at 17.
“An Intent to Terrify”: State Antitrust in the Formative Years of the Modern Oil Industry, 29 Washburn L.J. 270 (1990). (with Joseph A. Pratt)
State Civil Appellate Update, 3 App. Advoc., Fall 1989, at 15.
State Civil Appellate Update, 3 App. Advoc., Summer 1989, at 16.
Civil Appellate Update, 2 App. Advoc., Spring 1989, at 18.
If We Don’t Do Anything but Give an Annual Dinner: The Early History of the Houston Bar Association, 11 Hous. Rev. 95 (1989).
The Writ Stuff: Why Prayers for Mandamus Relief Go Unanswered, 2 App. Advoc., Wint. 1989, at 8.
Civil Appellate Update, 2 App. Advoc., Wint. 1989, at 13.
Civil Appellate Update, 2 App. Advoc., Fall 1988, at 15.
Civil Appellate Update, 1 App. Advoc., Summer 1988, at 16.
Civil Appellate Update, 1 App. Advoc., Spring 1988, at 15.
Frivolous Appeals: An Update, 1 App. Advoc., Wint. 1988, at 6.
An Appellate Notebook, 1 App. Advoc., Fall 1987, at 7.
The Container as Customary Freight Unit: Round Two of the Container Debate? 24 S. Tex. L.J. 513 (1983). (with R. M. Sharpe, Jr.)
BOOKS
Lincoln and Citizenship. (Carbondale: Southern Illinois University Press, 2021).
An Honest Calling: The Law Practice of Abraham Lincoln. (DeKalb: Northern Illinois University Press, 2006).
BOOK REVIEWS
Review-Essay, Lawyer Lincoln, Case by Case, 40 J. Abraham Lincoln Assoc., Wint. 2019 at 70.
Book Review, 83 J. S. Hist. 423 (2017) (reviewing William H. Herndon, Douglas L. Wilson & Rodney O. Davis, Herndon on Lincoln: Letters. (2016)).
Book Review, 39 Mich. Hist. Rev. 146 (2013)(reviewing Margaret A. Leary, Giving it All Away: The Story of William W. Cook and his Michigan Law Quadrangle(2011)).
Book Review, 52 Am. J. Legal Hist. 234 (2012) (reviewing Eric Foner (ed). Our Lincoln: New Perspectives on Lincoln and His World. New York (2008))
Book Review, 116 Am. Hist. Rev. 177 (2011) (reviewing Stephen C. Neff, Justice in Blue and Gray: A Legal History of the Civil War (2010)).
Book Review, 114 Am. Hist. Rev. 1460 (2010) (reviewing Brian McGinty, Lincoln and the Court (2008)).
Book Review, 107 Reg. Kentucky Hist. Soc’y 110 (2009) (reviewing John Y. Simon, et al., eds., Lincoln Revisited: New Insights from the Lincoln Forum (2007)).
Book Review, 105 Indiana Mag. Hist. 395 (2009) (reviewing William C. Harris, Lincoln’s Rise to the Presidency (2007)).
Book Review , 26 L. & Hist. Rev. 754 (2008)(reviewing Brian Dirck, Lincoln the Lawyer (2007)).
CHAPTERS
Lincoln and Citizenship, in Charles M. Hubbard, Lincoln, the Law, and Presidential Leadership (Carbondale: Southern Illinois University Press, 2015).
Legal Profession, in A Companion to American Legal History (Alfred L. Brophy & Sally Hadden, eds.)(Hoboken: Wiley-Blackwell, 2013).
Does Lawyer Lincoln Matter? in Abraham Lincoln, Esq.: The Legal Career of America’s Greatest President (Roger Billings & Frank J. Williams, eds.)(Lexington: University Press of Kentucky, 2010).
James A. Baker, in Yale Biographical Dictionary of American Law (Roger K. Newman, ed.) (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2009).
Slaughter-House Cases, 83 U.S. 36 (1873), in David Spinoza Tanenhaus, Encyclopedia of the Supreme Court of the United States (Detroit: MacMillan Reference USA, 2008).
PRESENTATIONS & PROCEEDINGS
Class Action in Texas: HB4 and Class Actions, 18th Annual Advanced Consumer & Commercial Law (Austin: State Bar of Texas, 2022). (Chap. 18)
Lone Stare Decisis: Authority and Ethics in Texas Courts, in 16th Annual Advanced Consumer & Commercial Law (Austin: State Bar of Texas, 2020). (Chap. 20)
The DTPA and Warranty Law, 15th Annual Advanced Consumer & Commercial Law (Austin: State Bar of Texas, 2019). (Chap. 15)
Notario Fraud, 14th Annual Advanced Consumer & Commercial Law (Austin: State Bar of Texas, 2018). (Chap. 13) (with Jill Y. Campbell)
Bad Advice For Collection Lawyers, in 14th Annual Collections & Creditors’ Rights (Austin: State Bar of Texas, 2016). (Tab 16)
Practical Effects of El Apple, in 12th Annual Advanced Consumer & Commercial Law Course (Austin: State Bar of Texas, 2016). (Chap. 17)
Will El Apple Today Keep Attorneys Fees Away? in 11th Annual Advanced Consumer & Commercial Law Course (Austin: State Bar of Texas, 2015). (Chap. 21)
FDCPA/TDCA Update: More Good News For Consumer Lawyers Who Love Bad News , in 9th Annual Advanced Consumer And Commercial Law Course (Austin: State Bar of Texas, 2013). (Tab19)
FDCPA/TDCA Update, in Suing, Defending, and Negotiating with Financial Institutions (Austin: State Bar of Texas, 2013). (Tab13)
FDCPA/TDCA, in Advanced Consumer and Commercial Law Course 2012 (Austin: State Bar of Texas, 2012). (Tab16)
Transcript: Panel Discussions – Centennial Reflections on Roscoe Pound’s The Causes of Popular Dissatisfaction with the Administration of Justice, 48 S. Tex. L. Rev. 1079 (2007).
Rednecks and Railroads: Railroad Cases and the Texas Supreme Court 1900-1910, Annual Meeting of the American Society for Legal History, Austin.
The Use of Authority, Lone Stare Decisis Revisited: Ethics and Authority in Texas Appellate Courts in Light of Recent Rule Changes, 17th Annual Advanced Civil Appellate Practice Course (Austin: State Bar of Texas, 2003). (with Pamela E. George)(Tab 15)
Legal Research Implications of the TRAP Amendments: After the Flood, in 13th Annual Conference on State and Federal Appeals: June 5 & 6, 2003, Four Seasons Hotel, Austin, Texas (Austin: University of Texas School of Law, 2003). (with Tracy McGaugh) (Chap 19) ( https://tex app.org/articles/steiner trap47.pdf )
Researching Your Case, Civil Appellate Law Course for Trial Practitioners (Houston: South Texas College of Law Houston, 2002). (Tab J)
Internet Legal Research, 12th Annual Conference on State and Federal Appeals: June 6 & 7, 2002, Four Seasons Hotel, Austin, Texas (Austin: University of Texas School of Law, 2002). (Chap 17)
Lone Stare Decisis: Authority and Ethics in Texas Appellate Courts, Civil Appeals for Trial Lawyers (Houston; South Texas College of Law Houston, 2001). (Tab M)
Evidence Update, in 10th Annual Advanced Civil Trial Law Conference (Houston: South Texas College of Law Houston, 2001). (Tab P)
Evidence Update , Advanced Civil Trial Course (Austin: State Bar of Texas, 2000). (Tab B)
Lone Stare Decisis: Authority and Ethics in Texas Appellate Courts, in Civil Appellate Law Course for Trial Practitioners: a Practical, Tactical Guide (Houston; South Texas College of Law Houston, 2000). (Tab F)
Cites for Sore Eyes: Legal Authority and Ethical Issues, in Fear and Loathing on Appeal: Appellate Specialists Share Their Tips and Strategies with Trial Lawyers (Houston: South Texas College of Law Houston, 1999). (Tab K)
Use and Abuse of Authority, in Advanced Civil Appellate Practice Course (Austin: State Bar of Texas, 1999). (Tab K).
Annual Lincoln Symposium, National Archives, Washington DC, 1999.
Legal Research and Ethical Issues: Selecting and Citing Authority, Paying Attention to the Writ System, and Other Precedential Matters (Ethics Topic), in Civil Appellate Law Course for Trial Lawyers (Houston: South Texas College of Law Houston, 1998). (Tab I)
Preparing a Brief to the Court of Appeals: Walk-Through under the New Rules, in Civil Appellate Law Course for Trial Lawyers (Houston: South Texas College of Law Houston, 1998). (Tab J)
The Unheroic Mr. Lincoln?: In the Matter of Jane, a Woman of Color Reconsidered, Twenty-Fourth Annual Abraham Lincoln Symposium in Springfield, Illinois, Feb. 12, 1997.
Slander in Antebellum Illinois: Honor, Insult, and the Small Politics of Everyday Life, Annual Meeting of the Law & Society Association in Toronto, Canada, June 1, 1995.
Abraham Lincoln, Appellate Lawyer, Houston Bar Association, Appellate Section Meeting in Houston, Texas, June 29, 1994.
The New Jersey Radium Dial Workers and the Dynamics of Occupational Health Litigation in the Early Twentieth Century, American Society for Legal History 1992 Program, Yale Law School, Oct. 31, 1992.
Out of Cite, Out of Mind: an Overview of Legal Citation Style , Mystery-Solving Legal Education Seminar, Greater Houston Legal Secretaries Association, July 20, 1991.
Appellate Case Update , Houston Bar Association, Appellate Section Meeting, Jan. 30, 1991.
Standards of Review in Texas Civil Cases , Southeast Texas Appellate Law Seminar, Jefferson County Bar Association, Mar. 31, 1989.
Anti-Smoking in Houston: a Legal History , Southwestern Social Science Association Annual Meeting, Mar. 25, 1988.