South Texas Law Alumnus and Retired Marine Hits 50-year Mark as an Attorney

Home Law School News South Texas Law Alumnus and Retired Marine Hits 50-year Mark as an Attorney

Veteran Ferris Bond ’74 joined the U.S. Marine Corps as a judge advocate as soon as he graduated from South Texas College of Law Houston and passed the bar. This year, he achieved his goal of being a 50-year lawyer.

When he first joined the Marines, the Vietnam War was tapering down, and many veterans were having a difficult time adjusting. Bond completed Naval Justice School, and he was often called on to represent the returning veterans in challenging cases.

He served four years of active duty with the Marines and 12 years in the Reserves working as both a judge advocate and a staff advocate. He ended his service with the rank of major. He is an expert in all areas of military law and has continued to practice military law since his retirement from the Marines, often serving as civilian counsel.

“Joining the Marines was one of the best decisions of my life,” said Bond, whose father was a World War II veteran. “And I truly believe the military justice system is the fairest system in the country. I have tried over 100 court martials, both prosecuting and defending. In every single case, I could see where the jury was coming from. They were smart and thoughtful, and they demonstrated compassion, when compassion was warranted.”

Bond joined the U.S. Department of Justice after his time in the Marines. While at the DOJ, Bond was responsible for the successful prosecution of significant, multi-district, drug trafficking organizations. Unfortunately, his work required travel three weeks of every month, and the rough work schedule led to the dissolution of his marriage. He became a single dad with a young daughter, Maggie.

He left the DOJ and hung out his own shingle as a trial attorney. In court one day, he met fellow attorney Jane Norman — a former JAG for the U.S. Navy. He asked her out soon after, and their four-decade story as life partners and legal partners began. They will be married 39 years in 2025 and they continue to manage their firm together: Bond and Norman Law, P.C., in Washington, D.C.

Bond has won many significant and interesting cases over five decades. Perhaps the most prominent one involved suing the Islamic Republic of Iran for its involvement in the 1983 bombing of the Marine barracks in Beirut, Lebanon, that killed 220 Marines, 18 U.S. Navy sailors, and three U.S. Army soldiers. The firm was a part of a group of lawyers who won a $2.6 billion judgment against Iran.

“We caught them laundering money through Citibank,” Bond said. “We attached that money and successfully prevailed though the Southern District of New York, the Second Circuit, and the Supreme Court. We have been able to distribute about 39% of the total to families who were affected by the bombing, and our efforts to recover the full judgment are ongoing.”

Bond notes that he gained tremendous knowledge about how to practice law while attending South Texas Law. He worked at the Harris County Juvenile Detention Center while attending law school, and he spent any spare moments across the street from the campus at The White Horse — a popular hangout in the early ’70s for lawyers and aspiring lawyers.

“I loved law school and had some great professors, but I also learned a ton about trying cases and handling different kinds of clients from listening to the war stories of trial lawyers at The White Horse,” Bond said.

Being practice-ready became important in his early days in the Marines. “My commanding officer walked in and laid a two-foot-tall pile of case files on my desk. It was basically sink or swim,” he said.

Through the years, Bond has tried cases from coast to coast. As a prosecutor, he had a defendant in a drug conspiracy murdered just as his trial was about to begin. He has sued foreign nations under the Terrorism Amendment to the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act, and he has gained justice for hundreds of people — many of them veterans.

“Throughout my life, I have been surrounded by outstanding individuals,” Bond said. “I am proud of all my work as an attorney, but I am still especially proud of being a U.S. Marine. A Marine — even a retired one — is always ready to go. I may be too old and slow to run or fight in the field, but in the courtroom, I’m as sharp as ever. I’d go today if they called me.”

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