Gatesville graduate sworn in as attorney at historic Coryell County Courthouse

Lindsey Suson brought her legal career back to the courthouse she knew from childhood field trips, returning to Gatesville to take the oath in the district courtroom at Coryell County’s historic courthouse.

The Gatesville High School graduate had already been sworn in as an attorney in New Jersey after finishing Rutgers Law School in 2024. But after moving back to Texas, she needed to take the oath again through the State Bar of Texas admission process, which is handled by the Texas Board of Law Examiners and includes a path for applicants from other jurisdictions. Rather than do it somewhere routine, Suson chose the building that had already shaped her sense of place.

The Coryell County Courthouse sits in the heart of downtown Gatesville and is still used today. Built in 1897 and 1898, it is Coryell County’s third courthouse and is widely regarded as one of the most beautiful courthouse buildings in Texas. Historic-marker sources identify W.C. Dodson as the architect and Tom Lovell as the builder. The courthouse was completed in 1898 after construction began the year before, and its long civic history gave Suson’s swearing-in a setting with real weight.

Suson said the courtroom felt especially meaningful because it was tied to her memories of growing up in Gatesville. Her parents, Dwight and Nancy Suson, missed her first swearing-in in New Jersey because they were not there in person, though they watched on Zoom. Returning to Coryell County gave them the chance to share the moment face-to-face, alongside friends and family.

The ceremony also pointed toward what comes next for Suson and for the community that raised her. She is married to Euntaek Yoon, and the couple has recently moved to the Houston area, where she expects to practice law, likely in public assistance or public representation work. That direction fits a profession in which access, service and local roots still matter, especially in a county that spans about 1,052.2 square miles and grew from 83,093 residents in the 2020 Census to an estimated 85,592 on July 1, 2025.

For Coryell County, Suson’s return was more than a personal full circle. It was a reminder that the courthouse in downtown Gatesville still marks major life moments, and that some who leave for school or work continue to carry their hometown with them back to the district courtroom.