In 1995, Hughes completed his Juris Doctor degree from Baptist-affiliated Baylor Law School in Waco, Texas. For the next two years, Hughes was a law clerk and briefing attorney for the late U.S. District Judge for the Eastern District of Texas [[William M. Steger]] of Texas, a pioneer in the Republican Party who was his party's 1960 gubernatorial nominee against Governor [[Price Daniel]]. The federal courthouse in Tyler, the county seat of Smith County is named for Judge Steger. For a time Hughes practiced law in Marshall in Harrison County,<ref name=bio/> but in 2003, he joined the Lanier law firm in Mineola. He describes his practice as one dedicated to "representing working families and small businesses."<ref name=mesot>{{cite web|url=http://www.mesotheliomalawfirm.com/_d_bryan_hughes.htm|title=D. Bryan Hughes|publisher=mesotheliomalawfirm.com|accessdate= September 26, 2011}}</ref> | In 1995, Hughes completed his Juris Doctor degree from Baptist-affiliated Baylor Law School in Waco, Texas. For the next two years, Hughes was a law clerk and briefing attorney for the late U.S. District Judge for the Eastern District of Texas [[William M. Steger]] of Texas, a pioneer in the Republican Party who was his party's 1960 gubernatorial nominee against Governor [[Price Daniel]]. The federal courthouse in Tyler, the county seat of Smith County is named for Judge Steger. For a time Hughes practiced law in Marshall in Harrison County,<ref name=bio/> but in 2003, he joined the Lanier law firm in Mineola. He describes his practice as one dedicated to "representing working families and small businesses."<ref name=mesot>{{cite web|url=http://www.mesotheliomalawfirm.com/_d_bryan_hughes.htm|title=D. Bryan Hughes|publisher=mesotheliomalawfirm.com|accessdate= September 26, 2011}}</ref> |