Nathan B. Schattman July 20, 1970 – December 28, 2020

Nathan B. Schattman
July 20, 1970 – December 28, 2020

Nathan B. Schattman, an attorney at Brown, Proctor & Howell LLP specializing in corporate litigation, labor and employment matters, and civil commercial matters representing the Union Pacific Railroad, insurance companies and financial institutions, died Dec. 28 of a heart attack.

Even before he was born, Mr. Schattman was in the courtroom, the family said in an obituary.

He was the son of Judge Michael D. Schattman and Mary Ellen Brannigan Schattman, and during his mother’s pregnancy, Mary Ellen Schattman was fired from her job for simply being pregnant.

He was part of the Schattman in Schattman v Texas Employment Commission case, when his parents sued for the right to work while pregnant.

The case was handled by a new ACLU lawyer named Ruth Bader Ginsburg. They were denied cert at the Supreme Court, but that case led to the law being changed and now being pregnant is no longer an immediate firing offense, the family said.

Mr. Schattman followed in his father’s footsteps, graduating Nolan High School in 1987, Georgetown University in 1991 and the University of Texas Law School in 1994. He was sworn into the Texas Bar by Judge Schattman, while his grandfather looked on, happy that a Schattman practicing law in Texas, a legacy begun in 1945, would continue, the family obituary said.

Mr. Schattman was steeped in Fort Worth history and culture but he had to be taught – painstakingly, the family said – to two-step so that he was prepared for the Clinton Inauguration “Black Tie and Boots” Ball.

He was recognized in 2005, 2006, 2008, 2012 and 2014 as a Top Attorney by Fort Worth, Texas Magazine. In 2007, he was named a Rising Star by Thomson Reuters in Texas Monthly magazine. And in 2020, was selected as a Fellow in the Texas Bar Foundation.

Mr. Schattman traveled frequently to Portugal and Brazil and truly adopted the culture, bringing much of it home with him to Texas.  He loved his family with a ferocity that was palpable and shared by the many friends he treated as family, the obituary said.

Mr. Schattman suffered from Conn’s syndrome, a rare metabolic disorder that causes an imbalance in the salt and potassium levels in the blood, frequently leading to dangerous high blood pressure. This chronic disorder and 20 pills daily reminded him of the importance of health insurance for pre-existing conditions, the obituary said.

The family said he will be remembered for his love of Georgetown and the Hoyas, UT and the Longhorns, politics as a lifetime Democrat and unapologetic Friend of Bill (FOB), science fiction, storytelling, golf, basketball, gaming, Portuguese, Ireland and  Irish whiskey, especially Connemara and Teeling (attributed to his extended family), and You and Yours (if you were lucky enough to know him).

In addition to his parents, survivors include siblings Virginia Thornton and husband Guy Thornton, and Rita Rubins and husband Dan Rubins.

His nieces and nephews, Rachel and Amy Rubins and Bret and Eliza Thornton, will be his legacy, the family said. He knew they can change the world. He will also be survived by all of the people he helped through his decision to be an organ donor.
There will be a Memorial Service at a date to be determined.

The family said that an excellent way to honor Mr. Schattman would be to verify your voter registration information and to seriously consider becoming an organ donor.
The family said people wishing to make a donation in his memory can do so to his niece Amy’s school, 

Overbrook School for the Blind, where she has been a student since she was a baby.
When donating, indicate In Memory of Nathan Schattman on the “company” line at
https://www.obs.org/get-involved/donate.cfm