Cattle Call

Not many intellectual property lawyers own cattle ranches. Not many cattle ranchers follow a vegan diet. Greg Howison, who practices patent law as a partner at Munck Wilson Mandala in Dallas, does both.

“Raised by a farm girl, I guess I acquired an agrarian gene early on,” says Howison, who spends about half his time at Lacy Fork Ranch, about an hour north of Dallas, and half at the office. “My wife and I, being equestrians, acquired East Texas horse property during the 2008 downturn. Other opportunities came up for additional property; I started off converting the property to high-quality hay pastures, then to cattle leasing.”

It turned out there was a big demand for grass-fed cattle. “I transitioned to selling processed beef directly,” he says. “I then decided that raising high-quality cattle was a direction.

“And, yes, I am a vegan. It’s more of a natural path, as I have always been health-conscious. I went from white meat only, to fish, to vegetarian and then vegan.”

Howison started out with 30 Angus cows and currently has more than 100. There are 150 acres of grazing pasture and 100 acres of hay pasture at Lacy Ranch, whose website pledges: “Our meat is devoid of all you do not want—hormones, GMOs, antibiotics and pesticides. With free roaming on grass, no grain is given to your beef, nor is the beef raised in confinement.”

Lucky friends and clients receive gifts of beef from Howison. “Recently, I sent some excess inventory to a food bank and realized one steer feeds over 400 families,” he says. “I intend to send them a steer every few months.”