Joseph Evans Attwell was the youngest managing partner of Vinson & Elkins, the largest law firm in Texas

Texas

Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...

 and the largest single law office in the world, from 1981 to 1991.

He lived in Houston, Texas

Houston, Texas

Houston is the fourth-largest city in the United States, and the largest city in the state of Texas. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the city had a population of 2.1 million people within an area of . Houston is the seat of Harris County and the economic center of , which is the ...

 all his life, and was an owner of the Houston Astros

Houston Astros

The Houston Astros are a Major League Baseball team located in Houston, Texas. They are a member of the National League Central division. The Astros are expected to join the American League West division in 2013. Since , they have played their home games at Minute Maid Park, known as Enron Field...

 from 1978 to 1994 and the Houston Rockets

Houston Rockets

The Houston Rockets are an American professional basketball team based in Houston, Texas. The team plays in the Southwest Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association . The team was established in 1967, and played in San Diego, California for four years, before being...

 from 1986 to 1995. He was the Chairman of the Board of the Welch Foundation from 2005 until his death. Mr. Attwell also served on the board of American General Corporation for 40 years (now AIG

American International Group

American International Group, Inc. or AIG is an American multinational insurance corporation. Its corporate headquarters is located in the American International Building in New York City. The British headquarters office is on Fenchurch Street in London, continental Europe operations are based in...

), the board of Ocean Energy (now Devon Energy

Devon Energy

Devon Energy Corporation , is among the largest U.S.-based independent natural gas and oil producers. Based in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, the company's operations are focused on North American onshore exploration and production...

) and many other Fortune 500

Fortune 500

The Fortune 500 is an annual list compiled and published by Fortune magazine that ranks the top 500 U.S. closely held and public corporations as ranked by their gross revenue after adjustments made by Fortune to exclude the impact of excise taxes companies collect. The list includes publicly and...

 and charitable boards. He was a two time Chairman of the Harris County Hospital District

Harris County Hospital District

The Harris County Hospital District is a governmental entity with taxing authority that owns and operates three hospitals and numerous clinics throughout Harris County, Texas, United States, including the city of Houston...

 Board, the second largest county hospital district in the world. Attwell served as a Trustee of Rice University

Rice University

William Marsh Rice University, commonly referred to as Rice University or Rice, is a private research university located on a heavily wooded campus in Houston, Texas, United States...

where the J. Evans Attwell-Welch postdoctoral fellowships honor his name at the University's Center for Nanoscale Science and Technology. He was awarded Rice's Gold Medal for extraordinary service to the University in 1997.

He married Mary Petersen in March 1956. They had five children and six grandchildren, one of whom is named after him.