Legal Career
Rollins initially practiced law in Denison, Sherman, and then Whitesboro in Grayson County. He relocated to Austin in 1957 to join the staff of the Texas Attorney General (1957–1963) William "Will" Wilson. Assigned to the highway division, Rollins tried numerous eminent domain cases in order to acquire right-of-way for the construction of the Eisenhower interstate highway system in Texas.
In 1961 he moved to Houston to join the staff of the city attorney where he became senior assistant attorney and chief of the litigation section. He represented Houston police in numerous suits, many of a civil rights nature, against the department. Not once did Rollins lose a case representing a police officer.The officers accordingly awarded him a plaque of appreciation for his work.
On retirement from the city of Houston in 1979, Rollins joined the law firm of Olson & Olson, from which he retired in 1997. He became a volunteer instructor in the English-as-a-second-language program of Memorial Assistance Ministries. He also tutored in the bilingual education program at Spring Branch Elementary School. Rollins was fluent in Spanish, French, and German. He was a scholar of languages and history, particularly the American Civil War, World War I, World War II, and Europe.
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