[2] His practice consisted of both civil and criminal matters,[2] such as creditors' rights, oil and gas, personal injury, and family law.

[3] He went on to manage his uncle's business, the Highway Transportation Company, a passenger "bus line which operated between Houston, Corpus Christi, and San Antonio.

[2] In late 1946 Pope was appointed by Democratic Governor Coke R. Stevenson to fill the unexpired term of Judge Allen Wood of the 94th District Court.

[4] Governor Stevenson's successor, Beauford H. Jester, then appointed Pope to Judge Wood's four-year term, which began January 1, 1947.

[2] During his time on the district court bench, Pope began writing for and lecturing at legal institutes and before bar associations across South Texas.

His concerns included legal ethics, trial administration, best practices for presenting and excluding evidence, and the Texas jury system.

[3] Pope sat on the court until 1950, whereupon he began serving his own six-year term, with voters subsequently re-electing him to an additional two terms, for a total of 14 years.,[3][4] In 1961 Pope's judicial review of water rights derived from Spanish and Mexican land grants [1] in the case State v. Valmont Plantations set a legal precedent which would thereafter set the standard for the adjudication of Texas water law.

[12] However, Pope refused to promise a retirement or interim-only judgeship, saying: "The citizens of Texas do not want their Chief Justice, or any judge, to make a deal to get a job.

"[12] At a news conference in early 1983, Governor White stated that he did not oppose Pope's confirmation; and in February the Senate voted 29–2 in approval.

"[3][5] In 1989 Abilene Christian University established the Jack Pope Fellows Program "to offer scholarships to ACU students pursuing public service careers.

[18] On May 28, 2013,[19] Governor Rick Perry signed into law House Bill 1445, which raised the limit on civil penalties and restitution collected by the Attorney General's Office eligible for supporting legal assistance for the indigent to $50 million per year.

The Legislature called the law the Chief Justice Jack Pope Act, in honor of his earlier work championing the IOLTA program which provides legal assistance for the poor.