Baker taught at a local school in 1839. He started a law career in 1841, first as a clerk for a chancery court, then joining the Alabama bar and practicing as a lawyer in 1843. Baker was wedded to Caroline Hightower in 1849, and the marriage ended in her death in January 1852. Just a few months later Baker moved to Huntsville, Texas, where he practiced law for two decades. His in-laws were already established there, and he was involved in the family's businesses and estates. His four brothers joined him in Huntsville during the 1850s. In 1860, Baker was elected to represent the Huntsville region in the Texas legislature. He volunteered to serve the Confederacy in the
Civil War, reporting for duty in Galveston, but remaining only for six months. He ran in a special election in 1862 to fill an unexpired term in the 7th Texas Judicial District. He won the election in May and presided over his first case in December. The court was located in
Houston, but he returned to Huntsville to reside with his family between while the court was out of session. His last case ended on June 1, 1865. The
Reconstruction Governor of Texas removed Baker from his post. Baker subsequently relocated to Houston to practice as an attorney in that city, which was renamed Gray, Botts, and Baker to acknowledge its new junior partner. This firm is more recently known as
Baker Botts. While practicing law in Huntsville, Baker specialized in railroad issues. As Houston was emerging as a hub for rail transport, Gray, Botts, and Baker increased its activity in railroad law. The firms' first railroad clients were the
Houston and Texas Central and the
Missouri–Kansas–Texas Railroad, and it handled matters such as shipper's liability as a common carrier and liquidating land grants. Later the firm represented Jay Gould and the
Missouri Pacific Railroad, with Baker as a key member of Gould's legal team. After 1893, the firm by then known as Baker & Botts, was general counsel for the
Southern Pacific. ==Personal life==