State Bar of Texas Blog : State Bar of Texas Blog : News & Features on Lawyers & Attorneys & Legal Professionals in Austin, Dallas, Houston & TX

George "Tex" Quesada, of Dallas firm Sommerman & Quesada, L.L.P., was named the recipient of the 2012 Gene Cavin Award for Excellence in Continuing Education. Named for the State Bar's first full-time CLE director, the award is the highest honor given annually by the State Bar of Texas in the area of continuing legal education.

Quesada is a frequent speaker at Continuing Legal Education seminars. He has served on several State Bar committees, including the local Grievance Committee. He is a past president of the Texas Trial Lawyers Association and the Dallas Trial Lawyers Association. In addition, Quesada teaches Sunday school and is a long-time supporter of local charities.

Established in 1989, the Gene Cavin Award recognizes long-term participation in State Bar CLE activities, either seminars or publications.

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For the first time, TexasBarCLE is partnering with Minnesota CLE to offer top-quality legal education in conjunction with a 7-day cruise of the eastern Caribbean. A 15-hour MCLE-accredited Negotiation Skills Training Seminar will be taught by Nina Meierding, a nationally-recognized leader in the field of conflict resolution for over 25 years. Departing from Miami on Saturday, Feb. 11, 2012, and returning Saturday, Feb. 18, the cruise will feature first-class meals and entertainment, plus optional excursions including snorkeling, scuba diving, and deep sea fishing, as well as stops in Puerto Rico, St. Kitts, and St. Maarten. Reserve your spot now -- the early bird discount ends August 31! For full details on the seminar, the cruise, and pricing, click here.

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Eight Texas attorneys were honored this month by the State Bar of Texas for their exceptional contributions in 2010 to the Bar's continuing legal education efforts. Justice Harvey G. Brown, Jr., of Houston, David A. Chaumette of Houston, Tina R. Green of Texarkana, Randall Coyt Johnston of Dallas, Christopher Kirby of Bastrop, Michael C. Smith of Marshall, Peter S. Vogel of Dallas, and Charles M. Wilson III of Addison each received an award from the staff of TexasBarCLE, the Bar's division for providing continuing legal education and one of the premier providers in the nation.

The award, a handsome cobalt blue obelisk, is inscribed with "A Standing Ovation — Staff Appreciation for an Outstanding Volunteer of 2010." It also bears the name of the recipient, the logo for TexasBarCLE, and the seal of the State Bar of Texas.

Pat Nester, Director of TexasBarCLE, explained the significance of the award. "It is a recognition by the staff of individuals who have stood out this last year for their extraordinary commitment — of time, of leadership — and for the inspiration and insights they provided."

The attorneys’ contributions included chairing and serving on committees to plan and present continuing legal education courses, speaking and writing for courses, and generating ideas for new programs.     

"Volunteers are the lifeblood of what we do," Nester continued. "Hundreds graciously give of their time and expertise to help us each year. Without them, continuing legal education from the State Bar wouldn't be nearly as high quality, as abundant, or as affordable. It's one of the great manifestations of lawyers giving back to the legal profession."

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Join the HIspanic Issues Section for the Texas Hispanic Community at the Crossroads Conference on Tuesday, February 22, 2011. Highlights of the event include: Update on Federal Immigration Reform; State of the Border and International Law Enforcement; Federal Legislative Legal Developments: Washington Perspective; and 82nd Texas Legislative Update from State Representatives and Senators. Get more details and a registration form

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 Through TexasBarCLE.com, the State Bar has long offered the viewing of videos online for MCLE credit, but now has added a feature that allows the viewer to take and save notes within the presentation for future reference.

At its website, TexasBarCLE maintains its Online Classroom, housing hundreds of hours of recent MCLE-accredited videos. Choose an archived presentation and begin watching. At any time, click the Highlight tab, then click the Add Highlight button to pause the presentation and take a note about the current subject. Click Save to preserve your note; the video will then automatically continue where it left off. Once saved, your note may be referred back to at any time. Simply click Go to 0:00:00 (the time within the presentation) to go to the video at the point where the note was saved.

Should you return to the video on another day to review key points, your notes will be archived. Try out this new feature for yourself. Take a free online class here: http://www.texasbarcle.com/CLE/OCFree.asp.

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A new State Bar of Texas CLE course premieres this week to focus on an area of growing concern to the legal profession. "Lawyer and Law Firm Disputes: Problems and Prevention" will be held Friday, September 17, in Dallas at the Belo Mansion. The brainchild of Interim Dean Susan Saab Fortney of the Texas Tech University School of Law, the course brings together top experts to discuss intra-firm litigation, loss prevention, risk management, lawyer mobility, de-equitization, and more. The keynote speaker is Professor Robert W. Hillman, author of Hilman on Lawyer Mobility: The Law and Ethics of Partner Withdrawals and Law Firm Breakups. The luncheon speaker will be W. Mark Lanier, recognized by the National Law Journal as one of the nation's Top Ten Trial Lawyers and one of the Most Influential Lawyers in America.

Accredited for 7.25 MCLE hours, including 3.25 hours ethics, the course will be recorded and archived for future viewings at TexasBarCLE.com.

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Former Texas Supreme Court Justice Eugene A. Cook III (at left in photo) was honored with the Gene Cavin Award at the annual "Summer School" course sponsored by the College of the State Bar of Texas and TexasBarCLE in Galveston July 22-24 at Moody Gardens. The award was presented by one of the course planning committee members and himself a prior Gene Cavin Award recipient, Charles M. Wilson III. A former chair of the Bar's Continuing Legal Education Committee, Justice Cook was the principal architect of the Texas Lawyer's Creed, adopted by the Supreme Court and the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, making Texas the first state to adopt a code of conduct for its lawyers.

Named for the State Bar's first full-time CLE director, the Gene Cavin award is the highest honor given annually by the State Bar of Texas in the area of continuing legal education.

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