In this special rebroadcast of the State Bar of Texas Podcast, host Rocky Dhir welcomes Judge Brent Carr to discuss his years of service in the Tarrant County Mental Health Court and the broader efforts across Texas to support people with mental illness in the justice system. They explore programs tackling issues from sex trafficking to drug offenses, veterans’ cases, and more.
The State Bar of Texas Legal Services to the Poor in Criminal Matters Committee announced Texas A&M University’s Public Policy Research Institute (PPRI) as the 2025 recipient of the Michael K. Moore Award for Excellence in Research or Writing in the Area of Indigent Criminal Defense. The Office of Capital and Forensic Writs (OCFW), based in Austin, is the 2025 recipient of the Warren Burnett Award.
The recipients will be formally recognized during the State Bar of Texas Annual Meeting on June 19-20 at the JW Marriott Hill Country Resort & Spa in San Antonio.
The PPRI was recognized for its 2024 report, “Justice Beyond the Cities: The State of Rural Public Defense in Texas,” a landmark study on the state of rural indigent defense in Texas. Combining rigorous data analysis with qualitative insights, the report highlights critical attorney shortages and systemic barriers faced by rural counties.
The State Bar of Texas Legal Services to the Poor in Civil Matters Committee announced its 2025 Pro Bono Excellence award winners.
Judge Roy B. Ferguson, of Houston, received the Judge Merrill Hartman Pro Bono Judge Award; Christina Yarnell, of Austin, received the Frank J. Scurlock Award; Ricardo Loza, of San Antonio, received the J. Chrys Dougherty Award; The Mexican-American Bar Association of Houston received the Pro Bono Award; Brittany Krohn, of Houston, received the Pro Bono Coordinator Award; Robert M. Caine, of Houston, received the Pro Bono Support Staff Award; and Hunton Andrews Kurth, of Dallas, received the W. Frank Newton Award.
The recipients will be formally recognized during the State Bar of Texas Annual Meeting on June 19-20 at the JW Marriott Hill Country Resort & Spa in San Antonio.
Judge Merrill Hartman Pro Bono Judge Award—Judge Roy B. Ferguson
The Judge Merrill Hartman Pro Bono Judge Award honors a sitting or retired judge who has provided exemplary pro bono service, including outreach to attorneys to increase the quantity and quality of pro bono representation; modifications to court processes to increase access to justice; advocacy on behalf of access to justice; service as a volunteer judge for pro bono clinics; or other pro bono proceedings. Judge Roy B. Ferguson was honored for his pioneering work in expanding access to justice in rural Texas, notably through the early adoption of virtual hearings during the COVID pandemic. His innovations helped eliminate barriers for low-income and self-represented litigants. A staunch advocate for pro bono service, Ferguson actively recruited attorneys statewide, ensuring that justice reaches even the most remote corners of Texas.
Bryan Stevenson of the Equal Justice Initiative gives the keynote address at this year’s gala. (Photo by Bill McCullough)
The Texas Access to Justice Commission and its co-sponsor, the State Bar of Texas, honored veterans throughout the state at the Champions of Justice Gala Benefiting Veterans last Wednesday night at the Four Seasons Hotel in Austin. This year’s gala marked a record-breaking year in terms of funds raised, with over one million dollars brought in by a long list of sponsors – all to help provide civil legal services to low-income Texas veterans.
This year’s event was chaired by David R. McAtee II, senior executive vice president and general counsel for AT&T Inc., and Van H. Beckwith, executive vice president and chief legal officer at Halliburton. Supreme Court of Texas Justice Brett Busby, who is also the Court’s liaison to the Texas Access to Justice Commission, served as the master of ceremonies and throughout the evening emphasized the significant civil legal needs among veterans. All of the Supreme Court of Texas’ Justices were in attendance at this year’s gala.
The Macey and Harry M. Reasoner Access to Justice Lecture Series Keynote Speaker was Bryan Stevenson, the founder and executive director of the Equal Justice Initiative, a human rights organization in Montgomery, Alabama. Read the news release.
The Texas Bar Foundation has awarded a $12,000 grant supporting the 2025 Texas Elder Justice Coalition Summit, a gathering of frontline professionals confronting the crisis of elder fraud and financial exploitation, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. June 10, 2025 at the Amon Carter Event Center at Lena Pope in Fort Worth.
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All State Bar of Texas members have free access to legal research through vLex Fastcase. Join vLex Fastcase for its Q2 2025 webinar series to learn more about this member benefit.
All sessions include live Q&A and recordings for registrants.
G. David Smith
Texas attorneys elected G. David Smith, of Rockwall, to be president-elect of the State Bar of Texas and Armin Salek, of Austin, as president-elect of the Texas Young Lawyers Association during a monthlong voting period that ended today.
Smith received 52.03% — 8,541 — of the 16,417 votes cast during the monthlong voting period that ended April 30. His opponent, Deborah L. Cordova, of Edinburg, received 47.97%, or 7,876 votes.
Smith will be sworn in as president-elect during a State Bar of Texas Board of Directors meeting on June 19, 2025, and will serve as president of the State Bar of Texas from June 2026 to June 2027.
Smith is a founding partner in Smith & Lee Lawyers in Rockwall. Originally from Slaton, his family moved to Canyon and later to Muleshoe, where he graduated from high school. Smith earned his bachelor’s degree from the University of Texas at the Permian Basin and his law degree from Texas Tech University School of Law.
After earning his law degree, Smith joined the Odessa firm of Brannan and Pipes in 1983. The following year, he opened the Law Offices of G. David Smith in Odessa, focusing on criminal defense and civil litigation. In 1989, Smith relocated to Dallas to expand his practice to include personal injury law. In 2002, he moved the office to Rockwall, and the firm eventually became Smith & Lee with the addition of his stepson, Ryan K. Lee. Continue Reading
After a while, you learn that the most useful numbers aren’t always the obvious ones. Billables and revenue matter — but they won’t tell you everything. The additional insight comes from tracking a few key metrics, month after month.
Here are three metrics worth putting on your monthly agenda. They dig deeper than surface-level stats and are all trackable through the reporting and analytics features of top-rated legal practice management software.
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The State Bar of Texas Board of Directors will meet at 8 a.m. on April 25 at the Houston Marriott Sugar Land in Sugar Land. The meeting is open to the public and will be broadcast live on the State Bar of Texas YouTube channel.
The meeting agenda is available here. Among the agenda items, the board will elect a new chair for 2025-2026, consider and discuss approval of appointments of at-large directors, and consider and discuss approval of the State Bar of Texas 2025-2026 proposed budget for presentation to the Supreme Court of Texas.
Those who wish to address the board in person during the meeting should fill out a speaker card at the beginning of the meeting and submit it to a staff member onsite. To sign up to speak remotely during the meeting, email boardofdirectors@texasbar.com or call 512-427-1400 or 800-204-2222 (toll free) before 5 p.m. CDT on Thursday, April 24. Please provide the agenda item number you wish to speak on.
Written comments regarding agenda items must be received by 5 p.m. CDT on Monday, April 21, for timely distribution to the board before the meeting. Please submit written comments by email to boardofdirectors@texasbar.com and indicate the agenda item you are referring to.
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