Thanks to your Member Benefit Program, your family can have the best vacation ever. The platform has savings on resorts, hotels, suitcases and more. Check out the Travel and Retail pages for more info.
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SBOT Litigation Section grant helps Houston Volunteer Lawyers assist low-income households after Hurricane Harvey
The Litigation Section of the State Bar of Texas has awarded a $25,000 grant to support Houston Volunteer Lawyers’ efforts to provide legal representation to low-income households who have a legal issue caused by Hurricane Harvey and who cannot afford an attorney, particularly in cases that involve litigation.
According to a news release, Houston Volunteer Lawyers (HVL) will assist low-income households who have been denied FEMA assistance based on the preexisting condition of the home, who are facing foreclosure or bankruptcy due to financial strain after the storm, or who are fighting insurance denials or undervaluation of damage.
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One attorney’s non-traditional path to law
By Floyd E. Guest Jr.
Upon graduation from Duke University with a bachelor’s degree in business administration and a major in accounting, my plan for a career as an FBI agent was changed when my older brother called me in April 1952 and asked me to move to Houston to help him form a life insurance company.
During WWII, my brother Jim was second in command of a Landing Ship Medium at Okinawa with the U.S. Navy when he was accepted into Harvard Law School for admission once the war ended. When Japan surrendered, Jim’s ship was decommissioned in Orange, Texas, and while there, he visited Houston, which appealed to him as a right-sized Southern town that would give him a better career opportunity and a more Southern lifestyle—something he desired. He was raised and educated in Anderson, South Carolina, and graduated from the University of South Carolina in 1943. After finishing Harvard in 1949 and working for a patent law firm in New York for two years, Jim decided to leave the big city and start a law practice in Houston.
Texas Center for Legal Ethics announces 2018 Pope Award winner
The Texas Center for Legal Ethics, or TCLE, has named David Keltner of Fort Worth as the recipient of the 2018 Chief Justice Jack Pope Professionalism Award. Keltner will be presented with the award by Texas Supreme Court Chief Justice Nathan Hecht at the annual Texas Supreme Court Historical Society Dinner on September 7 in Austin. The Pope Award, named in honor of deceased Texas Supreme Court Chief Justice Jack Pope, is given to a judge or attorney who personifies the highest standards of professionalism and integrity in appellate law. Keltner is an appellate attorney with Kelly Hart & Hallman in Fort Worth. He previously served as a justice on the 2nd Court of Appeals in Fort Worth from 1986 to 1990. Keltner is one of the original drafters of the Texas Lawyer’s Creed and worked with Chief Justice Pope in 1984 to enact the State Bar’s new disciplinary procedure rules. He was chair of the State Bar Board of Directors in 1999-2000.
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Kick back and relax: Show us how you chill with #LawyerVacay
Practicing law can be stressful, so it is important to take time to unwind and think of your well-being.
Long hours, heavy workloads, and client relations can impact practitioners in many ways. That’s why this month’s issue of the Texas Bar Journal focuses on wellness and well-being in the practice of law and provides insights and resources for attorneys to deal with pressures of the job.
In that spirit, we are re-launching a successful photo contest, #LawyerVacay. With summer here, we want to see how you’re taking a break from the law and reenergizing—whether it’s a day at the beach, an adventurous hike, cycling (or traveling on one of those motorized scooters) around the city, or simply enjoying a staycation.
Share your vacation photos with the State Bar of Texas (@statebaroftexas) via Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter using the hashtag #LawyerVacay. Not on social media? You can also email them to tbj@texasbar.com.
Some of our favorite pics will be featured on the Texas Bar Blog and our social media accounts.
According to a recent study, over 50 percent of American workers don’t take advantage of their vacation time. Use yours and maximize your well-being. We can’t way to see how you relax!
Disclaimer: By submitting any photographs via social media to #LawyerVacay at the State Bar of Texas, you agree to give the State Bar of Texas, Texas Bar Blog, and Texas Bar Journal the right to use, publish, and edit the photograph(s) and that they can credit you by name upon publication. You also agree that the photograph(s) and additional information you submit are original, accurate, under your ownership, and that they do not violate the rights of any third party.
Alistair Dawson elected fellows chair of Texas Bar Foundation
Alistair B. Dawson, a member of the State Bar of Texas Board of Directors and a partner in Beck Redden in Houston, has been elected 2018-2019 fellows chair of the Texas Bar Foundation.
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Finding Your Niche
Martha McIntire Newman on how finding your niche and narrowing your focus can make you happier and more successful.
Knowledge Center offers members practical resources
New offerings are available at the State Bar of Texas Knowledge Center, a repository of relevant, vendor-sponsored news and information that practitioners can access for free. Need help automating your practice? Get tips and strategies from MyCase. Additional new resources include an e-book from LawPay that offers advice on providing clients with modern payment options, articles from the National Institute for Trial Advocacy that feature techniques to enhance your advocacy skills, a 10-page downloadable document from Thomson Reuters that highlights issues to consider when noticing a deposition in Texas district or county court, and more. Continue Reading
Austin Bar, AYLA produce video
This year’s class of the Leadership Academy, a joint effort of the Austin Bar Association and the Austin Young Lawyers Association, has produced Law: A Profession of Service, a video of interviews with highly accomplished and well-known lawyers in Central Texas that aims to shine a positive light on the legal profession.
Free legal clinic for veterans in Katy
Veterans in Katy can receive free legal advice at a clinic hosted by the Katy Bar Association and the Houston Bar Foundation’s Veterans Legal Initiative on Saturday, July 14.
The clinic will offer veterans, or spouses of deceased veterans, one-on-one advice and counsel from volunteer attorneys in areas of law including family law, wills and probate, consumer law, and real estate and tax law, as well as disability and veterans benefits.
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