The State Bar of Texas Board of Directors on Friday voted to select Steve Chiscano as chair-elect. Chiscano, a shareholder in Chiscano Hossa & Calve in San Antonio, will take office in June and serve as chair until June 2027.
Chiscano was elected in 2024 to serve as a director on the State Bar Board of Directors representing District 10, Place 1 (Bexar County).
Read the news release here.
The Texas Bar Foundation (TBF) awarded Alliance For Children, a children’s advocacy center serving Tarrant County, a grant of $7,400 to support its court education/accompaniment and emergency needs programs.
These programs provide essential support services for child abuse victims and their protective families as they prepare for what is likely the most challenging time of their lives. Alliance For Children’s family advocates coordinate these programs with a deep awareness of the fear and apprehension a child may experience when facing an abuser in court. The goal of these programs is to ensure that children and their protective caregivers feel supported, prepared, and empowered for what lies ahead, according to a press release
“Walking into a court room can be overwhelming for anyone. Yet, for the children and families served by Alliance For Children, it can mean reliving trauma and violence. We are grateful to the Texas Bar Foundation for their support of children and caregivers in tangible ways to reduce anxiety during the criminal court process,” Alliance For Children CEO Julie Evans said in a press release.
For more information about Alliance for Children or its work, go to allianceforchildren.org. For more information about the TBF, go to txbf.org.
The State Bar of Texas Board of Directors will meet at 8 a.m. on April 24 at the Bevy Hotel in Boerne. The meeting is open to the public and will be broadcast live on the State Bar of Texas YouTube channel.
The agenda can be viewed here. Among the agenda items, the board will vote to elect the new chair of the Board of Directors for 2026-27, consider and discuss acceptance and acknowledgement of acceptance of contributions to the State Bar of Texas Building Fund, and consider and discuss approval of the State Bar of Texas 2026-27 proposed budget 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 23. 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 20, 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.
If you’re interested in law, the number of degree options can get confusing fast! You might hear about the JD, the LLM, legal studies degrees, joint degrees, and doctoral programs, all while trying to figure out which one actually fits your goals. Some paths are built for people who want to become licensed attorneys. Others are meant for professionals who work alongside legal teams or want a stronger understanding of the law without practicing it.
That’s why it helps to look at legal education one degree at a time. Each route serves a different purpose, asks for a different level of commitment, and opens different career doors. Once you understand what each path is designed to do, it becomes much easier to choose the one that matches the kind of work you want.
Update 4.14.26: We received a report of another scam targeting Texas attorneys. An attorney let us know the scam appears to be targeting plaintiff law firms, resulting in calls, emails, and lawsuits being filed across multiple states. At this time, the attorney knows of instances in Texas, New York, Washington D.C., and Florida, and they expect more may be imminent. They understand the fraud to work in the following way. The alleged claimant with the purported name of “Mr. Lopez” will sign up with a plaintiff law firm usually online or through emails. The claim alleges that he was a contractor for a company and was terminated after being injured, resulting in 40 plus stitches to his face. The claimant’s story will include the detail that the company agreed to a settlement with him for $250,000 but failed to ever pay him. The law firm then receives letters alleging to be from an employee at the company. So far, the attorney has seen two different employee names used. This letter will say there was an unfortunate delay and promises immediate payment. Shortly after that, the plaintiff law firm will receive a cashier’s check for the $250,000 settlement. When the plaintiff firm lets “Mr. Lopez” know that the check is received, he will accept the settlement and ask to be paid for his apportionment of the proceeds. The cashier’s check will then bounce.
In this episode of the State Bar of Texas Podcast, host Rocky Dhir welcomes two leaders: State Bar of Texas President Santos Vargas and Texas Young Lawyers Association (TYLA) President Alyson A. Martinez. They discuss their goals for the 2025-2026 bar year, highlighting projects aimed at strengthening access to justice and expanding public service. Vargas provides an update on the “Stand With Santos” campaign, which raises awareness and funding to support the civil legal needs of low-income Texans. Martinez discusses TYLA’s For the Public, which showcases lawyers working in public service roles and aims to increase understanding of these vital career paths.
In September 2025, law students from all 10 Texas law schools came together for three days at the Lubbock County Courthouse to crown one “Best in Texas.”
Conceived through a partnership between the advocacy directors of the state’s law schools and TEX-ABOTA, the Best in Texas Voir Dire Competition is a one-of-a-kind mock trial tournament that focuses on the undertaught art of jury selection.
The State Bar of Texas is hosting a free webinar for attorneys interested in learning about the use of artificial intelligence in the practice of law. The event, titled “Ask a Human: A Q&A Session on AI,” will take place April 15 from 3 to 4 p.m. CDT and requires advanced registration. To sign up, visit texasbarpractice.com and click the “Register Now” button at the top of the page. All attorneys and other legal professionals are welcome — Texas bar membership is not required to participate.
Ask a Human is a project of the State Bar’s Law Practice Management Committee and staff from its Law Practice Management Department. Trish McAllister, staff attorney for the department and liaison to the committee, will moderate the webinar. Panelists Alex Shahrestani and Patrick Wright, attorney members of the committee with deep knowledge on AI in the law, will answer questions. Attendees can submit questions in advance at registration as well as live during the webinar via chat.
Read more in the press release.
The Dallas Volunteer Attorney Program, an initiative of the Dallas Bar Association, Legal Aid of NorthWest Texas, and local lawyers, is hosting free virtual and in-person legal clinics for eligible Dallas County residents throughout April.
All virtual clinics run from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.:
Texas attorneys will choose new leaders in an election beginning April 1. Voting will continue throughout the month, with results announced April 30.
Voting will take place electronically. Attorneys should look for an email April 1 from the State Bar’s election service provider, Election Services Corporation, with voting instructions. Alternatively, they can visit the bar’s homepage at texasbar.com and click “Vote” to login and cast their ballot starting April 1.
In the race for State Bar president-elect, attorneys will choose between Sarah Clower Keathley, of Corsicana, and Ray Thomas, of McAllen. Members of the Texas Young Lawyers Association (TYLA) will also pick a president-elect, choosing between David R. “Dave” Hagan, of Longview, and Claire Harbert, of Waco. The winners will serve as president-elect in 2026-2027, as president in 2027-2028, and as immediate past president in 2028-2029.
Additionally, attorneys in some districts of both the State Bar and TYLA will elect new members to their boards of directors. More information on the election and the candidates is available at texasbar.com/elections.