Posted inGuest BlogState BarTexas Lawyers' Assistance ProgramTLAP

Stories of Recovery: I believe in hope for the hopeless

By Guest Blogger on

Editor’s note: TLAP offers confidential assistance for lawyers, law students, and judges with substance abuse or mental health issues. Call TLAP at 1-800-343-8527 (TLAP) or find more information at tlaphelps.org.

What did I do last night? Who is mad at me? What did I do at work yesterday afternoon? Did I commit malpractice? Surely, a client will sue me soon. I wonder if anyone knew I was drunk when I came back to court after lunch last week. I am not going to drink today. Maybe I should end it all. If being a lawyer weren’t so stressful, I wouldn’t have to drink like I do. Screw it; I’ll quit drinking tomorrow.
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Posted inEducationMock TrialNews

Dallas’ Bishop Lynch places 10th at National High School Mock Trial Competition; Wylie student wins art contest

By Adam Faderewski on

Bishop Lynch High School, of Dallas, finished 10th out of 46 teams at the 2019 National High School Mock Trial Competition from May 16 to May 19 in Athens, Georgia. This is the second time in the past five years that a Texas team has placed in the top 10.

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Posted inLocal BarsNewsPeople

Houston Bar Association presents awards at annual dinner

By Adam Faderewski on

The Houston Bar Association, or HBA, presented a new award for outstanding achievement and leadership for women in the law to former Texas Supreme Court Justice Ruby Kless Sondock at its annual dinner meeting on May 16.

Sondock was the first woman to serve on the Texas Supreme Court and the first woman district court judge in Harris County. The University of Houston established the biennial “Ruby Kless Sondock Lecture in Legal Ethics” in her name, and in 2015, the State Bar of Texas Litigation Section recognized her as a Texas Legal Legend.

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Posted inLocal BarsNewsPeople

Benny Agosto Jr. is the new Houston Bar Association president

By Adam Faderewski on

Benny Agosto Jr., a partner in Abraham, Watkins, Nichols, Sorrels, Agosto & Aziz, is the new president of the Houston Bar Association. He succeeds Warren W. Harris, a partner in Bracewell, who will serve on the HBA Board of Directors as immediate past president.

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Posted inNewsVeterans

Free legal clinic for veterans in Richmond

By Eric Quitugua on

Veterans in need of legal advice or assistance can visit a free clinic on Saturday, May 18, from 9 a.m. to noon.

Volunteer attorneys will give any veteran or spouse of a deceased veteran one-on-one advice in any area of law, including family law, wills and probate, consumer law, real estate law, tax law, and disability and veterans benefits. Veterans in need of ongoing legal representation and who qualify for legal aid may be assigned a pro bono attorney. Continue Reading

Posted inNews

Newest attorneys sworn in to Texas Bar

By Eric Quitugua on

Texas’ newest lawyers were inducted into the State Bar of Texas on Monday, May 13 at the Frank Irwin Center in Austin.

The Supreme Court of Texas and State Bar of Texas welcomed the state’s newest members of the profession May 13 at the Frank Irwin Center in Austin.

Texas’ highest courts, the State Bar, the Texas Board of Law Examiners, law school deans, and friends and family looked on as newly licensed attorneys took the Lawyer’s Oath during Monday morning’s New Lawyer Induction Ceremony. Continue Reading

Posted inNewsState BarU.S. Supreme Court

State Bar of Texas responds to lawsuit with strong constitutional defense

By Staff Report on

On May 13, the State Bar of Texas laid out almost six decades of U.S Supreme Court precedent establishing the constitutionality of its structure in response to a lawsuit filed against the bar. The State Bar’s filings explain that the bar — as an arm of the government — has a statutory obligation to regulate the legal profession and improve the quality of legal services in Texas.

You can read the State Bar’s cross-motion for summary judgment here. Go to texasbar.com/mcdonaldvlongley to read other filings in the case.

Posted inPeople

What Evan Thomas Taught Me . . . By Way of Sandra Day O’Connor

By Guest Blogger on

By Rocky Dhir 
Host of the State Bar of Texas Podcast and President & CEO of Atlas Legal Research, LP

As a vegetarian, salmon mousse shouldn’t intrigue me, but it does now. I even Googled images of what it looks like, having never eaten it myself. My newfound interest in salmon mousse places me in the company of Ken Starr, Jonathan Rose, and Sandra Day O’Connor. The latter three actually ate the confection, together, in fact. The year was 1981; Starr and Rose traveled to Phoenix, Arizona, on behalf of the Department of Justice to interview O’Connor for possible nomination to the U.S. Supreme Court. Continue Reading

Posted inAccess to JusticeLocal BarsNewsTexas Bar Foundation

Dallas Bar Association receives Texas Bar Foundation grant for legal incubator

By Adam Faderewski on

The Dallas Bar Association, or DBA, received a grant from the Texas Bar Foundation to launch its Entrepreneurs in Community Lawyering program this fall.

The Entrepreneurs in Community Lawyering program is the first local legal incubator in Dallas and seeks to create a pipeline for lawyers who are well equipped to launch a fiscally stable solo or small firm that caters to low-income Texans. Continue Reading

Posted inAnnual MeetingSpecial EventState Bar

Podcast previews 2019 State Bar of Texas Annual Meeting

By Lowell Brown on

The latest episode of the State Bar of Texas Podcast features a preview of the 2019 State Bar of Texas Annual Meeting with Executive Director Trey Apffel and an interview with President Joe K. Longley, who is part of a class of 50-year lawyers who will be honored at the event. Listen here.

Annual Meeting attendees can complete up to a year’s worth of CLE credits in two days for only $295. The early bird registration rate ends May 13. Register here.

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