Susan L. Bickley, of Blank Rome, took office as 2020 chair of the Houston Bar Foundation on February 25, succeeding Travis Torrence, of Shell Oil Company. Photo courtesy of Tara Shockley.
Susan L. Bickley, of Blank Rome, took office as the 2020 chair of the Houston Bar Foundation on February 25 at the Annual Meeting and Luncheon at the Marriott Marquis in downtown Houston.
Bickley has more than 30 years of civil trial and appellate experience in litigation, and her practice focuses on employment, commercial and business disputes, disputes involving trade secrets, and the defense of claims against professionals.
At Blank Rome, Bickley is a member of the firm’s Executive Committee, office chair for the Houston office, leader of the employment practice in Houston, and serves on the Chair Nominating, Pro Bono, and Diversity committees.
She has been honored with many awards, including Among the many awards she has received is the President’s Award from the Houston Bar Association, which she received in 2010 and 2011.
Other leadership who took office at the meeting include:
- Jason M. Ryan, of Centerpoint Energy—vice chair;
- Neil Kelly, of Hunton Andrews Kurth—treasurer;
- Denise Scofield, of Winston & Strawn—director;
- Polly Fohn, of Haynes and Boone—director;
- Jim Hart, of Williams Hart Boundas Easterby—director;
- Greg Heath, of Locke Lord—director;
- Richard Mithoff, of Mithoff Law Firm—director
- Christian Garza, of Enterprise Products—director;
- Daniella Landers, of Reed Smith—director;
- Alyssa Schindler, of Chevron—director; and
- Travis Wofford, of Baker Botts—director.
HBA President Benny Agosto Jr. and HBA Executive Director Mindy Davidson serve as ex officio members.
Harry M. Reasoner received the Houston Bar Foundation’s highest honor, the Hames B. Sales Pro Bono Leadership Award.
The Houston Bar Foundation’s highest honor, the James B. Sales Pro Bono Leadership Award, was presented to Harry M. Reasoner, a partner in Vinson & Elkins and the chair of the Texas Access to Justice Commission.
Additionally, the Houston Bar Foundation awarded several attorneys for outstanding contributions to the Houston Volunteer Lawyers; for volunteer service to the Dispute Resolution Center, providing free alternatives to formal litigation; and for legal writing in The Houston Lawyer:
- Hunton Andrews Kurth—Outstanding Contribution to HVL by a Large Firm
- Blank Rome—Outstanding Contribution to HVL by a Mid-size Firm
- KoonsFuller—Outstanding Contribution to HVL by a Small Firm
- Alyssa “Allie” Romano and Julie LaEace, of Kirkland & Ellis—Outstanding Contribution to HVL by a Pro Bono Coordinator
- Omonzusi Imobioh—Outstanding Contribution to HVL by an Individual
- Chevron Corporation—Outstanding Contribution to HVL by a Corporate Legal Department
- James D. Gaughan—Outstanding Contribution to the Dispute Resolution Center
- Adrian Almaguer—Longevity of Exemplary Service to the Dispute Resolution Center
- John G. Browning—honored as the author of the outstanding legal article published in The Houston Lawyer
For more information about the Houston Bar Foundation, go to hba.org.