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 … Continue Reading
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. … Continue Reading
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 … Continue Reading
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, … Continue Reading
The Appellate Section of the State Bar of Texas is now accepting nominations for this year’s Texas Appellate Hall of Fame class. The Hall of Fame posthumously honors advocates and judges who made a lasting mark on appellate practice in the state of Texas. The section will honor the Hall of Fame inductees in a … Continue Reading
Supreme Court of Texas Senior Justice Debra Lehrmann will receive the Samuel Pessarra Outstanding Jurist Award from the Texas Bar Foundation during the foundation’s annual dinner on June 20 at the JW Marriott San Antonio Hill Country Resort in San Antonio. The award recognizes active or retired federal or state judges with “an exceptional reputation … Continue Reading
The latest group to be certified by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization (TBLS) was inducted at the AT&T Executive Education and Conference Center in Austin on March 14. Spanning 36 specialty areas, inductees included 206 attorneys and 49 paralegals. “Becoming board-certified in your specialty area, you are providing your clients with the best legal … Continue Reading
Sharon Sandle, director of the Law Practice Resources Division of the State Bar of Texas, is the recipient of the 2025 Pat Nester Innovation in Professional Development Award. This award was established by the State Bar of Texas CLE Committee in 2017 and recognizes an individual whose innovative contributions have substantially advanced continuing legal education … Continue Reading
The State Bar of Texas Executive Committee will meet at 10 a.m. CDT on March 25 at the Texas Law Center in Austin. The meeting is open to the public and will be streamed live on the State Bar of Texas YouTube page. The agenda can be viewed here. The meeting materials are available here. … Continue Reading
Six Texas attorneys have been selected as recipients of the “Standing Ovation Award” from TexasBarCLE. The lawyers were chosen based on their exceptional volunteer contributions to CLE programing in 2024. “TexasBarCLE is grateful to all our volunteers for their dedication to the continuing education of their peers. But every year, a few go above and beyond,” … Continue Reading
The Texas Bar Foundation (TBF) announced the recipients of its 2025 slate of awards. Each year, the foundation honors those who exemplify the highest standards of the legal profession and are nominated and selected based on their outstanding contributions to the legal field and dedication to justice. This year’s recipients will be recognized at the … Continue Reading
The team from Frisco Career and Technical Education Center, in Frisco won first place at the 46th annual Texas High School Mock Trial Competition on March 8 at the George Allen Courthouse in Dallas, according to a press release. This is the Frisco team’s first state championship after finishing runner-up the last three years. Frisco … Continue Reading
Volunteer attorneys will be available to answer legal questions on Wednesdays in March through the Dallas Bar Association’s LegalLine E-Clinic. The clinics, which run from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m., are free of cost. A volunteer attorney will call a participant for up to 15 minutes of legal advice. No attorney-client relationship will be established. … Continue Reading
Sara Keith, senior legal counsel to Shell USA, Inc., is the 2025 Houston Bar Foundation (HBF) chair. Keith succeeded 2024 HBF Chair Linda Hester at the foundation’s annual luncheon held at Hotel ZaZa Museum District on February 13, according to a press release. “I am incredibly honored to serve as the 2025 chair of the … Continue Reading
The Conference of Chief Justices (CCJ) and Conference of State Court Administrators (COSCA) want to hear from law students and practicing attorneys across the country about their law school and legal experience. Your perspective will help inform the Committee on Legal Education and Admissions Reform (CLEAR) as it works to develop recommendations to improve bar … Continue Reading
The State Bar of Texas Board of Directors will meet at 9 a.m. on January 24 at the Texas Law Center in Austin. 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 … Continue Reading
The Dallas Bar Association (DBA) will host the inauguration of its 116th president, Vicki D. Blanton, on January 25 at the Dallas Omni Hotel. Blanton, assistant vice president and senior legal counsel for AT&T Inc., has been on the DBA Board of Directors for many years and has served on a variety of DBA committees … Continue Reading
Reynaldo “Rey” Anaya Valencia has been named president and dean of South Texas College of Law Houston, according to a press release. Valencia will assume his new role in July 2025. Interim President and Dean Jeff Rensberger will continue to lead the law school through the spring academic semester and work to ensure a smooth … Continue Reading
Betty Balli Torres, executive director of the Texas Access to Justice Foundation, and civil rights attorney Danny Ortega are the 2025 recipients of the inaugural Impacto Award, sponsored by the American Bar Association Commission on Hispanic Legal Rights and Responsibilities. The award will be presented January 31 at the Diversity Awards Reception during the ABA … Continue Reading
South Texas College of Law Houston’s team of three recent graduates won the 2024 Scribes Brief-Writing Award by the American Society of Legal Writers, according to a press release. This marks the sixth time STCL Houston has won the award. The winning team was composed of Joshua Fojtik (’23), of Hicks Thomas in Houston; Madelyn … Continue Reading
Gov. Greg Abbott appointed Jimmy Blacklock as chief justice of the Supreme Court of Texas on January 6, and appointed James P. Sullivan as the court’s Place 2 justice, filling Blacklock’s previous spot, according to a press release. Blacklock becomes the court’s 28th chief justice, replacing former Chief Justice Nathan L. Hecht, who retired at … Continue Reading
The State Bar of Texas Executive Committee will meet at 10 a.m. CST on January 9 at the Texas Law Center in Austin. The meeting is open to the public and will be streamed live on the State Bar of Texas YouTube page. The agenda can be viewed here. The meeting materials are available here. … Continue Reading
The University of Houston Law Center received a $100,000 donation from the BeyGOOD Foundation, founded by music icon and Houston native Beyoncé Knowles-Carter to support its Criminal Justice Clinic, according to a press release. “I am delighted that the BeyGOOD Foundation has made this very generous gift to the UH Law Center,” UH Law Center … Continue Reading
The State Bar of Texas Legal Services to the Poor in Civil Matters Committee and the State Bar of Texas Legal Services to the Poor in Criminal Matters Committee are seeking nominations for their annual awards. The Legal Services to the Poor in Civil Matters Committee Pro Bono Excellence Awards include the Frank J. Scurlock … Continue Reading
