The State Bar of Texas Board of Directors will hold its quarterly meeting at 9 a.m. MDT on April 29 in El Paso. Attorneys and members of the public can attend the meeting in person or watch it live on the State Bar’s YouTube channel. Public comment will be accepted in person or via Zoom or … Continue Reading
State Bar of Texas past President Cullen Smith Jr., 96, died April 16, 2022. He served as president of the State Bar of Texas from 1978 to 1979.… Continue Reading
The State Bar of Texas’ newest lawyers will be officially sworn in May 13 at the State Bar of Texas New Lawyers Induction Ceremony in Austin. Those who passed the February 2022 Texas Bar Examination are eligible to be inducted at the event, which will begin at 10 a.m. CDT at Bass Concert Hall, located … Continue Reading
Charles A. Beckham Jr., a partner in Haynes and Boone in Houston, has been elected president of the American College of Bankruptcy. Beckham, who will serve a two-year term as president, will assume the role of principal operating officer of the college and will also lead and participate in numerous college programs and activities around … Continue Reading
State Bar of Texas President Sylvia Borunda Firth released the following statement April 4 on the U.S. Supreme Court’s denial of certiorari in the McDonald v. Firth case regarding the mandatory bar in Texas. “We are pleased the Court continues to recognize the longstanding precedent that supports the mandatory bar structure. Thirty other states and … Continue Reading
Baylor Law School faculty member and Waco City Councilman Joshua G. Borderud was honored with the 2020 American Inns of Court Sandra Day O’Connor Award for Professional Service in the U.S. Supreme Court courtroom in Washington, D.C., on Saturday, March 26. The award recognizes a lawyer who displays excellence in public interest or pro bono … Continue Reading
Austin lawyer Claude Ducloux is the winner of the 2022 Pat Nester Innovation in Professional Development Award. Ducloux will receive the award in July at TexasBarCLE’s Advanced Personal Injury Law Course in San Antonio. Ducloux was chosen because he supports innovation in professional development by ensuring attorneys in Texas, and throughout the nation, know how … Continue Reading
Fastcase and the State Bar of Texas are partnering to provide all active State Bar members free access to Fastcase’s vast collection of briefs, pleadings, motions, and orders powered by Docket Alarm within the Fastcase legal research platform. Since 2014, State Bar of Texas members have received unlimited access to Fastcase’s nationwide legal research content … Continue Reading
Texas Supreme Court Chief Justice Nathan L. Hecht will receive the Samuel Pessarra Outstanding Jurist Award from the Texas Bar Foundation at the Texas Bar Foundation Annual Dinner on June 10 at the Marriott Marquis in Houston. The award recognizes an active federal or state judge who exudes a reputation for competency, efficiency, and … Continue Reading
The St. Mary’s University School of Law National Trial Team took the national title in a trial advocacy competition that pits together 12 teams in mock trials. The 2021 competition was a virtual tournament that began in the fall and ended in a round-robin weekend, where St. Mary’s Law defeated a team from Chicago-Kent College … Continue Reading
John G. Browning, a partner in Spencer Fane in Plano and a visiting associate professor of law at Faulkner University in Montgomery, Alabama, received the Luther (Luke) H. Soules III Award for Outstanding Service to the Practice Award. The award by the State Bar of Texas Litigation Section recognizes an attorney “who embodies excellence in … Continue Reading
Texas attorneys new to the practice of law will choose between lawyers Laura Pratt of Lubbock and Courtney M. White of Amarillo for the next president-elect of the Texas Young Lawyers Association. TYLA is a department of the State Bar of Texas and commonly referred to as its “public service arm.” All Texas-licensed attorneys in … Continue Reading
The San Antonio Women’s Hall of Fame announced its 2022 class. Among the list of authors, educators, doctors, and more are Justice Patricia O’Connell Alvarez and Rebecca K. Lively.… Continue Reading
The State Bar of Texas announced the results of its statewide 2022 judicial poll. The results are available at texasbar.com/pollresults. At the direction of the Texas Supreme Court, the State Bar conducted a nonpartisan straw poll of contested Supreme Court, Court of Criminal Appeals, and courts of appeals district races on the 2022 election ballot. … Continue Reading
The State Bar of Texas filed a brief with the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday arguing the court should not take up a challenge to the mandatory bar. Plaintiffs in McDonald v. Firth have petitioned the court to take the case after a panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit upheld … Continue Reading
State Bar of Texas president-elect candidates Joe Escobedo and Cindy Tisdale will participate in live, virtual candidate forums from noon to 1 p.m. Central on March 10 and April 5. Register for March 10 Register for April 5 Submit questions for the candidates in advance by email to webmaster@texasbar.com or during the forums by using the Zoom … Continue Reading
Kristina “Krisi” Kastl, a personal injury attorney and founder of Kastl Law, was elected as 113th president of the Dallas Bar Association, or DBA, on January 22, 2022. She has served on the DBA Board of Directors for many years and previously served as president of the Dallas Women Lawyers Association in 2011 and the … Continue Reading
The Texas Supreme Court issued a unanimous order Friday permitting out-of-state lawyers to provide legal services to indigent defendants arrested for certain misdemeanor offenses. The emergency order, Misc. Docket No. 22-9007, allows attorneys authorized to practice law in another U.S. jurisdiction to provide services as an employee of a public defender office or through a … Continue Reading
The San Antonio Bar Foundation elected 27 fellows to its 2022 class. Selection as a foundation fellow is by nomination only and is restricted to members of the San Antonio Bar Association. Fellows must demonstrate professional achievement, an exemplary reputation, and commitment to the legal community. Each year’s class is limited to no more than … Continue Reading
The State Bar of Texas Board of Directors will meet at 9 a.m. CST on January 27. The presiding officer will be physically present at the Texas Law Center in Austin. Other directors will participate remotely according to the requirements of Texas Government Code Sec. 551.127. Attorneys and members of the public can attend the … Continue Reading
State Bar of Texas past President Allan DuBois, 76, died January 9, 2022, in San Antonio. He served as president of the State Bar of Texas from 2015 to 2016, focusing his efforts on raising awareness of the Texas Lawyers’ Assistance Program and funding for the Sheeran-Crowley Memorial Trust, which provides financial help to Texas … Continue Reading
The State Bar of Texas Board of Directors filed a conditional cross-petition for a writ of certiorari with the U.S. Supreme Court in response to plaintiffs’ filing in the McDonald lawsuit challenging the mandatory bar. Plaintiffs in the case filed a petition for writ of certiorari on November 24. The bar’s conditional cross-petition argues that … Continue Reading
Genora K. Boykins was elected chair of the South Texas College of Law Houston Board of Directors at a board meeting on December 8. She is the first woman and first African American to serve as board chair. Boykins succeeds J. Ken Johnson, who served as board chair from 2014 to 2021. “I am excited … Continue Reading
The State Bar of Texas’ Membership Department was informed in November 2021 of the deaths of these members. We join the officers and directors of the State Bar in expressing our deepest sympathy.… Continue Reading
