The Dallas Volunteer Attorney Program, an initiative of the Dallas Bar Association and Legal Aid of NorthWest Texas, is hosting 11 free legal clinics for county residents who meet financial guidelines. The clinics, which will be held throughout June, will offer legal advice and consultation in civil matters. Continue Reading
Stories of Recovery: I believe in hope for the hopeless
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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Dallas’ Bishop Lynch places 10th at National High School Mock Trial Competition; Wylie student wins art contest
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.
Houston Bar Association presents awards at annual dinner
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.
Benny Agosto Jr. is the new Houston Bar Association president
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.
Free legal clinic for veterans in Richmond
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
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
State Bar of Texas responds to lawsuit with strong constitutional defense
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 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
Dallas Bar Association receives Texas Bar Foundation grant for legal incubator
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