The State Bar of Texas Legal Services to the Poor in Criminal Matters Committee announced Claire Buetow as the winner of the Michael K. Moore Award and Mark Stevens as the Warren Burnett Award winner.
Jennifer A. Hasley elected 2021-2022 Houston Bar Association president
Jennifer A. Hasley, managing partner in Hasley Scarano, was elected 2021-2022 president of the Houston Bar Association. Hasley succeeds Bill Kroger, a partner in Baker Botts.
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Women and the Law Section announces 2021 award winners
The State Bar of Texas Women and the Law Section announced Hilda C. Galvan as the Sarah T. Hughes Women Lawyers of Achievement Award recipient and Kathryn Snapka as the Louise B. Raggio Award winner.
Galvan and Snapka will be recognized at the section’s virtual annual meeting on June 4, 2021.
Scott Rothenberg named 2021 Gene Cavin Award for Excellence in CLE recipient
Scott Rothenberg, of Bellaire, has been named the 2021 Gene Cavin Award for Excellence in CLE recipient.
Nominations for the Gene Cavin Award are solicited from the State Bar of Texas Board of Directors, CLE Committee members, and past award recipients. The award was established by the CLE Committee in 1989 and recognizes long-term participation in State Bar CLE activities.
The award is named in honor of Gene Cavin, the founder of the Professional Development Program, who during his service from 1964 to 1987, lifted the level of practice in Texas while bringing the program to international prominence.
Legal Services to the Poor in Civil Matters Committee announces Pro Bono Excellence award winners
The State Bar of Texas Legal Services to the Poor in Civil Matters Committee has announced its 2021 Pro Bono Excellence awards winners.
Lynn Rodriguez, of Fort Worth, received the Frank J. Scurlock Award; Dana Karni, of Houston, received the J. Chrys Dougherty Award; Judge Gina Benavides, of the 13th Court of Appeals in Corpus Christi, received the Judge Merrill Hartman Award; Lone Star Legal Aid, of Houston, received the Pro Bono Award; Lena Engelage, of Conroe, received the Pro Bono Coordinator Award; Shana Mello, of Weatherford, received the Pro Bono Support Staff Award; and SMU Dedman School of Law’s COVID-19 Legal Helpline received the W. Frank Newton Award.
Karen C. Burgess elected dean of the International Academy of Trial Lawyers
Karen C. Burgess, of Burgess Law in Austin, was elected dean of the International Academy of Trial Lawyers at the academy’s annual meeting, held virtually in March.
“It is an honor to work with the people and for the purposes of the academy and to join with leading lawyers around the globe to promote the rule of law,” Burgess said in a press release.
Burgess is a trial lawyer with a practice ranging from trade secret disputes to securities, contract, insurance, real estate, oil and gas, partnership, and fiduciary litigation. She is certified in civil trial law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization.
Burgess was inducted into IATL in 2015 and has served on various ITAL committees, the board of directors, and held the office of secretary-treasurer. She served as co-chair of the 2019 State Bar of Texas Annual Meeting.
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In Memoriam – April 2021
The State Bar of Texas’ Membership Department was informed in April 2021 of the deaths of these members. We join the officers and directors of the State Bar in expressing our deepest sympathy.
Past State Bar President Broadus Spivey dies at 84
Broadus Spivey, 84, of Austin, died May 8, 2021. He served as president of the State Bar of Texas from 2001 to 2002.
Spivey was a partner in Spivey & Grigg in Austin before he retired in 2019. He practiced law for 57 years and was recognized by the State Bar as a 50-Year Lawyer in 2012. Spivey served on the State Bar of Texas Board of Directors. He received the Texas Bar College Professionalism Award in 1998, a State Bar Presidents’ Award in 1999, and was recognized as one of the State Bar of Texas Litigation Section’s Texas Legal Legends.
During his term as president, he established three priorities including the middle school student mediation project, the implementation and development of the then-newly created Texas Access to Justice Commission, and the continued improvement of the State Bar of Texas website.
Spivey served as chair of the State Bar of Texas Tort & Compensation Section and as a member of the Supreme Court Advisory Committee. He represented the bar in the courtroom and on appeal.
Spivey was a former president of the Texas Trial Lawyers Association and the Capital Area Trial Lawyers Association. He served on the American Association of Trial Lawyers Board of Governors and the Trial Lawyers for Public Justice Board of Directors.
Spivey was a Texas Bar Foundation life fellow and a fellow of the International Academy of Trial Lawyers, International Society of Barristers, and American College of Trial Lawyers. He was director of Texas Lawyers for Public Justice. Spivey was an advocate of the American Board of Trial Advocates and was certified in personal injury trial law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization.