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 Board of Directors held its quarterly meeting on January 27. Highlights of the meeting appear below. You can watch video of the meeting at youtube.com/statebaroftexas and read the agenda and meeting materials at texasbar.com/bodmaterials. State Bar of Texas Budget The board approved the State Bar of Texas fiscal year 2022-2023 proposed budget … 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
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
U.S. District Court Judge Lee Yeakel has issued a final judgment in the McDonald lawsuit challenging the mandatory bar. In September, the State Bar of Texas Board of Directors approved changes to bar rules and policies following a U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals panel opinion in the case. The final judgment enjoins the State … Continue Reading
Plaintiffs’ attorneys in the McDonald mandatory bar challenge filed a petition for a writ of certiorari with the U.S. Supreme Court on November 24, which was docketed on November 30 (McDonald v. Firth (No. 21-800)). In September, the State Bar Board of Directors approved changes to bar rules and policies to comply with the U.S. 5th … Continue Reading
The Texas Center for Legal Ethics announced that former Chief Justice Ann Crawford McClure of the Eighth Court of Appeals in El Paso will receive the Chief Justice Jack Pope Professionalism Award. The TCLE presents the Pope Award to a judge or attorney who personifies the highest standards of professionalism and integrity in appellate law. … Continue Reading
The State Bar of Texas Board of Directors voted September 24 to approve Joe Escobedo Jr. of Edinburg and Cindy V. Tisdale of Granbury as candidates for 2022-2023 president-elect. Escobedo and Tisdale will appear on the ballot in April 2022 along with any certified petition candidates. Presently there are no additional president-elect candidates, although members … Continue Reading
The State Bar of Texas Board of Directors will meet at 9 a.m. on September 24 at the St. Anthony Hotel in San Antonio. Attorneys and members of the public can watch the meeting live on the State Bar’s YouTube channel. Public comment will be accepted in person at the meeting and virtually via Zoom. … Continue Reading
Erica Grigg credits the Texas Lawyers’ Assistance Program with saving her life. This month, she became director of the 37-year-old program. The Texas Lawyers’ Assistance Program (TLAP) provides confidential help, referrals, and peer assistance programs to lawyers, judges, and law students experiencing mental health or substance use disorders. “Years ago, I reached out to TLAP … Continue Reading
Free legal resources are available to low-income individuals affected by flooding and other conditions created by Hurricane Nicholas. The State Bar of Texas’s toll-free disaster legal services hotline—800-504-7030—puts callers in touch with legal aid providers in their areas who can help with: Replacement of important legal documents lost or destroyed in the disaster; Life, medical, … Continue Reading
Texas attorneys, willing and able to help their counterparts in Louisiana, can assist via a disaster response message board the Louisiana State Bar Association created in the wake of Hurricane Ida’s devastating impacts on the state. The message board allows lawyers to post what they need or how they can help their colleagues and allows … Continue Reading
The State Bar of Texas Executive Committee will meet at 10:30 a.m. CT on Tuesday, August 31. Members and the public can watch the meeting live on the State Bar of Texas YouTube page. The agenda for the meeting may be viewed here. To sign up to speak during the meeting, please email amy.starnes@texasbar.com or … Continue Reading
The State Bar of Texas Paralegal Division has elected the following members to its officer positions and board of directors for the 2021-22 bar year:… Continue Reading
The State Bar of Texas will not seek rehearing of a 5th Circuit Court of Appeals panel opinion that upheld the constitutionality of most challenged State Bar activities and left intact the structure of the mandatory bar. State Bar leaders announced the decision after the bar’s Board of Directors met Monday to consult outside counsel … Continue Reading
The State Bar of Texas Board of Directors will hold a special-called meeting at 9 a.m. CDT on July 19 to receive a report from outside counsel on the McDonald v. Sorrels lawsuit and recent Fifth Circuit panel decision. The meeting will be held virtually. All State Bar members and the public may watch the … Continue Reading
The State Bar of Texas Board of Directors will meet June 16 and 17 at the Austin Marriott Downtown, 304 E. Cesar Chavez St., in Austin. Members and the public may attend in person to provide comment to the board by filling out a speaker card at the beginning of the meetings and submitting it … Continue Reading
The Texas Bar Foundation awarded a $20,000 grant to the State Bar of Texas Law-Related Education Department and Law Focused Education, Inc. to fund their newest project: Jury Service: Your Call of Duty. The project is designed educate students and the public about the role of jury service in our democracy and will debut in … Continue Reading
Texas attorneys elected Laura Gibson of Houston to be president-elect of the State Bar of Texas. Gibson received 50.51%—10,200—of the 20,194 votes cast during the voting period that ended April 30. Her opponent, Sara E. Dysart of San Antonio, received 49.49%, or 9,994 votes. Gibson will be sworn in as president-elect during a State Bar … Continue Reading
San Antonio lawyer Santos Vargas was selected chair-elect of the State Bar of Texas Board of Directors during the board’s quarterly meeting held April 16. Vargas, a shareholder at Davis & Santos in San Antonio, will take office in June and will serve as chair until June 2022. Vargas has served on the State Bar … Continue Reading
The State Bar of Texas Board of Directors will meet at 9 a.m. CDT April 16. All State Bar members and the public may watch the meeting on the State Bar of Texas YouTube channel. Among items on the agenda are: 6d. Action: Election of Chair of the Board for 2021-22. 8e. Action: Consider and … Continue Reading
The State Bar of Texas Executive Committee will meet at 10 a.m. CDT April 6. All State Bar members and the public may watch the meeting on the State Bar of Texas YouTube channel. Among items on the agenda are: 4d. Action: Consider and discuss approval of the creation of an Advertising Review Task Force 4e. … Continue Reading
The Texas Supreme Court has ordered a hearing to consider proposed disciplinary rules amendments approved by licensed Texas lawyers in the referendum that ended March 4. The hearing will take place from 9 a.m. to noon on May 4 via videoconference. It will be broadcast on the court’s YouTube channel. The amendments’ proposed effective date is … Continue Reading
The Texas Supreme Court on Friday issued an emergency order permitting out-of-state attorney to practice Texas law temporarily due to legal assistance needed by Texans recovering from the recent winter storm. The State Bar of Texas legal access division has created a web page—probonotexas.org/uri—for in-state and out-of-state attorneys who would like to volunteer their time … Continue Reading
