5 Ways to Start Making the Most of Your HBA Membership 

1. Access 100s of CLE Programs Anytime, Anywhere – For Free  

The Houston Bar Association offers free online CLE videos to members. Click here to instantly access our comprehensive library!

There’s also a robust calendar of live CLE programs for HBA members to attend. Take a look at what’s coming up in July.

2. Join a Substantive Law Section or Committee 

The Houston Bar Association has 26 law sections that provide education and networking opportunities for attorneys in specific practice areas. If you are an HBA member and have an HBA online account, you can join now, or add additional sections to your membership account by using the HBA online payment system.   

We also have 28 committees that serve the legal profession and greater Houston community. Many of our committees are still accepting members for the new bar year! Visit the HBA Committees webpage to see the latest activities. 

Questions about HBA committees or sections? Email Ashley Gagnon Steininger at ashleyg@hba.org or call 346-471-3431.

3. Take Advantage of Member Only Discounts

Click here to view our exclusive discounts.

4. Register for Events Through HBA’s Online Calendar 

Bookmark the HBA calendar to stay up to date on upcoming events, including section events, committee programs, CLE events, and partner programs. We hope to see you at our next event!

5. Follow the HBA on Social Media to Engage With Houston’s Legal Community 

You’re on social? We are, too! Don't miss the latest news and events by following the HBA on Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, and X. Click on the icons below to start engaging with your legal community! 

Share photos from HBA events instantly by tagging us on social! Want to see your photos from HBA events in our newsletters? Email HBA Marketing and Communications Director Maggie Martin at maggiem@hba.org.

Don't miss the premier evening event of the legal community happening at River Oaks Country Club on Monday, November 11 where we will come together to support pro bono in our Houston community.

Join these firms, individuals, companies, and sections by sponsoring today. Pledges of $2,500 and above received by August 16 will be listed in the Harvest Celebration invitation mailed out to all HBA members. Donors of $1,000 and above pledging before October 31 will be recognized in a full-page advertisement in the Houston Chronicle. 

To celebrate the 75th Anniversary of the Annual Harvest Celebration, pledges of $5,000 or more will receive an invitation to the Harvest Celebration VIP Judicial Reception on October 10. Details to come.

Click here to learn more about how to underwrite the 75th Annual Harvest Celebration and this year’s underwriting benefits.

Every dollar donated is amplified into $4 of pro bono legal services provided to the greater Houston community. 

Become an Underwriter Today

Over 300 HBA members came together at the J.W. Marriott Downtown Houston on June 6 to celebrate the achievements of this year's HBA Diversity Award winners, Law Day contest winners, DEI scholarship winners, 1L summer associates, and employers at the 2024 HBA DEI Summer Associate Luncheon.

Thank you to all who participated in making the afternoon a success and a special thank you to our sponsors, luncheon co-chairs, and speakers:

• Hon. Yvonne Ho (United States Magistrate Judge, Southern District of Texas)
• Sergio Garza (Westlake Corporation)
• Christian D. Menefee (Harris County Attorney)
• Luncheon Co-Chairs: S. Kelecia Njaka (ANCHOR QEA) and Amy Tomlinson (Liskow)

Click here to view more photos from the event and the 2024 HBA DEI Summer Associate Luncheon program.

Stay engaged and informed with your legal community! Visit the HBA's online events calendar for upcoming CLEs, section and committee programming, and more. We look forward to seeing you soon! 

HBA Online Events Calendar

Due to extenuating circumstances, the publication of the May/June 2024 issue of The Houston Lawyer has been delayed. We apologize for any inconvenience. 
 
For questions about the magazine, please contact HBA Marketing and Communications Director Maggie Martin at maggiem@hba.org. 
 
The companion podcast episode from Behind the Lines, "A Bright Constellation of Rights: Views from Houston on Freedom of Speech, Bearing Arms, Search and Seizure, and Jury Trials," is available to download now. Visit The Houston Lawyer page below to download the episode.
 
https://hba.org/thehoustonlawyer

The Civil Board of Judge’s is accepting applications for a Tax Master position, visit justex.net for more information.

Time off in the summer? Catch up on CLE in our online CLE video library!

Visit the HBA On-Demand CLE Library Here

Questions? Contact HBA Education Coordinator Alli Hessel at allih@hba.org. 

These CLE programs are FREE for HBA members to attend. Non-members may also attend most programs for $26 per person (unless otherwise noted). Register by noon the day of the program (unless otherwise noted) via the HBA website calendar.

 If you have good news you would like to share in the HBA Bulletin, please email HBA Marketing and Communications Director Maggie Martin at maggiem@hba.org.

HBA Past President and HBF board member Benny Agosto, Jr. was awarded the Ally Award from the Center for the Healing of Racism in recognition of his generous donation, which enabled the building of the Diversity Center at South Texas College of Law.

Spencer Fane LLP is pleased to announce a group of five attorneys joined the Litigation and Dispute Resolution practice group in the firm’s Houston office. They include partners Joseph A. Garnett, Raymond A. Neuer, and R. Edward Perkins, and of counsel attorneys Jamie Guidry and James L. Ware.

Womble Bond Dickinson has announced that Phyllis A. Guillory has joined the firm’s Houston office as a partner in the Corporate and Securities group, where her practice will focus on complex tax issues and cross-border transactions.

Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP is pleased to announce that Lauren Black has joined the firm’s Litigation Practice Group as a partner in the Houston office.

THANK YOU to these individuals who donated and volunteered for the HBA's Annual Food from the Bar Campaign! This campaign is a month-long, peer-to-peer competition inviting our legal community to support the essential work of the Houston Food Bank. Thanks to your contributions, Team HBA, and the other Houston legal teams raised $182,155, contributed 319 total volunteer hours, and donated 7,366 pounds of food, providing a total of 611,848 meals, with Team HBA contributing 8,522 of those meals!

Thanks to the support and dedication of our participants, the Houston Bar Association was awarded the Certificate of Appreciation. See the full results from this year’s competition and photos from the HBA volunteering event on April 20 on our Food from the Bar webpage.

The Houston Food Bank held an awards event at Loft 18 on June 4 to recognize outstanding teams from this year's campaign. Thanks to the support and dedication of our participants, the Houston Bar Association was awarded the Certificate of Appreciation as a Bronze Partner. Congratulations to all award winners! 

A special congratulations goes to the following winners:

• ConocoPhillips – Overall, All-Around (Tier 1)
• Archrock – Overall, All-Around, 1st Place and Spirit Awards (Tier 2)
• Skadden – 1st Place Creativity Award
• Amaro – 1st Place Foodraiser Award
• UHLC – Best Law School Award

We hope all teams, donors, and volunteers all had a great time participating and look forward to seeing you all back next year!  

On June 3, the HBA HAY Center Committee celebrated current and former foster youth who are graduating from high school or earning their bachelor’s degrees. We were thrilled to host 30 high school graduates and 2 college graduates. Congratulations to all the graduates! 

Thank you to all of our sponsors and volunteers!

On June 5, the HBA DEI Committee proudly hosted the inaugural Ambassador Leadership Panel titled "What It Means to be a Leader in the Bar." A special thank you to all of our HBA ambassadors who attended.

We also want to extend our heartfelt gratitude to our distinguished panelists, all former HBA presidents:

• Benny Agosto, Jr., Abraham, Watkins, Nichols, Agosto, Aziz & Stogner
• Alistair Dawson, Beck Redden LLP
• Lynne Liberato, Haynes and Boone, LLP
• Neil Kelly, Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP

A huge shout-out goes to Munck Wilson Mandala and DEI Committee Member Teresa Hudson for graciously hosting the event. We appreciate DEI Ambassador Committee Chair Diamond Griffith for her exceptional coordination, and Immediate Past President Diana Gomez for her inspiring vision that brought this event to life. Thanks to everyone, this event was truly a success.

Thank you, Clay Allen, GC of the Houston Rockets, for helping the HBA LGBTQ+ Committee kick off Pride Month with an informative CLE on "Being Out and Rockets Proud," along with a private tour of the Toyota Center on June 5! Thank you to our co-sponsors Stonewall, EPAH, HYLA LGBTQ+ Committee, and Houston Area Law Librarians.

Missed the event? Click here for Clay Allen’s PowerPoint. Join us next year for this annual event!

The HBA Communities In Schools (CIS) Committee proudly hosted the 2024 HBA CIS Summer Legal Internship Orientation at South Texas College of Law Houston on June 10. 

This morning was filled with valuable insights, networking opportunities, and inspiration as aspiring legal professionals gathered to embark on their summer internships.  

A big THANK YOU to our amazing co-chairs and speakers for their invaluable contributions and thanks to Dean Michael Barry and South Texas College of Law Houston for hosting our orientation. 

CIS Enrichment Visits

In a mission to promote legal enrichment and community engagement, the CIS committee held successful activities last month at the DA's office, the District Clerk's Office, and the federal courthouse. These initiatives help foster a deeper understanding of the law and inspire the next generation of legal minds in Houston. Thank you to all who participated and made these experiences possible. A special thanks to DA Kim Ogg, Harris County District Clerk Marilyn Burgess, and Hon. Jennifer Elrod for hosting the students!

The HBA LGBTQ+ Committee jumped into the spirit of Pride Month in June, starting with a Pride Mixer on June 12 at Pearl Bar + Side Peace. Judge Steven Kirkland was honored as the inaugural recipient of the Benny Agosto, Jr. Award for his outstanding contributions to the legal community. The award was personally presented by Benny Agosto Jr. himself. It was truly an evening to remember. Houston-area law students, attorneys, and judges spent the evening celebrating Pride, catching up with old friends, and making new ones! A heartfelt thank you to the Pride Committee Co-Chairs, deborah lawson and Chase Jones, for their coordination of the Pride events.

The Pride festivities continued at the 2024 Houston Pride Parade where the HBA LGBTQ+ Committee participated with their own float on Saturday, June 22. Members of the LGBTQ+ legal community joined the committee by walking with the float and distributing swag to the estimated 400,000 attendees. Thank you to those who participated in the the Pride Parade with us.

THANK YOU to our 2024 Pride Sponsors!!

See photos and social media posts from the events on the LGBTQ+ Committee webpage here. 

We are thrilled to announce the Houston Bar Association has won seven State Bar of Texas Stars of Texas Bars Awards! The awards were presented during the State Bar of Texas Annual Meeting held in Dallas last month. They are:

Outstanding Partnership: Lactation Pods and LAWPods Initiatives with Harris County Partners

Star of Achievement: Bench Bar Conference

Star of Achievement: Bites and Beverages for the Bar

Best Overall Newsletter: The Houston Lawyer

News Article: “A Deep Dive Into the CROWN Act: Stopping Hair Discrimination One Strand at a Time” by Megan Mitchell

General Interest Story: “The Many Titles of Tasha Schwikert Moser” by Dave Louie

Series of Articles–Substantive Law: J. Vance Lewis and Houston’s First African American Attorneys, by George "Trey" Gifford III; Ryan A. Cunningham; Charles L. Sharman; R. Michelle Boldon

Members and their families joined together to volunteer and restock two of our Little Free Libraries in their local neighborhoods. We are so appreciative!

As summer begins, many young students may be diving into summer reading. To support this, we will be restocking all Little Free Libraries this summer!

Houston Lawyer Referral Service

Exciting news! Recently, an HLRS member received a referral that earned $113,000 in legal fees. The case involved representing an employer/small business being sued by employees. This is a prime example of how the Houston Lawyer Referral Service helps attorneys grow their practice.

HLRS welcomes new members, and as an HBA member, you can enjoy a $100 discount on your annual HLRS dues. For those licensed for 5+ years, the yearly membership fee is $250, while those licensed for less than 5 years pay only $175.

Need more reasons to join? Here are 5 fun facts:

1. HLRS members earn an average of $20,000 a year from referrals.
2. HLRS pre-screens referrals based on members’ criteria.
3. HLRS members credit HLRS for helping them maintain a private practice.
4. HLRS offers free CLE webinars focusing on starting/building a law practice.
5. HLRS dues are $175-$250 annually for HBA members.

Click here to learn more and join HLRS today!

Dispute Resolution Center  

Interested in volunteering with the Dispute Resolution Center? The DRC uses only qualified mediators who have completed training in accordance with Texas Civil Practices & Remedies Code, Sec. 154.052 and that meets or exceeds the guidelines set forth by the Texas Mediation Trainers Roundtable.

In addition, mediators must also complete the required family mediation training as dictated by Texas Civil Practices & Remedies Code, Sec. 154.052 and possess a J.D. from an accredited U.S. law school in order to mediate divorce cases for the Dispute Resolution Center.

Mediators used specifically for active civil cases (not divorce or credit card debt cases) must possess a J.D., have been licenses to practice in Texas for a minimum of five years, and be in good standing with the State Bar of Texas.

For additional information, visit drchouston.org and click on the 'Mediation' tab. Please provide a copy of your most recent resume, bio, and a copy of your mediation certificate(s). Feel free to contact the DRC directly at (713) 274-7100 or email@drchouston.org should you have any questions.

Houston Volunteer Lawyers

Houston Volunteer Lawyers would like to thank and congratulate the Equal Access to Justice Champion law firms, corporate legal departments, and solo practitioners who met and/or exceeded their pro bono case commitment for 2023-2024 bar year.  Equal Access to Justice Champions pledge to handle 1 pro bono case per every 5 attorneys in their Houston office each year. Please join us in congratulating these Champions!

Firms, Corporate Legal Departments, and Solo Practitioners who are interested in joining the Equal Access to Justice Champions should email probono@hvlp.org. 
 

Thank you to these firms and companies who have agreed to assume a leadership role in providing equal access to justice for all Harris County citizens. Each has made a commitment to provide representation in a certain number of cases through the Houston Volunteer Lawyers.

The 100 Club

The Houston Bar Association 100 Club is a special category of membership that indicates a commitment to the advancement of the legal profession and the betterment of the community. The following law firms, government agencies, law schools and corporate legal departments with five or more attorneys have become members of the 100 Club by enrolling 100 percent of their attorneys as members of the HBA.