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State Bar of Texas
Texas Law Center has the offices of the State Bar of Texas
Type	Legal Society
Headquarters	Austin, TX
Location	United States
Membership	95,437
Website	http://www.texasbar.com

The State Bar of Texas (the Texas Bar) is an agency of the judiciary under the administrative control of the Texas Supreme Court. It is responsible for assisting the Texas Supreme Court in overseeing all attorneys licensed to practice law in Texas. With 95,437 active members, the State Bar of Texas is one of the largest state bars in the United States. Unlike the American Bar Association (ABA), the State Bar of Texas (SBOT) is a mandatory bar. The State Bar is headquartered in the Texas Law Center at 1414 Colorado Street in Austin.

Membership

The State Bar of Texas is composed of those persons licensed to practice law in Texas and is an "integrated" or "mandatory" bar. The State Bar Act, adopted by the Legislature in 1939, mandates that all attorneys licensed to practice law in Texas be members of the State Bar. As of 2018, membership in the Texas Bar stood at 103,342.

Purpose

The purposes of the State Bar of Texas, as documented in the State Bar Act legislation that created it, are:

to aid the courts in carrying on and improving the administration of justice;
to advance the quality of legal services to the public and to foster the role of the legal profession in serving the public;
to foster and maintain, on the part of those engaged in the practice of law, high ideals and integrity, learning, competence in public service, and high standards of conduct;
to provide proper professional services to the members of the state bar;
to encourage the formation of and activities of local bar associations;
to provide forums for the discussion of subjects pertaining to the practice of law, the science of jurisprudence and law reform, and the relationship of the state bar to the public; and
to publish information relating the practice of law, the science of jurisprudence and law reform, and the relationship of the state bar to the public.

The organization provides continuing legal education, courses for attorneys, and processes complaints against Texas attorneys by clients and other members of the public.

The State Bar publishes the Texas Bar Journal, which serves not only as a trade publication, but also is also the official organ through which all Texas attorneys are advised of rule changes by the Texas Supreme Court and other official matters.

Mission

"The mission of the State Bar of Texas is to support the administration of the legal system, assure all persons equal access to justice, foster high standards of ethical conduct for lawyers, enable its members to better serve their clients and the public, educate the public about the rule of law, and promote diversity in the administration of justice and the practice of law."

Governance

On a day-to-day basis, the State Bar is run by an executive director, currently E.A. "Trey" Apffel III. The operations of the Bar are overseen by an elected board of directors made up of volunteers. State Bar members also elect as the president, who serves a one-year term as president-elect before taking office. The current president of the State Bar of Texas (2020-2021) is Sylvia Borunda Firth, a solo practitioner from El Paso. In addition to electing their Bar leaders, Texas attorneys have voting rights on some policy matters through the instrument of referendum.

Texas Disciplinary Rules of Professional Conduct

The Texas Disciplinary Rules of Professional Conduct are promulgated by the Texas Supreme Court. These rules "set forth principles to which attorneys should aspire and rules to which they must conform". Along with the court rules and Texas Code of Judicial Conduct, the most current version of the disciplinary rules is posted on the Texas Judiciary's website.

The attorney disciplinary rules are enforced by the Commission for Lawyer Discipline (CLD), which prosecutes attorney misconduct in district courts and/or through 17 district grievance committees throughout the state, consisting of appointed volunteers.

The Commission is composed of 12 members: six attorneys appointed by the president of the State Bar and six public members appointed by the Supreme Court of Texas. Prosecutions are handled by the Commission's Chief Disciplinary Counsel.

The most severe disciplinary penalty is disbarment. Lesser sanctions are time-limited suspensions, which may be probated or probated in part. Appeals may be taken to the Board of Disciplinary Appeals (BODA) and ultimately to the Texas Supreme Court. Sanctions decisions are published in the Texas Bar Journal. Conviction of a serious crime will entail mandatory discipline.

In Fiscal Year 2018-19 the Commission for Lawyer Discipline successfully resolved 589 complaints through the imposition of 414 sanctions and collected $430,598 in attorneys’ fees.

A Texas attorney's public disciplinary history (if any) and current license status can be looked up on the SBOT website through a search by name or license number (Texas Bar Number), which must appear on all court filings by an attorney.

This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (June 2014)

History

Although lawyers have had statewide organizations in Texas since the 19th century, the State Bar of Texas began its formal existence on April 19, 1939, when Governor W. Lee O'Daniel signed House Bill No. 74, titled the State Bar Act of 1939. From that point onward, membership in the State Bar of Texas was a prerequisite for the practice of law in Texas.

In July 1963, Gene Cavin was hired as the first full-time Continuing Legal Education (CLE) Director, greatly expanding the course material for professional development.

In 1976 the Texas Law Center, located at Fifteenth and Colorado Streets in Austin, TX, became the permanent headquarters for the Texas State Bar.

Sections of the State Bar of Texas

Administrative & Public Law; African-American Lawyers; Alternative Dispute Resolution; Animal Law; Antitrust and Business Litigation; Appellate; Asian-Pacific Interest; Aviation Law; Bankruptcy Law; Business Law; Child Protection Law; Civil Liberties & Civil Rights; Collaborative Law; Computer & Technology; Construction Law; Consumer and Commercial Law; Corporate Counsel; Criminal Justice; Entertainment and Sports Law; Environmental and Natural Resources; Family Law; General Practice, Solo, and Small Firm; Government Law; Health Law; Hispanic Issues; Immigration and Nationality Law; Individual Rights and Responsibilities; Insurance Law; Intellectual Property Law; International Law; James C. Watson Inn of Former Officers and Directors; Judicial; Justice of the Peace Courts; Juvenile Law; Labor and Employment Law; Law Student Division; Legislative and Campaign Law; LGBT Law; Litigation; Litigation - Sustaining; Military and Veterans Law; Municipal Judges; Native American Law; Oil, Gas, and Energy Resources Law; Paralegal Division; Poverty Law; Public Utility Law; Real Estate, Probate & Trust; School Law; Taxation; Women and the Law; Workers' Compensation

References

State Bar of Texas Department of Research and Analysis, State Bar of Texas Membership: Attorney Statistical Profile (2012-13).
"State Bar Act" (Texas Government Code § 81.011)
"State Bar of Texas - Contact Us". texasbar.com. Retrieved December 31, 2019.
"State Bar Act" (Texas Government Code § 81.051)
"State Bar Act" (Texas Government Code § 81.102)
SBOT Department of Research and Analysis. "State Bar of Texas Membership: Attorney Statistical Profile (2018-19)". Texas Bar. Retrieved October 27, 2019.
"State Bar Act" (Texas Government Code § 81.012)
"State Bar of Texas". texasbar.com. Retrieved December 31, 2019.
"State Bar of Texas - Our Mission". texasbar.com. Retrieved December 31, 2019.
State Bar of Texas - President https://www.texasbar.com/Content/NavigationMenu/AboutUs/StateBarPresident/StateBarPresident/default.htm
"Texas Disciplinary Rules of Professional Conduct (effective Feb. 26, 2019)" (PDF). Texas Judicial Branch. Retrieved October 27, 2019.
David J. Beck, Legal Malpractice in Texas (1991), p. 115: "The new Texas Disciplinary Rules of Professional Conduct set forth principles to which attorneys should aspire and rules to which they must conform. An attorney must not violate these Rules, knowingly assist or induce another to do so, or do so through the acts of another, regardless of whether such violation occurred during an attorney-client relationship".
"Texas Judicial Branch - Rules and Forms". txcourts.gov. Retrieved December 31, 2019.
"Commission for Lawyer Discipline". texasbar.com. Retrieved December 31, 2019.
State Bar of Texas. "SBOT Commission for Lawyer Discipline Annual Report 2018-2019". Retrieved November 9, 2019.
Elliott, William D. (June 15, 2010). "State Bar of Texas". tshaonline.org. Retrieved December 21, 2019.

External links

v t e Texas state agencies
Executive	Dept. of Agriculture Alcoholic Beverage Commission Animal Health Commission Dept. of Assistive and Rehabilitative Services Attorney General School for the Blind and Visually Impaired Brazos River Authority State Cemetery Comptroller of Public Accounts Office of Consumer Credit Commissioner School for the Deaf Board of Dental Examiners Commission on Environmental Quality Education Agency Employees Retirement System Ethics Commission Facilities Commission Dept. of Family and Protective Services Film Commission Forest Service Office of the Governor Guadalupe-Blanco River Authority Health and Human Services Commission Dept. of State Health Services Higher Education Coordinating Board Historical Commission Dept. of Housing and Community Affairs Dept. of Information Resources Dept. of Insurance Commission on Jail Standards General Land Office Library and Archives Commission Dept. of Licensing and Regulation Lottery Commission Lower Colorado River Authority Dept. of Motor Vehicles Dept. of Parks and Wildlife Preservation Board Space Commission Dept. of Public Safety Railroad Commission Real Estate Commission Residential Construction Commission Soil and Water Conservation Board Teacher Retirement System Texas A&M University System Dept. of Transportation Trinity River Authority University of Houston System University of North Texas System University of Texas System Texas State University System Texas Tech University System Workforce Commission Juvenile Justice Department
Legislative	House of Representatives Senate
Judicial	Courts of Appeals Court of Criminal Appeals Dept. of Criminal Justice State Bar Supreme Court Office of Court Administration/Texas Judicial Council Office of Capital and Forensic Writs State Prosecuting Attorney State Law Library State Commission on Judicial Conduct

v t e State bar associations
Unified state bars	Alabama Alaska Arizona California District of Columbia Florida Georgia Hawaii Idaho Kentucky Louisiana Michigan Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Mexico North Carolina North Dakota Oklahoma Oregon Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Texas Utah Virginia Washington Wisconsin Wyoming
Voluntary state bars	Arkansas Colorado Connecticut Delaware Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Maine Maryland Massachusetts Minnesota New Jersey New York North Carolina Ohio Pennsylvania Tennessee Vermont Virginia
U.S. commonwealth bar associations	American Samoa Guam Northern Mariana Islands Puerto Rico Virgin Islands
National minority bar associations	National Native American Bar Association Hispanic National Bar Association National Asian Pacific American Bar Association National Bar Association Puerto Rican Bar Association

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