EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR'S PAGE SEPTEMBER 2022
Your State Bar Directors at Work
It’s a Thursday afternoon in the middle of summer and several dozen attorneys and other professionals from across Texas have traveled to the Westin Galleria Houston. Despite the location, the objective isn’t shopping. They are gathered in a hotel ballroom to engage in deep thinking and strategic planning—all for your benefit.
The State Bar of Texas Board of Directors meets every other July for a
strategic planning workshop before the Local Bar Leaders Conference.
This workshop is in addition to the quarterly regular meetings of the
board—not to mention the countless hours that directors spend reviewing
agenda materials, corresponding with constituents, and holding committee
and subcommittee meetings.
Asking them to give up part of a summer week for more unpaid bar work
might seem like a tough sell. Unless, that is, you know our directors.
No one is complaining as I survey the meeting room. In fact, everyone is
fully engaged in the task at hand.
The board is divided into small groups to review sections of the State
Bar’s 2021-2026 strategic plan and determine whether any updates are
needed. The strategic plan includes “big picture” objectives
including:
-
serving the public through education and community outreach,
-
serving members by providing superior services,
-
protecting the public through the grievance system,
-
ensuring access to justice for all, and
-
using best practices in all State Bar operations.
Each strategic goal is followed by action items designed to help the bar
achieve its objectives. Around the meeting tables, directors are
discussing the action items, questioning whether they are measurable or
if they fully encompass lessons learned from the pandemic. As they share
ideas later during a large group debriefing, it’s clear that this
board—though representing many different perspectives—is united in its
desire to make the legal profession in Texas the best it can be.
Why am I writing about this? First, it’s important for Texas lawyers and
the public we serve to know that the 46 voting directors and 14
nonvoting members of the State Bar board are true servant-leaders who
have your best interests at heart. Second, to truly do their jobs as
directors, they need to hear from you.
Contact your local directors and thank them for their time and sacrifice
for the profession. After all, they have practices and families too.
Next, ask them about what the State Bar is doing and offer suggestions
on what it can do better. To find your local directors, go to texasbar.com/board
and click on “Board Members.”
The governing structure of our mandatory, unified State Bar gives Texas
lawyers the right to vote on the directors who represent us, the rules
that regulate us, and the dues we pay for the right and privilege to
practice law. Doctors and dentists don’t have that right. Neither do
architects or accountants. Just lawyers.
If the work of self-governance interests you, I invite you to consider
running for a seat on the board. For information about running for a
director position, go to texasbar.com/districtdirector.
Sincerely,
TREY APFFEL
Executive Director,
State Bar of Texas
Editor-in-Chief,
Texas Bar Journal
Trey Apffel can be reached at 512-427-1500, trey.apffel@texasbar.com or
@ApffelT on
Twitter.
