Executive Team
Our executive team is responsible for the administration and management of the State Bar of Texas. This includes providing day-to-day oversight of the State Bar and its operations, professional services to members of the State Bar, services to the public, long-range strategic planning, and assistance to the courts regarding the administration of justice.
Trey Apffel, Executive Director
E.A. “Trey” Apffel III
became executive director of the State Bar of Texas in December 2017. A
longtime Galveston County trial lawyer, he previously was the
owner and principal of the Apffel Law Firm in League City, where he
focused on personal injury litigation, toxic torts, medical
malpractice, and family law. He is certified in both civil trial
law and personal injury trial law by the Texas Board of Legal
Specialization. Apffel has served as State Bar of Texas president
(2014-2015), on the State Bar Board of Directors, and as a member of the
board’s Executive Committee. He is a former member of the
Commission for Lawyer Discipline, a member of the Texas Bar College, a
Texas Bar Foundation Life Fellow, and served on the Texas Bar
Foundation Board of Trustees.
KaLyn Laney
KaLyn Laney serves the bar as a deputy executive
director. Since joining the bar in 1990, she has served as director of
governmental relations, director of member and public service, and in
various other roles. Professionally, Laney is active in the National
Association of Bar Executives, where she has served as chair of the
Governmental Relations Section and chair of the Membership Committee.
Additionally, Laney is an active community volunteer, having served as
president of the Junior League of Austin and as a national board member
of the Texas Tech Alumni Association. She is currently serving on the
foundation board of the Settlement Home for Children and as a vice
president of Rodeo Austin.
Ray Cantu
Ray Cantu began his career at the State Bar of Texas in
1995. He has served as director of the advertising review department,
attorney compliance division, and special projects department. He
currently serves as the State Bar of Texas deputy executive director
over the compliance, administration, information technology and finance
divisions. Cantu graduated in 1992 from Texas A&M University with a
B.A. in Political Science and earned a Master of Public Administration
from Texas State University in 1998. Prior to working at the State Bar,
Cantu worked in the Office of the Governor from 1992 to 1995.
Lowell Brown
Lowell Brown is the communications director for the State Bar of
Texas and the executive editor of the Texas Bar Journal. He
previously worked as a reporter and editor at daily newspapers in
Central Texas and the Dallas-Fort Worth area, where his work earned
state and national awards. He holds a bachelor’s and
master’s degree in journalism from the University of North Texas
and is a 2016 graduate of the Governor’s Executive Development
Program at the LBJ School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas
at Austin. He is a member of the National Association of Bar Executives
and currently serves as chair-elect of the NABE Communications
Section.
The executive director publishes a monthly Texas Bar Journal column about the activities of the State Bar and its many departments and programs.
