FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Oct. 31, 2016
Contact: Amy Starnes
Public Information Director, State Bar of Texas
(800) 204-2222, ext. 1706, or (512) 427-1706
astarnes@texasbar.com
State Bar of Texas hires incubator program director
AUSTIN — The State Bar of Texas is pleased to announce the hiring of Anne-Marie Rábago as the first director of the Texas Opportunity and Justice Incubator program. Her first day on the job was Oct. 31.
Under Ms. Rábago’s leadership, the Texas Opportunity and Justice Incubator will endeavor to meet two important goals: provide practical, real world training for beginning lawyers and address the need for affordable legal assistance for low- and moderate-income Texans.
Ms. Rábago earned her J.D. from California Western School of Law, where she most recently served as director for that law school’s Access to Law Incubator. The incubator trained entrepreneurial alumni pursuing solo practices while serving the community’s legal needs.
“We are delighted to have Ms. Rábago join the State Bar of Texas in this very important role,” said 2016-2017 State Bar of Texas President Frank Stevenson, who has made the program his major presidential initiative. “Her experience with California Western’s Access to Law Incubator will help ensure success for the Texas Opportunity and Justice Incubator program.”
Each year, Texas attorneys, legal aid groups, and law firms dedicate thousands of hours to pro bono work. Still, only 10 percent of the civil legal needs of low-income Texans are being met, according to a study by the University of Texas-San Antonio, which was commissioned by the Texas Access to Justice Foundation. Also, American Bar Association statistics for 2014 and 2015 law school graduates show about 35 percent did not hold jobs requiring a J.D. 10 months after graduation.
The Texas Opportunity and Justice Incubator program will work to equip those beginning lawyers with the skills they need to successfully run a practice while seeking to help Texans who have had trouble finding affordable representation.
Ms. Rábago is licensed to practice law in Texas. She also holds an LL.M in taxation from Northwestern University School of Law. She previously served as an international tax consultant for PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP.
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The State Bar of Texas is an administrative agency of the Supreme Court of Texas that provides educational programs for the legal profession and the public, administers the minimum continuing legal education program for attorneys, and manages the attorney discipline system. For more information, follow us on Twitter and Instagram @statebaroftexas, like us on Facebook at facebook.com/statebaroftexas, or visit texasbar.com.
