Executive Director's Page • July/August 2025

How the State Bar of Texas Serves Local Bars

Each summer, State Bar of Texas leadership and staff gather with our colleagues from local bar associations around the state to share knowledge and best practices at the Local Bar Leaders Conference. The event is aimed at helping make local bars the best they can be. This year’s conference will be held July 24-25 at the Westin Galleria in Houston.

The event is sponsored jointly by the State Bar’s Local Bar Services Committee, the Texas Young Lawyers Association, and the Texas Access to Justice Commission. Local bars around the state may send a specified number of complimentary delegates to the conference without paying the registration fee. In exchange for meeting the attendance requirements based on their delegate type, most, if not all, of a complimentary delegate’s travel expenses are covered by the sponsors.

The conference is just one of the ways we fulfill our mandate outlined in the State Bar Act “to encourage the formation of and activities of local bar associations.” Through both the Local Bar Services Department and our Local Bar Services standing committee, we put on several other programs for and with local bars.

Each year, Law Day is celebrated across the country on May 1 to honor the rule of law and underscore how the legal system contributes to our freedoms. The State Bar and the Texas Young Lawyers Association celebrate Law Day by hosting a statewide editorial, photo, and poster contest for K-12 students based on a yearly theme. We encourage local bars and local young lawyer affiliates to run their own contests and submit their winners in each category to us for the statewide contest.

The State Bar also works with local bars to provide legal services for veterans through the Texas Lawyers for Texas Veterans program. Created in 2010 based on a model from the Houston Bar Association, the program provides resources like the “Clinic in a Box,” which enables local bar associations to provide veterans legal assistance with family law, wills and probate, consumer law, tax law, property issues, and disability benefits, among other civil issues. Currently, more than 20 bar associations and other organizations participate.

Also, the State Bar’s Research and Analysis Department provides expert services and support to local bar associations for attorney demographic reports and elections—at no charge.

Finally, did you know you can nominate your local bar for the Stars of Texas Bars awards? Each year, the Local Bar Services Committee presents awards recognizing local bar associations for outstanding community involvement, commitment to increasing access to justice, and dedication to the profession. The awards are given out at our Annual Meeting in June.

These are just some of the State Bar programs that serve local bars. Would your local bar like to partner with us, or do you have questions? Reach out to our Local Bar Services Department at 512-427-1514 or localbars@texasbar.com. We can’t wait to hear from you.

Sincerely,

TREY APFFEL
Executive Director, State Bar of Texas
Editor in Chief, Texas Bar Journal