Texas Bar Journal • June 2026

State Bar Board Update

Written by Lowell Brown

Board Advances Budget, approves regulation changes

The State Bar of Texas Board of Directors held its quarterly meeting on April 24 in Boerne. Highlights of the meeting appear below. Watch video of the meeting and read the agenda and meeting materials at texasbar.com/board.

State Bar Budget
The board approved the bar’s proposed fiscal year 2026-2027 budget for presentation to the Supreme Court of Texas. The budget is available at texasbar.com/finances, along with detailed reports on expenditures and revenues for each State Bar department.

MCLE Regulation Changes
Directors approved a series of changes to the minimum continuing legal education regulations as proposed by the Minimum Continuing Legal Education Committee. The board:

  • Amended Section 10.2.2 and Section 10.5.1 to remove the outdated term “teleconferences” from the approved formats and to allow “live online courses” to be recorded for “on-demand viewing” without a second application for accreditation.

  • Amended Sections 2.1.2 C-E, 5.1, 5.1.1, and 10.3.1 to incorporate the term “Texas Supreme Court approved law schools,” reflecting recent amendments to the Rules Governing Admission to the State Bar of Texas pursuant to Supreme Court Order 26-9002.

  • Added Section 5.8, an MCLE exemption for active-duty armed services personnel.

The board also approved adding “emerging technology” to the legal professional responsibility definitions in the MCLE accreditation standards. The change is meant to ensure that programs addressing new, evolving, or rapidly advancing digital tools or systems are recognized as appropriate for ethics credit when they implicate a lawyer’s ethical duties, MCLE Committee Chair Yolanda Cortes Mares said.

Appointments and Recognitions

tate Bar of Texas President Santos Vargas presents Judge Kirsten Cohoon, of the 451st District Court in Kendall County, with a resolution for exceptional service to the legal profession.
ABOVE: State Bar of Texas President Santos Vargas presents Judge Kirsten Cohoon, of the 451st District Court in Kendall County, with a resolution for exceptional service to the legal profession. Photo by Lowell Brown.
Board Chair-elect Steve Alfonso Chiscano with Vargas. PHOTO BY LOWELL BROWN
ABOVE: Board Chair-elect Steve Alfonso Chiscano with Vargas. Photo by Lowell Brown.


Directors elected San Antonio attorney Steve Alfonso Chiscano, a shareholder in Chiscano Hossa & Calve, chair of the board for 2026-2027.

The board approved State Bar President Santos Vargas’ appointment of Houston attorney Samantha-Anne Horwitch Nadolny as an at-large director and adopted a resolution honoring Judge Kirsten Cohoon, of the 451st District Court in Kendall County, for exceptional service to the legal profession.

Danyel Turner, program associate for the Client-Attorney Assistance Program, received the quarterly Staff Excellence Award.

Proposed Changes to Disciplinary Procedures
Directors approved the Committee on Disciplinary Rules and Referenda’s recommendations regarding definitions to discretionary referral in Rule 1.06M of the Texas Rules of Disciplinary Procedure. The proposal adds “allegation(s) of” minor misconduct to the definition of “Discretionary Referral” to clarify that misconduct is not assumed, but alleged.

The board also approved the Committee on Disciplinary Rules and Referenda’s recommendations regarding classification of grievances in Rule 2.10 of the Texas Rules of Disciplinary Procedure. The committee said the proposal is intended to clarify how grievances are reviewed, dismissed, and appealed so the process is easier to understand and more predictable.

The proposed changes to the disciplinary procedures will be included in a future referendum of the State Bar membership.

Court Rules Changes
The board approved the Administration Committee’s recommendations regarding the Court Rules Committee’s proposed amendments to:

  • Rule 49.5, Texas Rules of Appellate Procedure, regarding filing a motion for en banc reconsideration

  • Rule 502.5(d), Texas Rules of Civil Procedure, changing the due date for a justice court defendant’s answer from the 14th to the 20th day after service

Standing Committees
The board approved appointments to the bar’s standing committees for 2026-2027.

AI Legal Resources
Executive Director Trey Apffel updated directors on the State Bar’s “Ask a Human” Q&A webinar series. The series, created by the Law Practice Management Committee and staff, answers lawyers’ questions about AI in the law and complements the State Bar of Texas AI Toolkit. The toolkit, video of the webinars, and other resources are available at texasbarpractice.com.

Access to Justice Initiatives
Vargas updated the board on the “Stand With Santos” initiative (standwithsantos.org), which invites lawyers to pledge pro bono hours or donate funds to expand access to civil legal services for low-income Texans. Terry Tottenham, co-chair of the Texas Access to Justice Commission’s Veterans Committee, presented on the commission’s Take One campaign, which encourages lawyers to take one veteran’s case per year in their legal specialty. Lawyers can volunteer for Take One at Take One Campaign Survey .

Looking Ahead
The next board meetings are scheduled for June 10-11 in Houston. Comments can be emailed to boardofdirectors@texasbar.com. Proposals to the Board of Directors, including policy or resolution proposals, may be made by submitting a public comment pursuant to the procedure stated on the agenda posted for each board meeting.

Watch the meetings at texasbar.com/board under “Board Meeting Videos. Meeting materials are available at texasbar.com/bodmaterials.