STATE BAR DIRECTOR SPOTLIGHT SEPTEMBER 2022
Lucy Forbes
Interview by Eric Quitugua
Photo courtesy of Chris Gillett.
Hometown: Beirut, Lebanon
Position: Civil appellate lawyer at the Forbes Firm
in Houston
Board Member: District 4, Place 4, since 2020
The law is not a natural fit for someone with my background as an
Armenian immigrant.
The backdrop of my experiences as a young immigrant in my hardworking
family became fundamental in my path to the law. My parents were born in
the 1930s on the heels of the Armenian genocide, which spanned from 1915
through 1923. Fleeing war-torn and unstable countries, my parents sought
a better life for us in America. We came to this country when I was
nearly five years old in the 1970s. Although my parents spoke four
languages, English was never among them. English is not my first
language. I started to learn it in kindergarten, and even then, heard it
only at school.
I was the first person in my family to graduate from high school and the first person in my extended family to graduate from a university. In pursuing a legal education, I figured a law degree would be a versatile educational achievement no matter what profession I ultimately chose.
Also, I knew how vulnerable my parents were because they weren’t
educated and didn’t speak English; in equal part, I knew that it was
less likely that someone could take advantage of me if I worked hard,
learned this country’s laws, and became well educated. Moreover, I would
gain the skills and earn a professional degree that would enable me to
become a voice on behalf of others against injustice.
I practice civil appellate law because I love working with clients and
trial lawyers to find solutions for the client’s legal
issues.
One of the most critical stages of appellate practice involves
advising a potential client on whether an appeal is in his or her best
interest. In handling the appeal, and contemplating legal arguments and
strategies, I rely on my 24 years of legal experience and common sense
to advise clients. I am honored when a client and their trial lawyer
trust me to handle their appeal. Thus, I strive at all times to uphold
the highest standards of ethical and professional conduct in serving my
clients and as an officer of the court.
As my Baylor Law School professors used to tell us, the law is a
jealous mistress.
The practice of law can be demanding on an attorney’s mental health
and physical well-being. The State Bar’s support and promotion of the
Texas Lawyers’ Assistance Program is an invaluable, discrete service for
our colleagues who need it.
I have served on the Client Security Fund Committee since the
beginning of my tenure as a State Bar director and the work is
fulfilling because our approved grants make a direct impact on the
public.
The bar’s continued endowment of the Client Security Fund provides a
distinctive program to protect the public. Its purpose is to protect the
integrity of the legal profession through discretionary grants to
clients who have been harmed by their lawyers’ dishonest conduct. The
Client Security Fund is administered through the Office of the Chief
Disciplinary Counsel and operates as a standing subcommittee of the
board’s Discipline & Client Attorney Assistance
Committee.TBJ
The State Bar Director Spotlight highlights a member of the bar’s
volunteer board of directors. Learn more at texasbar.com/board.
