News From Around the Bar • September 2025

Austin Bar Foundation Announces Program to Assist With Cases for Attorneys in Crisis

The Austin Bar Foundation (ABF) announced the development and implementation of a Crisis Assistance Pilot (CAP) program designed to assist lawyers in the greater Austin area who need to temporarily step away from practice. This program was formed in connection with various stakeholders in the legal community to fill the gap when the impacted lawyer needs to temporarily step away from practice for up to 90 days. The Austin Bar Association and the ABF developed CAP to serve as a template for bar associations throughout the state after the need was identified by State Bar of Texas Immediate Past President Steve Benesh. Once an application is accepted, the program matches the attorney with volunteer lawyers in the same or similar practice area who are willing to temporarily assist with cases while the impacted attorney steps away. Prior to participation in the program, the impacted attorney must designate a custodian attorney with the State Bar of Texas, as well as grant the program permission to privately notify the courts in which the attorney has pending cases. To assist in the launch, the ABF awarded the program a $15,000 grant using funds raised at the 2025 annual Austin Bar Foundation Gala, according to a press release. This money will be used to cover program expenses and the impacted attorney’s practice. The program is currently designed to assist civil law practitioners, with plans to expand to the criminal bar in the coming year. For more information, contact DeLaine Ward at delaine@austinbar.org or 512-472-0279, ext. 104.

Houston Bar Foundation Launches New Community Grants Program

The Houston Bar Foundation (HBF) launched its new Community Grants Program, supporting projects that address the legal needs of residents in the greater Houston area. The announcement is the culmination of two years of strategic planning by the HBF Board of Directors. Under the leadership of 2023 HBF Chair Monica Karuturi, the foundation engaged in a strategic planning process, in part to create a strategy for investment and spending consistent with the HBF’s mission. One of the first outcomes of those efforts was the creation of this grant program. This program is separate from the annual grant to the Houston Volunteer Lawyers and is designed to broaden the HBF’s impact, which is focused on the Houston community, according to a press release. To be eligible, the project must meet the following criteria: (1) it must further at least one pillar of the HBF’s mission; (2) it must not exceed $10,000; (3) it must benefit people in the greater Houston area; and (4) it must be concluded within two years. The foundation may award up to $100,000 in grants to the Houston community. The deadline to apply is September 30, 2025. For more information about the grants program or to apply, go to Houston Bar Foundation Community Grants Program.

Ignacio Torteya III Named 2025 Baylor Lawyer of the Year

Ignacio Torteya III, U.S. magistrate judge for the Southern District of Texas, was honored as the 2025 Baylor Lawyer of the Year by the Baylor Law School Alumni Association during a ceremony June 13 in Brownsville, according to a press release. The award recognizes an alumna or alumnus who has brought distinction to Baylor Law School and the legal profession. Recipients are chosen based on their sustained and meaningful engagement with Baylor Law, significant contributions to the legal field, and a demonstrated commitment to integrity, legal excellence, and civic and social responsibility, according to a press release. Torteya earned a bachelor’s degree in political science from Baylor University and a J.D. from Baylor Law School. During law school and while serving as president of the International Law Society, he also earned a diploma in U.S.-Mexico Comparative Law from the Universidad Autónoma de Guadalajara as part of Baylor Law’s inaugural international law summer program. Torteya was sworn in as U.S. magistrate judge for the Southern Disrict of Texas, Brownsville Division, on January 24, 2014. He began his law career as an associate attorney with an international law firm in San Antonio before returning to Brownsville to clerk for the late U.S. District Judge Filemon B. Vela Sr. He then established the Torteya Law Firm, during which time he also taught international business law at the former University of Texas at Brownsville and served as the city of Brownsville’s municipal court judge for nearly a decade.

Free Legal Assistance Available For Low Income Individuals Affected By Central Texas Flooding

Free legal resources are available to low-income individuals affected by flooding in the Central Texas counties included in the federal disaster declaration of July 6 and the state disaster declarations of July 4 and July 5. Texas RioGrande Legal Aid is providing a toll-free legal hotline (833-329-8752) for low-income individuals affected by the disaster who need legal assistance, including: assistance securing government benefits as they are made available to disaster victims; assistance with life, medical, and property insurance claims; help with home repair contracts and contractors; replacement of wills and other important legal documents lost or destroyed in the disaster; consumer protection issues, such as price-gouging and avoiding contractor scams in the rebuilding process; mortgage-foreclosure problems; and landlord-tenant problems. Additional disaster recovery legal resources are available at texasbar.com/disaster, trla.org/disaster, and texaslawhelp.org.

Austin Young Lawyers Association Hosts 25th Annual Evening With The Judiciary

The Austin Young Lawyers Association will host the 25th annual Evening with the Judiciary from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. on September 25 at Chateau Bellevue in Austin. The event aims to introduce Austin’s young lawyers to the federal, state, and local judges before whom they will practice throughout their careers, according to a press release. This reception has become a signature event for AYLA, providing a unique opportunity for young lawyers and judges to meet in a relaxed social environment. Admission is complimentary for AYLA members, members of the judiciary, and sponsors. For more information about the event and to RSVP, go here austinbar.org.