State Bar Director Spotlight • February 2026

Lowell A. Keig

HOMETOWN: DALLAS
POSITION: UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE DIRECTOR, TEXAS WORKFORCE COMMISSION, AUSTIN
BOARD MEMBER: DISTRICT 9, PLACE 3 SINCE 2024

INTERVIEW BY WILL KORN
PHOTO COURTESY OF LOWELL A. KEIG

AS A MEMBER OF KEY CLUB IN HIGH SCHOOL, I HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO SHADOW AN ATTORNEY IN KIWANIS FOR A DAY. He handled both litigation and transactional matters and brought me to court for a hearing. He was involved politically and said that if I thought I might be interested in governmental affairs, becoming a lawyer was a good foundation.

ALTHOUGH I HAVE SPENT MANY YEARS OF MY CAREER IN AND OUT OF THE PRIVATE SECTOR, I BELIEVE MY PEERS THINK OF ME, FIRST AND FOREMOST, AS A PUBLIC SERVICE ATTORNEY. Early on I did a tour of duty at the Bexar County Criminal District Attorney’s Office, and the district attorney told me he thought I would find that “this is the most fun you will ever have practicing law.” He was right. I enjoyed practicing health law at the Office of the Texas Attorney General. Then, as a general counsel of a behavioral health care company, I was tapped to serve on the board of directors of the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs, and my state senator, in concurring with my appointment, commented that my
background as an attorney would be a welcome addition to the board. For the past decade and a half, my legal experience in labor and employment, privacy, and contract law has assisted me in acting as the Texas Workforce Commission’s civil rights director, the business operations director, and currently, the unemployment insurance director.

I BECAME VERY INVOLVED IN BAR WORK EARLY IN MY CAREER—I wanted to give back to my profession and the community. I served as a San Antonio Young Lawyers Association president, as a San Antonio Bar Association director, as a Texas Young Lawyers Association chair, and as an Austin Bar Foundation vice chair. I was recruited to run for the State Bar board by two influential friends and decided it was time that I stepped up to serve.

AS A STATE BAR OF TEXAS DIRECTOR, MY PERCEPTION OF THE BASIC TENETS OF PRACTICING LAW HAVE BEEN BOLSTERED: ethics, discipline, and education are important to our profession.

UNLIKE VOLUNTARY LOCAL BAR ASSOCIATIONS, THE STATE BAR OF TEXAS IS MANDATORY, so we represent all attorneys and have a duty to remain neutral in matters of a political nature.

USING ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE (AI) TO PRACTICE LAW IS BOTH A GAME-CHANGER AND A MINEFIELD. The State Bar now has the standing committee called the Emerging Technology Committee, which is addressing how to use AI and other technologies responsibly and ethically.

AN EXAMPLE OF HOW THE STATE BAR IS IMPROVING THE PROFESSION IS SUCCESSION PLANNING. As one of the bar’s baby boomers, I am very aware that there are going to be many attorneys phasing out their practices, some of whom may pass away while practicing. The State Bar is committed to helping attorneys put succession plans into place. Our website has a succession planning toolkit that I would encourage attorneys to peruse and use.

I WOULD TELL A NEWLY LICENSED ATTORNEY NOT TO THINK THE FIRST JOB OR ROLE THEY HAVE WILL BE THE SAME ONE FOR THEIR ENTIRE CAREER. I would also encourage new attorneys to consider public service, whether as employment, through bar work, or via service on a board or commission. For more information, I recommend new attorneys explore the Texas Young Lawyers Association’s new public service program, For the Public: Texas Lawyers in Public Service, which is this year’s focus project of TYLA President Alyson A. Martinez, herself a public service attorney.