Bar beefs up its leadership pipeline

Coming from across the state, 19 lawyers who reflect the diversity of the Texas population will be in Austin on Oct. 16-18 for the first session of LeadershipSBOT. According to the State Bar’s profile of the participants, 63 percent are minorities. State Bar president Harper Estes, a shareholder in Midland’s Lynch, Chappell & Alsup, says the Texas Young Lawyers Association joined the Bar in sponsoring the leadership training event, which is modeled after a Washington State Bar Association program. Estes says the State Bar and TYLA, minority bar groups and local bar associations nominated attorneys for the program. Lawyers interested in the program submitted their applications and statements of interest in the State Bar, and a select committee Estes appointed picked the participants. The participants are in a variety of work situations, ranging from solo practitioners to attorneys in large or small firms, legal aid providers and some in government work. “The real idea is to find lawyers who might not otherwise have a pathway to leadership in the State Bar,” Estes says. The participants had to commit to working three years on a State Bar standing committee, section or other Bar-related function, he says.  They also had to commit to attending the State Bar’s 2009 annual meeting.
-- Mary Alice Robbins