HIS Chair Benny Agosto, Jr. has authored a blog post on the status of grand jury reform in the current session of the Texas legislature.  Texas remains the only state that uses the “key man” system for grand jury selection, and the legislature is considering changes.  You can read the post here.

HIS Chair Benny Agosto, Jr., former President of the Hispanic National Bar Association, traveled to Washington, D.C. to participate in this year’s HNBA Advocacy Day on May 13, 2015.  Benny met with members of Congress and staffers on Capitol Hill to advocate on a variety of issues important to the Hispanic community.  Thanks for your hard work Benny!

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Members of the Hispanic Issues Section attended and participated in the Nation Hispanic Bar Association’s Corporate Counsel Conference held in San Antonio, Texas from Wednesday, March 18 through Saturday, March 21, 2015.  HIS Chair Benny Agosto, Jr. and HIS Vice-Chair Betty Balli Torres provided a discussion of President Obama’s executive actions on immigration in a panel moderated by HIS Council Member Angelica M. Hernandez.  The Section also had an exhibitor booth at the event and discussed the activities of the section with some of the attendees at the conference.

Pictures of our participation are below; be sure to come and see us this year at the Annual Meeting of the State Bar of Texas – get more info on our Events page!

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The Hispanic Issues Section hosted the first of what hopefully will be several happy hours and membership events around the state on on December 4, 2014 at The Centennial in McAllen, Texas. The event was a great success – thanks to all who attended!  Some pictures from the event are below. 

The Mexican-American Bar Association of Texas Foundation recently hosted its Ninth Annual Scholarship Luncheon raising funds for scholarships for Hispanic law students.  The luncheon included a keynote address from Judge Denise Collins, and honored such individuals and organizations as Daniel Velasco of the Houston Texans, Michael and David Cordua of Cordua Restaurants, Harris County Sheriff’s Office Homicide Division for their work on the First 48, and Justice Elsa Alcala (the first Latina to serve on the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals).  Please see the MABA-TX Foundation press release or the South Texas College of Law website for more information on the luncheon.  Pictures from the event are below.  Congratulations to the honorees!

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HIS Council Member Angelica Hernandez visited San Antonio to meet with Immediate Past Chair Justice Patricia O. Alvarez and HIS Member Paul Torres.  Angelica met with Paul in his office in San Antonio to discuss upcoming HIS projects and the upcoming year for the Section.  The Section appreciates having strong partners around the state to work on community and other projects.

Angelica then met with Justice Alvarez (of the 4th Court of Appeals Texas). After discussing the Section, Justice Alvarez kindly gave Angelica a tour of the Court and explained its inner workings. Justice Alvarez is a great role model for our Section!

Texas State Representative Justin Rodriguez was the recipient of the 2013-2014 HIS Legislator of the Year award.  You can see the full list of award winners here.

Representative Rodriguez was unable to attend the awards ceremony at this year’s State Bar Annual Meeting, and so the award was presented at a ceremony in San Antonio.  The award was presented by Paul Torres, Chair of the Section’s Awards Committee.  Immediate Past Chair Justice Patricia O. Alvarez of the 4th Court of Appeals of the State of Texas, four other justices of that court, and four briefing attorneys of the court also attended the ceremony.

Pictures from the ceremony are below.  Congratulations Representative Rodriguez!

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On June 26, 2014, the Hispanic Issues Section participated in a joint reception with the African American Lawyers Section and the Asian Pacific Interest Section at the State Bar Annual Meeting in Austin, Texas.  The Section announced the winners of its annual awards:

See the full awards announcement here.  The officers for the 2014-2015 bar year also were announced and sworn in:

Congratulations to the award winners and our new officers!  Pictures from the joint reception and swearing-in ceremony are below.  Thanks to everyone who attended, and a special thank you to Ms. Berriozabal and Justice Gonzalez for being able to attend in person to receive their awards and to share a few words with us!

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The Membership Committee of the Hispanic Issues Section, led by co-chairs Arturo Aviles of Segal McCambridge and Judge Debra Ibarra Mayfield, with an assist from Angelica M. Hernandez of Linebarger Goggan Blair & Sampson, visited today’s Texas Minority Attorney Program in Houston, Texas to visit with attendees about the Hispanic Issues Section and to encourage more attorneys to join.  The visit was a success as several new attorneys joined the section!  Welcome!

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At a ceremony held on May 8, 2014, the Mexican-American Bar Association of San Antonio gave out its Pete Torres scholarship awards.  Local judges and MABA-SA board members gave out 15 scholarships of $1,500 each to deserving high school students.  Congratulations to the winners!