Press Release
Contact:
Maggie Martin
Director, Marketing and Communications
O: 346-471-3428
maggiem@hba.org
HBA Announces Outstanding Achievements in Professionalism, Women in Law, and Committee Leadership
The HBA will recognize award recipients at its Annual Dinner on May 11
(HOUSTON – April 25, 2023) The Houston Bar Association (HBA) is excited to announce this year’s award winners who will be conferred at the organization’s Annual Dinner on May 11. This includes the recipients of the Justice Eugene A. Cook Professionalism Award, the Justice Ruby Kless Sondock Award, and the HBA President’s Award.
The Justice Eugene A. Cook Professionalism Award was established by HBA Past President Warren W. Harris (2018-19) in 2018 in honor of Justice Cook, the principal architect of the Texas Lawyer’s Creed adopted by the Supreme Court of Texas and the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals in 1989. It is the association’s highest award for professionalism. The selection committee chose two recipients this year: Judge Lee H. Rosenthal, United States District Court Judge for the Southern District of Texas, and Reagan W. Simpson, partner at Yetter Coleman LLP.
The Justice Ruby Kless Sondock Award was established by HBA Past President Benny Agosto, Jr. (2019-20) to recognize exceptional achievement and leadership for women in the law. The award is named in honor of Justice Ruby Kless Sondock, a trailblazer in the legal profession as the first woman to serve on the Supreme Court of Texas and the first woman to serve as district judge in Harris County. The selection committee chose Ann Ryan Robertson, international partner at Locke Lord LLP, as this year’s winner.
Recipients for each of these awards are selected by past recipients and the current HBA president.
“The HBA was very fortunate to receive several compelling nominations for these awards this year,” said HBA President Christopher V. Popov. “It speaks to the caliber of professionals in Houston’s bench and bar that the HBA is proud to count among its membership. Both selection committees carefully considered these persuasive submissions to choose the recipients of these prestigious awards.”
The HBA is also pleased to share the recipients of this year’s HBA President’s Award, selected by the HBA president to honor outstanding committee and section leadership during their bar year.
For outstanding committee leadership, HBA President Popov has selected the co-chairs of the HBA Law & the Media Committee to receive this distinction. The committee spearheaded the HBA President’s Speaker Series, special programming produced as part of HBA President Popov’s focus area, “Elevated Civil Discourse,” and included five programs with substantive, thoughtful discussion about topics including the Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision, the state of voting laws in Texas, recent court cases touching on the Second Amendment, and NIL (name, image, and likeness) issues. A culminating program on big tech and free speech will be held on May 20. The HBA President’s Award will recognize the outstanding leadership of the committee’s six co-chairs, three of which were represented by Houston’s law schools: Dean Leonard M. Baynes of the University of Houston Law Center, Michelle Morris of South Texas College of Law Houston, and Professor Elsa Ransom of Thurgood Marshall School of Law. They’re joined by Professor John Greil of the University of Texas School of Law, the committees’ law co-chair, Daniella Landers of Womble Bond Dickinson (US) LLP), and the media co-chair, Christopher Tritico of Tritico Rainey, PLLC.
“I am incredibly proud of the exceptional programming this committee produced this year,” said Popov. “The HBA President’s Speaker Series was an opportunity for the HBA to continue nurturing its close ties with Houston’s three law schools while informing our members about leading legal issues of the day. Our six co-chairs were critical in producing this series, and I am thrilled to award them this recognition.”
HBA President Popov will also recognize former Houston Volunteer Lawyers Executive Director Anne Chandler and HVL Chair David E. Harrell with an HBA President’s Award. HVL is a service of the HBA providing pro bono legal services to low-income residents of Harris County.
“Anne has been such a phenomenal force in driving HVL’s mission to connect those in need of legal assistance with volunteer lawyers,” said Popov. “Under her stead, HVL has significantly increased and improved its services to thousands of Houstonians. David has been a fantastic partner in these efforts, guiding the instrumental efforts of HVL’s board to execute on this critical work.”
The HBA invites members to join us for the Annual Dinner as we celebrate these award winners, recognize HBA President Popov’s achievements, and welcome incoming HBA President Diana Gomez as the first Latina president in the HBA’s history. Tickets and tables are available for purchase online until May 4 at hba.org/annualdinner.
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The Houston Bar Association is a nonprofit professional organization for attorneys that provides education and service programs for the legal profession and the community. With over 10,000 members, the HBA is one of the largest metropolitan bar associations in the nation. Learn more at HBA.org.
