Bench Bar Conference

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Bench Bar Conference Purpose

The HBA Bench Bar Conference Committee encourages cooperation between the bench and the bar in Harris County, creates opportunity for communication, and addresses issues of mutual concern. Since 1992, the Bench Bar Conference Committee has coordinated an annual Bench Bar Conference for attorneys and the judiciary.

The Bench Bar Conference features both general sessions, which address issues common to all who practice in specific courts, and small group sessions, which focus on specific legal topics of interest to both the bench and the bar. The Bench Bar Conference has featured networking opportunities through social activities, team-building exercises and shared meals.

The Bench Bar Conference is designed to bring attorneys and judges together in an informal atmosphere where we can identify and solve challenges faced by the Bench and Bar. Group meetings and small break-out sessions can focus on issues relating to how we can work together to accomplish our mutual goals; social and networking events will promote camaraderie and friendship.  The overall benefits include more effective communication among lawyers and judges, and the promise of a system that works better for all of us.

2025-2026 Bench Bar Conference Co-Chairs 

Hon. Katy Boatman, Fourteenth Court of Appeals, Place 6
Felicia Harris Hoss, Harris Hoss PLLC
Mia Lorick, Troutman Pepper Locke LLP
Hon. Pamela Medina, Probate Court No. 2
Hon. Dawn Rogers, 334th District Court

For more information on this committee, contact Ashley Gagnon Steininger at ashleyg@hba.org or 346-471-3431.

HBA & HBF's 2026 Civil/Appellate Bench Bar Conference

Friday, April 10, 2026
Hotel ZaZa – Museum District

Thank you to our sponsors!

Diamond Sponsors

Emerald Sponsors

Ruby Sponsors

Gold Sponsors

Silver Sponsors

Bronze Sponsors

The HBA adopted the following policy for judicial campaigning at HBA events:

There should be no active campaigning, no literature distributed, no buttons worn, essentially nothing to indicate that a judge is in a contested race, and certainly nothing urging a favorable vote. Judges and judicial candidates may serve on HBA committee(s) and appear in HBA programs.

The Houston Bar Foundation is a registered 501(c)(3) non-profit. EIN #76-002959.