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Texas Access To Justice Commission Update

Texas Access to Justice Commission seeks nominees for awards
By:  Georgia Nolan, Texas Access to Justice Commission

The Texas Access to Justice Commission is seeking nominees for three awards. Read on to discover how you can nominate your organization.

DEBORAH G. HANKINSON AWARD
The Deborah G. Hankinson Award honors local bar associations and young lawyer affiliates that demonstrate a commitment to access to justice in their communities and to raising financial support for legal service providers on a local and statewide basis. This year, the Texas Access to Justice Commission will use an application process to determine local bar associations and young lawyer affiliates award recipients.

Each bar association has an opportunity to receive this award based on its division. The divisions are:
Division I: local and district bar associations with 500 or fewer members
Division II: local and district bar associations with 501 – 900 members
Division III: local and district bar associations with 901 – 5,000 members
Division IV: local and district bar associations with more than 5,000 members

Each young lawyer affiliate has an opportunity to receive this award based on its division. The divisions are:
Division I: Austin, Dallas, Ft. Worth, Houston, and San Antonio
Division II: All other young lawyer affiliates.

To streamline award applications, you may have the access to justice portion of the State Bar of Texas Award of Merit application or the TYLA Awards of Achievement sent to the Texas Access to Justice Commission to be considered in your application for the Deborah G. Hankinson Award. You will need to check a box on the Deborah G. Hankinson Award Application to release this information to the Commission.

To nominate an organization, submit an application by 5:00 p.m. on May 8, 2013.
 

PRO BONO SERVICE AWARD
Developed in 2008, the Pro Bono Service Award encourages State Bar of Texas sections and bar organizations to create self-sustaining pro bono projects that motivate lawyers from specialized practice areas to provide pro bono legal assistance directly to poor Texans.

The Supreme Court Task Force to Expand Legal Services Delivery will offer a $1,000 prize to the three State Bar sections or bar organizations with the best pro bono projects. As identified by the State Bar, large, medium and small sized sections and bar organizations will compete against other similarly sized groups to develop and implement pro bono projects that promote legal assistance to underserved populations and encourage private attorneys to provide pro bono legal assistance directly to poor Texans.

The Pro Bono Service Award is open to all State Bar of Texas sections and bar organizations. Anyone may nominate a State Bar section or bar organization by submitting a Nomination Form to the Texas Access to Justice Commission.

To nominate a State Bar section or a local bar association, submit an application by 5:00 p.m. on April 12.
 

CORPORATE COUNSEL PRO BONO AWARD
Established by the Commission in 2008, the ATJ Corporate Counsel Pro Bono Award is open to an individual corporate counsel and in-house attorneys in Texas. The Commission seeks to recognize an outstanding corporate counsel who actively provides pro bono legal services for the poor and promotes this pro bono culture within the corporate framework. To nominate a lawyer, submit an application by 5:00 p.m. on Tuesday, April 2.