TEXAS - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- TYLA President - Elect / Webb & Zapata
State Bar directors are elected from 17 districts throughout the state. Six public members are appointed by the Supreme Court, three of which come from a list provided to the court by the governor. Additionally, four at-large directors with full voting privileges are appointed by the president. All directors serve staggered, three-year terms.
The Texas Law Center is the State Bar's headquarters.
Our executive team is responsible for the administration and management of the State Bar of Texas. This includes providing day-to-day oversight of the State Bar and its operations, professional services to members of the State Bar, services to the public, long-range strategic planning, and assistance to the courts regarding the administration of justice.
The State Bar of Texas is governed by a board of directors with 46 voting members from across the state who volunteer their valuable time and professional experience. The voting members include:
3 officers elected statewide by State Bar members (president, president-elect, and immediate past president),
30 attorneys elected from 17 geographical districts,
6 public (non-attorney) members appointed by the Supreme Court,
4 at-large directors appointed by the State Bar president, and
3 officers elected statewide by Texas Young Lawyers Association members (president, president-elect, and immediate past president).
Fourteen nonvoting, ex-officio members also serve on the State Bar board, including the immediate past board chair and liaisons representing the judiciary, State Bar sections, and out-of-state members. The expertise provided by these volunteer leaders allows the State Bar to continue to provide high-quality services and programs to members and the public.
The mission of the State Bar of Texas is to support the administration of the legal system, assure all citizens equal access to justice, foster high standards of ethical conduct for lawyers …
Job Titles:
- at - Large Director - Term Expires 2025
Job Titles:
- Immediate past President / Goranson Bain Ausley, PLLC
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- University Federal Credit Union / P.O. Box 9350
Job Titles:
- at - Large Director - Term Expires 2025
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- Public Member - Term Expires 2024
Job Titles:
- Public Member - Term Expires 2022
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- TYLA President / Flowserve Corporation
Job Titles:
- Public Member - Term Expires 2022
KaLyn Laney serves the bar as a deputy executive director. Since joining the bar in 1990, she has served as director of governmental relations, director of member and public service, and in various other roles. Professionally, Laney is active in the National Association of Bar Executives, where she has served as chair of the Governmental Relations Section and chair of the Membership Committee. Additionally, Laney is an active community volunteer, having served as president of the Junior League of Austin and as a national board member of the Texas Tech Alumni Association. She is currently serving on the foundation board of the Settlement Home for Children and as a vice president of Rodeo Austin.
Job Titles:
- Rockwall County Criminal District Attorney 's Office / 1111 E. Yellowjacket Ln., Ste. 201 / Rockwall 75087
Job Titles:
- Immediate past Chair of the Board
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- TYLA Immediate past President / Sprouse Shrader Smith PLLC
Job Titles:
- Communications Director for the State Bar
Lowell Brown is the communications director for the State Bar of Texas and the executive editor of the Texas Bar Journal. He previously worked as a reporter and editor at daily newspapers in Central Texas and the Dallas-Fort Worth area, where his work earned state and national awards. He holds a bachelor's and master's degree in journalism from the University of North Texas and is a 2016 graduate of the Governor's Executive Development Program at the LBJ School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas at Austin. He is a member of NABE: The Association for Bar Professionals and currently serves as immediate past chair of the NABE Communications Section.
Job Titles:
- Public Member - Term Expires 2023 / GEF Financial Group
Ray Cantu began his career at the State Bar of Texas in 1995. He has served as director of the advertising review department, attorney compliance division, and special projects department. He currently serves as the State Bar of Texas deputy executive director over the compliance, administration, information technology and finance divisions. Cantu graduated in 1992 from Texas A&M University with a B.A. in Political Science and earned a Master of Public Administration from Texas State University in 1998. Prior to working at the State Bar, Cantu worked in the Office of the Governor from 1992 to 1995.
Job Titles:
- President - Elect / Davis & Santos, PLLC
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- Chief Disciplinary Counsel
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- President / Bracewell LLP
Job Titles:
- Executive Director
- Executive Director of the State Bar
E.A. "Trey" Apffel III became executive director of the State Bar of Texas in December 2017. A longtime Galveston County trial lawyer, he previously was the owner and principal of the Apffel Law Firm in League City, where he focused on personal injury litigation, toxic torts, medical malpractice, and family law. He is certified in both civil trial law and personal injury trial law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization. Apffel has served as State Bar of Texas president (2014-2015), on the State Bar Board of Directors, and as a member of the board's Executive Committee. He is a former member of the Commission for Lawyer Discipline, a member of the Texas Bar College, a Texas Bar Foundation Life Fellow, and served on the Texas Bar Foundation Board of Trustees.