“You have to stick your neck out every once in a while if you believe in what you are doing,” Supreme Court of Texas Chief Justice Wallace B. Jefferson told the graduating class of LeadershipSBOT at an awards ceremony on Thursday, June 20, at the State Bar of Texas Annual Meeting in Dallas. Jefferson talked about getting out of your comfort zone as he addressed the crowd.
LeadershipSBOT celebrates its fifth birthday this summer. The brainchild of former State Bar President Harper Estes, the program is a fusion of diversity awareness, idea brainstorming and implementation, executive grooming, and bar immersion. The idea is to get a group of young lawyers together—they meet twice a year—to envision a better State Bar.
Members work together in groups to create service projects, which they presented at the ceremony. The Access to Justice group worked on videos to inspire and educate attorneys about pro bono family law cases. The Diversity group devised a program with a video stressing the importance of diversity throughout the law profession. The Member Service Professionalism group developed a mentor bank that lawyers will be able to access on the State Bar of Texas website soon. The Education and Public Service group devised a lesson plan for students that focuses on civility and public discourse.
Emma Cano received the Pete Serrano Leadership Award for her outstanding contributions throughout the year.
LeadershipSBOT members are nominated via a downloadable form on the State Bar website. The deadline for nominations this year is July 1.