Did you know the State Bar of Texas is the second largest active-member state bar in the United States? SBOT has been around since 1939, when the State Bar Act was adopted by Texas state legislature, and there are currently more than 102,000 active members. Hopefully for the sake of the city of Houston not all those members will be gathering for SBOT’s Annual Meeting, but the conference still attracts thousands each year.

Beginning tomorrow, the 2018 Annual Meeting will feature two days of insightful sessions, CLE programming, and extensive networking opportunities. This year the keynote speakers include Joseph Crespino, Jim McIngvale, and Douglas Brinkley, and Amy Starnes has a great post about what to expect from their keynotes.

To learn more about the event, we spoke with State Bar Executive Director Trey Apffel about what attendees can look forward to, and how others can follow along from afar:

What is one component that makes SBOT’s Annual Conference really stand out? 
The variety of our CLE programming. If you look at the Annual Meeting schedule you’ll see that nearly every area of practice is included, and that’s intentional. We want every segment of our membership to find something that is relevant to them.
What is a major highlight of the conference?
Meeting and getting to know other Texas lawyers is a major highlight of the Annual Meeting. Texas is such a big and diverse state, and this is a rare chance for our members to gather in one place and learn from each other.
Will there be any way for non-attendees to follow along remotely? 
The State Bar and many of our attendees will post updates on social media using the hashtag #sbot18. Also, we will stream the Open Government Seminar live on Facebook from 9 to 11 a.m. CT Friday.