The Texas Bar College is an honorary society of lawyers and paralegals who are leaders in the Texas legal community and champions of legal education. Our members are committed to high ethical standards and improved training for all legal professionals. Texas Bar College members receive impressive benefits, including a free subscription to TexasBarCLE’s Online Library, CLE discounts, and more. View the requirements and join our ranks today!
College members now have FREE access to an online searchable database housing thousands of CLE articles.
The Texas Bar College is the only organization in the United States formed for the purpose of promoting and recognizing attorneys who pursue excellence through voluntary attendance of continuing legal education programs. Jim D. Bowmer and Franklin Jones, Jr., both past presidents of the State Bar of Texas (Bar), credit each other with starting the Texas Bar College. Mr. Bowmer, who believed that lawyers in Texas should be given credit for attending programs of continuing legal education, urged Mr. Jones to persuade the State Bar Board of Directors to adopt the idea for the College. Once the State Bar Board voted to approve the idea, Mr. Jones appointed Mr. Bowmer to lead a subcommittee of the continuing legal education committee of the Bar to crystallize all of his ideas into plans for action. In December of 1981, the Board of the Directors of the Bar asked the Texas Supreme Court to establish the College by order of the Court.
The Texas Supreme Court established the Texas Bar College on December 14, 1981. The Court’s order described the purposes of the College as follows:
When Orrin Johnson was president-elect of the Bar, he recommended that the College be a separate committee of the Bar.
In 1986, mandatory continuing legal education rules were enacted requiring Texas lawyers to attend a minimum of 15 hours each year. The Texas Bar College responded by changing its membership rules to require 80 hours over a three-year span or 45 hours in a single year, with 30 hours of continuing legal education being required each year to maintain membership. Later the Texas Bar College also enacted a special status of “fellow” to designate those members who maintained more than 10 consecutive years of membership.
In June of 2001, the Bar board voted to change the status of the Texas Bar College from a standing committee of the Bar to a “bar-related entity.” In addition, the Bar board reduced the number of Texas Bar College directors to 18; two-thirds of whom would be appointed by the Bar president and one-third by the Bar president based on nominations submitted by the Texas Bar College board. Directors were to serve three-year staggered terms with a limit of two consecutive terms. Reappointment would require the expiration of at least a two-year period after serving two consecutive terms. The Bar president would appoint replacements to vacated positions, as needed, based on nominations from the Texas Bar College Board.
The Texas Bar College Board prepared and approved appropriate by-laws to adjust to its new status. For example, the by-laws required that all Texas Bar College Board members must be active members of the College. In addition, the by-laws provide that the Texas Bar College may employ an executive director.
On October 25, 2001, the Texas Supreme Court amended its 1981 order establishing the Texas Bar College. The new order, Misc. Docket No. 01-9180 reestablished the Texas Bar College and directed it to pursue incorporation under the Texas Non-Profit Corporation Act. The court also reworded and redirected the purposes of the Texas Bar College as follows:
The motivation for the establishment of the Texas Bar College as a non-profit corporation flowed from the recognition that the Texas Bar College had, over the years, become a grant funding organization, contributions to which should be tax deductible. As a non-profit corporation, the Texas Bar College applied for and received 501 (c) (3) status under the Internal Revenue Code. With the new status, dues and contributions to the Texas Bar College are tax-deductible.
During the past several years, the Texas Bar College has enhanced its Summer School continuing legal education seminar, conducted in Galveston at Moody Gardens. Annually, it recognizes its members with awards of professionalism and recognizes an outstanding author of a continuing legal education paper that was presented at a continuing legal education event, as well as an award for the outstanding contribution to continuing legal education. Winners of the professionalism awards can designate a Texas law school to receive a sizable donation from the Texas Bar College. It recognizes members who have attended a significant number of continuing legal education hours each year. In addition, it often recognizes its original founding members.
Most recently the Texas Bar College has expanded its Board to include one paralegal and has encouraged paralegals to join the College as associate members.
One goal of the Texas Bar College is to keep evolving so that it can respond to the needs of its members and the legal profession. The Texas Bar College Board relies on the excellent and diligent work done by both the managing and executive director, Katherine Korrodi and Hedy Bower.
