HISTORY OF
THE PARALEGAL DIVISION OF
THE STATE BAR OF TEXAS

1982 - 1983    Next >>

All sixteen initial directors and ex officio members were present at the organizational meeting in March. Kathryn King Richards was elected temporary chair, Judy Jensen was elected temporary treasurer, and Gay Hock was appointed temporary secretary to serve until the next Board meeting, during which formal elections would be conducted. The Board ratified the action of the Bar Board adopting Bylaws for the Division; adopted the Code of Ethics and Professional Responsibility; and approved the design for the Division letterhead, official seal, membership cards, and membership certificates. Nine initial committees were established: Annual Meeting, Budget and Finance, Bylaws Revision, Legislative, Membership, Professional Development, Professional Ethics, Public Relations, and Publications. Directors were appointed as interim committee chairs to serve until permanent appointments could be made, at which time the Directors would serve as board advisors to the committees. The Division had received 719 membership applications at the time of this meeting. Initial annual dues were $25.

Approximately 125 members attended the first Annual Meeting of the membership in Austin. It was announced that the Division had 1,013 charter members as of June 29, 1982. The Bylaws were ratified by the membership and then amended to provide for two additional directorships, one for Harris County and one for Dallas County, because of the disproportionate size of the membership for each of those districts. SBOT President Wayne Fisher delivered the luncheon address, in which he said:

Your presence here today confirms my belief that the time has come for the legal profession to recognize the paralegal profession and for us to move forward in cooperation and mutual support to providfse better services to the public we serve. . . . Let me assure you that the State Bar is not trying to impose anything on the legal assistant in Texas, much less the paralegal professional throughout the country. We realize that what we are going will have an impact, and for that reason we are just as concerned as others may be. We only ask that your Division be a chance to show what that impact will be. Active participation by the membership will have a direct effect on that impact. . . . I challenge you to fight for what you believe in; . . .

The Board met jointly with the Legal Assistants Committee of the Bar and Texas paralegal educators and administrators for the Texas Forum. The group discussed minimum standards of paralegal education in Texas, certification or licensing of legal assistants, and problems relating to utilization of legal assistants.

The Executive Committee was authorized to seek to avoid commingling of Division dues/revenues with other Bar funds and to request such approval from the Bar Board. This was a significant step toward increased autonomy for the Division.
 

1983 - 1984 >>