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The Austin Bar is now accepting nominations for the following awards:
The Sam Johnson Professionalism Award
The William O. Whitehurst Public Service Award
The Larry F. York Mentoring Award
The Rev. Joseph C. Parker, Jr., Diversity Award.
The Sam Johnson Professionalism Award is named after the late Sam Johnson, partner at Scott, Douglass & McConnico. The Sam Johnson Professionalism Award honors a lawyer who best exemplifies, by conduct and character, truly professional traits that others in the bar seek to emulate, and whom all in the bar admire. Those selected for the award are truly role models for the bar, particularly younger or less experienced lawyers.
Previous winners include retired Magistrate Judge Leon Grizzard; Michelle Cheng of National Trial Law, V. Blayre Peña of VBPena Law, and Jane Webre of Scott, Douglass & McConnico.
The William O. Whitehurst Public Service Award is named after past State Bar of Texas President Bill Whitehurst. Known as the father of IOLTA (Interest on Lawyers’ Trust Accounts), the program is instrumental in enhancing access to justice for low-income Texans through the Texas Access to Justice Foundation. The William O. Whitehurst Public Service Award is given annually to an attorney in Travis County who has demonstrated outstanding service in the public/non-profit sector.
Previous winners include Clint Harbour (posthumously) of the Texas Attorney General’s Office; Meghan Kempf of the Texas Health and Human Services Commission; Raymond Winter of the Texas Health and Human Services Commission; Leslie Dippel, Travis County executive attorney; and Ira Davis (posthumously) of the Capital Area Private Defender Service.
The Larry F. York Mentoring Award is given to a local lawyer or judge who has demonstrated exceptional skill and generosity in mentoring younger members of the bar. This award was created to pay tribute to Larry York, who encouraged many young lawyers in Travis County to achieve professional and personal excellence, with integrity, grace, and humor. Nominees must have practiced at least 10 years and have served as role models and counsellors to other lawyers, distinguishing themselves as leaders of their profession while fully embracing life’s experiences.
Previous winners include Jason Snell of Snell Law; Sara Foskitt of Floyd Real Estate; 345th District Court Judge Jan Soifer; and Archie Carl Pierce of Wright & Greenhill.
The Rev. Joseph C. Parker, Jr., Diversity Award is named in honor of Joseph C. Parker Jr., the first African American president of the Austin Bar Association. Blazing the trail for minority lawyers who followed in his footsteps, Parker has spent his life and work championing the equal, ethical, and fair treatment of all people, and raising awareness of the need to diversify our community. The award is presented to a firm or an individual who has led the way in bringing diversity to Austin’s legal community and who exemplifies all that Parker stands for.
Previous winners include Mindy Gulati of Fundamental Advisory; 459th District Court Judge Maya Guerra Gamble; the Hon. Rudy Metayer of Chamberlain McHaney; and Manuel Escobar of McGinnis Lochridge.
The recipients of these awards will be honored at the Austin Bar Association’s annual Bench Bar Conference on April 30, 2027.
Nominations can be submitted here.
The deadline to submit nominations is Friday, Nov. 13, at 5 p.m.
