As Chair of the Texas Center for Legal Ethics Board of Trustees, I want to welcome you to this newly redesigned website. Countless hours and substantial resources went into overhauling our online presence in order to provide Texas lawyers and the public they serve with the most up-to-date ethics and professionalism references and materials available. The Center truly is what many of us call it by way of shorthand, “the ethics center.” For this we have many to thank, especially the Texas Bar Foundation, whose generous grant funded, in part, this new the Center website.
We have a great tradition to build on, but we also have much we can and should do to fulfill our mission of promoting lawyers’ adherence to ethical rules and their acting in a professional and civil manner; of educating lawyers, law students, the judiciary, and the public on professional ethics; and of educating everyone about the rule of law and the roles of lawyers and judges in our system of justice.
Let me share with you the Center’s strategic plan and program for fulfilling this mission over the next year or so:
*Provide correct factual information when misstatements of facts are publicly made about lawyers, judges, and our system of justice.
*Complete the rebuilding of the Center’s infrastructure, including our new web site, new domain name, and expanded communication capacity.
*Add new volunteer members to participate in program development and delivery.
*Enhance programming in general with emphasis on the development of a supply of MCLE approved practical ethics and professionalism programs for local and specialty bar groups and on new ethics programs for transactional and criminal lawyers.
* Foster a celebration of and a recommitment to The Texas Lawyers' Creed which was adopted by the Texas Supreme Court at the same time as The Center’s foundation 20 years ago in November 1989 by three retired chief justices of the Texas Supreme Court.
*Coordinate closely with the Texas Supreme Court and the State Bar of Texas in fostering the commitment to ethical and professional behavior envisioned by the Center’s founders 20 years ago.
These are exciting times for the Center, and we would love to have you join us in defending the profession and the rule of law and in promoting ethics and professionalism.
Kelly Frels
Chair of the Board of Trustees