A History of the Hispanic Bar Association of Austin Shaping the Future Through Service BY (RET.) JUDGE JIM CORONADO
(Ret.) Judge Jim Coronado served as district court judge of the 427th district court from 2009 to 2017. Judge Coronado is a past president of the Travis County/Austin Bar.
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n celebration of a year of diversity and heritage, the Austin Bar Association has asked me to write a short history of the Hispanic Bar Association of Austin (HBAA). I was present at its formation and served as president of Capital Area Mexican American Lawyers (CAMAL)/HBAA for the 198687 term. Almost 40 years ago, CAMAL/HBAA, was the vision of our first president Richard Pena. Pena envisioned a professional organization of Hispanic lawyers dedicated to community service. Pena gathered a group of half a dozen likeminded lawyers. We were all in our early 30s and a cohesive and dedicated group. We shared a common vision that our small band could make a positive impact on Travis County and the State Bar of Texas (SBOT). Our objective was to form a collective voice for our local Hispanic legal community. We gathered in the back room of the law office of our friend and member Thomas Esparza. The original group included Esparza, Pena, David Mendez, Linda Acevedo, Xavier Medina, Robert 10
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Ramirez, and myself. We were fortunate to have the counsel of a senior lawyer, Simon Rodriquez, who as one of the few Austin Hispanic legal elders took an interest in our work. Rodriquez, through his friendship with Charlie Smith, then- president of the State Bar, was able to secure for most of us appointments to State Bar standing committees. We also began to serve on Travis County Bar Association (TCBA) committees. Thus began for us a deep involvement in the local and state bar. Pena had great success with the TCBA and in 1989 became the first Hispanic and person of color to become TCBA president. Pena rose to be the first Hispanic and person of color to become president of the State Bar in 2001. I dedicated myself initially to serving the Hispanic Bar of Texas, serving as chair of the Hispanic Issues Section of the State Bar, then president of the Texas Mexican American Bar Association (David Mendez served as the vice president), and ultimately vice president of the Hispanic National Bar Association. In
We shared a common vision that our small band could make a positive impact on Travis County and the State Bar of Texas. Our objective was to form a collective voice for our local Hispanic legal community. 2001, I followed in Pena’s path to become the second Hispanic president of the TCBA. Xavier Medina began his long service on our local grievance committee and on several state legal ethics panels. Linda Acevedo began a 33-year career with the State Bar and rose to chief disciplinary counsel of the SBOT. Mendez became one of the first Hispanic partners in a major law firm in Austin. Esparza, after serving as a justice of the peace, became one of the first Hispanic lawyers in Texas to become a board-certified immigration lawyer. Robert Ramirez unfortunately left Austin. The 80s and 90s were exciting times for our growing group. We
began to network with Hispanic lawyers across the state who were beginning to exert their collective influence in their communities. A very significant year for us was 1989; that was the year we collectively took on the challenge of transforming the State Bar of Texas. In 1989, the State Bar was at a critical point. It was a year of Sunset Review for the Bar in the Texas Legislature. Many were clamoring to remove self-governance from the State Bar and assign governance to the Texas Supreme Court. It was also a very fortuitous year for our group. In the Legislature, we in Austin were blessed in that our local political representatives, Senator
