Austin Bar Members Win State Bar Elections

Benesh, Metayer, Jones Earn Positions at State Level

Former Austin Bar President Steve Benesh has been elected as the president-elect of the State Bar of Texas.

Results were finalized the evening of May 2, 2023. Supporters of Benesh gathered at Hilgers House for a viewing party.

Benesh will be sworn in as president-elect on June 22, 2023, and will serve as president of the State Bar from June 2024 to June 2025.

Benesh defeated his opponent, Dallas lawyer Jerry Alexander, by a margin of 52.41 percent (12,081 votes) to 47.59 percent (10,970 votes).

Benesh is currently a litigation partner at Bracewell LLP.

Benesh served as the Austin Bar’s president for the 2006-07 bar year. As president, Benesh founded and chaired the Austin Bar Foundation, of which he is a Life Fellow.

Benesh received the Austin Bar’s President’s Award for Outstanding Service in 2002 and again in 2003, and the State Bar’s Presidential Citation for Outstanding Service in 2014.

Benesh served as the fellows chair of the Texas Bar Foundation for the 2019-20 bar year. He has been rated a Texas Super Lawyer by Thomson Reuters for the years

2006-13 and 2016-22. He served on the State Bar’s board of directors in 2010-11, and from 2017 to the present.

Benesh served as president of the Robert W. Calvert American Inn of Court in 2020-21, and he served on the Inn’s executive committee from 2014 to 2022.

“Steve must have worn out several pairs of dress shoes walking the halls of law firms across Texas,” said former Austin Bar President Adam Schramek. “So glad to see the hard work pay off.”

“Congratulations, Mr. President,” said Catherine Tabor of Tabor Law Firm.

In an interview with the Texas Bar Journal, Benesh addressed some of the issues that the legal profession in Texas currently faces.

“The State Bar should be vigilant when our right to self-governance is questioned both within and without the profession,” he said. “To address apathy on these issues, we need to be proactive in communicating with lawyers about why self-governance matters.”

Lawyer wellbeing is also of particular concern to Benesh.

“I would support and expand the incredible work of the Texas

Lawyers’ Assistance Program and ensure the funding of its wellness and acute care programs,” he said. Benesh was also asked what the State Bar can do to better educate attorneys about how the lawyer discipline system works.

“While I believe the system in Texas generally works well, it’s nevertheless often confusing and frustrating,” he said. “The Ombudsman for Attorney Discipline has helped to address many of these issues, yet questions and problems persist, most frequently during the investigation phase. Lack of sufficient communication during this phase remains one of the most common complaints. I would support the designation of a ‘point person’ within the SBOT Office of Chief Disciplinary Counsel who would be tasked with fielding and responding to questions and complaints. Greater clarity and definition could be provided regarding the limited role of complainants in the grievance process as witnesses, but not parties in the process.”

Benesh was also asked how the State Bar can remain relevant and meaningful to its members.

“As I’ve traveled around the state during this campaign, I’ve heard many lawyers question whether their views are heard and their participation wanted,” he said. “We have to make sure every attorney in Texas—regardless of socio-demographic status, location, firm/office size, or area of practice—regards the SBOT as their bar. We need to ensure the SBOT’s committees and sections represent cross-sections of our profession. We need to commit to sponsoring CLE courses and SBOT meetings at locations throughout Texas. And we need to improve SBOT’s website to make it easier to navigate and to make answers to common questions and concerns easier to find.”

Former Austin Bar President Steve Benesh has been elected president of the State Bar of Texas for the 2024-25 bar year.

Other Austin Bar/AYLA candidates were also successful in their State Bar election bids.

Rudolph “Rudy” Metayer was elected to the State Bar’s board of directors for District 9, Place 1. Austin Lawyer Editor-in-Chief Rachael K. Jones was elected to the Texas Young Lawyers Association’s board of directors for District 8, Place 1.

Rudy Metayer of Graves Dougherty Hearon & Moody has been elected to the State Bar board of directors for District 9, Place 1.

Austin Lawyer Editor-in-Chief Rachael K. Jones has been elected to the Texas Young Lawyers Association’s board of directors for District 8, Place 1.