Former Justice Harriet O’Neill, Attorney Kevin Dubose Earn Prestigious Honor

Austin, TX -- (SBWire) -- 04/25/2012 --The Texas Center for Legal Ethics (TCLE) is proud to announce the 2012 recipients of the Chief Justice Jack Pope Professionalism Awards: former Texas Supreme Court Justice Harriet O’Neill and attorney Kevin Dubose.

Each year, TCLE presents the Pope Awards to one judge and one attorney who personify the highest standards of professionalism and integrity in the field of law. The Pope honor is named after one of TCLE’s founders, former Texas Supreme Court Chief Justice Jack Pope, who was the first individual to receive the award in 2009. Former Chief Justice Pope turns 99 years old today.

Former Justice O’Neill – who served with distinction on the Supreme Court of Texas from 1998 until she retired in 2010 – has long been a champion for pro bono representation of low-income victims of domestic violence in Texas. She founded the Law Office of Harriet O’Neill in Austin, where her practice includes business, personal injury and commercial litigation, and the mediation of complex legal disputes. She frequently writes and lectures for continuing legal education programs.

Mr. Dubose, a Houston-based appellate attorney, conceptualized, initiated, and executed a project that culminated in the creation of the landmark Standards for Appellate Conduct, which, in 1999, became the first set of ethical standards tailored to appellate practice adopted by any jurisdiction in the United States. Mr. Dubose, a partner at Alexander Dubose & Townsend LLP, frequently instructs and writes on a variety of Continuing Legal Education (CLE) subjects, including how lawyers can maintain a healthy work/life balance; advice on improving legal professionalism and ethics; and ways to improve clarity and effectiveness in legal writing.

“Harriet O’Neill and Kevin Dubose are highly esteemed by their peers for their immense contributions to the legal profession,” says TCLE Executive Director Jonathan Smaby. “The Pope Award highlights the good works that lawyers do, and this year’s Pope Award recipients have careers that are rich in accomplishment.”

The Pope Awards will be presented by Texas Supreme Court Chief Justice Wallace Jefferson at the Annual Texas Supreme Court Historical Society Dinner on June 1, in Austin. For more information about the awards, contact Bill Pugsley with the Supreme Court Historical Society at tschs@sbcglobal.net.

Founded in 1989 by three retired Texas Supreme Court chief justices, TCLE promotes the values contained in the Texas Lawyer’s Creed. The group pursues the original vision of its founders as the leading center of knowledge and resources for ethics and professionalism in Texas. For more information, visit the Texas Center for Legal Ethics website at http://www.legalethicstexas.com.

For more information contact Jonathan Smaby, executive director of the Texas Center for Legal Ethics, at 512-427-1477 or jonathan.smaby@texasbar.com.