The Austin Bar Foundation has announced the recipients of its annual gala awards.
The gala will be held Jan. 24 at the Four Seasons Hotel in Austin.
Ticket and sponsorship information may be found at this website.
Proceeds from the gala benefit the Austin Bar Foundation, a nonprofit that funds law-related community initiatives aimed at expanding access to legal services, promoting public legal education and supporting attorney well-being.
Past foundation grant recipients include CASA of Travis County, American Gateways, Volunteer Legal Services, Texas Rio Grande Legal Services and others.
The 2026 Distinguished Lawyer honorees are:
Judy Kostura, partner at Sorrels Law
For more than 40 years, Sorrels Law partner Judy Kostura has represented injured individuals, served as a court-appointed Guardian ad Litem for children, and taught lawyers across Texas, according to her firm bio. She is widely regarded for her work holding insurers accountable and for shaping Texas insurance subrogation law.
After a 2007 Texas Supreme Court decision favored insurers, Kostura successfully lobbied the Legislature, contributing to statutory reforms in 2007 and 2013. Her work earned the Texas Trial Lawyers Association’s Legislative Contributions Award in 2013, the Texas Watch Champion of Justice Award in 2019 and the Texas Trial Lawyers Association Lifetime Achievement Award in 2023.
A frequent lecturer, Kostura has taught for the State Bar of Texas, UT Law, and national and statewide trial lawyer organizations.
Richel “Rikky” Rivers, partner at Rivers McNamara
A founding partner at Rivers McNamara, Richel “Rikky” Rivers has practiced family law for about 50 years, according to her firm bio.
Rivers has held leadership roles in the Robert W. Calvert Inn of Court, serving as president from 2004 to 2005, and later as master emeritus, and has long been active in the Austin Bar Association and other professional organizations. A frequent speaker and author, Rivers has contributed to continuing legal education programs for the University of Texas School of Law, the State Bar of Texas, and the Austin Bar.
Beyond her legal work, Rivers has served on the boards of several Austin civic organizations, including SafePlace and the James Dick Foundation for the Performing Arts.
David Chamberlain, partner at Chamberlain McHaney
Senior partner of the Austin civil trial law firm Chamberlain McHaney, David Chamberlain is a highly decorated lawyer. He has been widely recognized for his leadership in the defense bar, including being named Outstanding Defense Bar Leader in the nation by DRI Association of Lawyers Defending Business in 2006. In 2024, he received the Richard T. McCarroll Professionalism Award from the Austin chapter of the American Board of Trial Advocates, according to his firm bio.
Chamberlain has served in numerous leadership roles, including as chair of the Board of Directors of the State Bar of Texas, chair of the Board of Trustees of the State Bar of Texas Insurance Trust, president of the Austin Bar Association and president of the Texas Association of Defense Counsel. During his 2011-2012 term, the Austin Bar Association was named Outstanding Local Bar Association in Division IV by the State Bar of Texas.
A frequent speaker and course director, Chamberlain received the State Bar of Texas “Standing Ovation” Award for his work on more than 30 continuing legal education programs over the past 15 years. He has directed the State Bar of Texas Advanced Civil Trial Law Course, the Advanced Personal Injury Law Course and the Business Disputes Institute.
The David H. Walter Community Excellence Award will go to Hon. Rudy Metayer, a trial counsel at Chamberlain McHaney. In his practice, Metayer represents state agencies and other governmental bodies across a wide spectrum of legal issues, from federal appellate challenges and state agency actions to advising on complex, multi-billion-dollar procurement matters, according to his firm bio. The son of Haitian immigrants, Metayer is a first-generation college graduate. He also has a master’s degree in public affairs from the University of Texas and he graduated from UT Law.
His community service includes teaching at-risk youth, co-authoring an honor code at UT, helping establish a partnership among local law enforcement and the Texas Bar to address community policing, and launching pro bono legal clinics for military veterans, according to his bio. Metayer also serves as an adjunct professor at UT Law, where he mentors students in the school’s nationally recognized advocacy program.
This year, the foundation is also bestowing a Legacy Award to Travis County Court Administrator Warren Vavra, who announced his plan to retire early in the new year after 30 years in the courts, according to the Austin Bar Association publication Austin Lawyer.
“Very few people, in their legal careers, can say they have had such an impact on the profession as Warren has,” Travis County Local Administrative District Judge Amy Clark Meachum told Austin Lawyer. “The courthouse just won’t be the same without him.”
Witherite Law Group Supports Christmas Food and Toy Giveaway
The Witherite Law Group and 1-800TruckWreck recently made a $30,000 donation to Minnie’s Food Pantry and supported its Dec. 20 Christmas Food and Toy Giveaway in Plano.
The effort provided meals for 300 families and gifts for more than 900 children, according to the law firm.
Don’t miss these recent stories on pro bono and public service in Texas:
A pair of Fort Worth residents face “imminent and irreparable harm” if the nuisance caused by a long-beleaguered motel is not stopped, a pro bono legal team from Troutman Pepper Locke and the Dallas-based nonprofit Advocates for Community Transformation is arguing in Tarrant County.
The Association of Corporate Counsel’s DFW Chapter and The Texas Lawbook announced that senior counsel at Phillips Enterprises, Toyota North America, 7-Eleven and Jacobs International will be honored at the Jan. 29 award ceremony for their extraordinary work and successes involving pro bono and public service and diversity and inclusion.
Holiday giving is in full swing across Texas law firms, with many stepping up to ensure kids across the state have gifts waiting for them.