The Supreme Court of Texas and the State Bar of Texas have appointed five new commissioners to the Texas Access to Justice Commission including Jacqueline Pontello, Wayne Watts, Harriet Miers, Timothy Mountz and Andrew Kerr. Pontello and Watts were appointed by the Supreme Court of Texas, while Miers, Mountz and Kerr were appointed by the State Bar.
Pontello is the director of external affairs for Houston-based Lone Star Legal Aid. In 2010, she was recognized with a Peace Award from Doris Buffett’s Sunshine Lady Foundation for her work on behalf of domestic abuse victims. She will serve a three-year term representing federally-funded legal services programs.
Watts, who also sits on the advisory board of SMU’s Dedman School of law and is a member of the Salvation Army’s DFW Metroplex Comand, is senior executive vice-president and general counsel with Dallas-based AT&T. He will serve a three-year term on the commission as a representative of the corporate community.
Miers, who served in the administration of President George W. Bush from 2001-2007 as staff secretary, deputy chief of staff and counsel to the president, is a partner in the litigation and public policy sections at Locke Lord in Dallas. In 1992, she was elected to lead the State Bar of Texas as its first female president. She will serve a three-year term as an at-large member of the commission.
Mountz, who currently serves as the chair-elect of the Texas Bar Foundation and as trustee and chair of the Dallas Bar Foundation, practices complex commercial litigation as a partner at Baker Botts in Dallas. He will serve a two-year term representing the Texas Bar Foundation.
Kerr, who currently serves as the president of the San Antonio Bar and is a director of the Texas Access to Justice Foundation, is a partner in Strasburger & Price’s litigation section in San Antonio. He will serve a two-year term on the commission representing the State Bar of Texas.
The Supreme Court of Texas and the State Bar of Texas also renewed the appointments of Justice Gina Benavides and Cristy Arscott, respectively.
Justice Benavides, elected in 2006, serves on the 13th Court of Appeals based in Corpus Christi. She is currently a fellow with the Texas Bar Foundation and chair for the Texas Center for the Judiciary. Justice Benavides has been reappointed to the commission for a three-year term focusing on access to justice in smaller counties.
Arscott is the executive director of the Smith County Bar Association in Tyler. She has been reappointed to the commission for another three-year term focusing on state-funded legal service programs.
The Texas Access to Justice Commission is chaired by Harry Reasoner of Vinson & Elkins in Houston and consists of 21 commissioners. The Supreme Court of Texas and the State Bar of Texas appoint attorney and non-attorney members of the commission. The Texas governor, lieutenant governor and speaker of the house also appoint three ex-officio members.