Former Austin Bar and State Bar of Texas President Richard Pena has been named one of the most influential Hispanics in law by the American Bar Association (ABA).
In celebration of Hispanic/Latino/a/x Heritage Month in September, the ABA Center for Diversity and Inclusion released a list honoring 21 Hispanic activists and trailblazers in the legal profession across the nation. Included among these deserving individuals is Austin Bar’s own Richard Pena.
Pena was the first Hispanic Austin Bar president, serving from 1990 to 1991. Before that, he served as the inaugural president of the Capital Area Mexican-American Lawyers (now known as the Hispanic Bar Association of Austin) from 1988 to 1989.
From 1998 to 1999, Pena served as the first Hispanic president of the State Bar of Texas.
From 2017 to 2021, Pena served as chair of the ABA Commission on Hispanic Legal Rights and Responsibilities. This commission focuses on developing and supporting initiatives and research to educate lawyers on how best to serve, promote civic responsibility within, and address the key legal challenges facing Hispanic communities in the United States.
In 2018, Pena received the Joseph C. Park, Jr., Diversity Award from the Austin Bar. The Diversity Award honors Joseph C. Parker, Jr., the first African American president of the Austin Bar Association, who has spent his life and work championing the equal, ethical, and fair treatment of all people and raising awareness of the need to diversify the Austin legal community. The award is presented to a firm or an individual who has led the way in bringing diversity to Austin’s legal community and who exemplifies all that Parker stands for.
In 2020, Pena received the ABA Spirit of Excellence Award for his excellence in the legal field and dedication to promoting diversity in the profession.
To learn more about Pena and his career, listen to his episode of Council of Firsts, the Austin Bar’s podcast. There is also an episode featuring Pena and the other co-founders of the Capital Area Mexican-American Lawyers.
To view the ABA’s full list of Hispanic activists and legal trailblazers, visit https://shorturl.at/c2379.