Houston Personal Injury Attorney Benny Agosto Reflects on His Year as President of the Hispanic National Bar Association

"It was an absolute honor serving as HNBA president for an entire year," said attorney Benny Agosto.

2012-09-06

HOUSTON, TX, September 06, 2012 (Press-News.org) Attorney Benny Agosto Jr., a partner at Abraham, Watkins, Nichols, Sorrels, Agosto & Friend of Houston, Texas, became president of the Hispanic National Bar Association (HNBA) on Sept. 3, 2011. Benny was the first Texas attorney to hold this leadership post, and as the 38th president of the HNBA, he led the organization during the Year of the Advocate.

In the past year, the HNBA has continued to flourish, expanding several of its endorsement and educational programs, as well as continuing to lobby and advocate for laws and programs that will provide low-income individuals with access to legal services.

The growth of the organization's programs includes:
- The Judicial and Executive Endorsement program, which saw Judge Adalberto Jordan being named to the 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals and Mari Carmen Aponte being confirmed as ambassador to El Salvador
- The Legal Education Fund, which held the first-ever scholarship luncheon designed to help increase diversity in the legal profession by funding scholarships for Hispanic law students
- Creation of the Veterans Initiative, a pro bono program focused on helping Latino veterans with legal aid

The HNBA also provided numerous educational opportunities this past year for attorneys, law students and the Hispanic community. These opportunities included:
- The Third Annual Midyear Corporate Counsel Conference in Jersey City, New Jersey, which provided networking and Continuing Legal Education programs for corporate and private practice professionals
- The 17th Annual Uvaldo Herrera National Moot Court Competition for law students
- A careers in law program in conjunction with Jersey City Public Schools
- For the first time, the HNBA awarded over $100,000 in scholarships to students

"It was an absolute honor serving as your HNBA president for an entire year," Benny wrote in a recent letter to the association's members. "The success of the organization would not have come to fruition without the hard work of each one of the HNBA's officers and members. For that, I thank you, and I wish you and the HNBA continued success in your advancing the interests of the Hispanic community. My term is ending, but my love for the organization shall never cease."

Benny Agosto Jr., an attorney since 1995 and board-certified in personal injury trial law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization, has been active in the HNBA for many years. He is a co-editor-in-chief of the HNBA Journal of Law & Policy, and he has sat on the HNBA Board of Governors since 2006. He also co-founded the organization's Legal Education Fund (LEF). In addition to his work with the HNBA, Benny is a member of the State Bar of Texas and a fellow of the Houston Bar Foundation. He has been named a Texas Super Lawyer (2004-2012), has been selected to be included in The Best Lawyers of America (2012-2013), and has been named one of the Nation's 101 Most Influential Latinos by the Latino Leaders Magazine two years in a row.

Benny Agosto Jr. is a named partner at the Houston law firm of Abraham, Watkins, Nichols, Sorrels, Agosto & Friend. Since 1951, the firm has advocated for the rights of thousands of catastrophically injured clients in cases involving car and truck accidents, work-related injuries, defective products, aviation accidents and other types of personal injury matters.

To contact attorney Benny Agosto Jr. or any of the other personal injury lawyers at Abraham, Watkins, Nichols, Sorrels, Agosto & Friend, visit the firm's website at www.abrahamwatkins.com or call 713-222-7211.

The Hispanic National Bar Association serves as the national voice for the concerns of Hispanics in the legal community. It promotes the retention and recruitment of Hispanic students in law schools, holds informational and educational workshops and conferences, testifies at all levels of government about issues of concern to the Hispanic community, and promotes the American legal system within the Hispanic community. For more information on the HNBA, check out the association's website at www.hnba.com.

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