Locke Lord Dallas Partner Harriet Miers Appointed by Supreme Court of Texas to Lead Texas Access to Justice Commission

(DALLAS) December 6, 2021 – Harriet Miers, former Managing Partner of a Locke Lord predecessor firm and former Counsel to the President of the United States, has been appointed Chair of the Texas Access to Justice Commission by the Supreme Court of Texas, effective January 1, 2022.

The Texas Access to Justice Commission is charged with developing and implementing initiatives designed to expand access to, and enhance the quality of, justice in civil legal matters for low-income Texans. Miers has served as a Commissioner since 2013, and now serves as Chair of the Commission’s Legislative Committee. She also serves as a Co-Chair of the Legal Services Corporation Leaders Council, a group to help raise public awareness across the country of the importance of providing equal access to our justice system to low-income Americans.

Miers has been widely recognized for her efforts to create a more diverse, fair and equitable legal profession. Among her many civic and professional accomplishments, Miers was the first woman to lead both the Dallas Bar Association and the State Bar of Texas as President. She also served as an At-Large Member of the Dallas City Council (elected citywide) and as the appointed Chairwoman of the Texas Lottery Commission. Miers has held several American Bar Association leadership roles, including Chair of the Board of Editors of the American Bar Journal and the Texas State Delegate to the ABA House of Delegates. She is also Immediate Past Chair of the Center for American and International Law Board of Trustees and an Executive Board Member of the SMU Dedman School of Law. A dedicated servant of the broader community, Miers is a past Chair and current member of the Board of Directors of the Dallas Breakfast Group, an organization focused on improving the quality of local governmental institutions, and sits on the board of Big Brothers Big Sisters Lone Star.

Miers was the first woman hired at the Dallas firm of Locke Purnell Boren Laney & Neely in 1972 and became the first woman to lead the Firm, then known as Locke Purnell Rain Harrell, in 1996. In 1999, when Locke Purnell merged with Houston-based Liddell Sapp Zivley Hill & LaBoon, Miers was integral to the merger and became Co-Managing Partner of the combined firm. She held that position until she left to serve in the administration of President George W. Bush from 2001-2007 as Staff Secretary, Deputy Chief of Staff and Counsel to the President. After her service in the White House, she returned to Locke Lord as a Partner in 2007. She is a member of the Firm’s Litigation Department and Public Law and Policy Practice Group.

Among Miers’ many accolades, she was recently honored with the Texas Bar Foundation’s Outstanding 50 Year Lawyer Award. She was also selected for induction into the Texas Legal Legends, the highest award bestowed by the State Bar of Texas, for her lasting impact and extraordinary contributions to the legal profession. She was named by The Texas Lawbook as one of 50 Lions of the Texas Bar and received the Sandra Day O'Connor Award from the Texas Center for Legal Ethics and Professionalism. Miers received the Texas Appleseed Good Apple Award, Legal Services of North Texas’ Merrill Hartman Award, Anti-Defamation League’s Jurisprudence Award and American Jewish Committee’s Human Relations Award. She has been honored with Distinguished Alumni Awards from both SMU and the SMU Dedman School of Law, which also presented her with the Robert G. Storey Award for Distinguished Achievement. She holds an Honorary Doctor of Laws degree from Pepperdine University.

For her work as Counsel to the President, Miers received the Department of Justice Edmund J. Randolph Award for her “dedicated service to justice, the President, and the United States of America.” She also received the Agency Seal Medal from the Central Intelligence Agency, an award given to people outside of the Agency who have made significant contributions to its work.

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