Descriptive Summary
Bexar County Women's Bar
Association
Bexar County Women's Bar
Association Records,
1983-2004 Materials
are in English
MS 9
9 linear feet (33 boxes)
Archives and Special
Collections Department, Library, The University of
Texas at San Antonio
The Bexar
County Women's Bar Association (BCWBA) began in 1982 with a mission to bring
together women attorneys, legal assistants and law students in Bexar County and
to provide a local forum for the exchange of dialogue and ideas relevant to
women in the legal profession.
The records of
the Bexar County Women's Bar Association consist of founding and incorporation
documents, bylaws, minutes, reports, correspondence, printed material,
membership information, directories, newsletters, newspaper clippings, and
ephemera documenting the inception, daily function, monthly meetings, and
projects of this San Antonio women's organization.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], Bexar County Women's Bar Association
Records, 1983-2004, MS 9, Archives and Special Collections, Library, University
of Texas at San Antonio.
Historical Note
The Bexar County Women's Bar Association (BCWBA) was started in late
1982 and incorporated in 1988. The mission of the Association is to bring
together women attorneys, legal assistants and law students in Bexar County and
to provide a local forum for the exchange of dialogue and ideas relevant to
women in the legal profession. The earliest motivations for organization were a
desire to see a woman appointed to an open County Court judicial bench in Bexar
County and to see more women gain leadership positions in the San Antonio Bar
Association. Olga Brown organized the initial social in 1983 to gauge interest
in forming an organization. Of the 77 original members of BCWBA, three were
men. Membership is open to any women in the Bexar County area legal community,
and by 1997 amounted to between 400 and 500 people. BCWBA published its first
newsletter in 1984. In 1993, the name of the newsletter changed from
Bexar County Women's Bar Association
Newsletter to
Equal Times®.
The association is governed by a board of directors comprised of
officers elected from the general membership, committee chairs, an association
historian and a community liaison. Regular committees of BCWBA include
Membership, Newsletter, Newsletter Advertisement, Luncheons, Public Relations,
Bench Brunch, Social and Roundtable. Officers and directors assemble monthly
for board meetings, while the membership in general meets many times throughout
the year for social, educational, and professional programs relating to the
roles of women's in the legal profession. The programming includes luncheons,
lectures by outside speakers, and retreats. Since its inception, BCWBA has
implemented many important projects. In 1984, a BCWBA committee designed a
child support formula for Bexar County, which the District Judges accepted. It
served as a model for the child support formula eventually set by the Texas
Supreme Court. In 1990, BCWBA saw the opening of the Teddy Bear Room in the
Bexar County Justice Center, a special waiting room initiated by the
association for children (trial witnesses and others) in the District
Attorney's Office.
BCWBA also lobbied in 1990 for amendments to the San Antonio Bar
Association (SABA) bylaws to allow presidents of all local minority bar
associations as non-voting members of the SABA board. At the same time, BCWBA
also worked for minority representation on the Texas Young Lawyers Association
Board. In 1994, a BCWBA group joined other Texas women bar leaders to form the
Texas Women's Bar Association. Also in 1994, for the first time five women were
nominated to four director positions in the San Antonio Bar Association,
thereby advancing one of the original goals of BCWBA.
The longest running and most successful of the projects undertaken by
BCWBA is the Annual Bench Brunch. Starting in 1983 in an effort to keep the
Women's Law Center from closing, the first Bench Brunch raised $5,000 and
successfully met its goal. The Bench Brunch has two foci: to raise money for
various charities and to honor women judges in Texas. The program of Bench
Brunches includes the presentation of awards, the introduction of honorees, an
auction, a raffle and a guest speaker. Past guest speakers include former Texas
Governor Ann Richards, former Texas State Attorney General Dan Morales, and
former Dean of the Law School at St. Mary's University Barbara Bader Aldave
among others.
The BCWBA attributes it success to remaining non-partisan, while
supporting the efforts of all its members to achieve leadership roles. As of
1997, the Bexar County Women's Bar Association continues to be an active and
on-going presence in San Antonio.
New accessions will continue to be added to these records.
Scope and Contents Note
The records of the Bexar County Women's Bar Association consist of
founding and incorporation documents, bylaws, minutes, reports, correspondence,
printed material, membership information, directories, newsletters, newspaper
clippings, and ephemera documenting the inception, daily function, monthly
meetings, and projects of this San Antonio women's organization. The collection
is arranged into eight series plus nine additions reflecting the group's organizational structure
and conforming as much as was possible to the original order in which it was
accessioned.
The Founding/Incorporation Documents and
Bylaws, describe the legal status and governing structure of the
organization. The Board of Directors Minutes and
Agendas as well as the Newsletters offer
insight into the interests, concerns and activities of the organization, while
the Treasurer's Reports document in detail the
expenses of maintaining a medium sized civic and professional organization.
The Correspondence series, consisting
largely of facsimile memoranda, documents the favored style of communication
employed by officers and committee chairs. Membership
Information and Directories provide demographic information about
individual members of the organization.
The bulk of the Projects series documents
the annual Bench Brunch charity event, the most important activity in the
organization's agenda. Files maintained by the Elder Law Committee make up the
rest of this series. The remainder of the collection is comprised of
Ephemera: photographs, fliers, brochures,
invitations and other information of this nature.
The Additions consist of an assortment of material related to projects and daily functions of the organization. Materials include newsletters, correspondence, memos, minutes, fascimiles, reports, directories, resumes, invitations and other information related to Belva Lockwood Awards, Bench Brunch and Annual Retreats.
Organization
- Founding/Incorporation Documents and Bylaws, 1988-1990
- Board of Directors Minutes and Agendas, 1985-1996
- Treasurer's Reports, 1987-1996
- Correspondence, 1984-1997
- Membership Information and Directories, 1990-2001
- Newsletters, 1984-2001
- Projects, 1985-1996
- Ephemera, 1990-1996
- Addition of March 1998 (Accession 1998-009)
- Addition of April 1999 (Accession 1999-09)
- Addition of 2000 (Accession 2000-022)
- Addition of November 2000 (Accession 2000-036)
- Addition of December 2003 (Accession 2003-083)
- Addition of 2004 (Accession 2004-002)
- Addition of November 2004 (Accession 2004-101)
- Addition of September 2005 (Accession 2005-000)
- Addition of January 2005 (Accession 2005-002)
Provenance
Records were donated by the Bexar County Women's Bar
Association in 1994, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2003, 2004, 2005 (Accessions 1994-010, 1997-008, 1998-009, 1998-019, 1998-020, 1999-009, 2000-005, 2000-022, 2000-036, 2003-083, 2004-002, 2004-101, 2005-000, 2005-002.
Permission to Publish
Permission to publish materials from the collection must be obtained
from Archives and Special Collections, Library, University of Texas at San
Antonio.
Access Restrictions
There are no restrictions on these materials.
Processing Information
Processed by Laura Micham, Processing Archivist, June 1997.
Additions added by Tatina Wulzer, Collections Assistant, March 2009.
Index Terms
Organizations
Bexar County Women's Bar
Association
Bexar County Women's Bar
Association--Membership.
Bexar County Women's Bar
Association--Periodicals.
Subjects
Bar associations--Bexar
County (Tex.)
Bar
associations--Texas--Bexar County--Periodicals.
Bar associations--United
States--Directories.
Minority lawyers
Women--Political
activity--Bexar County (Tex.)
Women--Texas--Societies and
clubs--History--20th century.
Women judges--Bexar County
(Tex.)
Women lawyers--Texas--Bexar
County--Periodicals
Locations
Bexar County
(Tex.)
San Antonio
(Tex.)--Politics and government--20th century.
Genres/Formats
Bylaws.
Clippings.
Correspondence.
Ephemera.
Minutes.
Newsletters
Photographs.
Reports.
Scrapbooks.
Detailed Description of the Records
Founding/Incorporation Documents and Bylaws
Series Abstract
Legal and organizational documents of the Bexar County Women's Bar
Association created when the organization was incorporated. Subseries include
Incorporation Documents and Bylaws and contain the incorporation charter,
certificate of incorporation, articles of incorporation, corporate resolutions,
and restated bylaws, (1989 and 1990).
1
1
Incorporation Documents,
1988-1990
1
2
Restated Bylaws,
1989-1990
Board of Directors Minutes and Agendas
Series Abstract
This series consists of agendas and minutes of monthly meetings
along with documents referred to during these meetings. The Board meets
monthly.
1
3
1985
1
4
1986
1
5
1987
1
6
1988
1
7
1989
1
8
1990
1
9
1991
1
10
1992
1
11
1993
1
12
1994
1
13
1995
1
14
1996
Treasurer's Reports
Series Abstract
The first treasurer's reports are simple statements listing
monthly transactions, deposits, debits, and balance of the association's
account. Later treasurer's reports include, in addition to the above,
disbursements, income/expense reports, and proposed budget guidelines among
other information.
2
1
1987
2
2
1988
2
3
1989
2
4
1991
2
5
1992
2
6
1993
2
7
1994
2
8
1995
2
9
1996
Correspondence
Series Abstract
The correspondence series is comprised of letters, memoranda, and
circulating materials not included in other series. The bulk of the
correspondence consists of facsimile memoranda, the favored method of
communication among officers and directors of the association. This series is
divided into two subseries: Presidential Correspondence, which includes
correspondence to and from the current president (newly elected annually), and
General Correspondence, which includes all other correspondence among members
and to and from individuals and organizations outside of BCWBA.
2
General Correspondence
2
10
1984
2
11
1986
2
12
1988
2
13
1989
2
14
1990
2
15
1991
2
16
1992
2
17
1993
2
18
1994
2
19
1995
3
1
January-March, 1996
3
2
April-December, 1996
3
3
1997
3
Presidential Correspondence
3
4
1988
3
5
1989
3
6
1990
3
7
1991
3
8
1992
3
9
1993
3
10
1994
3
11
1995
3
12
1996
Membership Information and Directories
Series Abstract
Membership Information consists of application forms filled out by
new and renewing members listing work and home addresses, type of practice, law
school attended, membership status, committees of interest, and preferred
delivery method of the newsletter (fax, email, or post). The remainder of the
series consists of membership lists and directories.
3
13
1990-1992
3
14
1993
4
1994
4
1
Directories and Lists
4
2
Information Sheets, A-J,
4
3
Information Sheets, K-Z
4
1995
4
4
Directories and Lists
4
5
Information Sheets, B-M
4
6
Information Sheets, N-Z
5
1996
5
1
Directories and Lists
5
2
Information Sheets, Legal Assistants
5
3
Information Sheets, Law Students
5
Information Sheets, Attorneys
5
4
A-F
5
5
G-M
5
6
N-Z
5
7
1998, 2001
Newsletters
Series Abstract
Included in this series are newsletters from the first year they
were being published, 1984. In 1993, the name of the newsletter changed from
the Bexar County Women's Bar Association Newsletter to Equal Timesâ. BCWBA
newsletters are published monthly, and include a calendar of events, the Letter
from the President, articles, announcements, and a list of new members.
5
8
March-November, 1984
5
9
January-November, 1985
5
10
January-April, 1986 and June-December, 1986
6
1
January-December, 1987
6
2
January-December, 1988
6
3
(January-December, 1989)
6
4
January-September, 1990 and November-December,
1990
6
5
January-December, 1991
6
6
January-December, 1992
6
7
January-December, 1993
6
8
January-December, 1994
6
9
Proposed Items for May, 1995 Newsletter
6
10
January-July, 1995, October and December,
1995
6
11
January, March-December, 1996
6
12
January-July, 1997, January, 2000
6
13
December, 2001-
Projects
Series Abstract
The largest of the group of records, this series is divided in two
subseries: Bench Brunch and Elder Law. The longest running and most successful
of the projects undertaken by BCWBA, the annual Bench Brunch started in 1883
and exists to raise money for various charities and to honor women judges in
Texas. The materials in this subseries include correspondence, materials
relating to the auctions, Belva Lockwood Awards materials, publicity
information, reports, programs, tickets, and guest lists. The Elder Law project
has as its goal to create a handbook on legal issues relevant to older and
retired people in San Antonio. It was published in 1995 and 1996 in English as
well as Spanish. Materials in this subseries include correspondence, agendas,
lists, and drafts of the handbook.
7
Bench Brunch
7
1
1985
7
1986
7
2
Correspondence and Memoranda
7
3
Belva Lockwood Awards
7
4
Publicity
7
1987
7
5
Correspondence and Memoranda
7
6
Auction Information
7
7
Publicity
7
8
Reports and Lists
7
1988
7
9
Correspondence and Memoranda
7
10
Auctions
7
11
Belva Lockwood Awards
7
12
Publicity
7
13
Programs, Tickets, and Guest Lists
7
1989
7
14
Correspondence and Memoranda
7
15
Auctions
7
16
Belva Lockwood Awards
7
17
Publicity
7
18
Reports and Lists
7
19
Programs, Tickets, and Guest Lists
7
1990
7
20
Correspondence and Memoranda
7
21
Auctions
7
22
Publicity
7
23
Reports and Lists
7
24
Programs, Tickets, and Guest Lists
7
1991
7
25
Correspondence and Memoranda
7
26
Auctions
8
1
Belva Lockwood Awards
8
2
Publicity
8
3
Reports and Lists
8
4
Programs, Tickets, and Guest Lists
8
1992
8
5
Correspondence and Memoranda
8
6
Auctions
8
7
Belva Lockwood Awards
8
8
Publicity
8
9
Reports and Lists
8
10
Programs, Tickets, and Guest Lists
8
1993
8
11
Correspondence and Memoranda
8
12
Auctions
8
13
Belva Lockwood Awards
8
14
Publicity
8
15
Reports
8
16
Programs, Tickets, and Guest Lists
8
1994
8
17
Correspondence and Memoranda
8
18
Auctions
8
19
Reports and Lists
8
20
Programs, Tickets, and Guest Lists
9
1995
9
1
Correspondence and Memoranda
9
2
Auctions
9
3
Reports and Lists
9
4
Programs, Tickets, and Guest Lists
9
1996
9
5
Correspondence and Memoranda
9
6
Auctions
9
7
Belva Lockwood Awards
9
8
Publicity
9
9
Reports and Lists
9
10
Programs, Tickets, and Guest Lists
9
Elder Law
9
1995-1996
9
11
Correspondence and Memoranda
9
12
Agendas and Lists
9
13
Drafts of Handbook
Ephemera
Series Abstract
Included in this series are photographs, scattered materials
relating to annual retreats of 1991, 1993, and 1995, invitations, fliers,
brochures, information related to speakers hosted by the association,
newsletter logos, and copies of the 1995-1996 State Board of Texas Certificate
of Achievement.
9
14
Photographs,
1992
9
15
Annual Retreats,
1991, 1993, 1995
9
16
Invitations, Fliers, and Brochures
9
17
Speakers,
1992 and 1993
9
18
BCWBA Newsletter Logo
9
19
State Bar of Texas Certificate of Achievement (copies),
1995-1996
Addition of March 1998 (Accession 1998-009)
Contains material related to Bench Brunch, Annual Retreats and other BCWBA events such as correspondence, memos, minutes and newsletters.
1 1 Bench Brunch (correspondence, budget information, members/contributors/auction items lists, etc.), 1986-1987
1 2 Sponsors ( correspondence), 1985
1 3 Resumes, judges and attendees (material related to the Bench Brunch), 1986
1 4 BCWBA (correspondence, memos, minutes) 1988-1989
1 5 Women's Bar Association (correspondence, memos, minutes, newsletters), 1984-1987 1996 Annual Retreat 1 6 General, 1996
1 7 Invitation to members, 1996
1 8 Panel presentation, 1996
1 9 Agenda/door prizes/confirmation with map, 1996
1 10 MCLE, 1996
1 11 Ideas for 1997 retreat, 1996
1 12 Various Thank you letters, 1996
1 13 Payment received for retreat, 1996
1 14 Miscellaneous correspondence, 1996
1 15 Confirmation of retreat attendance, 1996
1 16 Registration forms (completed), 1996
1 17 Mentor/Mentee program list, 1995-1996
1 18 Law Day, May 4, 1995
1 19 State Bar annual meeting, May 31-June3, 1995
1 20-21 Judicial Reception, 1996 1997 Annual Retreat 1 22 Assorted material, 1997
1 23 Registration forms (completed), 1997
1 24 General retreat information, 1997
1 25 Information to members, 1997
1 26 Confirmation with map, 1997
1 27 Panel presentation, 1996
1 28 Payment received-retreat 1997
1 29 Addresses, 1997
1 30 Agenda, 1997
1 31 Guadalupe River Ranch, 1997
1 32 General handout - 4th Court Resolution, March 13, 1997 1995 Annual Retreat 1 33 Agenda, 1995
1 34 Entertainment ideas, 1995
1 35 Attendee list, 1995
1 36 Registration table, 1995
1 37 Correspondence, miscellaneous, 1995
1 38 Follow up letters, 1995
1 39 CLE accreditation, 1995
1 40 1996 Annual Retreat ideas, 1995
1 41 Amy Freeman Lee (speaker), 1995
1 42 Invitation to members, 1995
1 43 Invitation to Judges, 1995
1 44 Registrations, 1995
1 45 Thank you letter to door prize donors, 1995
1 46 Thank yous from members, 1995
1 47 Newsletter drafts, 1992
Addition of April 1999 (Accession 1999-09)
Contains Bench Brunch material, correspondence, reports, minutes, newsletters and Annual Retreat material.
2 1 Correspondence, 1995-1996
2 2 Assortment of correspondence, minutes, newsletters, retreat and other miscellaneous papers, 1995-1996
2 3 Equal Times newsletters, 1994-1996
2 4-5 Assorted administrative material: correspondence, meetings and agendas, reports, resumes, etc. 1996
2 6-7 Assorted administrative material: Bench Brunch material, correspondence, meetings and agendas, reports, resumes, etc. 1997-1998
2 8-9 Assorted administrative material, 1996-1997
2 10-12 Assorted administrative material, 1997
Addition of 2000 (Accession 2000-022)
Meetings, seminar handouts, memos, meetings, directories, correspondence related to various events including Bench Brunch and Law Day.
3 1-2 San Antonio Bar Association Officers and Directors meeting, 1994-1995
3 3 De-Mystifying Federal Civil Practice, A Primer for the Occasional Federal Litigator, March 20, 1998
3 4 De-Mystifying Federal Civil Practice, A Primer for the Occasional Federal Litigator seminar material, March 20, 1998
3 5 CLE committee, c/o Laurie Weiss, 1998
3 6 Miscellaneous documents - meeting minutes, brochures of meeting places, memos to various committees, lists of sponsors for bench brunch, newsletters, 1994-1995
3 7 Directory of Pro Bono programs in Texas, 1997
3 8 American Bar Association reference information for bar executives, 1994-1995
3 9 Law Day planning guide, 1995
3 10 St. Mary's School of Law, 1995
3 11 Directory of Associates for Women Lawyers, 1995-1996
3 12-16 Correspondence sent/ correspondence received, 1995
3 17-18 Bench Brunch, 1995
3 19 Bar Leaders handbook, 1997
3 20 Laurie Weiss as President-elect, 1997
4 1-2 Laurie Weiss as Historian, 1996
4 3-6 Laurie Weiss as Social Committee Chair, 1995
Addition of November 2000 (Accession 2000-036)
Correspondence, resumes, invitations and information on various nominees related to the Belva Lockwood Award.
4 7 1998
4 8 Belva Lockwood Award, 1999
4 9 16th Annual Bench Brunch, October 25, 1998
4 10 Belva, 1998-1999
4 11 Belva Lockwood Historical, 1996-1999
4 12 BCWBA org. documents, February 2, 1993
4 13 18th Annual Bench Award, October 15, 2000
4 14 Patricia Diaz Dennis, 1997-2000
4 15 Rosa Cabezas-Gil (OL), 1996-1997
4 16 Cynthia Bivins, 1995-1997
4 17 Deborah Ingraham, 1997
4 18 Mariah Price Barnard, 1996-1997
4 19 Patricia Sitchler, 1997
4 20 Cheryl McMullan (OLA), 1996
4 21 Penny Viteo, 1997
4 22 Demetra Koelling, 1996
4 23 Kala Dumont, 1997
4 24 Jill Torbert, 1998
4 25 Julie Cobb Perez, 1999
4 26 BCWBA - Belva correspondence, 1996
4 27 Packet on nomimees prepared for each committee member, 1997
4 28 Belva Lockwood, 1994
4 29 Renee A. Forinash McElhaney (OYL), 1997-1999 1996 Information 5 1 The Working Parent's Guide to Summer Survival, Vol1, Issue 1, Summer 2000
BELVA 5 2 Committee roster, undated
5 3 Committee deadlines, 1997
5 4 List of previous winners, 1997
5 5 Criteria for awards, 1996
5 6 Nominations form, 1996
5 7 Letters to candidates (lawyers), 1996-1997
5 8 Letters to candidates (young), 1996-1997
5 9 Candidate information form, undated
1995 Information 5 10-11Contains nominees for award, 1996
5 12 Malinda Gaul (OLA), 1995
5 13 Penny Anderson (OL), 1995-1996
5 14 Carol Bertsch (YL), 1996
5 15 Cull, Kathleen (OLA), 1995
5 16 Diana M. Geis, 1995
5 17 Laura Heard (OLA), 1995
5 18 Mary Kelly (OLA), 1996
5 19 Lauraie Weiss, 1996
5 20 Lisa Wortham (OL), 1996
5 21 Nominations (OYL) - Suzanne Schorling (YL), 1996
5 22 Nominations (OYL) - Katherine Staton (YL), 1996
5 23 Nominations (OYL) - Danielle Hargrove (YL), 1996
5 24 Correspondence, pre-1996, 1995-1996
5 25 Abigail C. Guenther, 1995
5 26 Elizabeth Lindell, 1995
5 27 Rebecca Jo Reser, 1995
5 28 Jill Torbert, 1995
5 29 Vicky Waddy, 1995
5 30 Stacy Furguson, 1993
5 31 Shirley Ehrlich, 1994
5 32 Jane de Yeso, 1994
5 33 Pamela Huff, 1995
5 34 Nancy Shivers, 1994
5 35 Nan Seidenfeld, 1993
5 36 Christine Tharp, 1993
5 37 Carol Weir, 1993
5 38 Faye M. Bracey, 1993
5 39 Barbara Nellermoe, 1993
5 40 Elizabeth C. Rogers, 1993
5 41 Pat Flynn, 1993
5 42 Jane Dingivan, 1993
5 43 Diann Bartek, 1999
5 44 Ileta A. Sumner (YL), 1999
5 45 Susan D. Reed, 1999
5 46 Nancy Anderson, 1997
5 47 Pat Blaschke (YL), 1997
5 48 Melissa Priest, 1997
5 49 Kalye Duderstadt, 1997
5 50 Elizabeth Copeland (YL), 1997
Addition of December 2003 (Accession 2003-083) 5 51 Ballot information Equal Times, 2003
Addition of 2004 (Accession 2004-002) 5 52 Newsletters, 2004
Addition of November 2004 (Accession 2004-101)
5 54 Faxes, correspondence, membership directory, announcements -- paper, 1996-2002
5 55 Belva Lockwood Awards, 1995-1996
Addition of January 2005 (Accession 2005-002) 5 56 Newsletters, 1994-1996