TCLE Trustee Kelly Frels of Houston Honored with HBAA Leon Jaworski Award
HOUSTON – Acclaimed Houston attorney Kelly Frels recently was honored as the 2012 recipient of the annual Leon Jaworski Award presented by the Houston Bar Association Auxiliary. Mr. Frels is on the Board of Trustees for the Texas Center for Legal Ethics and a partner in Bracewell & Giuliani. He accepted the award in a ceremony at the Houston Club on March 6.
The Leon Jaworski Award is presented by the HBAA to an outstanding attorney who has dedicated his or her time and service to the community, and whose efforts have benefitted the city of Houston and its residents. This year marks the 25th anniversary of the prestigious award.
“I am honored and excited to receive the Leon Jaworski Award,” says Mr. Frels, who served as managing partner of Bracewell & Giuliani from 1995-2001. “I’d like to thank the awards committee for recognizing me with such a great honor.”
Mr. Frels has a distinguished history of service to the legal community. A former TCLE Board of Trustees chairman, he also has served as the president of the State Bar of Texas and Houston Bar Association, as well as chair of the State Bar’s Lawyer Referral Committee.
At Bracewell, Mr. Frels has been a key figure in implementing the firm’s school and public law practice. He has served on behalf of a number of education-related organizations, including the Houston Independent School District Foundation, Center for Reform of School Systems, and National School Board Association Council of School Attorneys. His work in the community spans decades and includes volunteer work on behalf of such organizations as the Greater Houston Partnership, the Texas Environmental Research Consortium, and the Center for Houston’s Future.
“As an attorney, I’ve always found it important to not only give back to the legal community, but also to the community where I live,” Mr. Frels said. “It has been my privilege to serve both during my career, and I am most appreciative of those who supported my doing so.”
Founded in 1989 by three retired Texas Supreme Court chief justices, the Texas Center for Legal Ethics promotes the values contained in the Texas Lawyer’s Creed. The group pursues the original vision of its founders as the leading storehouse of knowledge and resources for legal ethics and professionalism in Texas.
