In 1973, there were a total of fifteen African American lawyers practicing in the Austin area. That year a number of those lawyers came together to organize a support group for the African American attorneys to address issues that were essential to their legal and professional development and to address the lack of opportunities which existed at the time. In 1979, the support group formally became the Austin Black Lawyers Association. Since this humble beginning, ABLA has grown significantly and is now an affiliate organization of the State Bar of Texas consisting of lawyers within Austin and its surrounding communities.
As a growing organization for almost four decades, the ABLA has been at the forefront of Austin’s legal community. Our members are represented in every facet of the legal community as elected and appointed officials, educators, government attorneys and members of law firms of all sizes. We serve our community with our involvement in a multitude of community and service based projects, such as legal and educational projects and our scholarship programs. We provide leadership, commitment and dedication through service by our members, which enable us to positively impact Austin and the surrounding communities.
