Sarah Clower Keathley of Corsicana elected State Bar of Texas president-elect

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 30, 2026

Media Contact: Rebecca Johnson
Public Affairs Director, State Bar of Texas
512-427-1714; [email protected]

Sarah Clower Keathley of Corsicana elected State Bar of Texas president-elect

AUSTIN-Texas attorneys elected Sarah Clower Keathley of Corsicana to be president-elect of the State Bar of Texas. Keathley received 52.59%-8,014-of the 15,239 votes cast during the monthlong voting period that ended April 30. Her opponent, Ray Thomas, of McAllen, received 47.41%, or 7,225 votes. Keathley will be sworn in as president-elect during a State Bar of Texas Board of Directors meeting on June 11, 2026, and will serve as president of the State Bar of Texas from June 2027 to June 2028.

Sarah Clower Keathley is the co-founder of Keathley & Keathley, a general community law practice in Corsicana. Her legal career includes service as assistant general counsel at the former General Services Commission; work in private practice; service as city attorney for the cities of Dawson, Rice, and Richland; and service as a municipal judge. Keathley received her law degree from St. Mary's University. She is a credentialed mediator, is trained in collaborative law, and is recognized as a Texas Super Lawyer.

Currently?president of the?Navarro?County?Bar?Association?for a second time, Keathley?has held many leadership roles within the State Bar of Texas.?She served on?its Board of Directors,?chairing its?Professional Development Subcommittee, and?currently serves on the bar's Law Practice Management Committee. In the latter role, she is leading a?subcommittee on?succession?planning.?Keathley?has also chaired?the?bar's Continuing Legal Education?Committee and?served on?the?council of the Family Law Section. A member of the Texas Bar College and a sustaining life fellow of the Texas Bar Foundation, Keathley is a frequent speaker for State Bar CLE programs. She is involved with many civic and charitable organizations and has been recognized for her volunteer legal work by Lone Star Legal Aid and the McLennan County Dispute Resolution Center.

Keathley and her husband and law partner, Steve, have practiced law in Corsicana for nearly three decades. They are the proud parents of Luke, a second-year law student at St. Mary's University School of Law, her alma mater, and Kate, a first-year law student at Mitchell Hamline School of Law, his alma mater.

In other results, the following individuals were elected to the State Bar of Texas Board of Directors:

Stefani E. Shapiro, Houston, District 4, Place 2; Neal Davis, Houston, District 4, Place 4; Pierre Grosdidier, Houston, District 4, Place 6; Ashton Barrineau Butcher,Dallas, District 6, Place 3 ; Vicki D. Blanton, Dallas, District 6, Place 4; Maitreya Tomlinson, Austin, District 9, Place 1; Carra Miller, Corpus Christi, District 11; Brandy Wingate Voss, Edinburg, District 12; Jennifer Ramos, Denton, District 14; and Tomas E. Porras-Acosta, El Paso, District 17.

Texas Young Lawyers Association election

In the Texas Young Lawyers Association election, Claire Harbert of Waco was elected president-elect and will serve as TYLA president from June 2027 to June 2028. Harbert received 61.27% of the 3,191 votes cast, while her opponent, David R. "Dave" Hagan, of Longview, received 38.73%.

Born and raised in Beaumont, Claire Harbert has known she wanted to be a lawyer when she grew up for as long as she can remember. She earned both her undergraduate and law degrees from Baylor University before beginning her legal career in Houston.

Harbert's practice focused on general civil litigation and construction law, both as an associate and as general counsel for a construction company. In 2022, she relocated to Waco, where she is a staff attorney for the 10th Court of Appeals and serves on the adjunct faculty at Baylor Law School. Harbert has the privilege of coaching mock trial teams for Baylor Law each fall and spring, including co-coaching Baylor's 2024 American Association of Justice (AAJ) National Mock Trial Championship Team.

She has represented District 9 (Central Texas) on the TYLA Board of Directors for three years, a role for which she received the President's Award of Merit. Harbert is also the current president of the McLennan County Young Lawyers Association. Beyond her professional commitments, she has the great joy of being a wife and the mother to her 2-year-old daughter (and her two dogs).

The following individuals were elected to the TYLA Board of Directors:
Hanna Lee, College Station, District 2; Jason Patalano, Dallas, District 4; Alexandra Lambring, Dallas, District 5, Place 2; Emily Wilkinson, Dallas, District 5, Place 4; Bailey Bridges, Houston, District 6, Place 2; Iris Onassis, Houston, District 6, Place 6; Cody Huffman, Austin, District 8, Place 2; Jasmine Avery, Fort Worth, District 10, Place 2; John D. Garcia, Corpus Christi, District 12; Jenée A. Durán, El Paso, District 14; Evan Adams Johnson, Amarillo, District 16; and Rachel Garza, San Antonio, District 18, Place 2.

There will be a runoff for the TYLA District 6, Place 4 seat. Lisa Luz Parker and Benajmin L. S. Ritz, both of Houston, were the top two vote-getters in that race. Voting will take place May 12-26.

Detailed election results are available at texasbar.com/elections.

Notes for editors: High-resolution photos of Sarah Clower Keathley and Claire Harbert are available upon request.