Houston Bar Association swears in first Latina president in its 153-year history

Diana Gomez is the first Latina president of the Houston Bar Association in its 153 year history. She's also its sixth female president.

Gomez was sworn-in as a shareholder of Chamberlain Hrdlicka and a member of its board of directors on 11 May during HBA's Annual Dinner. She succeeds Christopher V. Popov who is co-head at Vinson & Elkins LLP.

The board stated that Gomez’s priorities for 2023-24 include encouraging community service, increasing attorney engagement, and revitalizing pipeline programs.

Gomez stated that he was honored to be the HBA President. As lawyers, we are privileged to serve the community, our profession and young, talented minds. We plan to increase access to justice and engage attorneys with initiatives such as the HBA's multi-practice bar conference, and install L.A.W. The Legal Access Workspace (LAW) pods will bring the downtown law library to the county.

The association stated that Gomez had been with the HBA since years. She served as the HBA's employment attorney, and has been on the board since 2014. Gomez was the HBA's president before he took over. He led several committees, including the Law and the Media Committee, the HBA Dispute Resolution Committee, the Houston Lawyer Referral Service, and the Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Committee.

She focuses her practice as a trial lawyer on complex labor and employment issues. She offers services including pre-termination counselling, Equal Employment Opportunity Training, handbook review, drafting of employment agreements and policies; noncompetes.

Mindy Davidson, HBA's Executive Director said: 'We're thrilled to celebrate Diana’s investiture as well as this historic first for Houston Bar Association.' "On behalf of HBA staff I would like to thank Diana for all she has done during her years of service with the HBA and look forward to working together in this exciting new year."

Gomez's work in the world of law has been recognized on several occasions. She was recognized by Houston Woman Magazine as one of Houston's Most Influential Woman of 2020-2021,' and U.S. News & World Report listed her among Best Lawyers of America 2022'. She has appeared on the Texas Super Lawyers List every year since 2013

She has received numerous awards for her work, including the Woodrow B. Seals Outstanding Young Lawyer of Houston Award and the President's Award by both the HBA and Houston Hispanic Bar Association. Seals Outstanding Young Lawyer of Houston Award; the President's Award from both the Houston Hispanic Bar Association and the HBA; and the Latina Lawyer Under 40 Award given by the Mexican American Bar Association of Texas Foundation.