HCCLA is now accepting Nominations for 2026 Awards
The Harris County Criminal Lawyers Association awards banquet is an annual celebration meant to honor the best of the best in criminal defense! HCCLA is now accepting nominations for 2026 awards. Look around you. There’s no doubt you know one or more folks who deserve to be recognized for their efforts—we’re looking forward to reading all about them!
The categories for 2026 HCCLA Awards are:
* Lawyer of the Year
* Member of the Year
* Mentor of the Year
* Unsung Hero
* Torch of Liberty
Not every award is awarded annually, but all nominations will be considered.
Deadline for all submissions is February 27, 2026
NOMINATION GUIDELINES
- Only current HCCLA Members may submit nominations. One nomination at a time. Members may submit multiple nominations.
- Award candidates can nominate themselves or be nominated by someone else.
- The candidate’s achievements should include recent occurrences. Unless otherwise stated, the HCCLA Board of Directors will base its decisions primarily on recognizing those candidates who had outstanding achievements during the current bar year (May 2025-present).
- If you would like to submit additional materials to support your nomination, email separately to: christina@hccla.org.
- Please review the award category criteria BEFORE submitting nominations.
The deadline for all submissions is February 27, 2026.
AWARD CATEGORY CRITERIA
LAWYER OF THE YEAR
This award honors a lawyer who:
- practices criminal defense in Harris County, Texas;
- displays an outstanding level of professionalism, ethics and legal acumen;
- achieved superior results in one or more criminal case during this bar year (2025-26);
- had at least one significant verdict, outcome or achievement this bar year in a Harris County court, Court of Appeals, Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, Federal Court, U.S. Supreme Court or international court.
- (please cite case/s or give a detailed description of achievement/s)
MEMBER OF THE YEAR
This award honors a lawyer who:
- is a current member of HCCLA;
- provided outstanding service benefiting the membership during this bar year;
- contributed time, energy and resources into advancing the goals of the Association; and/or helped improve an existing program of the Association.
- The HCCLA President is not eligible for this award
MENTOR OF THE YEAR
This award honors a lawyer who:
- is a current member of HCCLA;
- assisted lawyers through mentoring, training, or providing trial assistance;
- consistently provided legal resources, case law, answers, expertise or advice;
- helped you become a better lawyer during this bar year.
UNSUNG HERO
This award is named after Sharon Levine.
This award honors a lawyer who:
- practices criminal defense in Harris County, Texas;
- demonstrates a high level of professionalism, ethics and hard work;
- consistently provides quality and effective representation of the accused, often above and beyond;
- brings passionate dedication and skills to all criminal cases but does not seek nor receive praise or recognition among peers, or by the media;
- is underacknowledged and deserves recognition for excellence in criminal law and our system of justice.
TORCH OF LIBERTY
This award honors a person or group who:
- works diligently and relentlessly in the pursuit of Liberty and Justice;
- has made a significant contribution to improving, reforming or reshaping the criminal justice system in Harris County or Texas, usually over a long period of years. This contribution has made a positive, profound and meaningful impact on criminal defense lawyers, defendants in criminal cases, or incarcerated individuals;
- has no financial incentive for involvement (even if work-related or a nonprofit fulfilling its mission). Their efforts may even disrupt their own lives, often at their own expense or at great personal risk and sacrifice.
- non-lawyers may be nominated in this category*
- An example of a past recipient is Anthony Graves who both personally and through his foundation continues to fight for a moratorium on the death penalty and an end to the practice of solitary confinement in prisons nationwide.
Not every award is given annually, but the Board of Directors will carefully review and consider each nomination.
