TITLE: Commemorating the 30th anniversary of the Texas Alternative Dispute Resolution Procedures Act and commending the Honorable Frank Evans.

SUMMARY: Commemorating the 30th anniversary of the Texas Alternative Dispute Resolution Procedures Act and commending the Honorable Frank Evans.

FULL TEXT:
WHEREAS, The year 2017 marks the 30th anniversary of the passage of the Texas Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) Procedures Act, and this milestone presents a welcome opportunity to recognize one of the bill's coauthors, the Honorable Frank Evans; and WHEREAS, In 1978, Texas Supreme Court chief justice Joe Greenhill tasked Mr. Evans, a justice on the First Court of Appeals in Houston, with finding a way to reduce congestion in the dockets of trial and appellate courts in the state; convinced that alternative dispute resolution was the best answer, Judge Evans became a leading advocate for this method of limiting the number of cases resolved through litigation, eventually earning the moniker the "Father of Texas ADR"; in 1985, he, along with The University of Texas at Austin law professor Edward F. Sherman and Texas state senator Cynthia Taylor Krier, drafted legislation to provide a comprehensive framework for ADR practice in the state, and the bill was enacted by the Texas Legislature in 1987; and WHEREAS, Over the years, Judge Evans further championed ADR by helping to create the Houston Bar Association Special Committee on ADR and the Houston Neighborhood Justice Center, persuading the Harris County District Attorney's Office to begin referring citizen complaints to mediation, establishing a juvenile justice system of peer mediation in Texas elementary and secondary schools, and serving as founding chair of the ADR Section of the State Bar of Texas; and WHEREAS, After nearly two decades as chief justice, Judge Evans retired from the court in 1990, and he went on to found and head the South Texas College of Law Center for Legal Responsibility, which has since been renamed in his honor; moreover, he was retained in an of-counsel position at the Houston-based law firm Haynes & Boone and continued to benefit the First Court of Appeals as a conference judge; today, he and his wife, Elizabeth, reside in Bastrop; and WHEREAS, Widely admired in the legal profession, Judge Frank Evans has made immeasurable contributions to the justice system in the Lone Star State, and he may take great pride in the part he played in the ratification of the Texas Alternative Dispute Resolution Procedures Act; now, therefore, be it RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 85th Texas Legislature hereby commemorate the 30th anniversary of the passage of the Texas Alternative Dispute Resolution Procedures Act and commend the Honorable Frank Evans for his instrumental role in promoting ADR in the Lone Star State; and, be it further RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be prepared for Judge Evans as an expression of high regard by the Texas House of Representatives. Davis of Harris Speaker of the House I certify that H.R. No. 1376 was adopted by the House on April 27, 2017, by a non-record vote. Chief Clerk of the House