Supreme Court of Texas
Blake Hawthorne has extensive legal experience, currently serving as Clerk of the Court for the Supreme Court of Texas since October 2005, with five appointments for four-year terms. Responsibilities include supervising the Clerk's Office staff, assisting attorneys and self-represented individuals, conducting continuing legal education courses, and serving on various judicial committees. Blake also previously held the role of Staff Attorney for Original Proceedings, where the review of original proceedings and advising the Court on dispositions was central. Prior experience includes serving as an Assistant Attorney General in the Taxation Division for the Texas Attorney General's Office and working as an associate at Wiley Rein LLP and Jackson Walker LLP. Blake earned a J.D. with Honors from The University of Texas School of Law and a B.A. magna cum laude in Anthropology and Spanish from Tulane University.
Supreme Court of Texas
Composed of the Chief Justice and eight Justices, the Supreme Court of Texas is the court of last resort for civil matters in the State of Texas. The Justices of the Supreme Court are elected to staggered six-year terms in state-wide elections. When a vacancy arises the Governor may appoint a Justice, subject to Senate confirmation, to serve out the remainder of an unexpired term until the next general election. All members of the Court must be at least 35 years of age, a citizen of Texas, licensed to practice law in Texas, and must have practiced law (or have been a lawyer and a judge of a court of record together) for at least ten years (see Tex. Const., Art. 5, Sec. 2). By statute the Court has administrative control over the State Bar of Texas. Tex. Gov't Code § 81.011. The Court is also the sole authority for licensing attorneys in Texas and appoints the members of the Board of Law Examiners which administers the Texas bar examination. Tex. Gov't Code §§ 82.00, 82.004. The Court promulgates the Texas Rules of Civil Procedure, the Texas Rules of Appellate Procedure, the Texas Rules of Evidence and other rules and standards.