Bracewell Partner Kelly Frels to Receive HBAA Leon Jaworski Award

HOUSTON — Bracewell & Giuliani Partner Kelly Frels will receive the Houston Bar Association Auxiliary’s 2012 Leon Jaworski Award on March 6 at the Houston Club. Frels, the firm’s managing partner from 1995-2001, was named the recipient of the 25^th annual Leon Jaworski Award in December.

The HBAA presents the Leon Jaworski Award to an outstanding attorney who has dedicated his or her time and service to the community, and whose efforts have benefitted the city of Houston and its residents.  

“I am honored and excited to receive the Leon Jaworski Award,” Frels said. “I’d like to thank the awards committee for recognizing me with a great honor such as this.”

Frels, a key figure in implementing Bracewell’s school and public law practice, has served on behalf of a number of education-related organizations, including the Houston Independent School District Foundation, Center for Reform of School Systems, and National School Board Association Council of School Attorneys. His work in the community spans decades, and includes volunteering on behalf of such organizations as the Greater Houston Partnership, the Texas Environmental Research Consortium, and the Center for Houston’s Future, the Region’s Think Tank.

Frels has been equally active in the legal community as well. In addition to previously serving as the president of the State Bar of Texas, he has held such positions as president of the Houston Bar Association, chair of the State Bar’s Lawyer Referral Committee, and chair of the Texas Center for Legal Ethics.

“As an attorney, I’ve always found it important to not only give back to the legal community, but to the community in which I live,” Frels said. “It has been my privilege to serve both during my career, and I am most appreciative of those who supported my doing so.”