Susan Bickley Honored with Houston Bar Association’s Prestigious Justice Ruby Kless Sondock Award
Blank Rome LLP is pleased to announce that partner Susan L. Bickley, who serves as chair of the firm’s Houston office, has been named the 2021 recipient of the Houston Bar Association’s Justice Ruby Kless Sondock Award, which recognizes a woman lawyer or judge for a record of exceptional achievement and leadership in the law. Susan was presented with the prestigious award at the Houston Bar Association Annual Dinner, which was held on Thursday, July 15, 2021.
The award’s namesake, Justice Sondock, was a trailblazer for women in the law, as the first woman to serve on the Texas Supreme Court and the first woman to serve as a district judge in Harris County. To qualify for the Sondock Award, a nominee must have demonstrated a record of exceptional service as a role model, mentor, and advocate in the legal profession, and a lifelong commitment to professionalism. In addition to Justice Sondock, previous recipients of the award are Lynne Liberato, who was the first women elected president of the Houston Bar Association in 1993, and Judge Alice Oliver-Parrott, former chief justice of the First Court of Appeals in Houston.
Named an Outstanding Leader in Law by the Houston Business Journal in 2019, Susan has over 30 years of civil trial and appellate experience in employment litigation for private and public employers, litigation involving commercial and business disputes, trade secret litigation, and the defense of claims against professionals. At Blank Rome, Susan represents a diverse range of clients, including publicly held corporations, smaller companies, start-ups, and public entities, and holds a number of leadership positions within the firm.
Active in the Houston legal community, Susan serves as chair of the board of directors of the Houston Bar Foundation, the charitable arm of the Houston Bar Association, and is a board member of the University of Houston Law Foundation. She previously served on the State Bar Texas Disciplinary Rules of Professional Conduct Committee and the State Bar Annual Meeting Committee, and taught Trial Advocacy as an adjunct professor at the University of Houston Law Center from 2006 to 2010. Susan received the President’s Award from the Houston Bar Association in 2010 and 2011.
