On January 19, 2008, the DBA will inaugurate Frank E. Stevenson II as its 99th president. That date has a special significance to Frank Stevenson, as it also marks the birthday of his grandfather, who inspired him to become a lawyer.

“My grandfather was the most capable, impressive and brilliant person I’ve ever known,” says Mr. Stevenson. His grandfather was a member of the Phi Beta Kappa Society at Dartmouth College in Hanover, N.H., and then went on to study law at Harvard Law School.

Perhaps to inspire Mr. Stevenson to succeed, his grandfather made him a bet the fall he entered law school at the University of Virginia. “My grandfather said, ‘I’ll bet you $50 you won’t last until Christmas’.”

A magna cum laude graduate from Amherst College, Frank Stevenson couldn’t believe his ears. He told his grandfather, “That’s so wrong to say something like that to me, your grandson.” His grandfather said, “You’re right, Frank. I’ll bet you don’t last until Thanksgiving.”

Though Mr. Stevenson never collected on that bet, he has become the exceptionally accomplished lawyer he modeled himself after. Following graduation from the University of Virginia Law School, Mr. Stevenson joined what is now the law firm of Locke, Lord, Bissell & Liddell, LLP, where he is a partner and has practiced administrative, transportation, real estate and finance law for the past 28 years.

Frank Stevenson has led numerous committees of the Dallas Bar Association, including founding the Summer Law Intern Program, and chairing the Campaign for Equal Access to Justice and the New Member Committee. And he was the recipient of the DBA’s JoAnna Moreland Outstanding Committee Chair Award in 1995.

He is a fellow of the Dallas Bar Foundation and is a life fellow of the Texas Bar Foundation. Mr. Stevenson has served on the Staff Diversity Task Force of the Texas Commission on Judicial Efficiency and has been recognized as a Texas Super Lawyer by Texas Monthly magazine.

DBA Past President Peter Vogel recalls that, “In 1993, when I invited Frank to chair the first Summer Law Intern Committee, he was surprised, but I saw a great leader who deserved a challenge. Clearly, Frank did an outstanding job and was later recognized for his leadership with many awards. He will be an outstanding president of the Dallas Bar, and Dallas and its legal community will be the beneficiaries.”

Frank Stevenson has a passion for service and a love for the organization he has been called to lead. “When I think of the things that I’ve done that make me most proud to be a lawyer, virtually all of them are rooted at the Dallas Bar,” says Mr. Stevenson.

In the year ahead, Frank Stevenson plans to bring the DBA together to focus on what we can do to improve our community, serve our membership, and honor our heritage.

“Everything this association needs to achieve requires us to be a bar association that welcomes and serves all the lawyers in Dallas, despite the differences in our practices, profiles or politics,” says Mr. Stevenson.

Outside of his work with the bar, Frank Stevenson also sets an example of community leadership. He is a member of the Dallas Citizens Council, and he has served on the executive committee of the Amherst College Alumni Council (and has held numerous other alumni positions with Amherst College, including past president of Amherst Alumni Association of North Texas, Reunion Chairman, Class Agent, Class Secretary, Class Vice President, and currently Class President).

Mr. Stevenson serves on the board of directors for the North Dallas Chamber of Commerce, he has served on the board of directors for the Children’s Chorus of Greater Dallas, and he and his son have achieved the rank of Eagle Scout with the Boy Scouts of America, for whom Mr. Stevenson continues to serve as an assistant scoutmaster.

Additionally, he serves as an elder and Bible study teacher at Northridge Presbyterian Church.

Mr. Stevenson and his wife Helen have three children, including a daughter who is a second-year law student at Duke University, a daughter who is a biology major at Amherst College, and a son who is an engineering major at Bucknell University.

The inaugural of Frank E. Stevenson II as 2008 DBA president is a culmination of nearly 20 years of service to the bar and 10 years of work on the DBA board of directors. During his tenure, he will continue to build on the DBA’s great legacy of service to its members and the community.

Jenna Wright is an appellate lawyer with The Wright Firm, LLP, and is a past co-chair of the DBA Publications Committee.