austinbar.org JUNE 2025 | VOLUME 34, NUMBER 5
Austin Bar Conference Space Now Open
T
he Austin Bar Foundation hosted a ribbon-cutting event celebrating the opening of the Austin Bar’s onsite conference space on April 16 at Hilgers House. The Jim & Patty Arnold Conference Room has been a goal since the Bar moved into Hilgers House in 2019. Formerly the garage of the Loewy Family Carriage House, the space has been completely transformed into a sleek conference space that can accommodate up to 30 people. The conference space will be a boon to the Austin Bar’s 28 substantive law sections, which have until now had to schedule CLEs at off-site locations. Now they will be able to utilize the conference space at no cost. The conference room is named after Patty Arnold and her late husband, Jim, an Austin Bar member who passed away in 2020 due to complications of Parkinson’s disease. After graduating from UT Law in 1973, Jim started his legal career as a legal aid attorney in the Rio Grande Valley. When he returned to Austin, he started his own firm, Arnold and Associates, and was one of the first attorneys to get certified in civil litigation by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization. Outside of the law, Jim served
Patty Arnold, middle with scissors, was on hand for the April 16 ribbon-cutting for the Jim & Patty Arnold Conference Room, an onsite conference space at Hilgers House that is available to the Austin Bar’s sections to host CLEs.
on the boards of Legal Aid, SER Jobs for Progress, Candlelighters Childhood Cancer Foundation, and the Volunteer Healthcare Clinic. Jim met Patty Pargaman at UT, who would eventually become his wife and business partner for the next 50 years until Jim’s death. Together, they raised a family with three daughters: Jenny, Katie, and Julie (pictured beside her in the photo above).
When Patty donated to the Foundation to sponsor the conference space, she only wanted Jim’s name attached to it. But at Foundation Chair Justice Chari Kelly’s urging, and with Patty’s approval, the name was changed in order to honor Patty, as well. The April 16 celebration was an exclusive event for Fellows of the Austin Bar Foundation. Sustaining Fellows–Fellows who have completed their $200 over 10 years commitment and continue to make annual contributions to the Foundation–were our honored guests and were gifted beautiful charcuterie boards emblazoned with the Austin Bar logo. Of particular note are three Fellows of the Foundation who made exceptionally generous gifts
at the April 16 event: Laura Fowler, Matt Garcia, and the Hon. Eric Shepperd. Now that the construction beside Hilgers House is finished, we encourage you to take a look at the garden beside the cook’s kitchen, which was recently planted with marigolds that are eagerly growing. In that garden, you’ll find a plaque that says, “Laura Fowler Garden.” If you know Laura, you know how kind and generous she is. She’s the longtime and enthusiastic chair of the Lovin’ It Lawyers section. Established in 2017, the section is “not limited to any specific age category…The section is open to all seasoned attorneys who are Space continued on page 7.