For the first time in history, the executive committee of the State Bar of Texas met virtually though video conference to handle its business.

Driven online by the coronavirus, the meeting—interrupted at times with questions like "are you there?" and reminders to "take yourself off mute"—included numerous agenda items dealing with the pandemic, including the approval of a resolution granting Executive Director Trey Apffel with more authority to respond to the crisis.

"The executive director should be empowered to take extraordinary measures during the COVID-19 emergency to continue the operations of the State Bar and provide services to its constituents," said the resolution, which the committee passed unanimously.

Under the measure, Apffel will be able to call emergency meetings of the bar board and executive committee, and to suspend provisions, deadlines, penalties and assessments in the bar's board policy manual. Apffel also can make expenditures from bar reserves to keep up the bar's business, operations and services, and take other actions he deems necessary or prudent to maintain the bar's operations through the crisis.

Texas Supreme Court Justice Debra Lehrmann, the court's liaison to the bar, asked attorneys and judges to inform the bar or the Texas Office of Court Administration about the legal issues coming up from the virus. The court is meeting daily and wants to take action to protect Texans, she said.

"Together, we are going to make this work," Lehrmann said.

During the meeting Apffel told board members that all of the bar's staff members are now working remotely, still taking care of the bar's essential services. He thanked the bar's information technology staff for launching remote operations seamlessly.

"Everything is operating smoothly and efficiently," said Apffel.

Chief Disciplinary Counsel Seana Willing reported that her assistant disciplinary counsel are all working from home, too. The Texas Supreme Court issued an emergency order suspending disciplinary case deadlines because of the pandemic, she noted, and her 95 staff members have been calling respondent attorneys and their counsel to work and cooperate with them as much as possible.

The bar will be relying on more Zoom video conferences in many ways, from meetings of the Commission on Lawyer Discipline to its April 7 board meeting to a method of voting in the next chair of the board on April 7.

Immediate past president Joe Longley said the bar should keep track of the cost savings from holding the meetings remotely.

"We are in historic times. By doing this through video, it may be in the future, we can do more bar meetings like this," he said.

But President Randy Sorrels said there's value in meeting in person, compared with looking at screens.

"I can guarantee you there is a cost savings," he said. "But is it a benefit? I can't guarantee you."