Sylvia Borunda Firth ’84 has been sworn in as the new president of the State Bar of Texas. She makes history as the first Hispanic woman and first person from El Paso to be president.
Borunda Firth’s legal career has spanned decades, and the list of her accomplishments is lengthy. She runs a solo law firm in her hometown of El Paso.
“El Paso is where I was born and raised, and it’s a very special community. I think because we are a truly bi-national community, and right on the border with Mexico, and New Mexico, and we have a huge military presence. So, people come and go. It’s a really a multicultural, very tolerant community,” Borunda Firth noted in her interview with the Legal Talk Network.
She worked in many roles with the City of El Paso, eventually becoming the city attorney for El Paso. Borunda Firth also has an extensive career working with the Bar. She served on the State Bar Board of Directors from 2014 to 2018, as a multi-year member of the Texas bar college, and as past president of the Texas City Attorneys Association.
As just the seventh women to serve as State Bar President and the first Hispanic woman, Borunda Firth hopes to change the narrative of who can represent the diverse population of Texas. She has a particular passion for diversity and inclusion.
“I threw my hat in the ring to say, ‘Hey, we need to reflect what the community we serve looks like,’ and I was pleasantly surprised to get the support throughout the state and honored especially to get the support in this part of (West) Texas,” She stated in an article from El Paso Times.
Borunda Firth will serve as president of the State Bar of Texas from June 2021 to June 2022.