SAN ANGELO, TX – The Concho Valley Public Defender's Office received a number of prestigious awards at the Texas Criminal Defense Lawyers Association (TCDLA) annual banquet this past week. In fact, one local attorney was even inducted into the TCDLA Hall of Fame.
The three attorneys honored during the banquet were Tip Hargrove, Jessica Canter, and Jason Sosa. Canter was the former Chief Public Defender of an office she created in Lavaca County before taking on a founding role (Director of Professional Responsibility and Holistic Defense) at the Managed Assigned Counsel office in San Antonio. Canter is the incoming Chair of the State Bar of Texas’ Legal Services to the Poor in Criminal Matters Committee, and she also chairs TCDLA’s Public Defender Committee. Now she serves as the assistant public defender for the CVPDO.
As for Sosa, he is the First Assistant Public Defender in San Angelo, having relocated there after a lengthy stint at the Harris County Public Defender’s Office in Houston, where he led one of their felony divisions. Sosa obtained his M.A. and Ph.D. from Texas A&M and received his law degree while teaching at Rice University. He now serves as the lead attorney for felony cases.
They were both awarded the 'Rising Star' award. This achievement recognizes lawyers licensed for less than 10 years who have shown outstanding leadership in the past year – either in the representation of citizens accused or in their contribution to the efforts of TCDLA. Both Jason and Jessica are closing in on their tenth year of practice. Both Sosa and Canter have been practicing public defenders for nearly a decade.
"Jessica and Jason bring levels of leadership and experience that are invaluable to the function of our office," said Chief Public Defender Joe Stephens. "They are standout representatives not only of who we are but also of what we stand for."
Tip Hargrove at the 2023 TCDLA Banquet (Contributed: Concho Valley Public Defender's Office)
As for Hargrove, he was nominated and selected by his peers to be inducted into the TCDLA Hall of Fame. He was one of the two attorneys in the state of Texas in 2023. Hargrove serves as the Chair of CVPDO’s Oversight Board and was integral to the creation of the public defender’s office in San Angelo. Of the past 52 recipients of this award in the last 30 years, only two have practiced exclusively in rural communities (with populations of less than 100,000) west of I-35. Hargrove, who lives in Concho County and has his office in San Angelo, is the third. Hargrove has practiced law for over 30 years.
"I was fortunate enough to have the honor of introducing Tip at the event – to work side-by-side with a statewide legend has been one of my greatest privileges, as he is a walking testament to the power of integrity," said Stephens. "As honored as our office was last week, we take the greatest pride in the things that go unnoticed, and will always prefer letting the quality of our work speak for itself."
At the same conference, Lauren McCollum began her first term as a newly selected member of TCDLA’s Board of Directors, joining Jessica Canter and Joe Stephens on the same Board. Before the conference, Rebecca Yung began her term on the Board of Directors of the National Association for Public Defense. Rebecca is Texas' sole representative on that board, aside from the President.
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