Ira Lee Allen, Respected and Accomplished Attorney, Passes Away…
Mar 28, 2008
Our dear friend and colleague, Lee Allen, passed away on Friday, March 28th. Having joined our firm in 1955, Lee practiced insurance and corporate law for more than 50 years. He leaves an indelible legacy on the hearts of those with whom he worked and for those whose legal needs he served.
Working with insurance companies and agencies, Lee had a talent for handling regulatory matters, especially when it came to agency licensing, corporate and tax matters, and mergers and acquisitions. In 1981, the State Bar of Texas Insurance Trust appointed him to the Board of Trustees. He served as a Trustee for the next ten years, including a term as Chairman of the Trustees.
In 1998, the Commissioner of Insurance of Texas appointed Lee to the Agent Licensing Property and Casualty Working Group. This group made suggestions to the Commissioner for updating the laws to a more modern position—one that would assist in obtaining reciprocity with other states for the licensing of agents. The recommended legislation became effective in 2001, and it led to major changes in agency licensing law in Texas.
Lee was active in the legal community, with admission to practice before the Texas Supreme Court and before several United States District Courts and the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. He was a member of the State Bar of Texas, the American Bar Association, and The Dallas Bar Association. He was a Sustaining Life Fellow of the Texas Bar Foundation. In all of these associations, he participated as a member of committees.
Lee loved his family and his work and lived life with passion and commitment. He lives on in our prayers and thoughts as a man of distinguished character who made the world a better place.