Harris County DA Sean Teare’s law license reinstated after brief administrative suspension

Harris County District Attorney Sean Teare saw his Texas law license retroactively reinstated last week after a brief administrative suspension rendered the county’s chief prosecutor temporarily ineligible to practice law, Houston Landing has confirmed. 

The suspension, which took effect Dec. 31, 2024, because Teare had not paid a fee associated with the State Bar of Texas’ minimum continuing legal education requirements, was lifted on Jan. 4 after Teare became aware of the lapse and made the payment. The reinstatement applies retroactively to the full term of the suspension. Teare took office as district attorney just after midnight on Jan. 1. 

“This was a paperwork snafu involving the nonpayment of administrative fees,” the district attorney’s office said in an emailed statement. “Those fees have now been paid and DA Teare is in compliance with all state bar rules.”

The mishap does not impact Teare’s status as district attorney and will not affect actions he took during the suspension, said Josh Reiss, general counsel for the district attorney’s office. 

“There’s a difference between being suspended and being unlicensed,” Reiss said in an interview with the Landing. “That’s the critical legal difference.” 

Ultimately, Reiss said, the suspension was “an administrative fee issue” with little practical bearing on the district attorney’s work. 

“At no point was public safety ever impacted here,” he said. 

The suspension, which has no relation to misconduct or disciplinary action, nevertheless drew criticism from conservative activists on social media at the start of Teare’s first full week in office. Teare is Harris County’s first new district attorney in eight years, succeeding Kim Ogg, whom he defeated in March’s Democratic primary. 

Ogg’s two terms in charge were marred by controversy, including a strained relationship with Harris County Commissioners Court, accusations that she had weaponized her office against political rivals and a reversal on issues like bail reform. 

The new district attorney has laid out ambitious plans for his administration, beginning with an overhaul of the office’s intake division, which decides whether to accept criminal charges. 
Harris County residents, including criminal justice stakeholders and local Democrats, told Houston Landing last year they were looking forward to change at the office and hoped Teare would eliminate the political controversies that had roiled the Ogg administration.

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