Tate is a former president of the Fort Bend County Bar Association and has been in private practice for 32 years, with a principal concentration in civil litigation.  He earned his law degree from the University of Houston, his undergraduate degree from Pan American University, and a master’s degree from the LBJ School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas at Austin.

The Supreme Court of Texas created the Texas Access to Justice Foundation in 1984 to provide funding for the civil legal needs of poor and low-income Texans. The Foundation annually awards grants to approximately 40 nonprofit legal aid organizations throughout the state that help struggling Texans in matters involving foreclosures, employment, domestic violence and family law issues.

The Interest on Lawyers’ Trust Accounts (IOLTA) program is a primary funding source for the Foundation and for civil legal services to Texans in need. IOLTA funding has decreased nearly 75 percent since 2007 due to an overall decline in interest rates. In addition to IOLTA, the Foundation collects and administers other private and public funding and works closely with partners in the banking industry to manage and increase the funding for IOLTA.