The US-India Law Forum was led by former State Bar of Texas president Richard Pena on behalf of People to People Citizen Ambassador Programs, a group originally spun off from the State Department to promote international understanding and friendship through cultural exchange. Pena, a workers compensation lawyer who is also president of the American Bar Foundation, had led 11 previous legal delegations for People to People, to places like Vietnam, Cambodia, and Tibet. The first trip was a delegation of Texas lawyers to China in 2000.