Meet the TYLA Board

PRESIDENT
Cori A. Harbour, El Paso

CHAIR
C.E. Rhodes, Houston

VICE PRESIDENT
Natalie Cobb Koehler, Meridian

SECRETARY
David C. Courreges, Austin

TREASURER
Jeff Chandler, San Angelo

PRESIDENT-ELECT
Jennifer Evans Morris, Dallas

CHAIR-ELECT
David Anderson, Dallas

IMMEDIATE PAST PRESIDENT
Sylvia A. Cardona, San Antonio

DIRECTORS

Jeffrey A. Armstrong, Waco
Hector A. Beltrán, El Paso
Robert E. Booth, Galveston
Natasha L. Brooks, Midland
Kelly L. Burris, Dallas
J. Brett Busby, Houston
Alfonso Cabañas, San Antonio
M. Vittoria "Giugi" Carminati, Houston
Kelly-Ann F. Clarke, Galveston
Adrienne M. Clements, Fort Worth
David C. Courreges, Austin (Secretary)
Michael E. Deadman, San Angelo
Geoff A. Gannaway, Houston
Israel Garcia, San Antonio
Don Jones, Corpus Christi
Sarah Kownacki, Dallas
Keith L. Krueger, College Station
J.P. LeCompte, Denton
Alyssa J. Long, San Antonio
John Massouh, Amarillo
Jennifer Evans Morris, Dallas (President-elect)
Erin O'Driscoll, Houston
Chike Okpara, Austin
Connie H. Pfeiffer, Houston
Kristy Sims Piazza, Plano
Donato D. Ramos, Jr., Laredo
Jaime S. Rangel, Corpus Christi
Ken Riney, Dallas
Jobe Rodgers, Lubbock
Shivali Sharma, Texarkana
Paul Tu, Houston
Brooke Ulrickson, Fort Worth
Rebecca Vela, McAllen
Clint Woods, Beaumont

LIAISONS

Justice Paul W. Green, Texas Supreme Court

Clint Harbour, Access To Justice

Kirby D. Hopkins, ABA YLD District 25

Chip Brooker, ABA YLD District 26

Dean Donald J. Guter, Law School

Jessica Alexander, Law Student

STAFF OFFICE

Mailing Address:
P.O. Box 12487
Austin 78711-2487
Physical Address:
1414 Colorado, 4th Floor
Austin 78701
(800) 204-2222, ext. 1529
(512) 427-1529
fax: (512) 427-4117

Tracy Brown, Director
Bree Trevino, Project Coordinator
Michelle Palacios, Office Manager

Editor's Column

Give Me Your Tired, Your Poor
By Kenneth C. Riney

Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses, yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore,
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me.
I lift my lamp beside the golden door.

These powerful verses come from Emma Lazarus's sonnet titled “The New Colossus.” Most people recognize these words as they are inscribed in bronze at the base of the Statue of Liberty. Author Paul Auster once said that “The New Colossus” reinvented the statue's purpose, turning the Statue of Liberty into a welcoming mother, a symbol of hope to the outcasts and downtrodden of the world. (Cont.)

Top Story

El Paso Minority Pre-Law Student Symposium for High School Students
By Natasha L. Brooks

On November 12, 2009, the Texas Young Lawyers Association's Minority Involvement Committee held the first El Paso Minority Pre-Law Student Symposium for High School Students in conjunction with El Paso Young Lawyers Association and the University of Texas at El Paso. The main goal of the symposium was to inspire and encourage minority students to attend law school. State Bar President Roland K. Johnson and Texas Young Lawyers Association President Cori A. Harbour delivered the keynote address to approximately 180 students. (Cont.)

 

Feature TYLA Affiliate

Cameron County Young Lawyers Association Inspires Excellence In Advocacy Through Training And Education
By Noemi Garcia

CCYLA's Trial Skills Workshop titled “Jury Selection” was held on October 28, 2009, hosted by the Honorable Judge Elia Cornejo Lopez of the 404 th Judicial District Court

It has been an exciting year for the Cameron County Young Lawyers Association (CCYLA). With a dynamic group of Officers and Board of Directors, CCYLA is fulfilling its mission of inspiring excellence in advocacy through training and education. CCYLA is accomplishing its mission by holding monthly Trial Skills Workshops in partnership with the local judiciary. (Cont.)

Please email the TYLA office if there are any changes to your local affiliates contact information.

If your affiliate has an upcoming event that you would like featured in eNews, please forward the information to Bree Trevino or contact eNews Co-Chairs Kristy Piazza, Ken Riney or Brooke Ulrickson.

Going Green With TYLA
By Cori A. Harbour

 

 

Reduce the amount of trash you throw away.
Reuse containers and products.
Recycle as much as possible and buy products with recycled content.

I have been called a tree-hugging hippie chick and I am not ashamed of that. I celebrate Earth Day, rarely go shopping without my reusable shopping bags, recycle just about everything, and generally try to do my part to lessen my carbon footprint. Just ask the guys at work. As soon as I moved into my new office, I installed a three-tiered recycling bin in our kitchen and blue “recycle only” trashcans in every office. Consider the friendly reminder on all of my outgoing emails:

Please consider the environment before printing this email. (Cont.)

 

Paralegals' Pet Peeves On Working With Attorneys
By Clara L. Buckland, C.P.

When I was asked to write this article I thought, oxymoron or a true quandary? I found myself perplexed as I have worked for the same attorney for fifteen years. And, yes, some of the things he does drive me crazy, but I always thought it was just me. I did not really think of them as pet peeves, so to prepare for this article, I did two things.

First, I did a little research on what exactly is a pet peeve. I learned that a pet peeve is a minor annoyance that an individual identifies as particularly annoying to them, to a greater degree than others may find. That a pet peeve often involves specific behaviors of someone close, such as a spouse or significant other. Hello? How about the folks (for this article, the attorney) with whom you work on a daily basis? (Cont.)

Article of Interest

Income-Based Repayment Plan and Public Service Loan Forgiveness provisions of the College Cost Reduction and Access Act of 2007
By Arturo Errisuriz

On July 1, 2009, two provisions of the College Cost Reduction and Access Act (CCRAA) 1 that President George W. Bush signed on September 27, 2007 went into effect. The Income-Based Repayment (IBR) 2 plan ties monthly federal education loan obligations to a borrower's income, capping monthly loan payments at 15% of the borrower's discretionary income. When combined with the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) 3 provision of the Act, which forgives debt after ten years of public service work, it offers debt relief to lawyers and recent law school graduates who choose a career in public service. (Cont.)

ABA YLD Update

ABA YLD and M-I-C-K-E-Y … M-O-U-S-E … Mickey Mouse!
By Chip Brooker

Do you want to rub elbows with young lawyers from across the country and around the world? Are you interested in being part of the policy-making body of the ABA YLD? Do you just need any legitimate excuse available to take your family to Walt Disney World? If you answered “yes” to any one of these questions, then you should attend the next meeting of the American Bar Association Young Lawyers Division (“ABA YLD”), which will be held at the ABA 's Midyear Meeting on February 4-6, 2010 in Orlando, Florida. (Cont.)

 

Access To Justice Commission Update

South Texas Pro Bono Asylum Project Celebrates 20 years of Service
Submitted By Catherine Nahay

Pablo J. Almaguer, Hong Tran Escobar, Elma E. Garcia, Meredith Linsky, Roland Johnson, Linley R. Boone

The South Texas Pro Bono Asylum Representation Project (ProBAR), a national effort to provide immigration legal services to asylum seekers and other detained persons in South Texas, celebrated 20 years of service Thursday, November 12, 2009, at Casa Los Ebanos in San Benito, Texas. The reception and celebratory dinner honored ProBAR's clients, staff, and volunteer attorneys. (Cont.)

Important Dates to Remember

December 24-25
Holiday - Christmas (Texas Law Center closed)

January 1
Holiday - New Year's (Texas Law Center closed)

January 5
TYLA deadline to receive third committee report

January 18
Holiday - Martin Luther King, Jr. Day (Texas Law Center closed)

January 22-23
TYLA Board of Directors meeting - Westin Galleria, Houston

January 27
TYLA Officer ballots are mailed to the TYLA Board of Directors

Take Note

View This Month's President's Opinion

Cori A. Harbour
TYLA President 2009-2010

Ten Minute Mentor has more than 20 free videos for attorneys about disaster response and recovery. Click "view index by category" and choose "disaster response." Click here for more disaster resources for attorneys.

The Texas Young Lawyers Association is adding new segments to the Ten Minute Mentor library. Ten Minute Mentor is a TYLA project that debuted in 2004 as a means for sharing concise and practical advice that is always accessible online. Since that time, it has proven its enduring appeal as one of TYLA's most successful projects. More than 50,000 people have visited the site, and we continue to average more than 2,000 segments viewed each month. You can visit the site at www.tenminutementor.com.

TYLA Annual Report 2008-2009
Want to know how TYLA is serving its members and the community? Then be sure to read the 2008-2009 annual report, which details the activities of TYLA during the 2008-2009 Bar year. Click here for a copy or call 800-204-2222, ext. 1529 and we'll send you a copy.

Get Involved and Sign Up Today!
If you want to be involved as an active volunteer in TYLA visit our website to find out more about TYLA committees and their focus ... then sign up online! Please note: if you signed up for a committee prior to June 2009, you will need to sign up for your committees again. Committee memberships are reset each year on June 1.

Support Pro Bono Legal Services and Let Everyone Know It!

The Texas Young Lawyers Association needs your help to support and promote free legal services for indigent Texans by purchasing a specialty license plate. The license plate proudly states that you support "Justice for All" and can be purchased for only $30.00 per year.
$22.00 from the purchase of each plate will be deposited into an account
supporting legal services to the poor. If you would like that plate personalized, you can get your plate for $70.00 per year. To purchase your plate today, simply fill out an application and send your check, payable to the Texas Department of Transportation, to the following address:
Vehicle Titles and Registration Division (SPB)
Texas Department of Transportation
Austin, TX 78779-0001
To pay online click here.

Make New Connections with Texas Bar Circle
More than 12,000 of your peers have joined Texas Bar Circle - our social and professional network for Texas lawyers. Join today and reconnect with colleagues, find jobs, explore opportunities, and have fun. The power of Texas Bar Circle is in the connections you will make. Visit https://texasbar.affinitycircles.com/sbot/auth/login.

Member Benefits Program
Are you looking for ways to save this fall? Take advantage of exclusive money-saving offers from the State Bar of Texas Member Benefits Program. Bar members are eligible for discounts on products and services including car rental, clothing, computer hardware and software, office supplies, and more. For details on the State Bar Member Benefits Program, visit www.texasbar.com/benefits .