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

Resolve to Get Involved!
By Kristy Sims Piazza

With a new year quickly approaching this is the perfect time to explore how you can get more involved in 2010. Whether you decide to run in an election, serve on a committee, or just join your local bar, now is the time to get involved. As young lawyers the more connections you have and the more experience you can gain in your first years of practice, the more successful you will be in the future. We all knew those people in law school who didn't necessarily make the highest grades but who networked their way into a great job offer. This same logic can be used in building your future career as a young lawyer.(Cont.)

Top Story

Access to Justice—On the Road Again
By Clint Harbour

You may know that some folks in Texas cannot access the justice system, but did you know there are 5.1 million Texans —nearly one fifth of the population of Texas — who cannot afford basic civil legal services?

Because we know so many of you are already out there making a difference in the lives of low-income Texans and want to find out how else you can help, the Texas Access to Justice Commission and the Texas Access to Justice Foundation created the Access to Justice Speakers Bureau to provide Texas Young Lawyers Association affiliates and other attorney groups with a FREE ethics CLE on how to increase pro bono involvement. (Cont.)

 

Feature TYLA Affiliate

Tarrant County Young Lawyers Mentor Local Law Students
By Gregory W. Monroe

Remember when you were a 1L and you had really no idea what you were doing but were a little terrified at the daunting task of law school? Then, remember when you were a 2L, and, while you had figured out how to study and handle law school, the realization sunk in about finding a job? Then, how do I prepare for the bar? What classes should you take? What firms are hiring? What about a non-legal job? And the list goes on...(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.

TYLA Family Law Committee Helps the Women at Genesis Women's Shelter
By Sarah Kownacki

The TYLA Family Law Committee held an event at the Genesis Women's Shelter in Dallas on October 14, 2009 to speak about their video entitled Healing the Wounds: A Guide to Navigating the Legal System after Surviving Domestic Abuse and the legal remedies and services that are available to victims of domestic violence. TYLA Family Committee members Kristy Piazza and Sarah Kownacki, TYLA President Cori Harbour, President-Elect Jennifer Evans Morris, and Vice President Natalie Cobb Koehler met with the women at the Genesis Women's Shelter and answered many questions the women had about how to obtain a divorce from an abusive spouse and how to obtain full custody of their children.(Cont.)

 

After the Bar Exam: State Bar launches website for recent law school graduates
By Kevin Priestner

A new crop of lawyers will be inducted into the profession this month, fulfilling years of hard work and study. All of that effort culminated with taking the Texas bar examination in July. Since then, examinees have waited anxiously for their results.

It is this three-month period between taking the bar exam and being inducted into the profession that caught the attention of State Bar President Roland Johnson. As part of his initiatives to assist new and soon-to-be lawyers, Johnson wanted to help make the transition from law school to law practice as successful as possible. The result was the launching of AfterTheBarExam.com in August. A letter announcing the program was sent to everyone who sat for the July Bar Exam.(Cont.)

Article of Interest

Texas Supreme Court Addresses E-Discovery And Restricts Access to Computer Hard Drives
By David F. Johnson

With the advent of electronic document creation and storage, courts across the country have been confronted with pretrial disputes over whether and how that electronic data should be produced. Discovery of electronic data has become big business. A whole new computer forensics industry has developed. And when a company is ordered by a court to produce stored electronic data, the cost can be sizable.

In a dispute between David Weekley Homes, L.P. and HFG Enclave Land Interests. Ltd., HFG questioned whether Weekley Homes had produced all relevant emails. At a court hearing, HFG complained about the dearth of emails, and the trial court ordered Weekley to turn over four computer hard drives to HFG's computer forensics specialists. (Cont.)

ABA YLD Update

Young Lawyers March On Birmingham
By Chip Brooker

The American Bar Association Young Lawyers Division (“ABA YLD”) held its Fall Conference in Birmingham , Alabama on October 22-24, 2009. This year's Fall Conference kicked off the tenure of Kelly-Ann Clarke —a Galveston young lawyer and TYLA Board Member—as Chair of the ABA YLD. In addition to networking and educational opportunities, this year's ABA YLD Fall Conference was particularly interesting for Texas young lawyers because Ms. Clarke adopted TYLA's They Had a Dream Too: Young Leaders of the Civil Rights Movement as the Division's public service project.

On Friday, October 23, 2009, the Fall Conference attendees marched through the streets of Birmingham and gathered for a screening of They Had a Dream Too at Kelly Ingram Park —the location where Birmingham police and firefighters turned dogs and fire hoses on civil rights demonstrators in 1963. Afterwards, Fall Conference attendees visited the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute . (Cont.)

Important Dates to Remember

November 11
Holiday - Veteran's Day (Texas Law Center closed)

November 13-14
TYLA Board of Directors meeting - Doubletree Hotel, El Paso

November 16
New Lawyers' Induction Ceremony - Frank Erwin Center, Austin

November 26-27
Holiday - Thanksgiving (Texas Law Center closed)

December 11
SBOT Holiday Party - Texas Law Center, Austin

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

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 11,000 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 .