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The Austin Bar is proud to announce we have been honored by the state bar’s Stars of Texas Bars Awards!
The Austin Bar received the Star of Achievement Award for President Mary-Ellen King’s Stop the Stigma initiative. The award recognizes outstanding member service and public service projects by local bar associations. The goal of the Stop the Stigma initiative is to stop the stigma around conversations about alcoholism, drug addiction, and suicide in the legal profession. The initiative was supported by columns written by guest authors telling their personal stories with these issues, which were published in Austin Lawyer, and by the Stop the Stigma podcast, which is hosted by King and invites attorneys to tell their personal stories relating to these issues and to provide resources for struggling attorneys.
“We appreciate the State Bar of Texas for recognizing this important initiative,” King said. “Addiction, depression, and suicide severely impact the legal profession, and the stories of hope and resilience and the resources they highlight can help save lives.”
Austin Lawyer was also named Best Overall Newsletter in Division III. This is the second year in a row that we’ve received this honor.
“Thank you to the State Bar of Texas for this honor,” Managing Editor Billy Huntsman said. “We are always trying to make this publication a better resource for our lawyers, both as a tool to improve their practices, as well as a vehicle to highlight their accomplishments both in and out of court.”
Two individual authors were also honored for articles they contributed to the publication.
Arielle Allen, an associate at Lorenz and Lorenz, received the Best General Interest Story Award for her article, “Harnessing Advanced Medical Insights to Strengthen Traumatic Brain Injury Cases.” This insightful article was published in the February 2025 issue and is available to read for free online at austinlawyeronline.com.
Austin Lawyer assistant editor and AYLA Director Abigail Ventress, an associate at VBPena Law, received the Best News Article Award for her article, “Non-Compete Agreements: An Update on the Anticipated FTC Ban.” This timely article was published in the October issue of Austin Lawyer and is available to read for free online at austinlawyeronline.com.
The Austin Bar thanks our Austin Lawyer team for their great work: Assistant Editors Abigail Ventress, Samantha McCoy, and Roslyn Werner, AYLA Executive Director Debbie Kelly, Managing Editor Billy Huntsman, Publisher Kim Scheberle, Designer Kiki Pantaze, Advertising Executive Patty Huber, and everyone who submitted an article between May 1, 2024, and April 30, 2025:
Arielle Allen
Amanda Arriaga
Adrienne Barclay
Nadia Bettac
Justice Darlene Byrne
Josh Cottle
Claude Ducloux
Bruce Elfant
Emily Fawcett
Lina Fisher
Amanda Goodman
Zak Hall
Sarah Harp
Judge Andy Hathcock
Stephanie Holan
Paul Jacobs
Hon. Woodie Jones
Justice Chari Kelly
Ketan Kharod
Mary-Ellen King
Eleanor Klibanoff
Claudia Kolker
Jason LaFond
Dan Lype
Jenna Malsbary
Samantha McCoy
Mary Evelyn McNamara
Kurt Metscher
Emily Morris
Carly Gallagher Murray
Shelby O’Brien
Richard Pena
Steve Puryear
Velva Price
Laurie Ratliff
Eric Robertson
Pooja Salhotra
Karly Schlinkert
Rachel Seshan
Jasleen Shokar
Betty Smith
Leslie Spatola
Zoe Taylor
Hollie Toups
Justice Gisela Triana
Nora Picasso Uvalle
Abigail Ventress
Daniela Peinado Walsh
Roslyn Wener
Zachary Wiewel
Alexis Williams
Thank you, all, we couldn’t put out this publication without you!
If you would like to write for Austin Lawyer, please fill out the author interest form at austinlawyeronline.com/writers.