Judge Maya Guerra Gamble is the Austin Bar president for the 2026-27 Bar Year. We conducted the Q&A below to get to know her better and find out what she has planned for her term.
What are some of your big priorities as president of the Austin Bar?
For me, the Austin Bar has been where I go for professional improvement and personal fun, and I’d like to share that with every lawyer in Austin.
Since I am also a judge, I would love to see more attorneys interact with our judges—at events, of course, but I’d also like to see more younger attorneys coming to court and arguing cases.
I would also like to take a look at all the different events we put on every year and make sure they are all still working for our members. Sometimes we have to let something go in order to bring in something new.
What are you most excited for during your term as president?
Well, I already warned my husband that I am going to try to go to “everything!” Not humanly possible, of course, but I am looking forward to visiting with every committee, every section, and every affinity bar.
I hope any member of the Austin Bar with an idea will give me a call or send me an email.
Mentorship remains really important to me, and I have loved the golf tournament the past two years. I’d love to see huge participation in both of those.
What challenges, if any, do you believe we face as an organization and how will you address them?
Membership is always the challenge in a voluntary bar association. But we have so much to offer that I know any lawyer who joins us will be glad they did.
We’ve recently completed a member survey, and we will be taking the results of that survey to a special board meeting where we plan for the next year and even longer term.
What is one (or several) important things you want Austin Bar members to know about you?
I have some personal obsessions that take a lot of my free time: I absolutely love to read and am pretty much always reading two or three books at once. I do not go anywhere without my Kindle!
I’m also a really devoted Scouter and last year founded a Scouting America Troop (formerly Boy Scouts) for girls ages 10-17. Hey, I’d love your daughter to join the troop! And if you have sons instead, they can join my old troop!
I have two kids who are Eagle Scouts, and I go camping 10 or more times a year.
I also really, really love live comedy—laughing is my favorite.
Tell us about your career so far. What drew you to the practice of law? What motivated you to run for judge?
I’ve had a pretty wonderful career. I often talk to young lawyers or law students about how the law is a career that can be substance-independent.
I clerked for Justice Richard Cudahy (7th Circuit), then became an Honors Program attorney at the Department of Justice pursuing Frauds Claims Act cases across the country.
After I decided to move back home to Austin, I was a criminal prosecutor for the Texas attorney general, prosecuting child pornography and child exploitation cases around the state.
Once I had children of my own, I started a solo practice and represented children and families in child protective services cases. I also worked for Judge Jan Soifer and her husband Pat O’Connell for a few years representing whistleblowers.
Eventually I wanted a new challenge, and there was a new bench, so I decided to run for the seat. That was eight years ago, and I couldn’t be happier.
What prompted you to get involved with the Austin Bar?
As a solo practitioner, it was vitally important that I get involved with the Austin Bar and the sections that helped me with my work. I needed and wanted that connection with other lawyers, and I wasn’t going to get it in the office.
I love socializing, and I love learning, so the Austin Bar is the perfect organization for me.
But even if you work in a huge office, it is so valuable to meet lawyers outside of your office. Anything you care about, you can work on at the Austin Bar.
Anything else you want to add?
I hope to make everyone pleased that I am the president of the Austin Bar this year, but I know I’ll only be successful if members join me.
So if there is something you care about or want to do more with, please reach out! There is room for everyone, and we are going to have a lot of fun.
