On June 4, 2024, DeLaine Ward celebrated her 40th anniversary as executive director of the Austin Bar Association. In 1984, when Ward saw the advertisement for the position, she was a recent journalism graduate from The University ofTexas. She intended to become a journalist and took a job with the State Bar of Texas in order to add some bona

Nadia Bettac (R) won the Austin Bar President’s Award of Merit for her efforts in planning the 2024 Austin Bar Foundation Gala. Leslie Boykin (R) won the Austin Bar’s Outstanding Director Award. Alex Conant (R) won the AYLA Volunteer of the Year Award. Ben Evans (R) won the AYLA President’s Award of Merit. Jillian French (R) won the AYLA Outstanding

? Thank You for Making the 4th Annual Equity Summit a Success! ? A huge thank you to everyone who joined us at the Austin Community College Rio Grande Campus for this year’s Equity Summit, led by Ketan Kharod and Matt Garcia. We explored critical issues like intergenerational trauma and racism with insightful discussions featuring Rev. Joseph C. Parker, Jr. and Diana Anzaldua. Panels addressed challenges for first-generation attorneys and rent legislation’s impact on diversity. Special thanks to Manuel Escobar for receiving the Rev. Joseph C. Parker, Jr., Diversity Award and to our sponsor, Judge Maya Guerra Gamble. Your support is vital in advancing inclusivity! ? #EquitySummit #Diversity #Inclusion

At a January 2024 meeting of the Texas Access to Justice Commission, the commission voted against a recommendation to create a pilot program that would have allowed non-attorney ownership of entities licensed to provide limited legal services to low-income Texans. The topic of nonlawyer ownership in legal entities has been a topic of growing interest in recent years. Currently, Texas

Gov. Greg Abbott has started appointing individuals to the newly created Fifteenth Court of Appeals and the Austin business court division (see Briefs). Fifteenth Court of Appeals Effective Sept. 1, 2024, all cases pending in the First through Fourteenth Courts of Appeals filed on or after Sept. 1, 2023, and which fall under the jurisdiction of the Fifteenth Court of

Recent studies have underscored the pressing mental health concerns facing military veterans, revealing a strong correlation between psychological struggles and the need for legal assistance. Veterans are disproportionately affected by mental health issues such as PTSD, depression, and anxiety, often stemming from their service experiences. The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) reports that about 20 percent of veterans who

Thank you to the nearly 200 people who came out for the 2024 Bench Bar Conference! This year’s conference took place at Kalahari Resorts in Round Rock, and featured plenty of members of the bench.  Bench Bar Committee Co-Chair Scott Brutocao kicked off the morning by introducing Corinne Smith, a life coach and Austin attorney. Smith led the crowd in

Congratulations to Sandy Bayne of BayneLaw. Bayne has been elected as a new board member for 2024-25 for HeartGift, a nonprofit assisting children in obtaining life-saving heart surgery. Bayne’s practice involves healthcare law, civil litigation, health insurance, and gestational carrier agreements. Congratulations to Natalie Domanic, who has moved to Bollier Ciccone as an associate in the firm’s family law practice.

The Austin Bar Association is proud to announce that Austin Lawyer has been named the Best Overall Newsletter for Division III by the State Bar of Texas! Additionally, the “Decriminalizing Mental Health in Travis County” series was named Best Series of Articles – General Interest for Division III. This seven-part series was published between July 2023 and February 2024 and

(L-R): Austin Bar President Justice Chari Kelly, Regina Rogoff Award winnerRaymond Winter, Larry F. York Mentoring Award winner Judge Jan Soifer,Professionalism Award winner V. Blayre Pena, and Joseph C. Parker, Jr. Diversity Award winner Manuel Escobar. (L-R): AYLA President Sarah Harp, Mentor Award winner Sam Denton, Outstanding Young Lawyer Award winner Nora Picasso Uvalle, and Austin Bar President Justice Chari