Exercise Your Right to Rock the State Bar Election Vote!
By: Shivali Sharma

If you justified squandering five minutes of your morning by promising yourself to be productive later, take this challenge to seize the day! Make a big impact in the 2011-2012 State Bar of Texas Election with a few clicks of your mouse. To get started, all you have to do is click here, enter your bar number, the last four digits of your social security number, your birth date, and vote now! Roughly 20,000 of the 80,000 attorneys eligible to vote cast a ballot. With your help, this fairly new online voting system will banish low voter turnout.

Cameron County Young Lawyers Association Lawyers Lending Hands Project
By:  Noemi Garcia

For a second year in a row, the Cameron County Young Lawyers Association participated in their Lawyers Lending Hands community service project. The goal of the project is to educate victims of domestic violence about their legal rights. Several volunteer lawyers visited the Cameron County Friendship of Women Shelter and Family Crisis Centers to educate the residents on what victims of domestic violence can expect when using the courts to obtain a protective order, temporary restraining order and a divorce.

Tools for Winning New Clients
By: Robert E. Booth, Attorney, Mills Shirley LLP

Even before Charlie Sheen was winning, the Texas Young Lawyers Association provided a torpedo of truth for young lawyers to develop new clients and build business.

In February, the Texas Young Lawyers Association launched a new project as part of its member services. Tools for Winning New Clients is a new resource for young lawyers to make contacts and build client relationships.

Money Tips for Young Lawyers
By:  Kimberly Palmer

It would be easy to assume that young lawyers have little to worry about when it comes to money. Recent law school graduates can command high salaries and they’ve studied contracts, estate planning, and other financial technicalities. Why, then, do young lawyers so often struggle when it comes to managing their own money?

Advance Directives Provide Valuable Insight Regarding Patient Wishes
By:  Kimberly Wilson

The January 8, 2011 shootings near Tucson, Arizona reminded many that the end of life can come sooner than expected when 19 people were shot in a grocery store parking lot and six were killed. The events that Saturday morning were likely followed by the struggles of family and friends of the deceased to determine what was wanted in terms of funeral arrangements and other important decisions. Though each individual’s situation is unique, promoting end of life planning through dialogue and legal documentation can assist all involved in making certain that the individual’s wishes are carried out in the final stages of life and beyond.

TYLA, SBOT, and Fourteen Local Bar Associations Speak Up for Legal Aid Funding
By:  Benet Magnuson

In a very broad and deep show of support for low-income Texans and the lawyers who support them, TYLA, the State Bar, and fourteen local bar associations passed resolutions this spring calling on the Texas legislature to fund basic civil legal services in Texas.

April 18
TYLA deadline to receive entries for the TYLA State Award of Achievement Competition.

April 21
TYLA Local Affiliate Grant Reports Due

April 25
TYLA deadline to receive fourth committee report