TYLA Officers

   

Rebekah Steely Brooker, President

   

Dustin M. Howell, Chair

   

Sam Houston, Vice President

   

Baili B. Rhodes, Secretary

   

John W. Shaw, Treasurer

   

C. Barrett Thomas, President-elect

   

Priscilla D. Camacho, Chair-elect

   

Kristy Blanchard, Immediate Past President

TYLA Directors

   

Amanda A. Abraham, District 1

   

Sharesa Y. Alexander, Minority At-Large Director

   

Raymond J. Baeza, District 14

    Aaron J. Burke, District 5, Place 1
   

Aaron T. Capps, District 5, Place 2

   

D. Lance Currie, District 5, Place 3

   

Laura W. Docker, District 10, Place 1

    Andrew Dornburg, District 21
    John W. Ellis, District 8, Place 2
    Zeke Fortenberry, District 4
   

Bill Gardner, District 5, Place 4

   

Morgan L. Gaskin, District 6, Place 5

    Nick Guinn, District 18, Place 1
   

Adam C. Harden, District 6, Place 6

   

Amber L. James, District 17

   

Curtis W. Lucas, District 9

    Rudolph K. Metayer, District 8, Palce 1
   

Laura Pratt, District 3

    Sally Pretorius, District 8, Place 2
   

Baili B. Rhodes, District 2

   

Alex B. Roberts, District 6, Place 3

    Eduardo Romero, District 19
    Michelle P. Scheffler, District 6, Place 2
   

John W. Shaw, District 10, Place 2

    Nicole Soussan, District 6, Place 4
    L. Brook Stuntebeck, District 11
   

C. Barrett Thomas, District 15

    Judge Amanda N. Torres, Minority At-Large Director
   

Shannon Steel White, District 12

    Brandy Wingate Voss, District 13
    Veronica S. Wolfe, District 18, Place 2
   

Baylor Wortham, District 7

    Alex Yarbrough, District 16

   

Justice Paul W. Green, Supreme Court Liaison

   

Jenny Smith, Access To Justice Liaison

   

Brandon Crisp, ABA YLD District 25 Representative

   

Travis Patterson, ABA/YLD District 26 Representative

   

Assistant Dean Jill Nikirk, Law School Liaison

   

Belashia Wallace, Law Student Liaison

 

 
TYLA Office

Tracy Brown, Director of Administration
Bree Trevino, Project Coordinator

Michelle Palacios, Office Manager
General Questions: tyla@texasbar.com

Mailing Address

P.O. Box 12487, Capitol Station
Austin, Texas 78711-2487
(800) 204-2222 ext. 1529
FAX: (512) 427-4117

Street Address

1414 Colorado, 4th Floor
Austin, Texas 78701
(512) 427-1529

 

Views and opinions expressed in eNews are those of their authors and not necessarily those of the Texas Young Lawyers Association or the State Bar of Texas.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Access To Justice Commission Update

One at a Time: How HVLP Volunteer Attorney Robbie Charette Helps Families Provide for their Loved Ones
By:  Catherine Nahay

Ms. Robbie Gail Charette has been a pro bono volunteer with the Houston Volunteer Lawyers Program since she became licensed in 2001.

When asked to share her most memorable cases with the Commission, Ms. Charette shared,

“My favorite cases with Houston Volunteer Lawyers Program (HVLP) have been probate cases for little old ladies, helping them with the titles to their homesteads after they have lost their spouses. I also enjoy serving parents whose incapacitated children are turning 18 and whose families need a guardianship in order to continue providing for their loved ones.

One of the most unusual cases I have handled was for a couple who came to HVLP seeking help because they took in a virtually homeless child. Though the single mother of the child had housing in the neighborhood, the 10-year-old girl was frequently left alone to fend for herself. She was on the streets every afternoon looking for dinner each night from different houses in the neighborhood. Different neighbors took her in every day. Over time, the neighbors banded together to protect the young girl from her mother’s negligence. After a two-day hearing, the court appointed my clients sole managing conservator. I was able to locate the biological father of the child and learned that the mother and father were never married. Though the father consistently paid child support for 10 years, he had not seen the child her whole life. During the pendency of the case, the child was able to develop a relationship with her father and is now in his custody.

Handling pro bono cases is about giving back to the community, not in a vague way as in giving back to a group. It is about helping people, one person one at a time.”

A 1976 graduate of Texas A&M University, Charette received her LLM from the University of Houston Law Center and Juris Doctor from South Texas College of Law. Before entering private practice, she worked for Brown and Root as a CPA and as a subcontractor for NASA as a systems analyst. As a solo practitioner, she handles family law, guardianship and probate cases. Charette has been happily married to her husband for more than 22 years.