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TYLA and State Bar Election Results
By: Robert Booth, Attorney, Mills Shirley L.L.P.

After a month of voting, the State Bar of Texas announced that C.E. Rhodes of Houston defeated David Courreges of Austin in the race for TYLA President-Elect. Rhodes will serve as the TYLA President in 2012-2013.

The 2011-2012 TYLA Executive Committee Roster is:

President: Natalie Cobb Koehler, Meridian
Chair: Alfonso Cabanas, San Antonio
Vice President: Kristy Sims Piazza, Plano
Secretary: Sarah Rogers, Dallas
Treasurer: Natasha L. Brooks, Midland
President-Elect: C.E. Rhodes, Houston
Chair-Elect: Alyssa J. Long, San Antonio
Immediate Past President: Jennifer Evans Morris, Dallas

The newly elected TYLA directors are:

Shivali Sharma, District 1
Wendy A. Humphrey, District 3
Rebekah Steely Brooker, District 5, Place 1
Lance Currie, District 5, Place 3
Erin O’Driscoll, District 6, Place 3
Celina Lopez, District 6, Place 5
Baylor Wortham, District 7
Dustin M. Howell, District 8, Place 1
Angela Cruseturner, District 9
Becky Mata, District 10, Place 1
Cameron J. Cox, District 11
Brandy Wingate, District 13
C. Barrett Thomas, District 15
Amanda Navarette, District 17
Priscilla D. Camacho, District 18, Place 1
Victor Villarreal, District 19
Robert E. Booth, District 21

C.E. Rhodes reacted to the results with this statement:

It was indeed an honor to have met so many great young lawyers on the campaign trail. I want to thank all of my friends and colleagues who supported me during the campaign. I am very fortunate to have so many great friends who believe in me.

I am excited to have the opportunity to lead this great organization in the very near future and continue the great work of the TYLA. I hope to further strengthen bonds and build bridges with all young lawyers across the state, irrespective of their practice area, by creating projects that will help them in their daily practice.

Rhodes is a U.S. Operations and Compliance Counsel to Baker Hughes, Inc. in Houston, where he advises management and employees. He currently serves as the American Bar Association Young Lawyers Division Representative for south and central Texas and as a liaison to the TYLA Board. A TYLA director since 2004, Rhodes served as TYLA chair during 2009-10 and as an executive committee advisor to the Community Education/Consumer Affairs Committee which created R U Safe: Protecting Yourself in Cyber Space. As co-chair of the TYLA Member Services and Outreach Committee, he co-authored Office In A Flash and co-authored and produced Justice 101: The Client's Guide to Litigation. He also co-authored and produced TYLA's Emmy-award winning video, They Had a Dream Too: Young Leaders of the Civil Rights Movement. In 2007, Rhodes was the recipient of the Joseph M. Pritchard Outstanding TYLA Director of the Year Award. He received his J.D. from Emory University School of Law. Rhodes received his B.A. in History from the University of Virginia where he played football.

Additionally, F.R. "Buck" Files, Jr. of Tyler was elected by the state's lawyers to serve as president-elect of the State Bar of Texas. Buck Files is a shareholder and founding member of Bain, Files, Jarrett, Bain & Harrison, PC in Tyler, where he practices criminal defense law. He is board certified in criminal law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization (TBLS), and in criminal trial advocacy by the National Board of Trial Advocacy.

Files, who chairs the State Bar of Texas Continuing Legal Education Committee and is a frequent presenter, has served on the State Bar of Texas Board of Directors, Smith County Bar Association Board of Directors, and is a charter member and former director of the Texas Criminal Defense Lawyers Association. He is a member of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, College of the State Bar of Texas, and a sustaining life fellow of the Texas Bar Foundation. He serves on the TBLS Board and chaired the TBLS Criminal Law Advisory Commission, served on the State Bar District 2 Grievance Committee, and is a past president of the East Texas Symphony Orchestra Association. Files has been awarded a State Bar Presidential Citation and Outstanding Third Year Director Award, Defense Lawyer of the Year by the State Bar Criminal Justice Section, and Justinian Award by the Smith County Bar Association.

He earned a B.A. from Austin College, where he currently serves on the Board of Trustees, a Masters in Liberal Arts from Southern Methodist University, a J.D. from Southern Methodist University School of Law, and served in the U.S. Marine Corps.