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		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

		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.

Do You Bank on Justice?
By: Clint Harbour

One of the easiest ways you can contribute to funding for legal aid is simply by banking at a Texas IOLTA Prime Partner Bank. The Interest on Lawyers’ Trust Accounts (IOLTA) Program was established in 1984 to provide funds for legal aid. However, since the interest rate decline began in 2008, IOLTA funding has plummeted, causing disadvantaged Texans to face serious, complicated and sometimes life-threatening civil legal issues on their own.

In 2007, IOLTA revenue was $20 million. In 2012, it is projected to total only $4.4 million—a decline of more than 75 percent.

Fortunately, more than 70 Texas banks have helped address the problem by becoming Prime Partner banks. Prime Partner banks voluntarily pay higher interest rates on IOLTA accounts, helping close the gap in funding. These banks have increased IOLTA revenue throughout Texas by millions of dollars.

Funds from the Prime Partner program help the Texas Access to Justice Foundation provide assistance to Texas families seeking justice for an abused child, obtaining health benefits for an elderly person, or getting back home when faced with a foreclosure or eviction.

The Prime Partner program needs help from the legal community to keep up the momentum. You can:

Bank with a Prime Partner bank to strengthen the program and encourage additional banks to join the cause.

Thank your local Prime Partner bank for their assistance in helping low-income Texans and join the new “I / We Bank on Justice” campaign to highlight your support.

Contact eligible banks and ask them to join the Prime Partner program. Visit www.teajf.org to see a list of eligible banks and to learn how to recruit new Prime Partners or contact Betty Balli Torres for more information.

With the support of the lawyers throughout the state, we can continue to close the gap in funding for legal aid. Banking with a Prime Partner is banking on justice.