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ABA YLD Update

This year’s American Bar Association Young Lawyers Division annual meeting in San Francisco started with our second kickoff of ABA CareerAdvice LIVE! This event offered young lawyers a chance to discuss career strategy with top legal career consultants, in person at no cost. Young lawyers could also call in to take advantage of the free advice. Ten experienced consultants were on hand to cover a variety of topics, including: Branding Yourself and Marketing Your Practice; Dealing with Difficult People; Getting Effective Feedback from Your Supervisor; and, Understanding and Leveraging Your Strengths in the Workplace. YLD also hosted a Section Connect Fair and Reception for young lawyers where YLD members networked with members of ABA Sections, Divisions, and Forums. During the meeting, YLD members were also offered several CLE opportunities including programs on “e-Discovery: Reducing the Costs & Risks Through Technology-Assisted Review” and “Building a Book of Business: Ethical Boundaries and Sound Approaches to Business Development and Marketing.”

One of the main reasons to get involved in the YLD is to have an impact on policy that affects current and future lawyers. Specifically, the ABA House of Delegates adopts policies on legislation and national issues on behalf of the ABA. At this year’s meeting in San Francisco, the ABA House of Delegates considered resolutions on protection of voting rights, adequate funding of courts, client principles for consultations with in-house counsel, and law-school disclosures. As a division of the ABA, the YLD debates resolutions at its annual meeting which, if passed, are considered by the ABA House of Delegates.

During the annual meeting, ABA also presented its annual Awards of Achievement. This program is an opportunity for state and local young-lawyer organizations to submit their best projects for evaluation and recognition by a jury of their peers. It is designed to encourage project development by recognizing the time, effort, and skills expended by young-lawyer organizations in implementing public-service and bar-service projects in their communities. Additional recognition is given to minority attorney involvement projects and Affiliate newsletter programs. This year, affiliates in Texas won the following Awards of Achievement:

Texas Young Lawyers Association – First Place in Newsletter: eNews

Dallas Association of Young Lawyers – First Place in Newsletter

Texas Young Lawyers Association – First Place in Minority Involvement: What Do Lawyers Do?

Texas Young Lawyers Association – First Place in Service to the Public: Slavery Out of the Shadows:  Spotlight on Human Trafficking

Dallas Association of Young Lawyers – First Place in Service to the Public: Generation Generosity

Austin Young Lawyers Association – First Place in Comprehensive

Texas Young Lawyers Association – Second Place in Service to the Bar: From the Inside Out: In-House Counsel’s Advice for Young Lawyers

Austin Young Lawyers Association – Second Place in Service to the Bar

Dallas Association of Young Lawyers – Second Place in Comprehensive

Texas Young Lawyers Association – Special Recognition in Comprehensive

Dallas Association of Young Lawyers – Special Recognition in Service to the Bar

Houston Young Lawyers Association – Special Recognition in Service to the Bar

Houston Young Lawyers Association – Special Recognition in Service to the Public

Austin Young Lawyers Association – Special Recognition in Service to the Public

Houston Young Lawyers Association – Special Recognition in Comprehensive

You can learn more about the ABA YLD on its website. If you are interested in getting more involved in the ABA YLD, please contact your district representatives, Anita Barksdale (District 25, South and East Texas) and Jenny Smith (District 26, North and West Texas).