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.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Texas Access To Justice Commission Update

Texas Access To Justice Commission Update

The Care Campaign: Supporting Lawyers in Pro Bono Service

The State Bar of Texas is committed to fostering a culture of pro bono service in our state. As part of this commitment, the State Bar is launching the Care Campaign to empower lawyers who want to serve the millions of low-income Texans who need legal help.

Almost 6 million Texans qualify for civil legal aid, but currently only 20% of those who qualify can be served. The Care Campaign will focus on removing barriers to pro bono service and supporting lawyers in meeting the growing demand for civil legal aid.

After speaking with legal-aid providers and pro bono lawyers about their needs, the State Bar is focusing on these initiatives for the coming year:

• Practical training programs that offer CLE credit. The State Bar is developing nuts-and-bolts training programs that provide attorneys with practical skills for the cases legal aid providers see most frequently. These CLEs will be offered at no charge in exchange for a commitment to do pro bono.

• Mentorship program that shares experience and advice. The State Bar is creating a database of experienced lawyers who are willing to serve as mentors to lawyers taking on pro bono cases. The mentor matching system will connect pro bono lawyers in need of guidance on a pro bono case with mentors who can provide advice, share practical expertise, or potentially serve as second chair on a case.

• Language assistance to reach underserved populations. The State Bar is establishing a bank of volunteer interpreters and negotiating lower prices for paid interpreter services so that pro bono and legal aid lawyers can communicate with clients who have limited English language abilities.

• Malpractice insurance for pro bono and reduced-fee cases. The State Bar provides malpractice insurance to legal-aid and pro bono programs through its Malpractice Insurance Network Exchange. Lawyers who volunteer through these programs are covered under this malpractice insurance. Additionally, cases handled through a reduced-fee panel at a local lawyer-referral service can be covered by this same insurance. Increasing the number of lawyers who can take reduced-fee cases widens the safety net for those who can’t be served by legal aid.

• Care Kit. The State Bar has also developed a Care Kit to help local bar leaders and legal aid programs implement a legal clinic in their community. The Care Kit has everything you need to start a basic civil-legal-services clinic regardless of the number of volunteers, expertise or access to resources.

• Legal Aid Fellowship program to furnish lawyers to legal aid programs. The State Bar has created a Legal Aid Fellowship program that funds a lawyer to work on family-law matters at each of the three LSC-funded legal-aid programs (Legal Aid of Northwest Texas, Lone Star Legal Aid, and Texas RioGrande Legal Aid) for three years. The fellowships are targeted to address the highest area of need for low-income people in our state and has the added benefit of employing Texas lawyers.

The Care Campaign launches this month with these and other initiatives and will be implemented throughout the year.

Want to get involved? Visit TexasLawyersHelp to get connected to legal aid and pro bono organizations in your community.