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Editor's Column

By:  John Shaw, Whitaker Chalk Swindle & Schwartz PLLC

I cannot help but think about law graduates throughout Texas who are preparing to take the July State Bar Exam. It is not as often as it once was that I actually know anyone young enough to be sitting for the exam but my mind seems to wonder back to when I was preparing for some reason. I recall concern over what will actually be on the test (please no essays on oil and gas); concern over what would happen if I didn’t pass (how in the world will I ever be able to repay my loans); and concern about what I would I be doing if I did in fact pass (I have no idea how to be a lawyer; and, how in the world will I ever be able to repay my loans).

Perhaps my mind wonders because of all of the concern and stress related to the taking of the bar exam. Perhaps it also wonders because of the fact that as of August 2nd, all of those test takers will be free of the concerns regarding the taking of the bar exam. It will be a new beginning, a new reality.

July is always a new beginning for the Texas Young Lawyer’s Association. In June, at the State Bar of Texas Annual Meeting, we said goodbye to Immediate Past President C.E. Rhodes and former Chair Alyssa Long and welcomed our new President Kristy Blanchard and Chair Cameron Cox. In the weeks since, the Board of Directors and Executive Committee have been working hard to lay the foundation for continuing the work that we have done in the past and implementing the new projects that we will create under Kristy’s leadership. New Directors from across the State have joined the Board and will be taking roles as representative from their communities, and they are eager to begin.

This month’s eNews is full of information regarding TYLA’s new beginning in the 2013-2014 bar year. Read it. Digest it. Get involved.

Just in case we have any July Bar Exam Takers reading this month’s issue I provide the following. There was an oil and gas essay on my exam, I’m still not sure when I’m going to get my loans repaid, and although I had no idea how to be a lawyer immediately after I was licensed, I entered a profession filled with people who were willing to help me figure it out. I passed and I am still figuring it out, we are all still figuring it out, and that is why it is called, “The Practice of Law.” Good luck to you.