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Feature TYLA Affiliate

Justice Harriet O’Neill to Speak about Human Trafficking at the Galveston County Young Lawyers’ Law Day Luncheon.
By: Lindsay Glover, Mills Shirley L.L.P.

The Galveston County Young Lawyers Association is pleased to announce that Justice Harriet O'Neill, former justice of the Supreme Court of Texas, will be the keynote speaker for the Galveston County Law Day celebration on Thursday, April 25th at the Galveston Island Convention Center.

The ABA’s Law Day theme for 2013 is “Realizing the Dream: Equality for All,” in honor of the 150th anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation. While the country has made great strides against injustices based on race and gender over the past 150 years, a new kind of slavery in the form of human trafficking has emerged over recent decades and currently affects 20 to 27 million people around the world. According to a 2009 Bill Analysis Report by the House Committee on Human Services, 20% of all human trafficking in the United States takes place in Texas, with Houston being the world’s largest center for human trafficking. The Law Day theme provides an opportunity to explore the movement for human rights in Texas and America and consider the impact that it has had in promoting the ideal of equality under the law.

Justice O’Neill wrote the 6-3 majority opinion of In re: B.W., 313 S.W.3d 818 (Tex. 2010), which considered whether the Penal Code, when read in conjunction with the related Family Code provisions, intended to permit the prosecution of a thirteen-year-old runaway for prostitution when that child was a victim of adult sexual exploitation. This year’s Law Day theme will provide a forum for reflecting on the challenges our leaders face to educate the general public about human trafficking and the changes that must be addressed in order to rectify injustice, eliminate all forms of slavery, and put an end to human trafficking and other violations of our basic human rights.

During the Law Day Luncheon, the Galveston County Young Lawyers will award four college scholarships to Galveston County high school seniors that exhibit an interest in pursuing a secondary degree toward a career in the legal profession. If you know any seniors in Galveston County, please encourage them to apply for a scholarship from the Galveston County Young Lawyers Association and the Galveston County Bar Foundation. We will select the winners of these scholarships based on their responses to the essay prompt, which asks them to consider why human trafficking is so difficult to prevent and which levels of government should be responsible for creating laws to prevent human trafficking. We will also award the Bill Todd Memorial Scholarship of $500.00 to the applicant that demonstrates a devotion to his or her community through extracurricular activities.

All scholarships will be awarded based on responses to the GCYLA scholarship application. If you have any questions please feel free to contact me. The deadline to receive applications is 5:00 pm on Friday, April 12, 2013.

Lindsay Glover is the President of the Galveston County Young Lawyers Association and is an attorney for Mills Shirley L.L.P. on Galveston Island, Texas. Lindsay focuses her practice on business transactions and estate planning and litigation in the greater Houston area.