Editor's Column

The “Lone” Aspen
By:  Alex Roberts

While hiking in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains in New Mexico one crisp morning this fall, my friend and I followed a trail through dense fir trees that lead to a grove of towering aspens. The aspens were just beginning to turn from bright green to yellow. It was beautiful. We admired them for a few minutes before continuing on. Some distance further, in the thick of the firs, stood a single aspen, seemingly alone among the firs. I was reminded, however, that each aspen tree in a grove shares the same root system. New trees can emerge 100 feet or further from the parent tree, which was what we saw in that “lone” aspen.

Reading this month’s contributions to this newsletter, I am reminded that we all share a common root that we call “the practice of law.” Regardless of whether you are an assistant district attorney in El Paso, a corporate lawyer in Dallas, or a family practitioner in Corpus Christi, our worlds are connected by our profession: We are all Texas lawyers. The power of this connection is beautifully illustrated in DeDe Davenport’s article about how Houston lawyers came together to help a third-year law student fight leukemia this summer. 

I’d like to encourage you to get involved. Sign up for your local young lawyer organization. Volunteer to do pro bono work for veterans in your area. Get involved in TYLA. Many of you may not even realize you are members. TYLA is open to all lawyers who are 36 or younger or in their first five years of practice. And membership is free through your dues to the “big bar.” To learn more about how TYLA can help you and how you can help other Texas young lawyers, contact your president, Rebekah Steely Brooker or either of your member services chairs, Amber James or me.  We look forward to hearing from you.

Alex Roberts is an associate at the litigation boutique of Beck Redden LLP in Houston and serves as a director on the board of the Texas Young Lawyers Association.