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Hidalgo County Young Lawyers Association – Lunch with the Bench
By: Carina Garza

This spring the Hidalgo County Young Lawyers Association will launch its Lunch with the Bench initiative. Each month, we will host a local judge for lunch and invite our membership to attend with preference given to newly licensed attorneys. Our hope is that these lunches will lessen the level of stress and anxiety that many newly licensed attorneys face when going before a judge for the first time. The lunches will give our attorneys the opportunity to personally interact with our local judges in a less formal setting, enabling them to be more comfortable and confident in the courtroom.

Each lunch will be open to approximately 10 members. This number is large enough so that members do not feel like they have to single-handedly maintain the judge’s attention, but is small enough so that each member has the opportunity to interact with the judge in attendance. As with all of our events, these lunches will also provide our members the opportunity to network with other young lawyers and foster relationships that will benefit them throughout their careers.

Some of the topics we hope to discuss at each lunch include professionalism in the courtroom, public service, the importance of being active in the local and state bar, pro bono, the advantages of networking, and work-life balance.