ABA YLD

Call to Action!
By: Jay Forester

At its latest meeting, the ABA board voted to support a resolution titled “Promoting Full and Equal Opportunity and Participation in the Legal Profession and the Justice System through the Adoption of the Parental Leave Rule,” which provides that: 

A motion for continuance based on parental leave of the lead attorney in the case shall be granted if made within a reasonable time after learning the basis for the continuance unless substantial prejudice to the opposing party is shown. Three months shall be the presumptive length of a continuance granted for parental leave absent good cause for a longer time. If the court denies the requested continuance, the court shall state on the record the specific grounds for denial. If the motion for continuance is challenged by an opposing party proffering a basis for a claim of substantial prejudice, the attorney seeking the continuance shall have the burden of demonstrating the lack of substantial prejudice to the opposing party.

This language and resolution is the result of more than a year’s work by various ABA committees and local affiliates, including the TYLA and San Antonio-based young lawyer Chelsea Mikulencak. This is just an example of the impact that young lawyer communities, local bars, and you can have. Therefore, we’re issuing a call to action!

Remember, all licensed Texas lawyers 36 years old or younger or in their first five years of practice, regardless of age, are automatically members of TYLA. Importantly, TYLA and the ABA aim to be accessible, responsive to, and representative of every member, including you! We thank you for your support and service to your community and profession, and we want to hear from you. Over the next year, we’d like to push forward a resolution at the ABA-level that is particularly important to your local bar or you. To submit your resolution ideas, please contact me by June 1, 2018.

Texas ABA YLD Leadership:

Victor Flores, District 25 (South/Central Texas)
Jay Forester, District 26 (North/West Texas)

Jay Forester is a wage and class action lawyer based in Dallas. He is the TYLA/ABA YLD District 26 representative, representing North and West Texas. He can be reached by email.