TYLA Wins Top Honor at the ABA YLD Annual Meeting
By:  Natalie Cobb Koehler

On August 7, the American Bar Association Young Lawyers Division presented annual Awards of Achievement at the Annual Meeting in San Francisco. The awards highlight state and local young lawyer organizations and their best projects from the past year of bar and community service.

This year, the ABA YLD awarded TYLA its highest honor for service to the public, recognizing TYLA's “RU Safe: Protecting Yourself in Cyberspace” the award for Most Outstanding Public Service Project.

Texarkana Young Lawyers Association Hosts Judicial Dinner
By:  Cyndia Hammond

The Texarkana Young Lawyers Association held its annual Judicial Dinner on August 31, 2010. Local lawyers and judges look forward to the event each year. The 2010 Judicial Dinner was the first to be held in the fall instead of the spring so that the annual Attorney of the Year Award could be presented at the Judicial Dinner. Over ten local judges attended the dinner held in their honor as Texarkana YLA expressed their appreciation to the judges for their service. Special recognition was given to Judge John Miller, judge for the 102nd Judicial District in Bowie and Red River Counties, Texas, who will be retiring at the end of the year.

Texas Lawyers Partnering for Pro Bono

Next month, as we recognize Pro Bono (National Pro Bono Week is Oct. 24-30) across the state, TYLA is introducing Partnering for Pro Bono—a web-based sustainable program that partners in-house counsel with law firm lawyers in an effort to increase the provision of pro bono legal services in Texas. Through a series of questions, our program matches a law firm lawyer with an in-house lawyer and then presents available pro bono cases through TexasLawyersHelp.org. Available cases will include family law, probate, consumer, landlord-tenant, immigration, labor and employment, veterans, public benefits, and civil rights. Partnering for Pro Bono will also coordinate with clinics around the state, starting with the State Bar’s Texas Lawyers for Texas Veteran’s clinics. And, because the cases will be provided through recognized legal services providers, malpractice coverage is provided by the State Bar.

Five Basic Facts Every Young Lawyer Should Know About Estate Planning
By Rebekah Brooker

My husband—who is also an attorney—gets that deer-in-the-headlights look anytime a non-lawyer asks him about wills, trusts, or other estate planning matters. As a business trial lawyer, estate planning is admittedly not his specialty. However, as most young lawyers have experienced, it is not uncommon for friends, family members, or pro bono clients to ask newly-minted lawyers to prepare wills or answer other estate planning questions. This article provides a very basic overview that will enable you to answer five frequent questions young lawyers hear from friends at dinner parties, family at Thanksgiving, and potential clients at pro bono clinics.

Texas Supreme Court Issues Multiple Insurance Opinions That Literally Interpret Policy Language And That Decline Equitable Theories That Alter Express Rights or Duties
By:  David F. Johnson

Insurance is a very important part of the business and personal lives of the citizens of Texas. Understanding this importance, the Texas Supreme Court actively selects insurance cases to decide. The Court has recently delivered five opinions that deal with insurance issues, and those opinions follow two recent trends. First, the Court will interpret an insurance policy strictly pursuant to its terms, will not read into it any additional language, and will take the policy at its literal language. Second, the Court disfavors any extra-contractual or equitable claims or defenses that would alter the express rights and duties of an insurer under a policy.

Private Attorneys Play a Vital Role in Helping Poor Texans
By:  Brian McGivern

Over 5.3 million Texans live in poverty; that is greater than the number of people living in the cities of Houston, Dallas, and San Antonio combined. Among the numerous hurdles they face is inadequate access to the most basic legal services. Much is being done by the state and federal governments to rectify this, but the public resources available to address the problem are already stretched to capacity. Any future improvement in access to legal services in Texas will rely on the pro bono efforts of its attorneys.

ABA YLD Ends Year in San Francisco
By:  Chip Brooker

In August, the ABA Young Lawyers Division celebrated the end of its 2009-10 bar year at the ABA’s Annual Meeting in San Francisco, California. It was bitter sweet for Texas lawyers because the meeting marked the end of Kelly-Ann Clarke’s term as the Division’s Chair. Ms. Clarke—a Galveston young lawyer and former member of TYLA’s Board of Directors—put an exclamation point on an exciting year for the Division, centered around her theme of “Making Lasting Connections, Both Personally and Professionally.”

September 17-18
TYLA Board of Directors meeting - T Bar M, New Braunfels

October 4
TYLA grant checks mailed to TYLA Local Affiliate grant recipients

October 14-17
ABA/YLD Fall Conference - Santa Fe, NM

October 15
TYLA deadline to receive TYLA Minority Scholarship applications

October 25
TYLA deadline to receive second committee report