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State Moot Court Competition and Annual Meeting Conclude Banner Year for TYLA
By: Alex Bell

Annual Meeting

The Texas Young Lawyers Association hosted its annual meeting on June 23 at the Hilton Anatole in Dallas. President Sam Houston handed the reigns over to incoming President Baili B. Rhodes. Board Chair Zeke Fortenberry handed the gavel over to incoming chair John W. Shaw. Houston and Fortenberry thanked a number of people for a very productive bar year and highlighted the successful projects that so many young lawyers across the state worked on. Houston also honored a number of young lawyers for their exceptional service:

Outstanding Director Award:

Sara Anne Giddings

President's Award:

Victor A. Flores
Courtney Barksdale Perez

Outstanding First Year Director Award:

Timothy Newman

Liberty Bell Award:

Gregorio “Greg” Casar

Outstanding Young Lawyer of Texas:

Julie Pettit

Outstanding Mentor Award:

Justice Harvey Brown

Keith L. Krueger Award:

Matthew L. Harris
Britney Harrison Dieng

President's Award of Merit:

Joel T. Towner
Jenny Smith
Ryan E. Scharar
Donald Delgado
Hon. Andrew Dornburg
Louis W. Williams
Tim Williams
Christopher S. Bloom
C. Brantley Jones
Zachary Hall
Shannon Steel White

State Moot Court

From June 20-22, the Texas Young Lawyers Association hosted its annual State Moot Court Competition. Teams from seven Texas law schools competed in a round-robin series of preliminary rounds. The top four teams advanced to semi-finals, and the top two teams argued before the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals.

Texas Tech and Baylor argued in the final round, with Texas Tech winning in a close decision.  Also making the semi-final round were South Texas College of Law Houston and University of Houston Law Center.

With the help of its volunteer committee of young lawyers and TYLA board members and the assistance of more than 145 volunteer attorneys who served as judges, the competition was a huge success.

New Directors Orientation

On June 24, TYLA hosted its new directors for their official orientation. Directors learned about the rules and functions of TYLA and were assigned to committees and projects for the 2017-2018 bar year. They also engaged in team-building activities to learn more about the other incoming directors and the TYLA leadership.

Alex J. Bell is a senior associate at Fletcher Farley Shipman & Salinas, LLP. His practice focuses on the defense of commercial and personal injury matters. He also assists clients in handling and responding to investigations by various government agencies for civil, criminal, and regulatory issues.


Views and opinions expressed in eNews are those of their authors and not necessarily those of the Texas Young Lawyers Association or the State Bar of Texas.

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