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Texas Young Lawyers Association election

In the Texas Young Lawyers Association election, Sally Pretorius of Dallas was elected president-elect and will serve as TYLA president from June 2018 to June 2019. Pretorius received 55.28 percent of the 5,009 votes cast; her opponent, Jenny Lee Smith of Austin, received 43.64 percent. Write-in candidates composed 1.08 percent of the votes cast.

Sally Pretorius is board certified in family law and is an associate at KoonsFuller in Dallas. She is the current vice president of the TYLA Board of Directors.

Pretorius previously served on the TYLA board’s Executive Committee as secretary in 2015-2016. She earned the Director of the Year Award in 2014 and the First Year Director of the Year Award in 2013. She has led or participated in numerous TYLA service projects, including the Divorce Guide (for teenagers and children); Strength in Unity; Pregnancy and the Workplace; Educating Educators; A Lawyer’s Guide to Social Media; the Family Law Toolkit; and A Welcoming Home: Be a Foster Family. Pretorius also chaired the National Trial Competition and served on the Health and Fitness Initiative Committee. 

She is a member of the Dallas Association of Young Lawyers, the Junior League of Dallas, and the Dallas Museum of Art Junior Associates. She was listed in Super Lawyers in 2014-2016.

Outside of the courtroom, Pretorius enjoys running, spinning, and spending time with her husband, Adam; miniature Dachshund; and rescue German Short Hair Pointer. She graduated from Southern Methodist University in 2009.

The following individuals were elected to the TYLA Board of Directors: 

Ricky Shelton, Hughes Springs, District 1; Matthew L. Harris, Lubbock, District 3; Lindsay Forbes Billups, Dallas, District 5, Place 1; Andy Jones, Dallas, District 5, Place 3; Joel T. Towner, Houston, District 6, Place 3; Arthur L. Bryan, II, Houston, District 6, Place 5; Rachel L. Grove, Beaumont, District 7; Susan F. Smith, Fort Worth, District 10, Place 1; Erin R. Clegg, Lewisville, District 11; Lauren Renee Sepulveda, Pharr, District 13; Sara Anne Giddings, San Angelo, District 15; Rebecca Patterson Linehan, Midland, District 17; J. Barrett Shipp, San Antonio, District 18, Place 1; Jonathan Garcia, Laredo, District 19; Jonathan Zendeh Del, Galveston, District 21

Runoffs were held for two TYLA Board of Directors seats. In District 8, Place 1, Meagan T. Harding of Austin was elected.  And in District 9, Matthew L. Czimskey of Waco was elected.  Each will join those elected above for a two-year term on the TYLA Board of Directors.


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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