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More than 500 guests attended the “Secret Garden”-themed Austin Bar Foundation Gala on Jan. 25, 2025, at the Four Seasons in downtown Austin.
Members of the legal community arrived in their black-tie best. Austin Bar President Mary-Ellen King hired flower-covered stilt walkers, who posed with guests to take pictures.
Attendees enjoyed an elegant pre-event cocktail hour while perusing the auction items generously donated by Austin Bar members and Austin businesses.
After dinner, guests learned about the Austin Bar Foundation’s various projects and grant programs.
Afterward, the live auction took place, and guests bid on two travel packages to Park City, Utah; a travel package to Port Aransas; and another to Paris. There was also a large framed Bevo – UT mascot – print donated by photographer Randal Ford.
However, the most fiercely bid-upon package was the opportunity to drive a German Leopard tank, shoot a Barrett .50 sniper rifle, shoot 60 rounds from a PKM machine gun, and fire a flamethrower.
This package was so popular that the donor, Drive Tanks, offered a second package after the gala was over.
Following the live auction, Marty Murad with Murad Auctions led a lively Fund-a-Need session raising money to support attorney suicide prevention, as well as support local attorneys and their families when facing mental health or substance abuse challenges.
Next came the highlight of the evening: the presentation of awards.
David Armbrust of Armbrust & Brown, Denise Davis of Davis Kaufman, and Thomas R. Phillips of Baker Botts and retired chief justice of the Texas Supreme Court were this year’s Distinguished Lawyer honorees. Austin Kaplan of Kaplan Law was this year’s David H. Walter Community Excellence Award honoree.
All four honorees’ careers and accomplishments were recapped in video presentations filmed and edited by Austin production company You & I Create Co. (youandicreate.co).
Frank Brown, co-founder of Armbrust & Brown, Martha Dickie of Almanza, Blackburn, Dickie & Mitchell, spoke about David. Thomas R. Phillips, Beryl Crowley, and Lisa Kaufman, co-founder of Davis Kaufman, spoke about Denise. Denise and Gavin Villareal of Baker Botts spoke about Thomas. Rev. Erin Walter, daughter of David H. Walter, and Sarah Harp spoke about Austin.
Each video was followed by thunderous applause from the audience. This year’s honorees have truly captured the admiration of Austin’s legal community.
With your help, the Gala raised more than $200,000 for the Austin Bar Foundation, which will use the money to support the foundation’s many law-related programs and projects, such as: Austin Adoption Day; the CANLAW Clinic; the Veterans Legal Assistance Program; the Judge Lora Livingston Fellowship Program; the LGBTQ+ Scholarship; the Justice Mack Kidd Fund; and the Denise Hyde Scholarship Fund.
Additionally, since the foundation’s inception in 2005, we have awarded more than $200,000 in grants to law-related organizations. Past grant recipients include: American Gateways, Volunteer Legal Services, Austin Community Law Center, Austin Classical Guitar’s Juvenile Justice program, CASA of Travis County, and the Texas Fair Defense Fund, to name a few.
The Austin Bar Foundation sincerely thanks Gala Committee Chairs Nadia Bettac, Judge Sylvia Holmes, and Shelby O’Brien for their efforts in pulling off this extraordinary event.
Additionally, thank you to Live Auction Chair Shannon Meroney and Silent Auction Chair Sarah Harp for their help getting items to auction off. Finally, thank you to all the volunteers who assisted with registration, setup, and breakdown.
Be sure to watch the videos honoring the Distinguished Lawyers and David H. Walter award winners on YouTube at shorturl.at/BInWJ.
Thank you again for your support, and we can’t wait to see you next year!
