One of the questions I am most often asked when talking to and about the legal community is, “What does AYLA do?” It was the first question my distant cousin asked when I shared the news that I would be president of the organization and it is always the top question prospective members have—and rightfully so, when learning about AYLA. When presented with the question I often find myself sputtering a seemingly hyperbolic response about community because AYLA does so much it is often difficult to formulate an “elevator-speech” type answer. So, in the unfulfillable hope of finally putting the question of, “What does AYLA even do?” to rest, I present to you a list of everything AYLA has done this bar year, as of May 6, 2024, organized alphabetically by committee. If after reading this list you feel the overwhelming urge to heap boundless praise on the 2023-24 AYLA board, to become a sustaining member, to pay for your junior associates to join, or just need to take a nap because it feels like the committee members are vampires who could not possibly have time to work full-time jobs; have families, friends, and pets; put together such a massive amount of quality programming; and sleep: GOOD!
CLE. AYLA provided three freestanding CLEs this year, along with free catered lunches. The CLEs were as follows:
“Helpful Tips and Common Mistakes at the Travis County Central Docket,” presented by Warren Vavra on Oct. 10, 2023;
“Discovery 101,” presented by Francesca DiTroia on Dec. 5, 2023; and
“Trust and Estate Law Basics,” presented by Melissa Pina on April 9, 2024.
AYLA is also partnering with the Austin Bar to provide three hours of ethics CLE during the “Wine Bus” event on May 31.
Community Service Days. This year, AYLA won the second-place Texas Young Lawyers Association (TYLA) Award for Service to the Community for hosting a drive for the Center for Child Protection (CCP)’s Kid Essentials Closet and for spending an evening organizing the closet and putting together essentials kits. For more information on the CCP, please see the AYLA guest column in the December 2023/January 2024 issue of Austin Lawyer.
AYLA also partnered with five other organizations and either volunteered in person or hosted a drive this year. The organizations were: Central Texas Food Bank, YMCA Youth & Government Conference and Mock Trial, Volunteer Legal Services Pro Bono Clinic, Any Baby Can, and the Austin Water Wildland Conservation.
Crawfish Boil. The Crawfish Boil took place on April 6, 2024, in the park across from Hilgers House. The event featured crawfish—no small feat, considering the shortage—as well as shrimp, potatoes, corn, sausage, an open bar, and live music by Tommy Tynes and his bandmates. The event raised approximately $15,000 for the AYLA Foundation.
Docket Call. This year, the Docket Call Committee organized an open bar happy hour every single month, always taking place on the third Thursday. These Docket Calls took place at various locations all over Austin and were always sponsored by outside companies and law firms. At the time of the writing of this article, nine docket calls have taken place, with three more upcoming events planned.
Freshquires. Freshsquires was a new program this year, partly funded by a grant from TYLA, and is aimed at attorneys who have been practicing 1 to 3 years. This program won the first-place award from TYLA for Service to the Bar.
Freshsquires held monthly CLEs, mentoring discussions, and happy hours. Our first CLE was hosted by the Travis County Court Administrators on “Navigating the Central Docket.” Our second event was a happy hour sponsored by a local company, which over 80 young lawyers attended. Our third event was a CLE with Federal Magistrate Judge Howell on “The Differences Between State Court Practice and Federal Practice.” Judge Howell provided a unique perspective to the participants, as he has served as both a state and federal judge. Our fourth event was a seminar on “Branding and Business Development” that was led by a panel of leaders from our community: Justice Chari Kelly; Mike Golden, Director of Advocacy at UT Law; Ethan Parker, founder and CEO of Treble; and Alex Conant, co-founder and named partner of the law firm Amini Conant, LLP. The topics included: (1) Balancing networking efforts with other professional responsibilities and commitments; (2) Use of technology and social media platforms as leverage for networking within the legal industry; and (3) Creating a referral network. Our fifth event in April was a wine tasting with several local judges, including Judge Elisabeth Earle, Judge Maya Guerra Gamble, Judge Sylvia Holmes, Justice Chari Kelly, and U.S. Magistrate Judge Mark Lane.
Health and Wellness. The Health and Wellness Committee hosted several successful events during the 2023-24 bar year. In September, the committee assembled a team of superhero attorneys for the CASA Superhero 5K. In December, members strolled through the Zilker Park Trail of Lights. In February, the committee broke a sweat during a private F45 class. The committee promoted two events in April. First, the Austin Bar/AYLA team participated in the 47th annual Statesman Cap10K. Afterwards, the group focused on relaxation with a “Yoga & Mocktails” event at Hilgers House.
Holiday Program. On Dec. 3, 2023, we partnered with the YMCA to provide a day of fun for children with a magician, bouncy house, games, and snacks while their parents “shopped” for donated gifts.
This year, we sponsored 96 families and 200 children by providing HEB gift cards and toys with the proceeds from our Tailgate event (more information on that below). We were also able to donate two trunkloads of toys to Operation Brown Santa and $700 in gift cards to the Center for Child Protection. A special thanks to David Courreges for dressing up as Santa and Adam Schramek for his magic.
Judicial Reception. On Sept. 21, 2023, AYLA hosted 52 judges at The Austin Club. Hors d’oeuvres such as crab cakes, artisanal grilled cheese with tomato soup, brownies, and cocktails provided sustenance while our members were able to socialize with the judiciary and each other.
Law-Related Education. The Law-Related Education Committee partnered with Texas Supreme Court Justice Brett Busby to introduce “Taming Texas,” a two-part Texas history program designed for middle school students. We presented to several classrooms at Covington Middle School and at Sadler Means Middle School. Local attorneys, judges, councilmembers, and advocates volunteered their time to present to these students and educate them on civility, history, and how Texas courts function.
In addition, the Law-Related Education Committee envisioned, designed, and rolled out a program educating high school students on the rights of survivors of crime, to ensure that (1) they are aware of the community resources available to them if they should ever become a victim of a crime; and (2) each student can hold our system accountable if their rights are violated in the investigative process. This project was in partnership with Youth Justice Alliance Alumni, and each student left the program with a brochure of community resources.
Leadership Academy. Every year, AYLA and the Austin Bar partner to host the Leadership Academy. The Austin Bar/AYLA Leadership Academy was established to assist Austin-area lawyers in making a difference in our community, serving the Bar, and promoting professional development.
This year’s Leadership Academy has 16 class members. The class had an all-day orientation on Jan. 18, 2024, which included a tour of the Texas Supreme Court followed by a happy-hour social. The speakers at orientation were Justice Debra Lehrmann, District Judge Karin Crump, Justice Chari Kelly, and Pflugerville Councilmember Rudy Metayer.
The class then met monthly for lunch and presentations at various locations. Speakers included Patricia V. Hayes, Kate Lincoln-Goldfinch, Mayor Kirk Watson, District Judge Jessica Mangrum, Mary-Ellen King, U.S. District Judge Robert Pitman, and Chris Mugica.
This year’s class project was a “Night at the Library” event that on May 10, 2024 at the Austin Central Library, to include dinner, a DJ, a silent auction, and a costume contest. As of the time of this writing, it is projected to raise over $15,000, with the proceeds benefitting the Center for Child Protection.
MLK Day of Service. This year’s MLK Day of Service was unfortunately cancelled due to the weather on MLK Day.
The organizations that we had scheduled volunteer events with were: the Austin Animal Center, We Are Blood, and Inside Books Project (to learn more about Inside Books Project, please see the AYLA Guest Column in the March 2024 issue of Austin Lawyer).
The other organizations that AYLA supported by collecting donations and/or sharing their work include: Any Baby Can, the Austin Diaper Bank, FloCode, the Central Texas Food Bank, and the Rainbow Room with Partnerships for Children.
Pro Se Voir Dire Video. This year, we received a grant from the Texas Bar Foundation to produce a video for pro se individuals on how to conduct voir dire. Filming has been completed, and the video will be released soon.
Publications. AYLA published eight guest columns in Austin Lawyer. The topics were: the history of tailgating, first-time home buying, the Center for Child Protection, the Crown Act, the Inside Books Project, the Myra Clark Gaines case, the need for resources for criminal defense attorneys, and technology for the sight-impaired.
Tailgate. On Oct. 28, 2023, we partnered with TexEx Tailgate and hosted a tailgate on the UT campus. Food was catered by Good Bites Food Co. and alcohol was donated by Ben E. Keith.
The tailgate raised over $10,000, with the proceeds funding our Holiday Program.