Thank you to the nearly 200 people who came out for the 2024 Bench Bar Conference! This year’s conference took place at Kalahari Resorts in Round Rock, and featured plenty of members of the bench.  Bench Bar Committee Co-Chair Scott Brutocao kicked off the morning by introducing Corinne Smith, a life coach and Austin attorney. Smith led the crowd in

Congratulations to Sandy Bayne of BayneLaw. Bayne has been elected as a new board member for 2024-25 for HeartGift, a nonprofit assisting children in obtaining life-saving heart surgery. Bayne’s practice involves healthcare law, civil litigation, health insurance, and gestational carrier agreements. Congratulations to Natalie Domanic, who has moved to Bollier Ciccone as an associate in the firm’s family law practice.

The Austin Bar Association is proud to announce that Austin Lawyer has been named the Best Overall Newsletter for Division III by the State Bar of Texas! Additionally, the “Decriminalizing Mental Health in Travis County” series was named Best Series of Articles – General Interest for Division III. This seven-part series was published between July 2023 and February 2024 and

(L-R): Austin Bar President Justice Chari Kelly, Regina Rogoff Award winnerRaymond Winter, Larry F. York Mentoring Award winner Judge Jan Soifer,Professionalism Award winner V. Blayre Pena, and Joseph C. Parker, Jr. Diversity Award winner Manuel Escobar. (L-R): AYLA President Sarah Harp, Mentor Award winner Sam Denton, Outstanding Young Lawyer Award winner Nora Picasso Uvalle, and Austin Bar President Justice Chari

New Austin Bar Directors New AYLA Directors

On Tuesday, April 9, 2024, AYLA held a CLE on “Trust & Estate Law Basics,” presented by Melissa Pina, VP, Trust & Estates Officer, Cadence Bank.  The CLE provided attendees with an overview of considerations of which every attorney should have a basic understanding in serving clients. These included the importance of having a will; potential information needed when building

The following are summaries of selected opinions issued by the Texas Supreme Court in May 2024. These summaries are prepared by court staff as a courtesy and are not a substitute for the actual opinions. The summaries are overviews of particular aspects of the opinions; please review the entire opinions. JURISDICTION – Timely service requirement is jurisdictional prerequisite for suits

At a January 2024 meeting of the Texas Access to Justice Commission, the commission voted against a recommendation to create a pilot program that would have allowed non-attorney ownership of entities licensed to provide limited legal services tolow-income Texans. The topic of nonlawyer ownership in legal entities has been a topic of growing interest in recent years. Currently, Texas Disciplinary

The Austin Bar Foundation is now accepting applications for the LGBTQ+ Scholarship program! The program is a joint effort of the foundation and the LGBTQ+ Law Section of the Austin Bar Association. This is the scholarship program’s ninth year, and we have four $5,000 scholarships to award. Applicants must be enrolled at a Texas law school and can include 2024