The Austin Bar Association and the Austin Chapter of the Federal Bar Association jointly hosted a retirement reception for Judge Lee Yeakel of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas—Austin Division.< More than $50,000 was raised. This money will be used to provide scholarships to students at The University of Texas School of Law. Congratulations to Judge

Robynn Fletcher, Anthony “Tony” J. Nelson, and Judge Eric Shepperd were the honorees at the 2023 Austin Black Lawyers Association (ABLA) Andrea Pair Bryant Legacy Luncheon. The trio was honored for their significant contribution the African American legal community: (L-R): ABLA President Ciara Parks with award winners Judge Eric Shepperd, Robynn Fletcher, and Anthony “Tony” J. Nelson. Robynn Fletcher graduated with

Texas Access to Justice Foundation (TAJF) Executive Director Betty Balli Torres received the Emily C. Jones Lifetime Achievement Award from the Texas Access to Justice Commission (TAJC). Torres received the award at TAJC’s Champions of Justice Gala on April 25 in Austin, in recognition of her contributions to improving Texans’ access to justice The award is named after TAJC’s first

Congratulations to the Austin Bar’s new president, Justice Chari Kelly of the Third Court of Appeals, who won the Outstanding Mentor Award from the Texas Young Lawyers Association! Kelly also won this year’s Mentor Award from the Austin Young Lawyers Association. Congratulations to Dominique McLeggan-Brown, attorney adviser at the U.S. Economic Development Administration! McLeggan-Brown won the Outstanding Young Lawyer Award

Three Austin Bar Association members were recently honored by the State Bar of Texas for their writing. The “Stars of Texas Bars” presents several awards each year for outstanding articles published by local bar associations. The Austin Bar submitted articles published in Austin Lawyer between May 2022 and April 2023 to be considered for the awards. (L-R): Former State Bar of Texas

Congratulations to Zach Daniel of Bathaee Dunne for his election to the Austin Black Lawyers Association board of directors! Daniel will serve as treasurer of ABLA. Daniel previously served as ABLA CLE Committee chair. Congratulations to Robynn Fletcher, who was elected to the Austin Black Lawyers Foundation board of directors as both secretary and trustee. Congratulations to Amber Goodwin, assistant

The Austin Young Lawyers Association recently won several Awards of Achievement from the Texas Young Lawyers Association. AYLA won the first-place Comprehensive Award. This award was given based on a comprehensive evaluation of the whole range of programming AYLA conducted during the 2022-23 bar year. AYLA won the first-place Single Project – Service to the Public Award. This award was

AYLA: Tell us a little bit about yourself and your law practice. COMBS: I am originally from Odessa, Tex., and came to Austin for law school at UT. I am in my second year of practice at Cagle Pugh, a firm which primarily represents homeowners’ associations withissues involved in the operation and governance of association-governed communities. AYLA: How long have you been involved

At her last board meeting at the helm of the Austin Bar Association, President Amanda Arriaga handed out her awards of recognition. Rachael K. Jones received the President’s Outstanding Committee Chair Award. President-Elect Mary-Ellen King received the President’s Award of Merit. Ciara Parks received the President’s Outstanding Director of the Year Award. Congratulations to these award winners! Current Austin Bar