Candidates Announced for AYLA Board of Directors

from Austin Lawyer, April 2021

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Elections to be Held April 12 to May 3, 2021

The Austin Young Lawyers Association announces its candidates for the 2021-22 board of directors. A link to the electronic ballot will be sent in an email from BallotBox Online on Mon., April 12. The election will close at 5 p.m. on Mon., May 3. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, voting will be available online only. Please add noreply@ ballotboxonline to your allowed email addresses so the message gets past your spam filter.

The following candidates are running for the AYLA officers and board of directors. The new board will take office on July 1, 2021, along with Rachael Jones, who will serve as AYLA’s president. Jones has been on AYLA’s board since 2016, and has served as secretary, treasurer, and president-elect. She is co-editor-inchief of Austin Lawyer and works (remotely) for the Eighth District Court of Appeals.

OFFICERS

The only contested officer race is for the office of secretary. Candidates for secretary are Ben Dower and Emily Morris.

Ben Dower practices civil litigation at the Office of the Attorney General of Texas. He has been an ex-officio member of the AYLA board of directors since 2016 and a director since 2019. Last year, he was honored to accept AYLA’s Outstanding Director award. He is also involved in the Barbara Jordan Inn of Court and the Texas Law Mentoring Program. He has served on numerous AYLA committees, including the Runway for Justice and Leadership Academy Committees. He is currently chair of the AYLA Publications Committee and co-chair of the AYLA Rules Committee

Emily Morris is the principal attorney of The Morris Law Firm, which focuses on corporate and real estate matters for small business owners. Emily is dedicated to the Austin legal community, demonstrated by substantial service to the Austin Bar, Austin Young Lawyers Association, and Travis County Women Lawyers Association. Emily served for two years on the Austin Bar/AYLA Leadership Academy Committee before becoming that committee’s co-chair for two more years. She currently serves as the AYLA CLE Committee co-chair.

Blair Leake is running unopposed for AYLA president-elect. Leake is a shareholder at Wright & Greenhill. While serving as the current treasurer and former secretary and director of AYLA, Leake has continued his work rebuilding and running the AYLA volunteer arm, the Community Service Days Committee, which hosts monthly volunteer events with local charities.

Sarah Harp is running unopposed for AYLA treasurer. She is an Assistant Attorney General in the Criminal Appeals Division and a graduate of the University of Tulsa College of Law. Harp has been an involved and active member of AYLA since moving to Austin in 2015. She currently serves as secretary and is a former director of AYLA. Harp is chair of the Runway for Justice Committee and co-chair of the (virtual) Docket Call Committee and the Law Related Education Committee. She is a member of the Austin Bar/AYLA Leadership Academy Committee and is a past co-chair of the Membership Committee.

DIRECTORS

Five candidates are vying for four two-year terms on the board of directors. The four elected board members will join directors Jessica MacCarty, Callie Haley, Ciara Parks, and Morgan Shell, whose terms expire in 2022.

Brian Aslin is an Assistant Attorney General in the Office of the Attorney General’s General Litigation Division. He currently serves as the OAG representative to the AYLA board of directors. Aslin graduated from Baylor Law School and Baylor University. Aslin is currently serving on the Austin Bar/AYLA Leadership Academy Committee and has served on the AYLA Judicial Reception, Bar & Grill, and Rules committees.

Eric Cuellar is a litigation attorney at Ramos James Law. He is currently the solo/small firm representative to the AYLA board of directors. Cuellar’s AYLA committee involvement includes serving on the Docket Call, Speed Networking, and Austin Bar/AYLA Leadership Academy committees.

Jenna Malsbary works for the Texas Health and Human Services Commission, She currently serves as co-chair of the AYLA Community Service Days and MLK Day of Service committees. She is also a member of the Membership and Pro Bono committees.

Lena Proft works for the Texas Secretary of State. She has been a member of AYLA since moving back to Austin in 2018. She has served as the AYLA government attorney liaison to the AYLA board of directors for the past two years and was a member of the 2020 Leadership Academy class. Her current AYLA committee involvement includes the Rules Committee, Community Service Days Committee, and MLK Day of Service Committee.

Gracie Wood Shepherd practices family law at Friday Milner Lambert Turner. She attended Texas A&M University and Baylor Law School. Shepherd was a member of the Austin Bar/ AYLA Leadership Academy Class of 2019 and is currently serving on the Leadership Academy Committee. AL