Travis County Women Lawyers’ Association Honors Women Attorneys

22nd Annual Pathfinder Awards Luncheon Held in January

On Jan. 25, 2022, the Travis County Women Lawyers’ Association (TCWLA) hosted its 22nd Annual Pathfinder Awards presentation, this year virtually, to three Austin-area attorneys: Delia Garza, Travis County Attorney; Yvonne Puig, chief integration partner, life sciences and healthcare, Norton Rose Fulbright US LLP; and Kathy Richardson, founder and principal, of HR Legal Search. TCWLA is committed to recognizing trailblazing women attorneys. TCWLA Pathfinders are role models—local women with law degrees who are using, and have used, their degrees in a variety of ways and who represent a diversity of life and work experiences. This year’s three winners spoke movingly of their careers and achievements, and the program was thought-provoking and inspirational. Congratulations to the TCWLA 2022 Pathfinders!

Delia Garza

Delia Garza was elected the Travis County Attorney in November 2020. Garza’s career has been a series of firsts: first Latina on the

Austin City Council; first Latina mayor pro tem of the City of Austin; and, most recently, the first Latina Travis County Attorney. Garza related the influence her father, a firefighter in San Antonio, had on her becoming a firefighter in Austin. Garza then attended law school so she could better facilitate changes in the legal system. Garza told the audience that when we change systems and structures (social, political, and economic), we can make true changes for all of society.

Delia Garza

Yvonne Puig

Yvonne Puig is the chief integration partner in the life sciences and healthcare practice section at Norton Rose Fulbright US LLP. Puig is also a founding member of the Center for Women in the Law at the University of Texas School of Law, the law school from which she graduated in 1978. Puig emphasized to the audience that rather than focusing on having been one of the few women in leadership early on in her career, she focuses on the present and future, on how she can be an effective and inspiring leader of a diverse team of legal professionals.

Yvonne Puig

TCWLA Pathfinders are role models— local women with law degrees who are using, and have used, their degrees in a variety of ways and who represent a diversity of life and work experiences.

Kathy Richardson

Kathy Richardson is the founder and principal of HR Legal Search, an Austin-based recruiting firm. When an undergraduate at American University, Richardson thought she might become a career counselor. So, after deciding to attend law school and upon graduation from the University of Texas School of Law, Richardson decided to stay on in the law school’s career services office and help law students find the best-suited positions in their nascent careers. After six years in charge of the office as the Assistant Dean for Career Services, Richardson pivoted to private recruiting of attorneys.

After founding the Austin office of a national recruiting firm, she founded her own recruiting firm. Richardson has placed hundreds of attorneys throughout her career. Richardson shared that she recently transitioned her professional focus, helping individuals create a more satisfying life beyond career goals. AL

Kathy Richardson

TCWLA’s Mission

• Foster communication among women lawyers.

• Strengthen the image and position of women lawyers in the community.

• Work toward the elimination of gender bias.

• Inform the public about legal issues affecting women.

• Work toward the enhancement of the public perception of the legal profession.

Jennifer Hopgood is the TCWLA President for the 2021-22 term and an Assistant County Attorney with Travis County.