Meet AYLA’s 2022-23 President

AUSTIN YOUNG LAWYERS ASSOCIATION

PRESIDENT’S COLUMN

Blair Leake is a civil trial lawyer practicing at Wright & Greenhill, P.C. Leake handles civil rights, employment, and personal injury cases. The University of Houston Law Center graduate notes that both his father and grandfather are also attorneys.

Blair Leake, Wright & Greenhill, P.C.

AYLA: Tell us about yourself.

LEAKE: I grew up in Mesquite, which is a suburb of Dallas. I am the youngest of four children— which probably explains a lot for those who have spent time with me. I moved to Austin in 2006 and later graduated from the University of Texas with a degree in history. The history factory was inexplicably not hiring in 2009—nor was anyone else—and so I spent time after college doing professionally what I had already been doing for the final few years of college, i.e., being a broke sportswriter.

My grandfather was an attorney, and my father is an attorney, so naturally I vowed for years that I was not going to be an attorney. After experiencing post-college poverty and surveying the ailing job market, I finally listened to my grandfather’s advice of “do what you’re good at” and studied for the LSAT. I enrolled at the University of Houston Law Center, competed in every advocacy competition I could find, and graduated in 2013.

During my first year of law school, I met my now-wife and fellow attorney, Erin Leake. We have been happily married for over seven years, and together we have an adorable two-year-old son and a daughter on the way. Outside of the practice of law, I enjoy spending time with friends, cooking, gardening, shooting sporting clays, and rooting for sports teams that consistently disappoint me (How ’bout them Cowboys!).

AYLA: What kind of law do you practice?

LEAKE: I am a civil trial lawyer. I phrase that moniker ambiguously because I genuinely enjoy taking on new cases in areas outside of my wheelhouse. I have found that stepping outside of my legal comfort zone has provided me incredible professional growth. Just as examples, beyond what I normally handle, I have gone to trial on will contests, adverse possession disputes, and DTPA claims, and I have otherwise handled cases that range anywhere from federal trade dress disputes to lawsuits based on Texas cemetery laws (twice!).

If nothing else, it keeps things interesting.

My penchant for straying notwithstanding, I predominantly handle civil rights, employment law, and personal injury cases—in that order. My civil rights practice consists mainly of defending local government officials and employees, including and especially first responders. I enjoy representing both plaintiffs and defendants, but most of the cases I handle fall on the defense side of the aisle.

AYLA: Why did you first get involved with AYLA?

LEAKE: Like many, the first AYLA event I ever attended was a Docket Call happy hour. A fellow reveler encouraged me to run for an AYLA director position, and I subsequently ran an absolute nail-biter of a campaign in an uncontested election.

The reason why I stayed in AYLA and subsequently kept running for other leadership roles, however, is because AYLA is a fantastic organization. It provides a social outlet for young attorneys to get to know each other and foster rapport in an increasingly lonely digital legal landscape, but it also serves as essentially a public service arm for the entire Austin legal community. The Austin legal community is better off because of the existence of AYLA, and I am proud to be one of many people who help keep it running.

AYLA: Name some of your goals and/or plan for the upcoming year with AYLA.

LEAKE: Like most organizations, AYLA struggled over the past two years. Membership numbers dropped as the social opportunities and events had to be either canceled or fundamentally altered—and as many of our members fell on hard times. Under the leadership of past president Rachael Jones, the AYLA membership numbers have improved considerably, but we still are not back to where we were before the pandemic.

If I had to articulate a specific goal, it would be to transition AYLA from “recovering” to “off and running.” If all goes well, the 2022-23 bar year will feature a full slate of in-person AYLA events, including monthly Docket Call happy hours, Bench Bar, Judicial Reception, Bar & Grill, Crawfish Boil, volunteer events, in-person CLEs, wellness events, our annual tailgate, and more. Beyond just that, we are also looking at adding new events and programs, including a CLE series focused on trial skills.

AYLA: What would you say to young lawyers to show them the benefit of joining AYLA?

LEAKE: Getting involved with AYLA is the best way for a young Austin lawyer to integrate him or herself into the local legal community. AYLA puts you in a position to meet judges (some of whom might even finally remember your name!) and, most importantly, hone skills that the practice of law alone will not. You will grow both personally and professionally. AL