21 minute read
Excellence in Service
Sara Dysart
2023 SABA Lifetime Achievement Award Honoree
By June Moynihan
Photos by Mewborne Photography
What a Night!
On September 23, 2023, over 600 friends celebrated the profession at the University of Incarnate Word’s Sky Room. The San Antonio Young Lawyers Association (SAYLA) presented three awards, and the San Antonio Bar Foundation (SABF) presented two awards. The San Antonio Bar Association (SABA) presented just one award, the prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award – the Joe Frazier Brown Award of Excellence. This award recognizes an attorney who exemplifies all that is good about the legal profession and demonstrates the highest level of professionalism, exceptional skills as a counselor and advocate, and such personal attributes as honor, integrity, service, and intelligence. Recipients are a model of the Texas Lawyer’s Creed and inspire others to serve clients and fulfill their responsibility to the legal system. This year, the honor was awarded to Sara Dysart.
Sara called the event “indescribable.” “I felt an immense wave of love, being celebrated and having my friends and family in the audience cheering for me. I will treasure that evening and remember that feeling for the rest of my life,” Sara Dysart thoughtfully shared about the entire evening, especially her dialogue with her cheer section—the entire audience—as she was presented with the 2023 Lifetime Achievement Award.
It was a room filled with love and delight in honoring an esteemed colleague. Many in attendance count Sara as a mentor and friend. One of those friends is Mary Stich, a law school classmate who credits Sara for helping her thrive in law school and beyond. Forty-five years later, she remains grateful to be a “bestie.” Sara’s goddaughter, Katelyn, refers to Sara as her inspiration of a true “go-getter” and, more importantly, a “go-giver.” That spirit of enthusiasm and generosity has been a constant throughout Sara’s life and career.
Meet the Dysarts
Sara was raised in a traditional Catholic home by Willliam (Willie) and Eileen Dysart along with her much older (by twenty-two months) brother Jack Dysart.
Willie Dysart was a US Air Force in-flight radio operator in WWII and flew missions from his post in Canada to Europe. While in Alberta, the thirty-one-year-old airman courted the twenty-year-old Eileen Gannon, and the two were married within three months. Willie was later assigned to Keesler Air Force Base in Biloxi, Mississippi, where their two children were born. After a transfer to Anchorage, Alaska for fourand-a-half years, the Dysart family moved to San Antonio, where Willie finished his Air Force career as a Master Sergeant and became a civil service worker at Kelly Air Force Base.
Like many brides of soldiers in the 1950s, Eileen initially was a stay-at-home mom. But after volunteering in the cafeteria at the Catholic grade school attended by Jack and Sara, Eileen accepted a job as the cafeteria manager.
Eileen did not drive a car. She depended upon Willie for transportation or walked, rode the bus, or relied upon friends to travel to work, run errands, and attend school events.
With Willie’s retirement pay from the Air Force and employment at Kelly AFB, the family was middle class. They had a busy life centered on work, school, and church. Sara reflected, “I’m not sure how my parents managed. My brother participated in sports. I had dance lessons. There were always plenty of gifts under the Christmas tree. Looking back, I know my parents struggled to make ends meet.”
Impact of a Catholic Education
Willie and Eileen wanted their kids to have a Catholic education. Jack attended Central Catholic High School while Sara attended Incarnate Word High School (IWHS). Both schools are across town from their southside home. The first time Sara saw IWHS was when Willie dropped her off to take the entrance exam. After the exam, Sara rode the city bus home—a route she would come to know well over the next three years. Before her senior year, Willie and Eileen bought Sara a Volkswagen Beetle, ending her bus riding days.
Eileen was told that Sara would not do well at IWHS. A teacher at the grade school warned Eileen that the IWHS girls would “discriminate against Sara because she was from the southside, and the nuns would encourage it.”
Eileen kept this warning to herself and did everything possible for Sara to be successful at IWHS. “If we were enthusiastic, my mother was, too,” recalls Sara. “My mom helped as much as she could and was our biggest fan.” Sara’s spunky “give it my best shot” attitude began in childhood, and Eileen encouraged it.
“While the main risk my mother took was marrying Willie after a three-month courtship and leaving her home in Canada, she always encouraged us to do whatever we dreamed of,” Sara recalls.
Sara enjoyed four memorable years at IWHS. She was successful in her bid for cheerleader—first at her all-girls high school, and then at the all-boys Central Catholic.
Eileen kept the “nay-saying teacher” aware of Sara’s success, especially when Sara was voted by her classmates onto the IWHS Winter Frolic court as a freshman duchess and selected by the boys at Central Catholic High School as Miss Central her senior year.
Sara’s two best friends are from IWHS, Nancy Spengler and Terri Boggess. Sara considers herself blessed with such steadfast friends. “Nothing keeps you honest like a friend who has known you since you were fourteen!”
Sara attributes her success in college, graduate school, and law school to attending IWHS. The teachers, many of whom were Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word, provided strong academic preparation and encouragement to attend college. Willie and Eileen would be pleased with their return on investment for their hard-earned tuition dollars.
The Challenges of the 1970s
Sara was in her senior year of college when her father was diagnosed with advanced thoracic cancer. Sara drove her mother back and forth to the hospital during the six weeks that Willie spent at Wilford Hall hospital with the terminal diagnosis. “My mother was widowed at age forty-eight. She had to learn to drive and do the things my father took care of. I was graduating from college. We were both starting brand new life chapters.”
In 1974, Sara graduated from St. Mary’s University magna cum laude with a degree in history and a secondary teaching certificate. Her cheerleading experience was instrumental in securing a job at John Jay High School as an American history and government teacher and pep squad advisor. Sara says “her ‘hardest job ever’ was her first year teaching.” Sara’s students include Joe Gonzales, current Bexar County District Attorney, and Lamont Jefferson, former SABA President and partner at Jefferson Cano. “I love visiting with Joe and Lamont. While we are colleagues, I still think of them as high school students,” she recalls fondly. “I like to joke that they have gotten older than me!”
Sara Goes to Law School
Sara had wanted to be a lawyer since sixth grade. While earning her master’s degree in education from University of Texas – San Antonio, Sara dated an attorney and socialized with his attorney friends. Sara only half teases, “I learned that if these guys could go to law school and pass the bar, then I could also.” She saved enough money to cover nine months of living expenses, and a student loan paid for tuition and books. Sara knew that she had to give law school her best. If unsuccessful, she would have to return to teaching and pay the student loan on her teacher salary. Most importantly, Sara was not going to fail!
Sara did not know what to expect at law school. She recalls having coffee with a classmate who stated that he wanted to be in the top ten percent of the class because the top ten percent of the class wrote for law journal. Not knowing what law journal was, Sara decided that her goal should not only be to pass, but to do well enough to write for law journal. Writing for St. Mary’s Law Journal set the groundwork for Sara’s career as a commercial real estate attorney. As the editor of the symposium issue on commercial real estate finance, 3L Sara engaged with accomplished Texas real estate attorneys.
Impact of a Summer Job
After her first year of law school, Sara needed a summer job. Mitzi Staewen hired her to sell condominiums at an apartment project that Mitzi had sold to a real estate developer. Mitzi and Sara sold forty condo units in three months. Being paid well at each closing, Sara’s living expenses were covered for her second year in law school. A scholarship paid for tuition and books.
Mitzi became Sara’s mentor, lifelong friend, and “running buddy” (as described in Mitzi’s obituary in February 2022). Mitzi was a trailblazer who added sparkle to the lives of her friends. “Mitzi led the way in fashion, home décor, vacations, and fun!”
Launch of Legal Career
In 1981, Sara graduated with distinction from St Mary’s University School of Law. As a first-year attorney, she served as Justice Klingeman’s briefing attorney. Sara cherished that experience because it gave her insight into the judicial system and allowed her to interact with outstanding jurists and law clerk colleagues.
While serving at the Fourth Court, Sara accepted a job with a Dallas law firm upon completion of the one-year clerkship. In January 1982, Sara notified the law firm that she had decided not to move to Dallas. She had no job opportunity identified in San Antonio despite her accolades and experience. Sara had her own law practice for a year before joining the law firm of Martin & Drought, where she represented commercial lenders and other real estate clients for six-and-a-half years.
On Her Own Again!
The Texas real estate market crashed at the end of the 1980’s. Real estate attorneys were charged with finding clients and other legal expertise. While not eager to have her own solo practice again, Sara struck out on her own in January 1990. “Commercial real estate is a practice area I could work as a solo practitioner. Not everyone has a practice where they can wear all the hats.” And wear all the hats, she did. Even with a full-time legal assistant, Sara recognized the benefits of being on a computer. In 1992, Sara purchased a computer and took a WordPerfect course at San Antonio College with her friend Faye Bracey. “I became efficient at producing my own documents. I developed trust with my clients who continued to send me work and referred their colleagues to me. With the exception of joining with outstanding lawyers in an allfemale law firm in the early 1990s and going under a plaintiff’s attorney letterhead for eight months in 2021, Sara has had her solo practice for over thirty years. For the last twenty-one years, she has been assisted by Stella Delgado, her obviously outstanding legal assistant.
The Rest of the Story
In the mid-1980s, Eileen, at the age of sixty, entered a rehab program upon the advice of her doctors. Eileen completed the inpatient program and stopped drinking, but refused to join Alcoholics Anonymous (AA). “In her words, ‘she was not a drunk under the bridge. She did not belong in AA!’” Sara recounted.
Eileen’s rehab program brought out remembrances of Willie who had been deceased for thirteen years, and family dynamics that had never been discussed, especially the prevalence of alcohol. Defending her parents, Sara says, “Our home was quiet and loving; there was no abuse or mistreatment.” Sara shares an example of the consequences of alcohol use by explaining her parents’ absence at school events, especially Friday night football games to watch Jack play or Sara cheer. Sara’s parents were responsible not to drive under the influence but failed to realize the void caused by their absence. “It was disappointing that they seldom saw us perform in person, but they were always eager to hear the details the next morning.” Sara is especially sad for her mother, who had no voice in the decision not to attend these events. Years of counseling has given Sara insight into her family of the ‘50s and ‘60s with parents from the “Greatest Generation” who had their own challenges.
After college, Sara maintained her physical condition as an avid jogger. For Sara, an exercise routine meant you were healthy. Exercise was part of working hard and playing hard. While acutely aware of her family history, Sara was a social drinker who very often drank too much, surrounded by friends and acquaintances whom she could count on to drink with her. Sara is clear that whether her friends drank too much is not her call.
“I was not out every night. And most nights, I had drinks without getting drunk. There was no identifiable crisis that called on me to stop drinking other than my inner voice that told me I had a problem that I should deal with.”
Eileen died at age sixty-three, only three years after quitting drinking. Shortly after her mother’s passing, Sara stopped drinking, but like her mother, avoided AA. In the spirit of Eilleen, Sara considered AA for “alcoholics,” and she could manage her drinking alone. After nearly a year of sobriety, social drinking returned to Sara’s life. The impact of drinking started to escalate, with “hangovers” often making it hard to get up for work.
In November 2001, Sara attended a two-and-a-half-day seminar on law practice management to find an easier or better way to practice law. In a presentation on professional roadblocks, the presenter asked, “What keeps you from being the best you can be?” Every participant was asked to share with the group. Sara instantly thought, “Drinking.” But when her turn came to share, she blurted “procrastination” and fumbled with a story about how she kept putting off getting her winter boots repaired.
Sara had an internal dialogue about how to deal with her actual roadblock— drinking. She had worked hard to build her law practice and reputation. But she knew being out of control due to drinking, a DWI, or—even worse—an accident could ruin her reputation and legal career. The angel on her shoulder admonished her to seek help while the devil on the other side argued that she was a “party girl.”
The next month, on the Friday night between Christmas and New Year’s Eve, Sara went to a party, had a tequila shot or two after several other drinks, drove home at 3 a.m., and woke up at 11:00 a.m. and went jogging. It was a long, painful jog filled with thoughts of remorse.
She then cancelled her plans for the day and was compelled to pull out her mother’s “unread” AA book. She spent the evening reading and being a referee between the angel on one shoulder—”get help”—and the devil on the other—”you always make it home—you are a party girl!”
On Sunday, Sara attended 9 a.m. Mass as she planned to attend an 11 a.m. “open” AA meeting. Anyone interested in AA can attend an open meeting. “After Mass I went for coffee as I spent the hour listening to the angel and devil debate. Finally, I struck a deal with both of them—I would attend the 11 a.m. AA meeting and then I could do anything I wanted afterwards, including joining the devil for a drink or two.”
At the 11 a.m. meeting, Sara sat behind a well-known attorney. He was surprised to see her. She pronounced for the first time in her life to another person, “I’m a drunk.”
Other attorneys in recovery greeted her. She met a woman who later became her sponsor. “I went back that same day for a 3 p.m. beginners meeting.” Like all things in Sara’s life, once she decided to do it, she “gave it [her] best shot.
Small incentives kept her going. “I did not want to face someone else telling me the jig was up. I wanted to do this on my terms.” Sara worked the twelve steps with her sponsor and attended three to four AA meetings a week for many years. Currently, Sara does not frequent AA meetings, but she remains committed to the AA program.
For years, Sara was very private about her recovery. She delayed attending the Thursday San Antonio lawyers-sponsored AA meeting because she did not want to face her peers. She relented when a friend confided that they were saving a seat for her.
After several years of sobriety, Sara realized that sharing her story could help others to have hope and seek help. “My story is relatable to problem drinkers who do not have a big crisis or a ‘rock bottom.’”
After three years of sobriety, Sara attended her first Lawyers Concerned for Lawyers conference held as part of the State Bar Texas Lawyers Assistance Program (TLAP). The conference was hosted in San Antonio. The “party girl” chaired the hospitality room, greeting guests and making sure there was plenty of food and non-alcoholic drinks. “I became friends with attorneys in recovery throughout Texas. I attend the LCL conference every year!”
In 2010, State Bar of Texas President Terry Tottenham asked TLAP volunteers to speak at State Bar CLE multi-day seminars. Sara was the TLAP speaker at seminars in Galveston and in San Antonio. After each session, colleagues approached Sara with surprise and respect.
Following the San Antonio presentation, a friend asked Sara how she could be so public about her recovery. Sara responded, “No question, talking about alcohol and drug abuse makes many people uncomfortable. If sharing my story helps one person in the audience seek help for him- or herself, or to recognize the signs to help a friend, then overcoming my fear and discomfort of sharing my story is worth it.”
After three years of sobriety, Sara attended her first Lawyers Concerned for Lawyers conference held as part of the State Bar Texas Lawyers Assistance Program (TLAP).
Now What?
Sara has joined the ranks of another “category” of the bar – attorneys over seventy years old. Sara turned seventy in August 2022. In December 2022, the Texas Bar invited her to be the lunch speaker at a CLE program titled: “Empowering Senior Lawyers: Tools for Success in Life and in the Profession.” Sara has spoken publicly about her career as a solo practitioner, a woman attorney, an expert on commercial real estate law, and her sobriety. But this was new territory – her age!
After agreeing to speak, the State Bar staff asked for the title of her presentation. Sara came up with: “Joy Is an Inside Job—Apply Today!” Then the State Bar staff wanted a paper. She replied that the lunch speaker should not have to write a paper. The State Bar staff disagreed. Since eventually she would have to figure out what she would say, she agreed to write a paper.
Sara went with what she knew—the principles of AA that have guided her recovery journey. She addressed turning seventy and retirement (or planning for retirement) using the twelve steps of Alcoholics Anonymous as a template. She calls for those over seventy to face retirement by being honest with themselves, clearing the slate of past hurts and resentments, releasing control over the uncontrollable, and living life with renewed principles of joy and sharing. (This article is published with the State Bar CLE program and republished by the Texas Bar College.)1
In recognition of Sara’s focus on senior attorneys, Sister Grace Walle, Chaplain of the St. Mary’s University School of Law, commissioned an art piece that celebrated Sara’s article for the senior attorneys of the SBOT. Sister Grace chose this piece because it epitomized Sara, gave readers “a glimpse inside the person,” and allowed them to “witness her vulnerability as she talks about her ego, letting go of control, and allowing God to lead.”
Was It a Set-Back?
In 2020, Sara ran for State Bar of Texas President-elect. The pandemic was in full force with no in-person gatherings. Sara contemplated the challenges of running a virtual campaign and ultimately accepted the nomination. Experiencing the challenges of Zoom, Sara created a strong message, launched a website, built a social media presence, and embraced the power of a good ring light for virtual “appearances.”
While losing the race by a small margin hurt and led to questions of how she could have done better, she appreciates the many other paths available to her. She considers the campaign as one of many challenges that she has walked through. Applying the principles of AA, she realizes that the campaign gave her the opportunity to update her moral inventory; strengthen her ability to respond appropriately to persons, places, and things she cannot control; and continue defining “joy” in her life. San Antonio attorney and friend Beth Smith calls Sara the “consummate gatherer of people into relationships.” Smith shares, “Sara talks about her president-elect campaign as a unique experience that allowed her to meet attorneys throughout the state and to share her story. She is proud of her journey from a modest background, working through college and law school, to a successful and fulfilling career. She likes connecting with new people.”
Sara has not contained her gift for connecting others to her professional life, though. Commercial real estate attorney Kacy Cigarroa remains indebted to Sara for introducing her to her husband, Josh: “Sara was coming home from the airport and the driver started telling her about a frequent airport client who was single and a ‘good catch.’ After getting more information, Sara said that she knew someone who would be perfect. Perhaps putting the cart before the horse, Sara and the driver agreed to dance at our wedding.” Sara then “introduced” Kacy to the mystery frequent flyer. Kacy agreed to the date only because Sara set it up. Kacy and Josh met on a blind date in January, were engaged in June, and married in November. The happy couple “give[s] Sara all the credit for [their] whirlwind romance.”
Sara Embraces the San Antonio Legal Community
She may not have won the chance to lead the entire State Bar, but Sara did not let that stop her from continuing to serve the local legal community. Beth Eby served on the San Antonio Legal Service Association (SALSA) board of directors and worked with Sara on a fundraising event. Beth was impressed by how this well-connected lawyer generously opened her Rolodex to SALSA. Beth remembers that Sara knew she could speed the path to success and accessed her network, “Sara is a master at growing good things, instead of resting on her success, she keeps planting.”
Sara exclaims, “We brag about how collegial the San Antonio legal community is—and it’s true. Of course, you have to be out there and attend CLEs and other gatherings, volunteer on a committee, or help organize a social event to get the most out of it. You have to be involved!”
Sara put her advice into practice when Patricia “Patty” Roberts started as Dean of the St. Mary’s University School of Law in June 2020, during the pandemic. Dean Roberts credits a small group of women, featuring Sara, for making the transition from William & Mary Law School in Virginia to St. Mary’s Law School in San Antonio a smooth one: “Sara set up Zoom meetings with community leaders and invited my husband and me to historic Mission events, the rodeo, and more. Sara [understood] that for me to be successful in San Antonio, it [was] imperative to cultivate relationships outside the office and classroom.”
Dean Roberts applauds Sara’s “focused giving back” as an alumna. “St Mary’s Law School benefits from the Mentor Circle program that Sara and Mary Brennan Stich co-founded. This program brings law school students and practitioners together informally at three meetings during a semester. In its fourth year, participant feedback is positive and rewarding.” She also launched the Financial Wisdom series for law students interested in financial planning experience. “She can’t help but cheerlead for the new lawyers. If she can be helpful, she may provide an introduction for a student or extend an invitation for coffee or a Zoom call to follow up,” reports Dean Roberts. “Many students have benefited from her guidance.”
Why did Sara let us publish such a personal story? Her answer is immediate and decisive. “I tell my story of recovery and service to inspire others to have hope, seek help, and/or get involved. You do not have to be in recovery to benefit from service work! There are so many opportunities for all of us to serve.”
June Moynihan is the Executive Director of the San Antonio Bar Association.
ENDNOTES
1 https://texasbarcollege.com/joy-is-an-inside-job-apply-today/.
