You Can’t Always Get What You Want

REFLEXIÓNES

By Tom Crosley, San Antonio Bar Association President

Photo by Mewborne Photography

When I took the oath of office as your bar association president in August 2019, no one could have predicted the events that would unfold during this unprecedented year. Well, no one except perhaps the producers of the Netflix documentary series, Pandemic. That was eerily prescient, wasn’t it?

We began the bar year with our annual luncheon meeting at the Plaza Club. Texas Supreme Court Chief Justice Nathan Hecht was our keynote speaker, and we were blessed to have many distinguished guests and jurists from our legal community in attendance. In September, we had our bar foundation gala. The theme this year, was British Invasion. This was a not-sosubtle nod to my affinity for late-1960s rock and roll. Guests could have their photo taken with the “Queen of England,” and there was an Abbey Road photo wall where many of us dorkily posed “walking” across the street in pantomime of the famous Beatles album cover. Perhaps coolest of all was the Beatles tribute band from Austin, and the fact that they let me open the night’s live music by playing guitar and singing lead vocals on Back in the U.S.S.R.!

In keeping with the British Invasion theme, the coronavirus pandemic happened. Corona means “crown” after all. Suddenly, I was singing (I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction. Yesterday all my troubles seemed so far away. And it was not just My Generation that was affected.

Rather than Paint It Black, your San Antonio Bar Association (SABA) board and staff sprang into action. We became the hub for information for our legal community. Working remotely, our Executive Director June Moynihan and staffers Ashley Benson, Camille Ayala, Irma Gutierrez, Sylvia Hernandez and Windy Phan rose to the challenge. We sent nearly daily emails with COVID-19 response court orders and government updates. We hosted webinars on remote-work tools, SBA loans, and court video conferencing. We even hosted a Texas-wide Zoom Law Day celebration with nearly 500 lawyers. Since mid-March, SABA has hosted 24 webinars with more than 3,000 people in attendance.

Our Bexar County judges have done a remarkable job of keeping the virtual doors of the courthouse open. In a matter of weeks, judges developed new operating plans. The Civil District Courts began having Zoom hearings on April 6 and the Criminal District Courts and many County Courts have been open to meet emergency and essential needs.

One day things will return to normal, but the pandemic will have taught us how to work smarter. Many of us will have learned that we can competently attend depositions or meetings halfway across the country without ever leaving our offices (or homes). We may have even learned how to more efficiently resolve our clients’ legal disputes.

SABA recently conducted a survey for the Civil Court Judges to collect feedback on the first sixty days of the remote courthouse operation plan. It was inspiring to see how quickly the San Antonio legal community adapted. Our colleagues are receptive and flexible. Our judges invite open communication and idea sharing. Our court staff has pivoted to remote work. SABA will continue to host Town Halls for the various benches to continue the open communications with the bar and to share ideas for the new version of “Open for Business.” If we did not notice before, communication is vital to our profession. We have become aware of how much information used to be shared in the courthouse hallways, during mediation breaks, and in CLE luncheons. SABA aims to foster an atmosphere of open communication and information sharing during these challenging times.

While I am disappointed that we had to cancel our in-person CLE luncheons, our happy hours, and many other educational, social, and service-oriented events, I am encouraged that we have adapted and evolved. I hope that we will be able to continue to offer services via webinars even after the pandemic has passed. In a previous president’s column, I wrote: “At our core, SABA is a diverse community of lawyers and judges built on fellowship, common goals, and a shared passion for the legal profession,” and I exhorted lawyers and judges to “work together to keep San Antonio the finest legal community in the State of Texas.” Our long-term goals have not been harmed by COVID-19. Rather, we have discovered new ways to be a valuable resource to our members.

Like the Rolling Stones song says, You Can’t Always Get What You Want, But If You Try Sometimes You Just Might Find You Get What You Need!