Reflections on MABA-SA and 2020

BAR BUSINESS

By Ted Santos, Immediate Past President

Editor’s Note: The Mexican-American Bar Association of San Antonio (MABA-SA) proudly celebrated its 40th anniversary in 2018. MABA-SA produced a short video reflecting on its mission and history, which is available online. The article below is adapted from remarks made by Ted Santos, MABA-SA’s Immediate Past President, at the group’s 2020 Pachanga, which was held virtually in December 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

In the Rio Grande Valley, where I was born in McAllen, Texas, crossing into Mexico was more common than traveling North. With that being said, as a young child, I moved from the Rio Grande Valley to rural Southern Illinois with my mom and siblings. Why is this detail important? Because I saw and was reminded at a young age that I didn’t fit into the traditional categories of the community. I would hear, “You’re not black, but you’re not white. So, what are you?” The only “Mexicans” this area may have seen were the fieldworkers who came to town once or twice a year before heading back to their grueling work.

Growing up in the Midwest, like so many kids of color, I didn’t have the benefit of a support group of like-minded children or adults with the same background or skin color as me. That is why the Mexican American Bar Association (MABA) is so meaningful, purposeful, and inspiring to me. While MABA was created to support and recognize Mexican Americans in the legal profession, it has become a diverse, influential, and productive organization, not only for Mexican Americans, but also for the legal profession at large and the entire San Antonio community.

Many years ago, when I first experienced MABA, I was not an attorney. I had not even applied to law school. What I saw were attorneys coming together after work—new attorneys, veteran attorneys—supporting each other, arguing with each other, and debating issues to improve the legal process. All of this energetic engagement would be combined with working on projects for the community—mentoring at-risk kids, raising money for scholarships, and delivering Christmas baskets to needy families. These attorneys were not making a lot of money. Some struggled to pay their student loans, but they would come together to support MABA, each other, and their community. MABA is why I went to law school.

Fast forward to 2020, when I had the honor and privilege to serve as President— not just any President—a President with an all-female board. I got some teasing from different people, of course. “Are you crazy? How’s that going?” I say that it made me a very smart man because this board—all of them—got s*** done.

We did not miss a beat with CLEs. In fact, we expanded topics and our audience, with one of our members, Bexar County District Attorney Joe Gonzales, starting us off in January. In February, attorney and author Humberto Garcia introduced his book, The Mustang Miracle, the true story of the first all- Hispanic State Championship golf team in the 1950s, which triumphed against all odds. Dr. Ellen Riojas Clark and Rosie Castro spoke on our culture and political progress in March.

Then, COVID hit. MABA was a leader for attorneys and our courts on technology and virtual practices early on in the pandemic. Here again, the team kicked it into high gear with technology and organization. In April, board member Judge Angelica Jimenez and Attorney Lara Brock held a CLE combined with a Fiesta Happy Hour on Zoom and the Courts. Also, in April, former MABA President and current member Javier Herrera led a CLE on best remote office practices during a pandemic. In early May, Board member and former President, Judge Catherine Torres-Stahl, and member Judge Lori Valenzuela, who was recently appointed to the Fourth Court of Appeals, aired what I believe was the first CLE on remote criminal court procedures. In June, MABA member Eduardo Juarez conducted a CLE on recent United States Supreme Court cases on equality pertaining to sexual orientation and gender identity. June was also a busy month for community service and engagement. MABA created a virtual San Antonio Food Bank fundraising drive to support our community during this challenging year. Also in June the Scholarship Committee, led by Melissa Morales Fletcher, reached out to over 100 high schools, received and reviewed applications, and awarded $30,000 in scholarships to college-bound students.

July normally is a break for MABA, but not in 2020. We called a special meeting, asking the membership for a vote on whether MABA would make an official statement to the State Bar of Texas in response to State Bar of Texas President Larry McDougal’s inappropriate comments on social media and the Bar’s lack of action after the fact. We had a successful meeting and a unanimous vote calling for action. It was a very rare instance of unanimity, and the fact that we all agreed underscored the seriousness of the situation. Also, in July, we had a virtual remote Happy Hour to kick off our Annual Raffle. We did this anticipating that we were going to have to cancel our flagship fundraiser Golf Tournament.

MABA-SA’s 2020 Scholarship Ceremony, held virtually on Zoom.

In August, we resumed our CLE program with a fantastic presentation on the very important topic of lawyer wellness presented by TLAP’s Erica Grigg. While lawyer wellness is always worthy of attention, the financial, social, and emotional strains of 2020 made it particularly urgent. In September, we had a successful annual meeting with a full slate of awesome nominations for leadership in 2021, and we called yet another special meeting— to vote on making an official statement to the Texas Commission on Judicial Selection. In that statement, MABA supported the right of Texas voters to elect their judges and opposed judicial selection by any exclusive committee. Again, we got a unanimous vote! With the able assistance of Sonia Rodriguez, Laura Tamez, and Tina Torres, I testified before the Commission on behalf of MABA. Also in September, we had a very successful annual raffle—held remotely—raising $10,000.00 for scholarships. The raffle sold out days in advance of the deadline for the first time that I can remember. Shirley Ehrlich, Jessica Garza, and Angie Lozano ensured that the raffle went off without a hitch.

The October CLE featured Past MABA President Judge Rosie Speedlin Gonzalez and Marta Prada Pelaez, the President of Family Violence Prevention Services, speaking on domestic violence awareness and new programs being implemented on this very serious issue. And, in October, we held our annual Dia de los Muertos celebration virtually, organized by Dianne Garcia. By then, we had become adept at virtual events. We had our costume contest, dancing, an altar exhibition and competition, and raised well over $6,000 more for scholarships.

Members of the MABA-SA Board presented the MABA-SA 2019 Scholarship Recipients with scholarship checks.

In November, it was a great honor to host President-Elect, Sylvia Borunda Firth, the first Latina elected President of the State Bar of Texas. She enlightened us on the State Bar’s new initiatives and opened the door to all MABA members to participate in the State Bar. I do not recall a State Bar President or President-Elect ever previously addressing MABA-SA exclusively.

It has been my honor to serve as President of MABA-SA, a bar association that fosters the same tradition of camaraderie and service that inspired me to go to law school. We continue to positively affect students’ lives through our scholarship program, and our scholarship recipients continue to inspire us in our work and community service. Take, for example, the story of Rafael Murrillo. Rafael graduated at the top of his class from Lanier High School—just a few blocks away from the Bexar County jail and just down the street from the Herrera Law Office. While growing up on the Westside and Southside of San Antonio, Rafael overcame great obstacles, including having to spend time with his many siblings in a women’s shelter. While in high school and making straight A’s, Rafael worked as a dishwasher at a restaurant near the Bexar County Courthouse, which many of us frequented—not knowing of this amazing young man. Now, with the help of a number of scholarships, including one from MABA, Rafael is attending a top-tier liberal arts college in New York City. In his application, Rafael told us that he had helped raise his siblings from the time he was ten, while living in a shelter. Even with all of Rafael’s accomplishments, he said his life-changing moment and greatest joy was watching his baby brother learn to walk.

That beautiful statement exemplifies what MABA is all about. In MABA, we not only aspire to reach the highest standards of our profession, but we also nurture each other. We celebrate life as we work, and we give back to our community. We may sometimes seem to knock each other down in our profession, but we pick each other right back up. We are people caring for each other, our profession, and helping each other grow.

Ted Santos is the Immediate Past President of San Antonio’s Mexican American Bar Association and the owner of the Law Offices of Ted Santos. He earned his Juris Doctor from St. Mary’s University in 2010.