YLA SNAPSHOT

AULSTIN GARDINER 2022–2023 TCYLA President

he year is quickly chugging along, and I am astonished that half of my term as President of the Tarrant County Young Lawyer’s Association is complete—where did it all go? I’m lucky to have such a great board and team around me that makes the time really does go by quickly.

Speaking of the team, it is very comforting to know that the current President-Elect Elizabeth Haslam will fit right in as a leader and President of this organization after I roll off. She just finished organizing our inaugural TCYLA Chili CookOff held at Fort Brewery. We had a distinguished panel of expert Chili Judges, including Judge John Eck, Judge Pat Gallagher, Judge David Hagerman, and Fort Worth Paralegal Association President Mandy Sherman. Seven teams competed for Judges’ choice and crowd favorite. A big congratulations to the Judges’ pick, Jane Fowler Law, PLLC. All proceeds from the admission, entry fees, donations from our sponsors, and raffle prizes went to the TCYLA Suitcase Project, which purchases suitcases and duffle bags for children in foster care, so they have something to put their clothes in when transitioning into care or to their permanent placement. We also want to thank our many sponsors for this event. The prize money that was awarded to the Judges’ pick and the crowd favorite was graciously donated back to the cause by both contestants and for that, we thank you! If you would like to support this cause and make a donation or you have some old suitcases/duffle bags to depart with, please contact Elizabeth Haslam at elizabeth@hg555.com.

As some of you may be aware, we have been adding more episodes to our TCYLA President’s Podcast, which interviews local attorneys to discuss past cases and lessons that are valuable for young attorneys, or really any attorney. We posted our fifth episode with our most recent guest Christy Jack of Varghese Summersett, PLLC, where she shared her stories for our ongoing series, “Huh?! Things I Wish I Knew as a Young Attorney: Winning the “Unwinnable” Case.” If you have not listened to an episode yet, it can be found virtually everywhere you stream your podcasts. Previous to that, we have had Taylor Ferguson, Brian Singleterry, Andrea Palmer, Micheal Schneider, and James Teel as guests. If you have a great case or legal story that you feel could be a valuable lesson for young

Tattorneys and would like to be a guest, feel free to reach out to me at wagardiner@tarrantcountytx.gov.

As the weather warms up, the birds start singing, and the bees start buzzing, that can only mean one thing is just on the horizon: Spring Fiesta. The TCYLA Spring Fiesta will occur on April 20, 2023 at our usual location of Joe T. Garcia’s. We will have live music, food, drinks, raffle prizes, and a silent auction and it is sure to be a good time for all—who can say no to Joe T. Garcia’s? If you are interested in becoming a sponsor or would like to donate to the raffle prizes/silent auction, please contact Sarah Brown at srbrown@tarrantcountytx.gov. We hope to see you there. g

By Lauren St. Clair, Membership Director