Membership Report

By Lauren St. Clair, Membership Director

Thankful for Members Like You

This time of year always provides ample time to reflect on what we’re grateful for and as 2022 comes to a close, the TCBA is tremendously thankful for members like you and your support. The TCBA had a busy fall season with Member Appreciation Week, various sectionhosted CLE seminars, the introduction of our new Mentor Monday seminar series, the first-annual Boo at the Bar event on October 21, Swearing-In Ceremony for newly licensed attorneys on October 24, and a Fall Blood Drive and Food Drive in November. Thanks to the generosity our members, the TCBA helped to serve over 90 patients in need of lifesaving blood and food drive donations amounted to 2,580 meals provided through the Tarrant Area Food Bank.

Make sure to register for the annual Holiday Party that will be held here at the TCBA on December 6! Sponsorship opportunities and additional information can be found on the TCBA website at the event registration page. This year, TCBA sections and committee members participated in a tree decorating contest where all trees will be on display at the Holiday Party and then donated to Justin’s Place – a local non-profit organization providing resources to single mothers and families in the Stop Six Community.

The TCBA will also host another Magic Shred event on December 9. Register now and start the new year off right with a clean office. Tech Tips with Juris Fabrilis will return in January as well as the next installment of our Mentor Monday series – make sure to be on the lookout for additional information and dates.

Please help us welcome our new law students and members to the TCBA community and we hope to see you at our upcoming events! g

Welcome 1L Students

Keaton Abdalla Victoria Adams Khadija Alibhai Kate Allred Kyle Anderson Daniel Archibald Gabrielle Armstrong Gunnar Baker Kaelie Bernard Farley Bevil Janelle Briggs Talmage Brown Roberto Candelas Sadie Cavazos Cahlen Cheatham Caleb Cook Michael Cooper Milton Cousins Kaitlyn Darr Lauren Davidson Nathania Davis Tristan DeBerardino Matthew Demchsak Okan Dereyayla Chadrick Dewey Mackenzie Downs Kiera Dwyer Anna Eckhoff Dalia El-Giar Robert Evans Haley Fair Gregory Fassuliotis Leslie Filorio Christopher Flanagan Grace Friloux Brighton Frost Taylor Grover Elizabeth Haratsis Robert Harris Kasey Haught Alicia Hernandez Rozita Hovhannisyan Cache Hugie Ann Johnson Kaitlan Keel Joshua Kennedy Julia Leary Do Lee Jeremiah Loar Hannah Lopez Heather Luu Elena Luna Leah Macias Molly Margraves Cesar Martinez Erin Mayes Paul McCullough III Melanie McIntire Payton Molina Brandon Moon Ashlyn Moore Spencer Nayar Ifunanya Ngadi Abigail Nichols Natnael Nigussie Robert Notari James Osteen Joseph Padjune III Jenica Pelayo Tiana Pham Payton Ramsey Gabriel Rauen Brandon Robinson Heidi Roskelley Ethan Rousso Sarah-Anita Samsundar Rafael Saplala Tyler Scattolini James Schnurr Rebekah Schulte Jake Shirley Gordon Smith III Karissa Smith Tashawn Treadwell Olivia Vasquez Max Voboril Jonathan Voos Peyton Wakefield Brady Wells Emma Whaley Benjamin Whisman Tavia Williams Kirsten Worden

SOLO AND SMALL FIRM SECTION

By Jack Walters, Solo and Small Firm Section Chair

Greetings from the Solo and Small Firm Section. My name is Jack Walters, and I am the chair of the Solo and Small Firm Section. I took over as Chair during 2020–2021 “work from home” period. The pandemic set the world back, but it hit the world of small businesses and solo and small firms especially hard. We are already by nature isolated in our professions, and the past couple of years have not made that any easier.

The Solo and Small Firm Section is here to help. We would like to get our section members out of isolation and welcome them to participate with the section. We are hoping to have monthly events that will not only benefit the attorneys professionally but mentally and emotionally as well. Now is a great time to make sure that your dues have been renewed and that you are subscribed to our newsletter. My goal is to increase our membership and make the Solo and Small Firm Section a resource for lawyers in our community.

The Solo and Small Firm Section works best when members participate and voice what they would like out of the section. I know our time is valuable, so I want to make the time spent in the section worth it. I would like to offer CLE and social events during my time as chair. I am asking that you help me put together a schedule that will benefit you as best I can. I am asking the members to submit topics that they would like CLE presentations on or submit events that may be fun for the members of the Solo and Small Firm Section and their families. You can submit all questions, comments, and concerns to my email, jack@walterslawofficepllc.com with “solo and small firm section” in the subject line.

Another program that the Solo and Small Firm Section offers is PEER: Professional Enhancement and Empowering Relationships. The Advisory Board for Solo Small Firm Attorneys Challenge: Do you want to be secure, take your practice to the next level, value deeper professional relationships, and become more secure in business?

Why PEER? The success of small firm and solo attorneys is necessary for a healthy Bar and community! While large firms represent corporate America and the super-wealthy, small firm attorneys represent small businesses and the ordinary citizen. Without us, individual rights and small businesses would be at the mercy of the financially powerful. We save families, protect small businesses, defend the weak, and uphold the rule of law. Noble causes which are fundamental to our democracy. After all, most of us got into the profession of law – not to make millions but - to help and protect people. That is what we do.

Many solo and small firm attorneys have no partner or backup attorney. They work alone, with no one to go down the hall for a sounding board on a matter. Indeed, while we know colleagues in our field, we are flummoxed when dealing with legal issues outside of our traditional practice area. Many of us know few attorneys outside of our practice area, thus we have no clue who to call to refer a matter or with which to work jointly. We feel we must be an expert at everything, when that is unrealistic, because we simply don’t know what we don’t know. We work long hours on our current caseload, but also getting new business to keep the pipeline fresh. To cope, many of us pretend to be successful, to be strong, and to be in control. The reality is for most of us small firm attorneys, it is overwhelming. This leads to burnout and even worse.

Hence, in 2017, a group of about a dozen Solo and Small Firm attorneys joined to develop a roadmap for success, called Professional Enhancement and Empowering Relationships (hereinafter, “PEER”). Consisting of about eight to twelve attorneys from different or nonoverlapping practice areas, PEER members meet once a month in fellowship, developing friendship and camaraderie. Also, PEER members serve as advisory board members to each other’s law practice, sharing advice and practice management, engaging in business planning, developing deeper relationships, becoming centers of influence, and building trust enough to refer clients.

During the pandemic, PEER went from meeting in person to online. Meetings occurred early on almost weekly as members shared developing information and insight on how to respond to what was then a “new normal.” Going from being in an office and in the courtroom to working from home and doing virtual court meetings was a huge transition, and it was nice to have colleagues to reach out to from that isolation. With PEER, together we were and are stronger – as attorneys and as friends.

We lawyers often do a great job of helping our clients. However, we often fall short when it comes to helping ourselves. PEER helps you to prioritize yourself. If you are not grounded and secure in financial and personal success, how can you effectively help your clients – and live a long, fulfilled life?

I encourage all of those who may be interested in getting involved with the Solo and Small Firm Section to reach out and help make this section a useful tool in our practices. g

Save the Date for TCBF’s Upcoming Event Pro Bono Awards Luncheon

ELDON B. MAHON INN OF COURT

By Tori Rhodes, Mock Trial Committee Member

Pay it Forward: Support Aspiring Students by Volunteering for High School Mock Trial

Mock Trial Competition Dates: Saturday, January 21, 2023 and Friday, January 27, 2023

Each year students from all over Texas represent their schools and compete in a series of mock trials. This program allows students from all over the state to practice and show off their ‘legal skills’ and take steps in pursuit of their goals.

Through a grant from the Tarrant County Bar Foundation, Eldon B. Mahon Inn of Court hosts Region 11’s mock trial competition of the Texas Education Agency’s districts.

On Saturday January 21, 2023 and on Friday, January 27, 2023 high school teams will compete in actual courtrooms at the Family Court Building.

Attorney volunteers are needed to serve as judges and for behind the scenes help for the mock trial competition for semi-finals on Saturday, January 21, 2023 and/or the final round on Friday, January 27, 2023. Setting aside a few hours of your time makes a big difference to the students:

It was great hearing feedback from people who have done this in real life and do this for a living because they understood the work and the process and how much time and effort we put into the mock trial, and it was clear that they valued our time and effort that we put into the competition and that made us want to do more to improve. —Ibenehita, Trinity High School Student

Mock trial has tested my limits of what I can do in a week. When the judge makes their ruling, it is a huge relief, and it makes me proud of what we’ve accomplished. My mother is an attorney advisor, mock trial lets me see what my mother does in real life and so it is cool to see what she does in action. —Sophia, Trinity High School Student

Mock trial brings life to a debate program. This allows for a level playing field for students to have opportunities where they feel like they can have a job in law someday. For students that don’t have familiarity in the legal world, seeing someone that they can relate to, and experiencing the courtroom for the first time as an attorney and in a friendly experience, it gives them a first glimpse of the law and they start to see that it is something they can be a part of. Having actual attorneys as judges means the world to the students. —Ms. Ramsey, Trinity High School Mock Trial Coach

A common phrase used is “investing in the new generation.” Time is one of the most important things to a man because you can never get more. So, by seeing attorneys use their spare time to watch and score us means that they value us or want to invest in the new generation. —Gracie, Covenant Classical School Student

90% of the students that we have say it is the single most formative experience for their high school career. Beyond that, mock trial is so empowering. I had a student last year say, I’ve learned that I have the right to be heard. The reason I keep doing it every year is because of the return on investment on what we are putting into these kids is amazing. For attorneys that may be interested in judging, 1st they will be wowed by the students’ skills and will be inspired and who are conquering fear and able to make complex legal arguments. I volunteer because it is inspiring to see the students. Rarely if ever do we have an attorney judge a round then walk away dissatisfied. —Judge Burgess, Covenant Classical School Mock Trial Coach