Membership Report

School Of Law Announces Scholarship Honoring Aggie Judge

tarrant county judge david l. evans '71 has been honored with the creation of an endowed dean's scholarship

By Texas A&M University School of Law

During the Texas A&M University System Board of Regents’ most recent meeting, held in Fort Worth in May, Chancellor John Sharp announced the creation of an Endowed Dean’s Scholarship honoring Judge David L. Evans ’71, Presiding Judge of the Eighth Administrative Judicial Region of Texas and former judge of the 48th Judicial District Court in Tarrant County. The new Texas A&M University School of Law scholarship seeks to honor Judge Evans’s dedication to the legal profession, professional integrity, and pursuit of justice and will be awarded to qualified students at the School of Law who embody these characteristics.

“A True Aggie, Judge Evans exemplifies exactly the characteristics we aspire to see in our students, in our graduates, and in our lawyers and leaders as a whole,” said Dean Robert B. Ahdieh. “I’m hopeful this new scholarship offering will help us attract to Texas A&M future attorneys who will advance the Rule of Law and give back to their communities in all the ways that Judge Evans has.”

Judge Evans is a proud third-generation Aggie and a former member of the Corps of Cadets. After graduating from Texas A&M University in 1971, he served in the United States Army before attending Baylor University Law School and receiving his law license in 1978. Judge Evans spent more than two decades in private practice before becoming a judge in 2003. He is board-certified in Civil Appellate Law and Civil Trial Law, served as a director of the State Bar of Texas, served as chair of the Commission for Lawyer Discipline and as vice chair of the Texas Board of Legal Specialization, served as president of the Tarrant County Bar Association, is a sustaining charter fellow and past director of the Tarrant County Bar Foundation, and is a sustaining life fellow and past board member of the Texas Bar Foundation. He is also a member of the Supreme Court of Texas Advisory Committee, the Eldon B. Mahon Inn of Court, and the Texas A&M University School of Law Dean’s Advisory Council, and he is a recipient of both the Distinguished Aggie Lawyer Award and the Texas A&M University School of Law’s Excellence in Judicial Leadership Award.

Esteemed colleagues including Governor Greg Abbott, Senator John Cornyn, and Chief Justice Nathan Hecht shared personal messages of congratulations and commendations for Judge Evans during the scholarship announcement, all noting his work in judicial and legal communities across the state. Governor Abbott said of Judge Evans, “Throughout your career, you have remained steadfast in your pursuit of justice and unwavering in your mission to increase trust in the judiciary,” and through this scholarship “[y]our legacy will live on in the lives of law students for generations to come.”

In receiving this special honor, Judge Evans expressed his gratitude and noted that “[t]here’s not an Aggie that I have met that hasn’t helped me or offered to help others that I know. It is just in the DNA of who we are, as Aggies and as lawyers— to serve. I am humbled beyond words to have this scholarship and help law students pursue their careers in a meaningful way.”

The endowed scholarship has already attracted tremendous interest, and over 60 lawyers and law firms from across the state have committed their support. If you would like more information about the scholarship and/or would like to donate, please contact Ms. Myke Holt with the Texas A&M Foundation at 817.212.4061 or 214.674.1308 or at mholt@txamfoundation.com. Special thanks to those who helped spearhead the creation of the scholarship, especially United States District Judge Mark Pittman ‘97 and Neal Adams ’68. g

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FORT WORTH

BUSINESS & ESTATE SECTION

Since 1949, the Fort Worth Business & Estate Council (FWB&EC), operating as a section of the Tarrant County Bar Association (TCBA), has served as a forum for attorneys, accountants, life underwriters, financial planners, and trust representatives in the field of estate planning to foster meaningful relationships and intelligent conversations on topics relevant to our members. Our section keeps members abreast of laws and conditions affecting businesses, provides timely economic and regulatory updates, and enhances learning opportunities in areas such as tax compliance and planning, the use of insurance as a planning tool, and current developments in estate planning, drafting and administration. We encourage our members to engage in new learning opportunities and make new connections that will increase each of our abilities to deliver exceptional services to the public.

To this end, your 2022–23 FWB&E section officers have been hard at work planning a dynamic and engaging slate of speakers to continue FWB&E’s tradition of high-quality continuing education. FWB&EC traditionally hosts six (6) in person continuing education luncheons at the City Club of Fort Worth on the third Thursday of the month. We kicked off our speaker series on September 22 by hosting a joint meeting with the Fort Worth Chapter of the Texas Society of CPA’s and heard from a panel led by Mike Bourland on Hot Topics in Estate Planning.

Going forward, our monthly member luncheons, graciously sponsored by local companies, are scheduled for the following dates: October 20, 2022, November 17, 2022, January 19, 2023, February 16, 2023 and March 16, 2023. Please mark your calendars and plan to join us at an upcoming meeting and take advantage of the opportunity for increased professional engagement and networking before and after the events. FWB&EC is always looking for speakers, topics, and sponsors to contribute to the depth and breadth of our section so if you or someone you know would like to contribute, please reach out!

Section leadership for the current bar year includes: Ryan Scharar (Chair), Christina Kutej (1st Vice Chair), Colby Van Sickler (2nd Vice Chair), Michael Appleman (Secretary), Justin Lauderdale (Treasurer) and Lindsay Daniel (Immediate Past Chair). On behalf of the TCBA and my fellow section leaders, we want to acknowledge the hard work and job well done by Lindsay Daniel over the past year. Her contributions to the success of our section, combined with her leadership during the COVID-19 pandemic, are very much appreciated and we look forward to her continued support of the section. Also, thank you to the hard-working and dedicated TCBA Staff for their continued support of the section.

If you’re looking to get involved in the TCBA please reach out and join us for an upcoming meeting. You can email our TCBA Staff Liaison, Tracy Card, at tracy@tarrantbar.org with any questions. g

By Ryan Scharar, Fort Worth Business & Estate Section Chair

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