The Call in the Middle of the Night: What to do when your friends/family call you from jail?
AtourMarch28thmeeting, thelawofficesofDavidASheppard will discuss how to answer this question and will address the issues involved with various offenses like DWI, DUI and disturbing the peace.
David Sheppard received his undergraduate and Law degree from the University of Texas and has been practicing criminal law for 30 years, first as a felony prosecutor and then in private practice. His practice is exclusively criminal law on both the state and federal level.
He is Board Certified in Criminal Law and is and Adjunct Professor of Law at the University of Texas School of Law.
He is a past president of the Central Texas Federal Bar Association and of the Travis County Bar Association Criminal Law and Procedure sections. He was a founding member and a past president of the Austin Inn ofCourt. He was also a founding member of the Austin Criminal Defense Lawyer’sAssociation. He is listed in the Best Lawyers in America and Texas Monthly’s Super Lawyers.
FROM THE PRESIDENT
March 2007
The first official day of spring may not be until the end of the month, but with the warm weather and budding greenery these days, we are certainly entering the month with the energy of spring.
TCWLA and our Foundation are busy processing award nominations and non- profit grant applications this month. See below for more on our awards program and please nominate someone that you think deserves recognition by her peers. Award nomination forms and grant application information are attached at the end of this newsletter. They are due on March 16th and decisions will be made at the end of the month, so act now! Please note that our annual awards and grants luncheon will be held on Friday, June 15th (not the 13th as previously announced). Our MC will be Shannon Sedgwick of Esther’s Follies, so it promises to be both an entertaining and uplifting event. Save the date!
As many of you know, our annual Judicial Reception in February was a big success and a lot of fun. In continuation of the judicial theme, this month our “Meet Your TCWLA Board Member” profile is our very own Judge Naranjo. We are also kicking off a
new ”Judicial Profile” feature to get to know our local judiciary better throughout the year and not just at our annual reception. The inaugural profile is of Judge Charlie Baird. Come to our March 28th meeting to put your card in the fish bowl to have yourself featured as our April TCWLA Member Profile.
Speaking of our March 28th meeting, David Sheppard will be presenting a criminal law CLE that many of our members have eagerly requested. So few of us know much about criminal law, but almost all of us get questions about (and perhaps actual experience with) how to handle minor offenses. David is overqualified to speak about this subject, but we appreciate his willingness to explain these nuts and bolts of criminal law issues.
Have a terrific month and see you soon!
Warmest Regards,
Joelle Boehle
TCWLA President
TCWLA AWARDS
Please take a few minutes and nominate a colleague for a TCWLA award using the form at the end of this newsletter. TCWLA’s mission includes strengthening the image and position of women lawyers in the community. One way that TCWLA achieves that goal is through its awards program. Since 1991, TCWLA has celebrated the contributions of the unsung heroines of the legal profession. These awards are meant to highlight the low-profile contributions made by members of the profession. These individuals are assets to the local legal community. The award recipients, who are nominated by their peers, show their merit in their work, their volunteer activities and the atmosphere they create in the workplace. The criteria for consideration are that the person practice law in Travis County and serve the local community in some fashion. The nominees need not be members of TCWLA. One of the awards recognizes a firm, organization, or government entity for hiring women or for progressive work-place policies such as innovative job sharing, day care, flex and part-time work programs, or alternative partnership tracks. The other awards are Pro Bono, Public Interest, Litigation, Contribution to Minority Community, President’s Award, and Outstanding Achievement. The awards are presented at the annual awards luncheon this year on June 15th, which is a joyful celebration of the achievements of TCWLA and members of the legal profession during the preceding year. During the luncheon the achievements of each recipient are described in detail and applauded.
Upcoming TCWLA CLE Opportunities
CAFA TRAINING MAY 2007 TCWLA will provide a 1/2 day CLE/ training course for Court Appointed Family Advocates (CAFA) volunteers in early May at the offices of Winstead PC, located at 401 Congress Avenue, Suite 2100. Speakers and topic TBD. If you have topics you need covered and/or would like to volunteer to be a speaker, please contact Paige Castañeda at pcastaneda@winstead.com or Cameron Vann at cvann@advocacyinc.org.
COMING IN THE SPRING -CLE ETHICS BY THE BOOK.
TCWLA will present an ethics course using a mystery novel, the author and panel to discuss the ethics in the book and its application to Texas practice. For more information email Velva Price at velva_p@sbcglobal.net
Meet Your Board Member: Judge Orlinda Naranjo
Practice Area: 419TH District Court, Travis County Employer: StateofTexas
Board Position: Chair of Take Your Daughter to Work
Education: I was born and raised in Northern New Mexico. I received my Bachelor’s Degree in Biology from New Mexico Highlands University in 1976. From 1977 to 1979 I attended New Mexico School of Medicine. In 1985, I received my Law Degree from the University of New Mexico School of Law. I am licensed in New Mexico and Texas.
Judicial Career: I was elected in November, 2006 to a four-year term and took office in December, 2006 as Judge of the 419th District Court. I was elected to Judge of the Travis County Court at Law No. 2 and served for twelve years from January, 1995 to December 2006. From January, 2003 to December, 2006, I was elected by my County Court at Law colleagues as their Local Administrative Judge. In 2001, I was appointed by the Texas Supreme Chief Justice Tom Phillips to the Texas Judicial Council. In January, 2002 I was appointed to the Task Force on Indigent Defense (TFID), a standing statewide 13-member committee that improves the delivery of indigent defense services. I am honored to serve as a member of both the Texas Indigent Defense Task Force and the Texas Judicial Council. These are positions where I can have a voice for the poor, and improve our legal system.
Family: I grew up in Española and am one of seven kids. My parents did not have a formal education. My mother completed eighth grade and my father sixth grade. My earliest challenges were losing my father at the age of 15 and overcoming a state of depression during my junior year of high school, and at the age of 17 becoming a teen parent and wife. In 1985, I met an Austin attorney, Jim Ewbank. He was working on a products liability case in New Mexico. The rest is history, and in 1987, I married him in Taos, New Mexico and moved to Austin, Texas. I have two beautiful daughters, Maria Alena who has her MBA and works with Austin Energy, her husband, Jonathan Skelley and twobeautifultwingranddaughters,AdrienneandSimonewhoare13monthsold. Mynine-yearolddaughter,McLean Ewbank is witty, bright, loves soccer and karate. We have three dogs, a three-legged golden retriever, Huera, a sheltie, Bonnie, and McLean’s shitszhu, Lilly.
Loves to do: I am a voracious reader of fiction books. I love to walk, snow ski, and cook. I am not a gourmet chef by any means but don’t get in my way in the kitchen.
TRAVIS COUNTY WOMEN LAWYERS’ FOUNDATION Application for Legal Services Grant Program
DEADLINE: FRIDAY, MARCH 16, 2007
Instructions: Please complete this application and return it, along with a copy of the organization’s IRS verification of exempt status under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. In order to be considered to receive funds, this application must be completed. If necessary, please attach additional sheets to this application.
Criteria for Awarding Grants:
1. The organization applying must be a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization.
2. The program for which the grant is requested must provide direct legal services to women and/or children in the Central Texas area.
3. TCWLF prefers to fund a specific aspect of an organization’s project, rather than merely contribute to a general operating budget.
On or before March 16, 2007, please mail this form and all attachments to Laurie Higginbotham at Archuleta, Alsaffar & Higginbotham, P.O. Box 340639, Austin, TX 78734. If you have any questions, please call Laurie Higginbotham at 266-7676 or email at lhigginbotham@govtclaim.com. Applications received after March 16, 2007, will not be considered.
2007 TAKE YOUR DAUGHTERS TO WORK DAY
This is your opportunity to take care of your New Year’s Resolution to help your Community be serving as a mentor, even if it’s only for one day. Travis County Woman Lawyers Association has scheduled their premier program, “Take Your Daughters to Work Day”, on Thursday, April 5, 2007 from 8:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. This program reaches out to young girls in the fifth grade at Norman Elementary School located in East Austin. The principal, teachers, and counselors will select twenty (20) girls who have good attendance and grades to participate in the program. This year we are pursuing a mock trial on the state seeking a protective order on a dating violence claim. The past five years our mock trial involved a DUI.
In the past two years, the TYDTW program has received the following two awards from The Texas State Bar: “Outstanding Partnership” and “Certificate of Achievement”.
If you wish to participate in planning the event or helping on the date of this event, please contact the Chair, Judge Orlinda Naranjo, at 854-4023 or email her at orlinda.naranjo@co.travis.tx.us. We always need help with drivers.
Judicial Profile- Judge Charlie Baird
Name — Charlie Baird
Court — 299th District Court of Travis County
History in law — Judge, 299th District Court, present; 1999-2006, visiting trial and appellate judge, and law school professor (Texas Tech University School of Law, Loyola University New Orleans School of Law, and South Texas College of Law); 1990-1998, Judge Texas Court of Criminal Appeals; 1980-1990, engaged in private practice of law. Masters of Law in Judicial Process, University of Virginia, 1995; Doctor of Jurisprudence, South Texas College of Law, 1980.
What you expect from lawyers practicing in your court — I expect lawyers to be professional, prepared and prompt. Those lawyers have a much higher rate of success than those who are not.
Family — I am married to Kristin Baird who is also an attorney. Kristin’s law practice is currently on hold to care for our daughter, Olivia Faith Baird, who was born on December 13th, 2006.
Other personal history you would like to share with the membership — Original co-chair of both the Gender Bias Task force and its corresponding committee implemented to eradicate and eliminate gender bias in the Texas judicial system; former board member of the Austin Rape Crisis Center.
Spring is for SafePlace
Since spring is right around the corner, we will be collecting cleaning supplies for
SafePlace as our spring community service project. Please donate cleaning supplies, such as bathroom and kitchen cleaners, paper towels, sponges, or cleaning equipment at our March and April membership meetings. All donations will be delivered to SafePlace.
Bring yours March 28th!
TCWLA Membership has its privileges!
It is that time of year again–Travis County Women Lawyers Association annual membership drive. Please renew or join today by filling out and mailing in the attached membership form with your $40 annual dues, or see www.tcwla.org for payment by PayPal/credit card.
TCWLA is a diverse group of women lawyers who practice in Travis County. The benefits of membership, to name a few, are:
• Our annual Judicial Reception, honoring our local judiciary at Green Pastures Restaurant in South Austin.
• Free Monthly Meetings and FREE CLE.
• Our annual TCWLAAwards Luncheon on June 15, 2007, where we recognize our 2007 scholarship recipients, award grants to non-profit organizations in Travis County that provide direct legal services to women and children in need, and present awards to female attorneys practicing in Travis County who have achieved professional milestones during the past year.
• MORE CLE – upcoming events: a spring CLE seminar for attorneys representing children and parents in Child Protective Services cases and continued rental of our DVD CLE program entitled “A Day in Federal Court: An Introduction to Federal Court Practice.
• Fellowship, business referrals, networking, support systems, pro bono opportunities, giving back to the community, general camaraderie…
For more information about TCWLA, log onto our website at www.tcwla.org or feel free to contact a boardmember.
We are looking forward to seeing you in 2007!
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