Dear School Law Section Members:
On behalf of the State Bar School Law Section, I cordially extend my best
wishes to you and your families this year. It seems as if every year brings new
challenges for those involved with educational institutions; however, what we
all aim to achieve is that our interests never rise higher than the students of our
great State. The hallmark of a great lawyer, whether in the field of education
law or another area, is one who listens first, asks necessary questions and attempts to resolve matters in a professional and expedient manner. To this end, our Section is fortunate to have some great mentors that are willing to lend a helping hand and give guidance to those that are new to our area of law or the practice. In recognition of our long legacy of leaders, each year at our annual Retreat we honor individuals upon who we built our Section, most notably this last year our Section presented the “Kelly Frels Lifetime Achievement Award” to Thomas Arnold Garner, Jr. (posthumously), Dorcas Green and Cecil Morgan. Like Kelly Frels, these three individuals practiced school law for many years and exemplified the virtues our Section aims to instill amongst its members: a strong work ethic; good nature; and exemplary legal skills.
Our Section has a great year planned with different events, such as our conference which was held in coordi- nation with the University of Texas, on February 19-20, 2015 at the Renaissance Hotel in Austin. We also have our annual Summer Retreat slated to be held on July 23-25, 2015, which is a great time for our members and families to come together and enjoy each other in a relaxed setting.
In closing, I hope that this year is marked with great success for all. As a new legislative session is upon us, it is incumbent that all of us make our voices heard to ensure that our clients’ interests are taken into consider- ation by our State leaders. With your continued support and attendance at our functions, I know that our Section will continue to be amongst the highest regarded Sections of the State Bar.
Juan J. Cruz
Section Chair 2015-2016