African-American Lawyers Section

2004-2005

Year-End Report

Nydia D. Thomas, Chair

The benchmark event of the year for the African-American Lawyers Section (AALS) was its successful Voting Rights Seminar at South Texas College of Law in Houston on October 9, 2004.    The section effectively coordinated with co-sponsors to offer, as a public service, timely continuing legal education at no cost to members.  

The section also made strides in ensuring continuity of participation in State Bar programmatic efforts at the Council of Chairs and related committees.   At the Texas Minority Council Program conference in San Antonio, AALS participated in the Section Showcase and published a special conference issue of the Fall/Winter 2004 Newsletter for distribution at the event.  In addition, AALS was one of several diversity-related sections to spearhead a health law forum on the cultural and legal aspects of organ donation scheduled during the 2005 Annual Meeting. 

As part of an ongoing effort to strengthen relations with the National Bar Association (NBA), the section formalized its NBA affiliate status and Council members Lisa Tatum and Goodwille Pierre were elected as Region V Directors.   Section Chair Nydia Thomas reinforced involvement with NBA affiliates chapters by representing AALS at meetings in Houston and Austin.   

In February 2005, the section contracted to finalize a design for a new website, www.texasblacklawyers.com which is scheduled to be launched in May.   

Overall, the energy and heightened visibility of the section at activities such as TMCP, National Bar events and the effective usage of listserve communication has contributed to renewed interest and has increased membership.