FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 26, 2019
Contact: Amy Starnes
Public Information Director, State Bar of Texas
(800) 204-2222, ext. 1706, or (512) 427-1706
astarnes@texasbar.com

Larry McDougal Sr. of Richmond elected State Bar of Texas president-elect

AUSTIN — Texas attorneys elected Larry P. McDougal Sr. of Richmond to be president-elect of the State Bar of Texas.

McDougal received 52 percent of the 24,252 votes cast during the month-long voting period that ended April 30. His opponent Jeanne Cezanne “Cezy” Collins of El Paso received 47 percent of the votes. Write-in candidates accounted for less than 1 percent of the votes cast.

McDougal will be sworn in as president-elect at the State Bar Board of Directors meeting on June 13 in Austin and will serve as president of the State Bar of Texas from June 2020 to June 2021.

McDougal is certified in criminal law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization and the founder of a namesake law office where he practices with his son. McDougal has previously served as a police officer, firefighter, and an assistant district attorney.

He served on the State Bar Board of Directors from 2012 to 2015 and continues to serve on the State Bar Continuing Legal Education Committee. He is the District 5 Grievance Committee chair for the State Bar and District 5 nominating chair for the Texas Bar Foundation. McDougal also serves on the Texas Criminal Defense Lawyers Association Ethics Committee, Ethics Hotline, and Strike Force. He teaches legal ethics to lawyers around the state and is a member of several professional associations.

McDougal won the President’s Award from the Texas Criminal Defense Lawyers Association in 2009, TexasBarCLE Standing Ovation Award in 2014, and the Outstanding Third-Year Director Award from the State Bar of Texas in 2015, among other accolades.

He earned his J.D. from South Texas College of Law in 1990.

In other results, the following individuals were elected to the State Bar of Texas Board of Directors:

Christina M. Davis, Tyler, District 2; Kate Bihm, Conroe, District 3; Diane St. Yves, Houston, District 4, Place 1; Michael K. Hurst, Dallas, District 6, Place 1; Rebekah Steely Brooker, Dallas, District 6, Place 5; Jason Smith, Fort Worth, District 7, Place 2; Yolanda Cortes Mares, Temple, District 8; Adam Schramek, Austin, District 9, Place 2; Santos Vargas, San Antonio, District 10, Place 2; David Sergi, San Marcos, District 15.

Texas Young Lawyers Association election

In the Texas Young Lawyers Association election, Britney Harrison of Dallas was elected president-elect and will serve as TYLA president from June 2020 to June 2021. Harrison received 59 percent of the 4,550 votes cast, while her opponent, Tim Newman, also of Dallas, received 40 percent. Write-in candidates accounted for 1 percent of the votes cast.

Harrison is vice president of the Texas Young Lawyers Association. She began serving on the TYLA Board of Directors in 2016 as an at-large director.

Harrison has contributed to and led several TYLA projects, including the Divorce Guide for Teens, Not a Victim, Free From Violence, and the FMLA Guide for Employers. In 2017, she received the TYLA Keith L. Krueger Leadership Award for her commitment to integrity and public service and in 2018 the President’s Award of Merit for her significant contributions to TYLA.

Harrison began her legal career in Austin after graduating from the University of Texas School of Law. She is a family law practitioner at GoransonBain Ausley in Dallas. Harrison began her bar service through the Austin Black Lawyers Association, for which she served as vice president. She was a director for the Austin Young Lawyers Association, participated in the Austin Bar/AYLA Leadership Academy, and is a LeadershipSBOT graduate. Harrison is also a Texas Bar Foundation Fellow.

The following individuals were elected to the TYLA Board of Directors:

David R. Hagan, Longview, District 1; Laura Pratt, Lubbock, District 3; Taylor A. Smith, Dallas, District 5, Place 1; Jay Forester, Dallas, District 5, Place 3; Marcos Rosales, Houston, District 6, Place 3; Reginald Wilson, Houston, District 6, Place 5; Jefferson Fisher, Beaumont, District 7; Johnathan Stone, Austin, District 8, Place 1; Jeanine Rispoli, Waco, District 9; Susan F. Smith, Fort Worth, District 10, Place 1; Erin R. Clegg, Frisco, District 11; Lauren Renee Sepulveda, Edinburg, District 13; Brady Pendleton, Stephenville, District 15; Rebecca Patterson Linehan, Midland, District 17; Julia Rubio, Laredo, District 19; Jonathan Zendeh Del, Galveston, District 21.

Detailed election results are available at texasbar.com/election.

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The State Bar of Texas is an administrative agency of the Supreme Court of Texas that provides educational programs for the legal profession and the public, administers the minimum continuing legal education program for attorneys, and manages the attorney discipline system. For more information, follow us on Twitter and Instagram @statebaroftexas, like us on Facebook at facebook.com/statebaroftexas, or visit texasbar.com.

The Texas Young Lawyers Association, organized in 1930, is commonly referred to as the“public service arm” of the State Bar of Texas. TYLA’s primary purposes are to facilitate the administration of justice, foster respect for the law, and advance the role of the legal profession in serving the public. All licensed Texas lawyers 36 years old or younger or in their first five years of practice, regardless of age, are automatically members of TYLA. For more information, visit tyla.org.