FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 16, 2026
Contact: Rebecca Johnson
Public Affairs Director, State Bar of Texas
512-427-1714;
rjohnson@texasbar.com
Texas Young Lawyers Association receives Texas Bar Foundation grant; New website will highlight public service careers for attorneys
AUSTIN — The Texas Young Lawyers Association (TYLA) is proud to announce it has received a $45,000 grant from the Texas Bar Foundation to create a resource hub for young attorneys and law students highlighting public service opportunities and the benefits of careers in public service. Called “For the Public: Texas Lawyers in Public Service,” the site is expected to launch in early spring.
The project aims to get young lawyers and law students interested in careers in public service by illustrating their benefits, including mentorship, quality of life, community impact, purpose, leadership, and loan forgiveness.
"I was not someone who saw myself as a lifelong public servant,” TYLA President Alyson A. Martinez said. “But after serving as a public defender, I was able to see how the work of public service attorneys helps shape the health and wellbeing of our communities. That impact means so much to me, and being able to give back to the communities I love in this way makes all the work worth it."
Martinez, currently the director of the Webb and Zapata County Community Supervision and Corrections Department, proposed "For the Public” as TYLA’s signature project for her presidential year to demystify career paths in public service for fellow attorneys and law students.
With interactive features and videos, the site will be a comprehensive resource on the different types of public service careers for lawyers in Texas. Profiles and videos of outstanding lawyers currently working in various public service capacities across the state will showcase both the most common career options and lesser-known opportunities.
TYLA is excited to add this upcoming resource to its myriad digital materials educating Texans on the judiciary system, legal rights, and the legal education system. Past projects tackled issues such as constitutional rights, legal rights gained at age 18, jury service and how jury trials work, wrongful criminal convictions, education law, and animal abuse laws. To see links to all of TYLA’s educational websites, visit https://tyla.org/resources/.
This project would not be possible without help from the Texas Bar Foundation. TYLA is proud to continue to partner with the foundation to serve Texans and Texas attorneys. Since its inceptionin 1965, the Texas Bar Foundation has awarded more than $30 million in grants to law-related programs. Supported by members of the State Bar of Texas, the Texas Bar Foundation is the nation's largest charitably funded bar foundation.
