Texas Bar Journal • July/August 2024

‘The Power to Affect Positive Change and Pursue Justice’

Texas’ newest lawyers join the profession.

Written by Will Korn

ABOVE: Kathryn Strickland (center), the high scorer on the February 2024 Texas Bar Examination and a graduate of Harvard Law School, with (from left) Texas Board of Law Examiners Director of Admissions Michael Sullivan, Supreme Court of Texas Justice Brett Busby, Supreme Court of Texas Chief Justice Nathan L. Hecht, and Texas Board of Law Examiners Board Member Carlos Soltero. PHOTO BY WILL KORN

In the company of family and friends, the Supreme Court of Texas, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, the Texas Board of Law Examiners, and members of the State Bar of Texas, the newest class of attorneys were officially sworn in to the profession during the New Lawyers Induction Ceremony May 6 at Bass Concert Hall in Austin.

Speakers at the induction included 2023-2024 State Bar of Texas President Cindy Tisdale; 2023-2024 Texas Young Lawyers Association President Laura Pratt; Texas Board of Law Examiners Board Member Carlos Soltero; and Supreme Court of Texas Chief Justice Nathan L. Hecht, who led the new attorney class through the lawyers’ oath.

Kathryn Strickland, a 2024 graduate of Harvard Law School who plans to join Wilmer Hale in Washington, D.C., as an associate this fall, was the high scorer on the February 2024 Texas Bar Examination. Hailey Standridge, a May 2024 graduate of Regent University School of Law in Virginia Beach, Virginia, was the second-highest scorer. Natalie Drott, a November 2023 graduate of Baylor Law School and an associate of Wilson, Robertson & VanDeventer in Tyler, was the exam’s third-highest scorer.

Tisdale congratulated members of the new class on their accomplishments, encouraging them to seek out mentorship, provide their own mentorship when possible, and never to be afraid to ask for help when needed as they contend with the rigors of the practice of law. “I want to welcome you to what I consider the best profession in the world,” Tisdale said.

Pratt followed with an overview of the numerous benefits TYLA has to offer new inductees, including access to a wealth of online marketing tutorials and tips, as well as TYLA’s wellness platform.

Strickland, a quadriplegic who broke her neck and was paralyzed after being struck by a car early in her freshman year of undergrad at UT Austin, delivered her high scorer speech to the class of attorneys, encouraging each of them to use their stature in the law for the greater good.

“Passing the Texas bar exam is such an immense accomplishment. Regardless of the path that brought you here, congratulations. We did it,” said Strickland, who told the Texas Bar Journal that she had to take her bar exam over a four-day stretch to accommodate the need for headphones and a microphone for her to dictate her responses to exam questions rather than typing or writing. “We made the necessary sacrifices, we learned the endless rules and pneumonic devices, and we conquered that exam. I hope each and every one of you will use the power and privilege we are gifted as attorneys to affect positive change, to pursue justice, to serve our communities, to support each other, and to promote inclusion and agency for all.”

Soltero then presented the list of successful examinees to Hecht, who guided the new attorneys through the lawyer’s oath. Hecht emphasized the importance of honoring both the U.S. and Texas constitutions, practicing with integrity, discharging duties ethically to clients, and operating with civility in court proceedings. “You, therefore, have a special responsibility not only to those you represent but to our profession and to this great experiment in democracy,” Hecht said. “I hope your practice will be meaningful and that in the words of the great Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes, ‘You will live greatly in the law.’”