2021-2022 TYLA President-elect Candidates
The Texas Young Lawyers Association Board of Directors approved the
nominations of Michael J. Ritter, of San Antonio, and
Reginald D. Wilson Jr., of Houston, as 2021-2022
president-elect candidates. This year, nominees for president-elect are
from metropolitan counties. Biographies of the candidates are featured
here. Interviews with the two candidates will be included in the April
issue. Votes for TYLA president-elect and district directors can be cast
via paper ballot or by voting online from April 1-30. On April 1,
attorneys eligible to vote will be mailed an election packet, including
a paper ballot and campaign brochures. Attorneys may either submit their
paper ballot via mail or vote online using the information provided. The
deadline to cast ballots is 5 p.m. CDT on April 30.
Michael J. Ritter
San Antonio
Michael Ritter lives in San Antonio
with his husband, Dilshan, and their two rescue puppies, Lolo and
Poncherello. Overcoming a speech disorder known as “cluttering,” Ritter
became interested in the law through high school debate. In 2010, he
became the first in his family to complete a post-college education and
become a lawyer.
Ritter is a staff attorney at the 4th Court of Appeals in San Antonio.
He is certified in civil appeals and criminal appeals by the Texas Board
of Legal Specialization and has been recognized among San Antonio’s top
appellate attorneys by San Antonio Magazine. Ritter also works
a part-time job in the education industry.
He is TYLA’s vice president and has served as its secretary and on
several committees. Ritter has received personal and project awards from
TYLA, the American Bar Association, the State Bar of Texas, and Texas
Bar College and is a Texas Bar Foundation sustaining life fellow.
He has also served as president of the Texas Association of Appellate
Court Attorneys and the San Antonio LGBT Bar Association and as a member
of the San Antonio Young Lawyers Association Board of Directors.
In his spare time, Ritter volunteers to benefit at-risk youth,
especially those identifying as LGTBQ+. Learn more about him at mjritter.com.
Reginald D. Wilson Jr.
Houston
Reginald D. Wilson Jr. is a
first-generation college graduate raised in Houston. He is the youngest
of eight siblings. Since 2017, Wilson has been the TYLA District 6,
Place 5 director, where he serves as co-chair of the Law Focused
Education Committee and member of the Public Service in the Community
and Attorney Wellness committees. For his service in TYLA, he received
the distinguished Keith L. Krueger Leadership Award in 2020.
Wilson is a senior associate of Norton Rose Fulbright US in the public
law practice group. He serves on firm committees focused on the
recruitment, retention, and promotion of new attorneys. Wilson
volunteers at the Michael E. DeBakey VA Medical Center and awards
scholarships to students sitting for the bar examination through his
nonprofit organization. He mentors high school students, college
students, law school students, and new attorneys.
Wilson lives in Houston with his wife, Gabrielle, and dog, Capone. He
played football for the Fighting Tigers of Texas Southern University,
where he was a two-time captain, and received his J.D. from Texas
Southern University Thurgood Marshall School of Law in 2015. In his
spare time, Wilson loves barbecuing, watching the Food Network,
traveling, and hosting game nights with Gabrielle.
2021-2022 TYLA Executive Committee Election
At the January meeting of the Texas Young Lawyers Association Board of Directors, the following members were approved to run for the specified offices. A ballot was provided to all TYLA directors, and the winner of each race is listed first in each position.
CHAIR-ELECT
Lauren Sepúlveda
Judge Lauren Renee Sepúlveda is the
presiding judge for the McAllen Municipal Court. Sepúlveda joined the
Texas Young Lawyers Association board in 2017 as the District 13
director and currently serves as secretary. She has contributed to
several TYLA projects, including The Paper Chase Legal Writing
Competition, the National Trial Competition, the
Lawyers Passport for Basic Immigration Law, Proud to Be An
American, and Vote America: Court the Vote, and serves as
project co-lead on this year’s racial justice project. Sepúlveda was a
member of the LeadershipSBOT Class of 2016-2017, received the State Bar
of Texas Government Law Section Rising Advocate Award in 2017, and is
currently serving as a council member for the State Bar’s Criminal
Justice Section.
Ashley Hymel
Ashley Hymel practices in Houston,
serving small businesses. She serves the Texas Young Lawyers Association
as its treasurer and as the director for District 6, Place 4. Hymel also
oversees Services to the Profession Committee projects, including the
Evidence Guide, the Predicate Guide, a Business
Development Podcast, and more. Before TYLA, she served the National
Trial Competition for five years and, since joining, has contributed to
projects, including The Musician’s Guide to Knowing Your
Rights, The Suicide Prevention Guide, The Choice,
Proud to be An American, TYLA’s state and national
competitions, and Your Voice, Now! Hymel has also received the
following TYLA awards: President’s Award of Merit (2018), the award for
Outstanding First Year Director (2019), and the Advocacy Award
(2020).
VICE PRESIDENT
Laura Pratt
Laura Pratt is an attorney at Brady
& Hamilton, practicing commercial litigation with a focus on eminent
domain, administrative law, and agricultural law. She has served on the
Texas Young Lawyers Association board as the District 3 director from
2013 to 2015 and from 2019 to 2021. Pratt has organized and contributed
to numerous TYLA projects over the years, but some of her more recent
favorites include Iconic Women in Legal History, Your Voice
Now!, Texas Courts for Texas Veterans, Vote
America!, and Slavery Out of the Shadows. She has received
several awards for her service to the TYLA board. Pratt is a Texas Bar
Foundation life fellow and a member of the Texas Bar College. She is
married to Joshua and has three children, Zachary, Alexander, and
Victoria.
Julia Rubio
Julia Rubio is the chief prosecutor for
the Special Victims Unit at the Webb-Zapata County District Attorney’s
Office where she has worked for over five years. A native Laredoan, she
attended the University of Texas at Austin where she pursued degrees in
finance and Spanish. Rubio later graduated from the University of Texas
School of Law in 2015 and returned to her hometown to begin her legal
career. Interestingly, she works alongside her twin sister and first
cousin who are both prosecutors in Laredo. Rubio looks forward to
traveling when the pandemic comes to an end, enjoys spending time with
her friends and family, and is proud to represent her district as a
Texas Young Lawyers Association director.
SECRETARY
Hisham Masri
Hisham Masri is responsible for
employment law matters as employment counsel to Flowserve in Irving. He
joined the TYLA board in 2019 as the American Bar Association
representative for North Texas, and he received the Outstanding First
Year Director Award for his work on the Diversity Retention
Guide. In 2020, Masri transitioned to a TYLA director role. Now he
chairs the Local Affiliates and Law Student Outreach committees and
leads several projects. Masri serves on the Dallas Association of Young
Lawyers Board of Directors, co-chairs the DAYL Lawyers Promoting
Diversity Committee, serves as the public relations chair of the DFW
Muslim Bar Association, and volunteers as a judge for the Plano Teen
Court. He and his wife, Victoria, live in Plano with their newborn
daughter, Celine.
Josué Galván
Josué Galván is an attorney in the
Trial and Appellate Litigation Group of Jackson Walker’s San Antonio
office. He is a second-year TYLA director representing District 18,
Place 1, and he has contributed to initiatives such as the
Educator’s Toolkit, Job Interview Guide, and
Evidence Guide. Galván received the President’s Award of Merit
in 2020 and currently co-chairs TYLA’s Young Lawyer Resources/Service to
the Profession Committee. Galván also serves on the San Antonio Young
Lawyers Association Board of Directors and the State Bar of Texas
Diversity in the Profession Committee and is a fellow of the Texas Bar
Foundation. Before becoming an attorney, he taught seventh grade
science. Galván resides in San Antonio with his wife, Yvette, and their
three pets.
TREASURER
Rebecca Patterson Linehan
Rebecca Patterson Linehan is an
assistant district attorney and trial team chief for the Midland County
District Attorney’s Office. She serves as the Texas Young Lawyers
Association’s District 17 director and co-chairs the Public Service in
the Community Committee. Linehan has contributed to numerous TYLA
projects, including the Criminal Enhancements CLE webinar that
was filmed and distributed by the State Bar of Texas. She was a
recipient of the President’s Award of Merit in 2018 and 2019 and the
President’s Award in 2020. Before her membership on the TYLA board,
Linehan served on the board of the Midland County Young Lawyers
Association for four years and is currently vice president of the
Midland County Bar Association. She and her husband, Russell, have one
son, Flynn.
David R. “Dave” Hagan
David R. “Dave” Hagan grew up in
northeast Texas exposed to legal arguments over dinner between his
father, a criminal defense attorney, and his mother, a former district
attorney and a district judge. Hagan received his B.A. from the
University of Texas at Austin in 2013 and graduated with a J.D. from
Baylor Law School in 2016. After working as an assistant criminal
district attorney for about three years, he opened his own practice. At
the end of 2019, Hagan joined the Sloan Firm. He serves on the Longview
Teen Court Board of Directors and as the District 1 representative of
the Texas Young Lawyers Association Board of Directors. Hagan is a
member of the Texas Trial Lawyers Association and the Texas Criminal
Defense Lawyers Association.
