TYLA PRESIDENT’S PAGE MARCH 2022
The Future Is Friendly
This month I’m marching forward, pun intended, celebrating Women’s
History Month, International Women’s Day on March 8, International Day
of Happiness and the beginning of spring on March 20, and National
Common Courtesy Day on March 21. Don’t fret if you aren’t female;
everyone is welcome to celebrate!
In the foreword that U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg
wrote for U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia’s book Scalia
Speaks, she said this: “If our friendship encourages others to
appreciate that some very good people have ideas with which we disagree,
and that, despite differences, people of goodwill can pull together for
the well-being of the institutions we serve and our country, I will be
overjoyed, as I am confident Justice Scalia would be.” Justice Sandra
Day O’Connor also wrote about the importance of civility, saying,
“Unfortunately civility is hard to codify or legislate, but you know it
when you see it. It’s possible to disagree without being
disagreeable.”
This month I am excited to launch our civility projects! Civility
in the Classroom is an educational resource to teach students the
history and importance of civility in the law. Our Civility Hub will
have resources and inspiration for lawyers and will be similar to TYLA’s
successful Attorney Wellness Hub. We took inspiration from famous
friendships like Scalia’s and Ginsburg’s, and in turn, I hope both of
these civility resources will inspire kindness and respect for lawyers,
future lawyers, and our communities. In my experiences with the State
Bar of Texas and Texas Young Lawyers Association, I have seen people of
goodwill pull together for the well-being of Texas lawyers and all
Texans.
To celebrate Women’s History Month and the women who make up 37% of
the State Bar of Texas, I’ll end with two more quotes from our first two
female U.S. Supreme Court justices. O’Connor once said, “I think the
important thing about my appointment is not that I will decide cases as
a woman, but that I am a woman who will get to decide cases.” Ginsburg
once said, “Women belong in all places where decisions are being
made.”
Jeanine Novosad Rispoli
2021-2022 President, Texas Young Lawyers Association
For more information on TYLA, contact them at tyla@texasbar.com or go to tyla.org.
