TYLA PRESIDENT’S PAGE JUNE 2022
The World Is Wide Enough
for All of Us
Serving you as president this past year has been my honor. Since
joining the Texas Young Lawyers Association board in 2019, I’ve seen a
lot of changes—big and small, pandemic related and not pandemic related.
One constant has been TYLA’s heart for young lawyers and our mission to
facilitate the administration of justice, foster respect for the law,
and advance the role of the legal profession in serving the public. At
the beginning of my term I set out to promote civility, and along the
way, I’ve used quotes that have inspired me, including those from U.S.
Supreme Court justices, Star Wars, Disney, You’ve Got
Mail (my favorite movie), TYLA’s Iconic Women in Legal
History, TYLA’s Attorney Wellness Hub, TYLA Past President Victor
Flores, TYLA Immediate Past President Britney Harrison, and many more. I
knew I would learn so much more if I kept listening and working with as
many young lawyers as I could.
I am very proud of our board and the young lawyers who made each of
our projects, committees, and competitions successful. This year we
created so much new content and new projects that I hope you will check
them out at tyla.org and find a little inspiration. Our Civility for
All project created a civility website for lawyers and a civility
website for educators to teach students the importance of civility
through the example of great lawyers like the late U.S. Supreme Court
Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Antonin Scalia. We created federal
evidence and depositions guides, nonprofit leadership guides, new
toolkits, new podcasts, new panel interviews, new translations for
voting information, curriculum about careers in government and the
justice system, and new social media initiatives to bring TYLA projects
to more educators and young lawyers. I’ve wanted to be a family lawyer
my whole life because I am adopted. I wanted to be part of the process
that grows families through our legal system. So for me, the cherry on
top of this beautiful year is the adoption project that teaches children
about adoption.
ABOVE FROM LEFT: Jeanine Novosad Rispoli and husband, Stephen
Rispoli; from left, TYLA Director Tracy Brown, Office Manager Michelle
Palacios, and Project Coordinator Bree Trevino. BOTTOM: The TYLA Board
of Directors with Texas Supreme Court Justices Debra Lehrmann, Jeff
Boyd, Jane Bland, and Judge Lora Livingston of the 261st Civil District
Court. Photos courtesy of Jeanine Novosad Rispoli
The true MVPs every year are TYLA Director Tracy Brown, Project
Coordinator Bree Trevino, and Office Manager Michelle Palacios. TYLA
Past President Victor Flores sums it up beautifully: “TYLA’s legacy of
public service outreach and support of thousands of young lawyers across
the state has been sustained by the unwavering heartbeat of servant
leadership. For TYLA, our heart is comprised of the strength, grace, and
love shared by Tracy Brown, Bree Trevino, and Michelle Palacios.”
Ladies, on behalf of the 2021-2022 TYLA board, thank you for being a
blessing to each of us and to this organization that we love.
When there is great conflict in the news, it can feel daunting, but I
know that as a profession we have a great capacity for civility. Many of
you inspired me and taught me more than I could ever say. In
Hamilton the musical, there is a particularly poignant moment
when Aaron Burr sings, “I should’ve known the world was wide enough for
both Hamilton and me.” The world is wide enough for all of us if we take
after Justice Ginsburg and Justice Scalia instead of Burr and
Hamilton.
To our TYLA board and every TYLA member, thank you from the bottom of my
heart for bringing your passions and perspectives to TYLA. Don’t ever
hesitate to reach out to me if I can support you.
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.
