STATE BAR DIRECTOR SPOTLIGHT FEBRUARY 2023
Elizabeth Sandoval Cantu
Interview by Will Korn
Photo courtesy of Elizabeth Sandoval Cantu
Hometown: Chicago, Illinois
Position: Partner in Ramon Worthington Nicolas &
Cantu in Edinburg
Board Member: At-large director since 2022
In my first six months as a bar director, I am proud of
the work I am doing with the Performance Measures and Strategic Planning
subcommittee. The members of this subcommittee are working hard
to ensure the State Bar of Texas supports the administration of the
legal system, ethics for lawyers, and equal access to justice. It’s
rewarding to see and work with other lawyers who believe in our legal
system and who want to advance it for all Texans.
I feel so fortunate to be meeting great lawyers from various parts of
the great state of Texas. You become part of a larger community
of lawyers, and that gives you a sense of purpose outside your local
area and firm. You feel empowered and challenged to be more than you are
and to give back in a way you did not know was possible—at least not for
me.
I will take the lessons of each committee, meeting, and
event with me as I continue to grow my practice and career. We
can always be better and do better, and the directors I have met inspire
me to think about how to benefit my community and how to better serve my
clients. I also believe we have an obligation to help those in less
fortunate situations and to better our profession through civility and
camaraderie. I will be a better person and lawyer because of my time as
a director.
We are here to serve. So, we should listen to
others and observe what is happening in our profession and state to
determine how best to serve. We should be open to ideas, especially
those that differ from our own, because change is growth.
Our chosen career path is stressful and full of
sacrifice—personally and professionally. It is important to
surround yourself with a healthy support network to lean on. A work
family and personal family (in whatever form that may take) will help
you maintain perspective and calm. I believe that longevity and true
success in this profession requires that we always try to maintain
composure and civility and to remember that everything must be balanced.
It is tough to be a young lawyer, and though it may feel overwhelming,
every lawyer, no matter the years in practice, has felt overwhelmed and
out of their depth at some point. Remember you are not alone. Reach out
to someone for help if you need it. Someone is always willing to step
up.
I love to meal prep. Cooking simple meals in the kitchen, with
my three kids bustling in and out (talking about their days), fills me
with a sense of peace and deep gratitude for the blessings in our lives.
My husband of 23 years, Richie, and I love to watch foreign language
films in the evenings and relax before the next hectic day begins. My
twins are getting ready to head off to college, so we are taking in all
the days we have left with them before this next chapter of our lives
begins. I may take up golf once we become empty nesters in five years.
My husband will love that! TBJ
