Young Lawyers Association 1414  Austin, Texas 78701-1627 800.204.2222, Ext. 1529, 512.427.1529, FAX: 512.427.4117 www.tyla.org

OFFICERS Cancellation of the 2020 National Trial Competition: President Victor Flores, Plano Chair The National Trial Competition, hosted by the Texas Young Lawyers Association Courtney Barksdale Perez, Dallas Vice President and the American College of Trial Lawyers, has been the premier law school trial Donald Delgado, College Station competition since it was established in 1975. The competition attracts teams from Secretary Michael J. Ritter, San Antonio more than 140 law schools and involves more than 1,000 law students each year. Treasurer The 2020 NTC Final Rounds were set to be hosted in Fort Worth, April 1-5th. Sara Anne Giddings, San Angelo President-elect Britney E. Harrison, Dallas However, in response to the declared Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, this Chair-elect Tim Williams, Amarillo year’s National Trial Competition has been cancelled. Immediate Past President Sally Pretorius, Dallas After communicating with the Tarrant County Public Health Department, it was DIRECTORS made clear to us, based on the data that was shared, that hosting a large event like John Busch, Houston Eduardo Marquez Certucha, Houston NTC with students traveling from some of the country’s epicenters of the Reina Cisneros, Big Spring Coronavirus, including among others California, , New York and Erin R. Clegg, Frisco Kirk Cooper, El Paso Florida, would present a severe risk for those residents and visitors of Fort Worth Ryan Cox, San Antonio and Tarrant County, the State of Texas, and the multiple other states represented Donald Delgado, College Station at the National Trial Competition. Brandon Draper, Richmond M. Kaylan Dunn, Houston Katie A. Fillmore, Austin We acknowledge the inconvenience and disappointment that this presents to Jefferson Fisher, Beaumont Jay Forester, Dallas many of the law students that committed significant time and financial resources Josúe J. Galvan, San Antonio to successfully place themselves in the Final Rounds. However, it’s our social David R. Hagan, Longview Meagan T. Harding, Houston responsibility to approach this matter from a much larger perspective. We all Travis Heller, Fort Worth have family and friends that may eventually be touched by this virus, directly or Ashley Hymel, Houston indirectly. On behalf of TYLA, we want to make sure that we do our best to Rebecca Patterson Linehan, Midland Matthew S. Manning, Corpus Christi protect you and your loved ones from having to endure those hardships. Nicholas D. Mosser, Plano Tim Newman, Dallas Brady L. Pendleton, Stephenville We appreciate everyone’s patience and understanding as TYLA has worked and Laura Pratt, Lubbock communicated with the Tarrant County Public Health Department, the American Jeanine Rispoli, Waco Marcos Rosales, Houston College of Trial Lawyers, the State Bar of Texas, and many other important Julia Rubio, Laredo stakeholders. We apologize if our response gives the illusion that there was doubt Lauren Renee Sepulveda, Edinburg Susan F. Smith, Fort Worth or undue delay. It was not. We’ve been diligent, measured, and respectful of the Taylor Smith, Dallas complexity and fluidity of the issues. Johnathan Stone, Austin Lindsey Vanden Eykel, Dallas Tim Williams, Amarillo On behalf of the Texas Young Lawyers Association, we appreciate your patience Reginald Wilson, Houston and kind understanding. We invite you to send any pending questions to Jonathan Zendeh Del, Galveston [email protected]. LIAISONS Justice Paul Green, Texas Supreme Court Jenny Smith, Access to Justice Better Together, John W. Ellis, ABA YLD District 25 Hisham A. Masri, ABA YLD District 26 Dean Robert B. Ahdieh, Law School Brandon Cofield, Law Student

OFFICE Tracy Brown, Director of Administration Victor A. Flores Bree Trevino, Project Coordinator 2019-2020 President, Michelle Palacios, Office Manager Texas Young Lawyers Association