© 2015 The Texas Lawbook.
By Patricia Baldwin
(April 9) – The sixth annual Champions of Justice Gala Tuesday in Austin raised $401,000 to support legal aid for veterans — for a cumulative total of more than $2 million. Last year, about 8,800 veterans were provided legal assistance. That’s the good news.
The bad news: Texas has nearly 1.7 million veterans, and resources are not sufficient to meet their demands for legal services.
The theme to “do more” and stories of veterans’ needs pervaded the evening of celebration that brought together diverse groups within the legal community, including Supreme Court justices, law school deans, legislators, corporate and law firm attorneys, legal aid practitioners — as well as a former college football coach and a university chancellor.
Keynote speaker William McRaven, chancellor of The University of Texas System and retired U.S. Navy four-star admiral, gave context to the evening’s conversations among the more than 400 attendees.
Borrowing a phrase from a commencement speech he had given, he told the legal gathering he had advised the new graduates about how to change the world: “Start by making your bed.”
He explained that military personnel are constantly adjusting to situations in war.
“At the end of the day, you return to your plywood hooch, and the only thing you controlled that day was your bed,” he noted. “There is trouble in the world today.”
Chancellor McRaven choked up as he spoke of “today’s servicemen and women who wear the flag of the United States and represent all that is good and decent.
“When they come home, all they ask is for a place of safety. All they need is a ‘bed that is made.’ And that is where you come in.”
He said a veteran’s need for legal services can be as simple as obtaining a power of attorney document.
The gala represents “one more chance to help,” said legendary Houston attorney Joe Jamail, known for his philanthropy. “I get more fun from helping than from making money.”
The 89-year-old “King of Torts” was seated at the table in front of the podium and was flanked by former UT football coach Mack Brown and his wife, Sally Brown.
Coach Brown related the story that, before he could officially coach on UT’s Joe Jamail Field, Darrell Royal told him to call the namesake attorney for permission. Approval was obviously conveyed, but Coach Brown noted, with a laugh, “It wasn’t easy.”
Also not easy is getting the word out about the efforts to increase pro bono work, said James Sales, chair emeritus of the Texas Access to Justice Commission and the inspiration behind the gala. On Tuesday, he also received the Commission’s Emily C. Jones Lifetime Achievement Award.
“It’s been a struggle,” Sales said, calling the need “astronomical” in size. “There is no higher service a lawyer can perform.”
Harriet Miers, a Texas Access to Justice commissioner and attorney at Locke Lord, agreed with Sales.
She said she welcomed the opportunity to “honor the service people who keep our country free. We’re here for them.”
Texas Supreme Court Justice Eva Guzman serves as liaison between the court and the commission.
“Too many Texans never get the help they need,” Justice Guzman said.
She told the story of a veteran who, until he received legal assistance, was denied an apartment because of his service dog.
“Legal aid changes lives,” she noted.
Known as “Dean Darby,” as her nametag reflected, she said her attendance at the gala came in conjunction with a class meeting with students in externships in Austin. In addition to the externship work, they are required to participate in pro bono or community service.
Each semester, she said, she has about 35 students in externships throughout the state. Currently, students are assisting Disability Rights Texas in Austin and Kids in Need of Defense (KIND) in Houston.
The gala also honored attorneys who individually had changed lives. In addition to Mr. Sales, retired Texas Supreme Court Justice Wallace Jefferson received the Emily C. Jones Lifetime Achievement Award for his work toward greater transparency, accessibility and equality in the state’s courts.
Peter Hofer, senior litigation attorney for Disability Rights Texas, received the James B. Sales Boots on the Ground Award for his work on behalf of Texas children with disabilities and chronic health conditions.
“So far, they are undefeated,” Mr. Hofer noted.
Betty Balli Torres, executive director of the Texas Access to Justice Foundation, echoed the evening’s sentiments. She called the gala’s fundraising effort “phenomenal,” but also noted there is work to be done.
“Texas has the second highest population of veterans,” she said. The foundation — the largest Texas-based funder for legal services to the poor — administers funds raised by the gala.
Looking around the crowd, she interpreted the evening’s “story” as an obvious “partnership between the private bar and legal aid.”
Co-chair Bob Black said the gala singled out veterans’ needs as “pressing,” but that the commission has an overall broader mission of promoting public awareness of access to justice issues.
“It’s so important that people have access to the system,” Black said.
And as Joe Jamail pointed out, “There’s no vault where I’m going.”
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