In this week’s P.S. column, the San Antonio Legal Services Association and another nonprofit are seeking volunteer lawyers to participate in a housing rights workshop on Saturday to educate tenants on housing rights and show them how to draft repair requests. Also, the Center for Women in Law will honor Reed Smith global managing partner Casey Ryan with the Hortense Ward Courageous Leader Award at its April 4 luncheon, featuring BBC journalist Katty Kay as keynote speaker. Finally, The Texas Lawbook invites submissions on pro bono collaborations between corporate legal departments and law firms for a new monthly column.
Call for Volunteer Lawyers
The San Antonio Legal Services Association and nonprofit My City is My Home needs lawyers and law students to volunteer on Saturday at a Tenant Repair Workshop.
The workshop is intended to educate tenants in Northwest San Antonio on their rights under the Texas Property Code. Volunteer attorneys will help draft repair request letters to landlords and answer legal questions about housing.
The hour-and-a-half workshop begins at 12:30 p.m. and will be held at River City Federal Credit Union at 5308 Wurzbach Road in Leon Valley, an enclave surrounded by San Antonio.
Volunteers are encouraged to register online here.
Reed Smith’s MP Celebrated
The Center for Women in Law will hold its biennial award luncheon April 4 at the Hyatt Regency Austin.
The luncheon unites supporters and allies to celebrate the Center’s mission of advancing women in the legal profession while honoring a lawyer with the esteemed Hortense Ward Courageous Leader Award for demonstrating tenacity, courage and commitment in the pursuit of gender parity within the field.
This year’s award recipient is Casey Ryan, global managing partner and executive committee chair of Reed Smith. In her nearly 29 years at Reed Smith, Ryan has served in several leadership roles and developed key associate initiatives. She represents management in employment and labor matters and her client list includes Carnegie Mellon University, Verizon Communications and BMW.
Katty Kay, a U.S. special correspondent for BBC Studios, will be the keynote speaker. Kay is a Washington D.C.-based journalist and book author who has lived and reported from the Middle East, South Africa, Japan, Europe and the U.S. Many of her books are about issues affecting girls and women in their careers.
The co-chairs for this year’s luncheon are Sandra L. Phillips, senior vice president of corporate resources, general counsel and chief legal officer for Toyota Motor North America, and Katie B. Hobson, assistant attorney general within the environmental protection division of the Office of the Texas Office of the Attorney General.
The award luncheon committee includes Honorable Marilyn Aboussie, former chief justice of the court of appeals for the Third District of Texas, Alex Wilson Albright, Kellie Bobo, Shonn Brown, Lori Cohen, Deborah Coldwell, Lisa Atlas Genecov, Marcy Greer, Beth Hecht, Ashley Hill, Jane Smith and Jennifer Stuhldreher.
Sponsors include Reed Smith, Haynes Boone, Norton Rose Fulbright, Judge Marilyn Aboussie, Akin, Greenberg Traurig, Linda Broocks/Kean Miller, King & Spalding, Melanie Gray & Mark Wawro, Sidley, Vistra, Alexander Dubose Jefferson, Lisa Atlas Genecov & Nancy F. Atlas/Atlas ADR, Baker Botts, Beveridge & Diamond, Bowman and Brooke, Clark Hill, DLA Piper, Dykema, Hogan Lovells, Jae Law Group, Jackson Walker, Latitude Flexible Legal Talent, Littler, Cisselon Nichols & Jim Hurd, Ambassador Carrin F. Patman, Sandra L. Phillips, Casey Ryan, Shell, Toyota, Troutman Pepper Locke, Vinson & Elkins, Winston & Strawn, Hilda Galvan, Hutcheson Bowers, Daniella Landers, Vista Lyons, Julia Simon and McCraw Gantt.
Ticket information and more can be found by clicking here.
GCs and Law Firms Team Up for Pro Bono
The Texas Lawbook is seeking examples of corporate in-house legal departments partnering with their outside law firms on pro bono and public service projects.
The Lawbook is planning to do a monthly column on any pro bono efforts — from helping military veterans with benefits and immigrants seeking asylum to representing senior citizens who have been victims of fraud or abuse and the creation of new nonprofits — handling jointly by in-house counsel and the lawyers they work with on business matters.
To provide examples, please contact Mark Curriden and Krista Torralva at mark.curriden@texaslawbook.netand krista.torralava@texaslawbook.net.