Texas Lawbook Premium Bonus Content: Q&A with Kylie Loya, counsel for the Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County
The Texas Lawbook provides unique and substantive content to our Premium subscribers. In this exclusive interview, METRO staff attorney Kylie Loya discusses the mentors in her life, discusses her best day on the job, provides insight what she looks for when hiring outside counsel and the need for more diversity in the legal profession.
To read Mark Curriden’s full feature on Kylie, go here.
The Texas Lawbook: Who are your life or career mentors?
Kylie Loya: My dad is the most influential person in my life. Like my grandfather, his hard work ethic and strength to overcome adversity has inspired me in all of my endeavors. Despite his limited proficiency in English, he has been able to rise to the top of his trade, overcoming many struggles along the way. Outside of work, he was extremely involved in shaping his children’s academic success and made sure to give us all the resources we needed even if it created a financial or time burden for him. As a child, I did not appreciate this as much as I should have, but I recently became a mother and I do now!
As for career mentors, I really admire METRO’s general counsel and METRO’s deputy general counsel. Both of whom are women, minorities and individuals who have broken barriers to serve in their current positions. They have given me insurmountable opportunities for professional growth, they treat me like a peer and have given me the respect and confidence I need to flourish in my position.
The Texas Lawbook: Tell us about one of your biggest or most important successes at the METRO Authority?
Loya: The Urban Transit Design Review Process was a project I worked with METRO’s urban designer closely on. I was able to help refine guidelines and procedures to incorporate the urban design process into METRO’s future capital transit projects. This concept is closely tied to the idea of universal accessibility, which was a major component of the METRONext referendum approved by voters last fall. It’s a transformative process that looks at the longevity and inclusivity of transit projects for the community. It will allow METRO to redefine what public transit and its spaces could look like.
The Texas Lawbook: What has been your best day at METRO?
Loya: Every year, METRO puts on an event called the “METRO Roadeo” where employees can compete in teams or as individuals in their respective field for first, second and third place. For example, there’s a troubleshooting competition for bus mechanics and a customer service contest for our call center employees. The winners of some categories will advance to the regional competition and then to a national competition. The national competition is always hosted in a different city by other transit agencies.
For much of his 20 years at METRO, my dad has competed and advanced to the regional level and often to the national level. He put a great deal of time and effort into competing, often staying late at work past his shift to practice. When I was a kid, I knew it meant a lot to him, even though I didn’t fully understand it myself until I joined METRO. My best day at METRO was being able to attend the award ceremony for the first time in 2018 when my dad’s team placed first. This ceremony is usually reserved for employees, so I hadn’t been to one before. It was my turn to be a proud daughter and watch my dad be recognized.
The Texas Lawbook: What do you look for in hiring outside counsel? Do you have specific criteria?
Loya: The general counsel hires outside counsel but I’ve been asked for recommendations, and I generally prefer small or boutique-sized firms with someone who has experience in what I consider to be our very niche practice. METRO is a governmental entity, but more specifically it is a political subdivision of the atate so the law is not always clear, cut and dry. We also operate and function much like any other business, so we like to look for counsel who understand these nuances.
The Texas Lawbook: The data for diversity (gender and ethnicity) among law firm partners in Texas remains pathetically low. Why do you think the corporate legal profession in Texas has not made more progress and what is the role of corporate in-house counsel in pushing law firms to become more diverse?
Loya: The Harvard Business Journal published a piece in 2018 highlighting discrepancies, specifically amongst Asian Americans, for management positions in the workplace. It pointed out a 2017 report published by the Yale Law School and the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association that found that Asian Americans are well-represented in law – they’re more than 10% of the graduates of the top 30 law schools – yet have the highest attrition rates and lowest ratio of partners to associates among all racial groups.
As an Asian American woman, this really hits home. I think that there are varying reasons for the lack of representation between genders and ethnicities but the underlining issue is the development of these professionals so they can advance to partnership positions. Law firms are hiring minorities more, but they need to develop that talent as well. In-house counsel should consider the diversity of the law partners, not just the firm as a whole, when hiring outside counsel.
The Texas Lawbook: What are the biggest challenges for corporate in-house counsel in the years ahead?
Loya: I think COVID-19 has impacted many industries, and we all must adjust and respond to the repercussions of this pandemic. I think our clients have been changed, the patterns and behaviors of our customers have changed, and we will all be responding to these changes for years to come.
The Texas Lawbook: Has COVID-19 impacted your practice or your life?
Loya: As a government agency subject to many rules and regulations, I have been busier than ever in response to COVID-19. There are many things that METRO and our clients are doing for the first time that require serious analysis before we can approve such changes and remain compliant with our duties under federal, state and local laws. It was especially difficult to navigate in the beginning because of the quick onset of the pandemic. COVID-19 presented our legal department with many issues of first impression. From moving our board meetings to videoconference while ensuring compliance with the state’s open meeting laws, to transitioning from an exclusively pen and paper institution to electronic signatures – it has been a complete overhaul in our daily practice. In fact, I just finished drafting for board approval health and safety rules requiring the use of facial coverings and other precautionary measures for our riders, employees, contractors and visitors in light of the current state of the pandemic.