Hundreds of Texas’ newest lawyers were officially sworn in Monday at the Frank Erwin Center in Austin at the November New Lawyers Induction Ceremony.
Friends and family of the new attorneys and representatives from the State Bar of Texas and the state’s law schools filled the room for the event, as the Texas Supreme Court and Court of Criminal Appeals presided.
“In a few minutes, when you’re asked to take your own oath, your simple ‘I do solemnly swear,’ will place your name alongside the names of yesterday, today, and tomorrow,” State Bar President Frank Stevenson said to the inductees, “men and women who forged this republic, brought forth prosperity, and advanced justice. An impressive list, yes. But there’s still one name it lacks: yours. But not for long.”
Texas Young Lawyers Association President Sam Houston encouraged the more than 2,000 new lawyers who passed the July bar exam to seek out mentors and to be one for others during their careers and congratulated them on their accomplishment.
“I am so pleased to know you, I am so pleased to be here with you on this wonderful day, and—welcome,” Houston said.
The high scorer on the exam, Lynne Marie Powers of Loyola University New Orleans College of Law, spoke to her fellow new attorneys before they took their oath.
“For no matter what background you come from, law school you went to, or what grades you made, today we are all on the same playing field,” Powers said. “Today we are all lawyers. Today we can start to make a difference.”
When she got the call from Texas Supreme Court Justice Don Willett that she was the high scorer, Powers was surprised.
“It still can’t believe it,” she told the Texas Bar Blog Monday.
Powers’ advice for future bar exam takers is to study hard and take advantage of the resources the Texas Board of Law Examiners provides on its website.
After administering the oath Monday morning, Texas Supreme Court Chief Justice Nathan L. Hecht left the new lawyers with a few lasting words:
“I hope your practice will be meaningful, and that in the words of the great Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes, ‘you will live greatly in the law.’”
Watch some of the new lawyers reflect on being sworn in and passing the bar on TexasBarTV and view more photos of the event on the State Bar of Texas Flickr page.