Editor’s Note: In this blog series, we are getting to know the members of the Texas Young Lawyers Association Board of Directors. TYLA, commonly called the “public service arm” of the State Bar of Texas, works to facilitate the administration of justice, foster respect for the law, and advance the role of the legal profession in serving the public. All TYLA programs are accomplished through the volunteer efforts of its board and committee members, with the cooperation of local affiliate young lawyers associations. Learn more at tyla.org.
Name: Smaranda Draghia
Firm: Justice for Our Neighbors
Area of Law You Practice: Immigration (pro/low bono)
Position Held in TYLA: Access to Justice Liaison
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The State Bar of Texas Board of Directors voted September 25 to petition the Supreme Court to order a vote of bar members on proposed amendments to the Texas Disciplinary Rules of Professional Conduct and Texas Rules of Disciplinary Procedure, as provided by Tex. Govt. Code 81.0877. On September 29, the court issued 
Editor’s note: TLAP offers confidential assistance for lawyers, law students, and judges with substance use or mental health issues. Call or text TLAP at 1-800-343-8527 (TLAP) or find more information at tlaphelps.org.
Editor’s Note: In this blog series, we are getting to know the members of the Texas Young Lawyers Association Board of Directors. TYLA, commonly called the “public service arm” of the State Bar of Texas, works to facilitate the administration of justice, foster respect for the law, and advance the role of the legal profession in serving the public. All TYLA programs are accomplished through the volunteer efforts of its board and committee members, with the cooperation of local affiliate young lawyers associations. Learn more at tyla.org.
Editor’s note: The State Bar of Texas sent the following message to members on September 25.
“Helping people helps you.” That’s one of the reasons why Cantey Hanger associate Brian Singleterry helped a low-income Fort Worth woman—who had lost her job due to a disability—facing eviction during the COVID-19 pandemic. Singleterry had previously taken pro bono cases through the Tarrant Volunteer Attorney Services, or TVAS, and Texas Lawyers for Texas Veterans, or TLTV, programs of the Tarrant County Bar Association, but he had never handled an eviction case. Singleterry had, however, read the Pulitzer Prize-winning book Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City, by Matthew Desmond, which chronicled the struggles of eight families in Milwaukee as they faced eviction in the aftermath of the economic downturn of 2008. His client could well have been included in Evicted because she had lost her job and had been served with a notice of eviction during the coronavirus pandemic. Singleterry was aware of the serious nationwide eviction crisis, the value of a lawyer, and the tremendous unmet need for lawyers by low-income individuals and families facing eviction.