Aggie lawyers from across the state came to College Station this weekend as the Texas Aggie Bar Association hosted its 15th annual conference at the MSC.
A day of networking events and lectures from law practitioners concluded with a banquet Saturday at which TABA scholarship recipients Neal Larson, Megan McKisson and Hao Nguyen, along with Aggie lawyer of the year, Fidel Rodriguez Sr., were honored.
TABA president Dan Price said the association honors individuals each year to promote excellence in the legal community and said the competition for TABA scholarships continues to rise along with the quality of the Texas A&M School of Law.
“We had a very difficult time deciding on these scholarship award winners because there are so many excellent candidates,” Price said. “We’re really proud of these well-rounded individuals that [were] honored at the reception.”
McKisson, a scholarship recipient, completed fellowships in the offices of Sen. Jane Nelson and former President George H.W. Bush, and is working full time as a paralegal.
“I put myself through college during my undergraduate studies at Texas A&M University and am very grateful to receive the financial assistance as I prepare to enter law school,” McKisson said. “I am so grateful that Texas A&M has provided me with so many wonderful experiential opportunities and cannot thank the Texas Aggie Bar Association enough for continuing to invest in my future.”
Speakers at the conference covered various aspects of Texas law.
Tim Newman, lawyer and Texas A&M Class of 2005, shed light on cyber law, a relatively new area of law he said affects all industries.
“It’s something that everybody is going to have an issue with at some point,” Newman said. “Law firms have important data that they should do their best to protect, retailers have payment card information, banks have financial information, healthcare companies have protected health information so every industry is going to be impacted in some form or fashion.”
Price said one of the biggest changes to the TABA conference this year is the involvement of the new Texas A&M School of Law and the subsequent increase in membership. TABA bylaws originally recognized Aggie lawyers if they completed their undergraduate degree at A&M, but now past and present students of the A&M law school, acquired from Texas Wesleyan, can be recognized.
“Those individuals are eligible if they graduated from the law school,” Price said. “Of course we have student memberships also, so if you’re an undergraduate student in pre-law or LEGALS, at A&M or a student at the law school, you can become a student member of the bar association.”
Brent Dor?, first-year student at the Texas A&M School of Law, is a new TABA member and is part of the first class of students who will complete the entirety of their law education under the facility’s new name.
“As a first-year law student, I get to be part of the first class that was part of A&M’s law school for the entire time, so I’ll be a fully indoctrinated Aggie lawyer from start to finish,” Dor? said. “I think it’s an honor to be part of something brand new like that.”
Price said he welcomes students to join the association and participate in the conference next year.
“I encourage the students interested in going to law school or becoming lawyers to get involved in Aggie Bar Association and take advantage of the Aggie network and learn what it’s really like to be a lawyer,” Price said.