ANNUAL MEETING HIGHLIGHTS

	President, Javan Johnson, congratulates Annual Meeting Co-Chairs, Kristina Singer and Krista Cover, on a job well done.
	The honorable Mayor Kirk Watson was keynote speaker at the luncheon.
	Lisa Sprinkle was awarded Committee Chair of the Year, for her work on LAU.
	Membership Committee Chair Joncilee Miller received a special award in recognition for her hard work and dedication.

Exceptional Pro Bono Service Award

The Legal Assistants Division of the State Bar of Texas is proud to present this year’s Exceptional Pro Bono Merit Award to Christy Lawrence from Dallas, Texas. Christy has worked in the legal field for 17 years, three of which have been as a paralegal. Christy became a legal assistant because she wanted to become a vital part of the litigation team. She feels that her involvement in pro bono activities puts her skills to work in areas which truly need it, and in which she can make a difference. Christy is currently working on her undergraduate degree, and hopes to attend law school in the future.

Christy is involved in many pro bono activities, including working with the National Federation of Paralegal Association to implement an accredited animal law pro bono program,  and assisting the Animal Legal Defense Fund to get paralegal members set up on a network basis, similar to attorney members. Christy also volunteers with the SPCA of Texas where she is a volunteer for the Canister program, Pet-O-Meals (taking food to the elderly and their pets), and Link Coalition (the link between domestic violence and animal abuse). Christy is involved in the Texas Human Legislative Network and has worked with the Animal Law Section of the State Bar of Texas, where she helped the past chair, Joel Hailey, bring the Section’s multi-state seminar to Dallas in March 2001. Christy was appointed as the Chair of the Legal Assistants Committee of the Animal Law Section of the State Bar of Texas. Additionally, Christy performs pro bono legal research of current animal law issues for Donald D. Feare, Esq. And Robert L. (Skip) Trimble, animal rights activists. She has published articles and given interviews in the National Paralegal Reporter, Legal Assistant Today, and Texas Legal Pro.

Christy was awarded with the 2000 Award of Excellence for performing 198.05 of pro bono support hours by the Dallas Bar Association, and was involved in the passing of Texas House Bill 653, which made animal cruelty a felony in Texas. Christy encourages everyone to become involved in pro bono work, because she feels that they will thereby gain experience in new areas of law and will be able to put their skills to work for a cause that truly needs it, as well as doing something to better someone else’s life.

While Christy thoroughly enjoys devoting countless hours to various pro bono efforts, there are times when she becomes frustrated with the system. “When you don’t see a positive result in the outcome of the case, it can be very frustrating.”  But despite the times of frustration, Christy believes her pro bono activities have helped her to become a better legal assistant in that she has become involved in different practice areas of the law.

Donald Feare, Esq. is Christy’s mentor. Mr. Feare is an attorney in Arlington, Texas, whose practice consists mainly of animal law. Mr. Feare has supported and helped Christy a great deal in her animal law efforts. Christy says she is “fortunate to have met Mr. Feare, as he has had many ground breaking cases in the animal law field. ”   When Christy has the opportunity to attend law school, she says she will strive to be like Mr. Feare in her practice.

2001-2002 BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Left to Right (rear) Mariann Porter, District 16 Jeanne Fairman, District 6 Martha Jones, District 4 Ellen Lockwood, District 5 Virginia Coronado, District 9 Michelle Salazar, District 15 Pat Hammer, District 3 Left to Right (front) Tamara Null, District 12 Mary McDowell, District 11 Kim Cantu, District 2 Rhonda Brashears, President-Elect S. Kristine Farmer, President Carolyn Goff, Parliamentarian Karla Schwemmer, District 8 Not pictured: Melinda Jackson, District 1 Janis Barnett, District 7 Joan Beishir, Treasurer

President–Kristine Farmer 

S. Kristine Farmer received her Bachelors of Business Administration in Labor

Management from the University of North Texas in August 1992. She is currently is a senior paralegal for the Law Offices of Tommy R. Rodgers in Dallas. Kristine has 11 years of experience, including labor and employment law, business litigation, and became a Board Certified Legal Assistant in Civil Trial Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization in 1997.

Since joining Mr. Rodgers in 1997, she has devoted her time almost exclusively to family law; she became Board Certified in Family Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization in December 2000.

Kristine previously served as the Division’s Parliamentarian from 1998 through 2000, and has served as a member of the Board of Directors (Director—District 2 [Dallas]) from 1997. In 1996, she was presented with the Outstanding Committee Chair of the Year Award for her service as the chair of the Professional Development Committee.

Kristine is the past president of the Dallas Area Paralegal Association, and served in various capacities as a member of the Board of Directors, including Education Vice-President and Newsletter Editor. She is also an active member of the National Federation of Paralegal Associations, where she is currently serving as the Unauthorized Practice of Law Research Coordinator. Kristine is an associate member of the Family Law Sections of the State Bar of Texas and the Dallas Bar Association.

President-Elect–Rhonda Brashears 

Rhonda is a legal assistant in the firm of Underwood, Wilson, Berry, Stein &

Johnson, P.C. in Amarillo, Texas, and has been in the legal profession for 15 years. She specializes in personal injury and civil trial defense law. She received her B.G.S. degree from West Texas A&M University in 1998, her CLA designation in 1996, and was board certified by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization in Personal Injury Trial Law in 1998.

Rhonda has been a member of LAD since 1990, and served as Director of District 7 from 1996 until 2001, Secretary from 1999 to 2001, and served on various committees throughout the years. Rhonda is also a member of the Texas Panhandle Association of Legal Assistants, where she has served as President, President-Elect, Treasurer and NALA Liaison.

Rhonda is also a part-time instructor at Amarillo College, teaching paralegal classes in their Paralegal Studies program; she also serves as the Chair of the Advisory Committee for Amarillo College’s Paralegal Studies program. Rhonda has been married to her husband Rod for 9 years and they have two children, Cody and Caitlyn.

Treasurer–Joan Beishir (Photo not available)

Joan has been actively employed in the legal profession for 20 years. She is currently employed by Erskine & McMahon, L.L.P. in Longview, Texas and specializes in personal injury law. She received her Legal Assistants Degree with highest honors from Kilgore College in 1995, and received her CLA designation in 1996.

Joan became a member of LAD in 1997 and served District 14 as Nominations and Elections Co-Chair during 1997 and as Public Relations Co-chair from 1998–1999 before being elected Director in 1999. She is currently Director of District 14 and is also serving her second term as Treasurer.

Joan is also active in Northeast Texas Association of Legal Assistants, where she has served in the following capacities:  President, 1997; Legal Assistant of the Year, 1996; First Vice President, 1996; Secretary, 1994–1995; and Audit Chair, 1993–2001. She  has also served on numerous committees for NTALA from 1991–Present. She is also active in her local neighborhood association and is serving as President at the current time.

Joan has been married to her husband, Ken, for 33 years and they have two sons, Kenneth and Robert. Kenneth was a stockbroker for nine years before resigning to join the U.S. Peace Corps. He is currently stationed in Poltava, Ukraine. Robert works as a homebuilder in the Houston area and he and his wife, Monica, are expecting their first child next March.

Parliamentarian–Carol Goff

Carol was born and raised in Charleston, West Virginia, and graduated from West

Virginia University with a bachelor’s degree. Immediately upon graduation, her first job was with the State’s largest and most prestigious firm that allowed rotation for new hires from department to department until a “good match” was struck between lawyers and legal assistant. She settled into Tax and Estate law and worked for the firm until leaving to raise a family.

Wanting not to loose the skills she acquired and needing to stay abreast of the ever-changing legal field, Carol created her own company and began free-lancing for attorneys while her children were young. She returned to full-time work in 1982 for a defense firm focusing on Personal Injury law and became the Legal Assistant Administrator in 1992 (she had completed 21 hours towards her MBA). Her husband, who worked for Union Carbide Corporation, was transferred to Texas in 1994 and they moved their family to the Clear Lake area outside Houston. Carol then joined Mills, Shirley, Eckel & Bassett in Galveston where she is the senior legal assistant to two partners.

Carol has always been involved in professional organizations. In West Virginia she worked with a group of legal assistants in 1982 to organize Legal Assistants of West Virginia, Inc. (LAWV) and was its charter president. She served on the Board for numerous years and remained active until leaving her home state in 1994.

After becoming employed in Texas, Carol joined Galveston Area Legal Assistants (GALAA) and served in various capacities as an officer or Board member. Then in 1999 she joined LAD and was appointed Director of District 13 by the Board of Directors to serve a vacancy in the 1999–2001 term. She ran for re-election and is currently that district’s director for 2001–2003, in addition to holding the position of Parliamentarian.

Secretary–Mary McDowell

Mary has worked as a legal assistant with the firm of  Cotton, Bledsoe, Tighe & Dawson in Midland, Texas since January 1998; she works in the areas of personal injury, employment law and oil and gas litigation. She has also been employed by McMahon, Tidwell, Hansen, Atkins & Peacock in  Odessa, Texas, and  by  Richard Booth, when he was a sole practitioner.

After receiving a B.A. in History from Texas Christian University, Fort Worth, Texas, Mary entered the legal field in 1996, after earning an Associate in Applied Science  (Legal Assistance) from Midland College, Midland, Texas and the CLA designation from N.A.L.A. in 1995.

Mary has been active in Legal Assistant’s Association of the Permian Basin by serving in the following positions:  President, Secretary,  NALA Liaison, various chair positions, and  LAA/PB Representative to TAPA. She is currently District 11 Director and Secretary for Legal Assistant’s Division of the State Bar—previously LAD Membership Subcommittee Chair.

Mary says that her family consists of two children, two grandsons, as well as a “herd” of cats, and two dogs.