Notices and Announcements

 Volume 15, Issue 4

Last Call For Award Nominations: Galen Sparks and Susan Rocha Awards for Outstanding Public Service

Galen Sparks served as an assistant city attorney and dedicated public servant for the City of Dallas for over 27 years. He distinguished himself in a variety of areas of municipal law and generously shared his time and expertise in a way that substantially enhanced the professionalism of his fellow municipal lawyers. The TCAA “Galen Sparks Award for Outstanding Public Service” is intended to recognize and honor a current or former city attorney or assistant city attorney for significant and distinguished career achievements in the field of municipal law.

The TCAA board grants one award each year for an in-house city attorney or assistant city attorney.

Susan Rocha served as an assistant city attorney for the City of San Antonio early in her career, and went on to be a trailblazer in municipal law. She served as president of both the Texas City Attorneys Association and the International Municipal Lawyers Association, and was a mentor and role model for many attorneys in the field due to her hard work, many achievements, and – of course – irrepressible personality. The TCAA “Susan Rocha Award for Outstanding Public Service” is intended to recognize and honor a current or former city attorney or assistant city attorney for significant and distinguished career achievements in the field of municipal law.

The TCAA board grants one award each year for outside counsel serving as a city attorney or assistant city attorney.

The recipients of these awards will be honored at the TCAA Summer Conference. The deadline to submit a nomination is April 17, 2020. Downloadable criteria and the nomination form are available HERE.

2020 TCAA Summer Conference via Videocast

The Texas City Attorneys Association (TCAA) is proud to announce the 2020 Summer Conference scheduled June 17-19.  In response to current events, the live, in-person program in South Padre Island is cancelled. Instead, we will use Zoom (or a similar platform) to conduct a live, virtual conference using the same agenda on the same days.

The conference is FREE for TCAA members and $80 for non-members. Register here.

The TCAA Summer Conference is the best CLE program created specifically for municipal lawyers. Earn up to 13.5 hours MCLE credit (including 2 ethics hours).

Topics Include:

  • COVID-19 Update
  • Cybersecurity
  • Purchasing
  • Open Government
  • Regulating Noise
  • Building Codes
  • Technology in the Workplace
  • Legislative Advocacy
  • Case Updates
  • Flood Mitigation Planning and Funding
  • Utility-Related Updates
  • Credit Access Business Regulation
  • And More!

2020 TCAA Fall Conference: Call for Speakers

The Texas City Attorneys Association invites all attorneys interested in presenting at the 2020 TCAA Fall Conference in Grapevine, to submit your ideas to Christy Drake-Adams at christy@tml.org by May 31, 2020.  This year’s conference will be held on October 15, 2020. Questions? Contact Christy Drake-Adams at christy@tml.org or 512-231-7400.

SAVE THE DATE – UPCOMING TCAA EVENT!

The 2020 TCAA Fall Conference will take place on October 15 in Grapevine, and will be held in conjunction with the TML Annual Conference.

Temporary MCLE Extension for Some Texas Attorneys

The COVID-19 pandemic is making it difficult for some attorneys to complete their MCLE requirements. In response, the State Bar of Texas has granted the following automatic extensions:

  • March, April, or May 2020 compliance deadline: 60-day extension
  • Missed January or February 2020 compliance deadlines: 60-day extension to prevent the assessment of further fees
  • Attorneys subject to suspension for failing to comply with MCLE requirements in November or December 2019: One-month extension

TCAA Online Membership Directory

Looking to find the contact information for a fellow TCAA member? You can find it using the TCAA membership directory, available here:  http://members.tml.org/Web/Online/Directories/TCAA_Directory.aspx .

IMLA Membership

Membership with IMLA doesn’t just mean discounts to their events. It’s much more than that. Click here to view a quick video about IMLA membership.

Continuing Legal Education

2020 Riley Fletcher and 2019 TCAA Summer and Fall Conferences

These TCAA online seminars are FREE, allowing TCAA members who are city attorneys, assistant city attorneys, or attorneys who regularly practice municipal law to view each video from the conference in a singlesession format. Viewing a session allows attorneys to receive participatory CLE credit with the State Bar. To view available seminars, please visit tcaaonlineseminars.org. (Use the case-sensitive password “FreeCLE” to gain access to the sessions.)

If you would like to have an article considered for publication in the TCAA newsletter, please send your request to Christy Drake-Adams at christy@tml.org.