DAYL 2017 Leadership Class
DISD Partnership Project

The Dallas Association of Young Lawyers 2017 Leadership Class is proud to partner with and support the Judge Barefoot Sanders Law Magnet.  The 2017 Leadership Class is seeking donations, the majority of which will go to support the law magnet in sending students to mock trial competitions and debate summer camps (with any surplus funds to be potentially used for other minor projects at the school). Although mock trial and debate traditionally influence students to pursue law-related careers, they are prohibitively expensive with costs of up to $1,300 per student. School funding for these programs has been significantly reduced in recent years.

To raise the necessary funds, the DAYL Leadership Class has launched a Donate-a-Billable Hour Campaign.  As part of the campaign, the Leadership Class is asking Greater Dallas-area attorneys to donate the financial equivalent of one billable hour of their time.  Although the Leadership Class will accept financial donations from any party in any amount, the one-billable hour request is designed to enable current attorneys to contribute relatively small amounts that, together, can have a large impact on future generations of attorneys.

The DAYL Leadership Class is partnering with the DAYL Foundation, a 501(c)(3) organization, which is now accepting donations through the end of 2018.  Based on the fundraising performance of past DAYL Leadership Classes, the class of 2017 has established a fundraising goal of $51,000. Assuming an average billable rate of $300 per attorney, this would require donations from only 170 attorneys.

Donations are tax deductible to the extent allowed by law.

To donate a billable hour, or any amount that is affordable to you, please go to https://secure.lawpay.com/pages/dayl/2017leadershipclass.

 

To the Members and Friends of the Dallas Association of Young Lawyers,

I would like to compliment you on the excellent program you are implementing with the Barefoot Sanders Law Magnet School.  In addition to having the honor of making the first contribution to that program in the form of my check that is the equivalent of one billable hour of my time, I have been given the additional privilege of getting to ask others to do the same thing.

Many people have talked and written about the value of “giving back to the community.”  I commend the younger lawyers, who are, in many cases, actually giving “forward.”  Hopefully the longer-licensed lawyers will follow your great example and there will be generous contributions for this wonderful program at the Barefoot Sanders Law Magnet.

This program is especially appropriate because of the relationship between Barefoot Sanders and the DISD.  Barefoot Sanders was a wonderful jurist and person.  I was blessed to know him and to try several cases in his court.  He believed in the law, in equal education for everyone, and that lawyers should be involved at all stages of their career in their communities.

This seems to touch all of those bases.

Hopefully everyone will write a check that represents one hour of their billable time, but more importantly, hopefully many attorneys will participate, personally, in interacting with these wonderful, enthusiastic students at the Law Magnet.

I promise you, if you spend some time with them, you will come back renewed and thinking about the things that are good about our profession.

Congratulations to the DAYL and everyone who writes a check, and especially to those who decide to participate.

You will be blessed and repaid many times over.

Sincerely,

Jerry C. Alexander,
Former President of the Dallas Bar Association (2016); Director, District 6, State Bar of Texas