2026 Texas Women Lawyers Annual Meeting + CLE: Power, Policy, and Progress
About this Event
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Texas Women Lawyers is excited to host its Annual Meeting and CLEonce again! In 2026, this event will be held in Austin, Texas, on Friday, September 11th, from 8:30 am to 4:30 pm, in the multi-purpose room on the first floor in the Travis County Civil and Family Courts Facility.
Programming has State Bar approval for 6.25 MCLE hours including 2.25 Ethics hours.
Please join us for a day featuring Women at the Legal Frontier, including distinguished judges, attorneys, public figures, and professionals:
- The longest serving woman justice in Texas history will be speaking, Senior Justice Debra Lehrmann of the Supreme Court of Texas;
- In addition, the Honorable Judge Susan Hightower will be speaking, who has been a journalist, a lawyer, a Trademark Trial and Appeals Judge for the Patent and Trademark Office, and now a Federal Magistrate Judge in the Western District of Texas, here in Austin;
- Seana Willing, the Chief Disciplinary Counsel for the State Bar will present on Navigating the Texas Attorney Grievance System -- she will start with a Primer on the Grievance system and add in AI questions she has received lately and other currect ethics considerations (and there's CLE ethics credit!)
- Adjunct Professor Heather VanDyke will present on acquiring unique legal knowledge from being a trained modern dancer in New York who became a lawyer, and then serving as the general counsel for SXSW festival for 8 seasons and now teaching law at the University of Texas while also maintaining an entertainment law practice.
- Cindy Smiley will present on “Animals in Public Places: What’s the Law?” -- she will describe the various laws relating to service dogs and go over the definitions for service animals, emotional support animals, and therapy animals, then review the laws that relate to their presence on airplanes, in public places, in housing, and in the workplace. Her co-presenter will be a service dog puppy-in-training!
- Candace McCaddon will present on Considerations for the Use of AI as an Attorney regarding profession practice about cybersecurity and interconnected considerations of client materials and AI.
- Courtney R. Pardue Wheeler will present on the Ethics of Managing a firm in Motion - the ethical considerations and advantages of a practice of a traveling attorney among many rural courts, and how to manage a law practice, law clients, and law paperwork with very little time in an actual office.
- During the middle, a luncheon featuring presentations of the Pathfinder Award and Brenda Tso Rising Star Award;
- Several bar leaders will present about leading bar associations, including Sarah Clower Keathley, the president-elect of the Texas State Bar; Sarah Harp, the Austin Bar Association president-elect; Natasha Martinez, the past chair and current liaison of the Women and the Law section of the State Bar, and Alyson Martinez, the immediate past president of the Texas Young Lawyers Association.
- Welcoming Remarks by Misty Blair, current President of Texas Women Lawyers;
- Closing Remarks by Vanessah Pace, current President-Elect of Texas Women Lawyers;
- Many distinguished judges, attorneys, and public figures from around the state;
- CLE presentations and panels covering legal topics affecting women in the law today;
- Breakfast, snacks, and closing cocktail reception with networking;
- and much more!
There will also be a Speakers' Welcome Reception on Thursday night from 6-7:30 p.m. For more details on this event, follow TWL on social media and at www.texaswomenlawyers.net
Agenda
🕑: 08:30 AM - 09:00 AM
Breakfast Taco Buffet & Registration
🕑: 08:55 AM - 09:00 AM
Welcome Remarks
Host: Misty Blair
Info: Head of IP Legal, Kaneka Americas Holding, Inc. TWL President 2025-26
🕑: 09:00 AM - 09:45 AM
On the Bench: A Conversation with Judge Hightower
Info: Facilitated by Vanessah Pace, President-Elect, Texas Women Lawyers;
Hon. Susan Hightower - U.S. Magistrate Judge, Western District of Texas,
Former Trademark Judge, Trademark Trial and Appeal Board, U.S. Patent and
Trademark Office
🕑: 09:45 AM - 10:30 AM
Animals in Public Places: What's the Law?
Host: Cindy Smiley and service-dog-in-training assistant!
Info: Cindy Smiley, Attorney/Owner, Smiley Law Firm, P.C.
🕑: 10:40 AM - 11:25 AM
Considerations for the Use of AI as an Attorney & as a Human
Host: Candace McCaddon, Partner at CM Law
🕑: 10:30 AM - 10:40 AM
Morning Break
🕑: 11:25 AM - 12:25 PM
Awards Ceremony during Lunch
🕑: 12:10 PM - 01:10 PM
On the Bench: A Conversation with Senior Justice Debra Lehrmann
Info: Facilitated by Deirdre Carey Brown, Partner, Vartabedian Katz Hester & Haynes
LLP, TWL President 2016-17, TWL Pathfinder 2025
The Hon. Debra H. Lehrmann - Senior Justice, Supreme Court of Texas, TWL
Pathfinder 2021
🕑: 01:10 PM - 01:55 PM
From Festival Counsel to Founder and Adjunct Faculty
Host: Heather Liberman VanDyke
Info: Adjunct Professor, University of Texas School of Law, Former General Counsel of SXSW, Founder, Javelina Legal
🕑: 01:55 PM - 02:40 PM
Ethics of Managing a Firm in Motion
Host: Courtney R. Pardue Wheeler
Info: Attorney/Mediator, The Pardue Law Firm, PLLC
🕑: 02:40 PM - 02:50 PM
Afternoon Break
🕑: 02:50 PM - 03:35 PM
Navigating the Texas Attorney Grievance System
Host: Seana Willing
Info: Chief Disciplinary Counsel for the State Bar of Texas
🕑: 03:35 PM - 04:20 PM
Holding the Bar as We Lead
Host: Moderated by Kristina Kastl, Founder, Kastl Law, P.C.
Info: Panel of Bar Leaders: Sarah Clower Keathley- President-Elect, State Bar of Texas Founding
Attorney, Keathley & Keathley Law Firm
Sarah Harp- President-Elect, Austin Bar Association
Natasha Renee Martinez - Past Chair/Current Liaison to Women and the Law
Section, State Bar of Texas Attorney, Tijerina Legal Group
Alyson A. Martinez - Immediate Past President, Texas Young Lawyers
Association. Director of the Webb & Zapata County CSCD
🕑: 04:20 PM - 04:30 PM
Closing Remarks
🕑: 04:30 PM - 05:00 PM
Closing Cocktail Reception -- off site
Where is it happening?
Event Location & Nearby Stays:
USD 25.00 to USD 3500.00
