austinbar.org JULY/AUGUST 2026 | VOLUME 35, NUMBER 6
ABA, AYLA Honor Award Winners During End-of-Year Reception
Will Hailey, Outstanding Director Award winner, with ABA President Tomlinson.
T
he 2025-26 Austin Bar and AYLA year concluded with an end-of-year reception held May 28 at Hilgers House. At this reception, outgoing Austin Bar President Maitreya Tomlinson honored committee and board chairs with special awards in recognition of their efforts throughout the year. The Outstanding Director Award went to Membership Committee Co-Chair Will Hailey in recognition of his efforts guiding the committee, and its sub-committee, in conducting the Austin Bar’s Membership & Engagement
Judge Sylvia Holmes (right), co-winner of the Outstanding Committee Chair Award.
Scott Brutocao (right), co-winner of the Outstanding Committee Chair Award.
Alex Conant (right) earned the President’s Award of Merit.
Survey in March. In cooperation with the Mentorship Committee, this survey was sent to a large swath of both member and non-member attorneys in Austin, soliciting their responses to questions about how they engage with the Austin Bar, what would make them more likely to engage and stay or become members, and asking for suggestions about how the Austin Bar’s services could be improved. Will is currently guiding two groups of the Membership Committee’s members to conduct in-person focus groups and individual phone-call interviews to
follow up on the survey data. With both the survey data and the responses from these focus groups and interviews, the Membership Committee will generate a list of actionable recommendations for 2026-27 President Judge Maya Guerra Gamble. Will was also recognized for his efforts in helping with the Austin Bar’s second-annual Golf Tournament on April 16. Will helped with signage setup, moving tables in the ballroom, and taking payments and distributing tickets for mulligans and the awards raffle. This year’s Golf Tournament went exceptionally smooth because of Will’s efforts. The Outstanding Committee Chair Award was co-awarded to Bench Bar co-chair Scott Brutocao and Austin Bar Foundation Gala Committee co-chair Judge Sylvia Holmes. Soliciting and corresponding with speakers and coming up with topics for Bench Bar is no simple
matter, but Scott has taken on that responsibility for many years. This year’s Bench Bar featured a wide variety of speakers from many different practice areas and practice environments. Bench Bar is an important event, and we appreciate Scott’s willingness to shoulder the bulk of the speaker and presentation portions for so long. This year’s Gala theme was “A Radiant Future” and took inspiration from Mid-Century Modern art à la The Jetsons. Judge Holmes gamely took this theme and handcrafted the centerpieces on the tables in the Four Seasons Ballroom at the Gala, as well as the other decorations at the event. This was no small feat and took many hours, not to mention the transportation of the decorations to the venue. We’re so grateful to Judge Holmes for bringing Maitreya’s vision to life and helping to make the Gala a success. Award Winners continued on page 10.