The President-Elect Campaign Series | EP. 1: Meet the Candidates

Why run for TYLA President‑Elect? In Episode 1 of our special Young Gunners series, we dive into each candidate’s journey that led them to run for president-elect: their work, their path through TYLA, and the moments that sparked their call to lead. You can access this and all future episodes at this link, or anywhere you listen to podcasts: https://tyla.org/resource/young-gunners-podcast/

Don’t forget – voting for Texas Young Lawyers Association is April 1-30, 2026!

#uncommonleaders #tyla #tylaelection #texyounglawyers #younggunners #presidentelect #legalpodcast #leadershipinlaw #barservice

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:18

Welcome back to our Special Young Gunner series with the 2026-2027 TYLA Festival Candidates. Today we're diving into their work, their journey through TYLA, and the moments that inspired them to step into statewide leadership.

SPEAKER_01 0:37

All right. Well, to start us off, uh Claire and Dave, can you introduce yourselves and share where you practice, the kind of work you do, and what your day-to-day looks like so folks can get to know you.

SPEAKER_02 0:49

Absolutely. My name's Claire Harber. I live in Waco in McClennan County. I work for the 10th Court of Appeals as a staff attorney. So my day-to-day looks different than when I was in private practice or even in-house. I um spend a lot of my time reading, researching, collaborating on which direction we want to go, writing, editing, rewriting. So a lot of people think that sounds slow or boring or lonely. But as a working mom, it is the perfect balance. It's intellectually stimulating. I feel like I'm doing something of import, but I have work-life balance, and it allows me to do school pickup and be there for the Valentine's Day party and also get to use my law degree.

SPEAKER_01 1:47

Thanks, Claire. Dave, same question. You know, what do you practice? Where do you practice? And uh, you know, kind of what do your days look like?

SPEAKER_03 1:55

Sure. So uh my name is Dave Hagan. I'm a criminal defense attorney in Longview, Texas, Northeast uh Texas. And uh my day-to-day is pretty much um a big part of my caseload is court-appointed cases. So uh most of my day uh is spent in one of three different jails uh in the counties that I work in. Um I'm I'm really probably either going to be in jail or in court uh doing pleas, suppression hearings, bond hearings, things like that, or um driving between the three counties that I work in because they're a little spread out. And uh uh I'm a I'm a solo practitioner, I've hung my own shingle, um, and it's really nice because uh I get to uh be the be the boss of when I uh have to come in to work and when I get to go home and be with my family. I've got a wife and two kids, a two-year-old and a six-month-old, and uh we've also got two dogs and four cats. So uh uh lots lots of fun in the Hagen House.

SPEAKER_00 3:08

Thanks, Dave. Uh well uh we wanted to also also ask you about um your journey through Texas Young Lawyers Association. We're all lucky to be serving on this uh organization together right now at this time. And so um for this one, we're gonna start with you, Dave. What has been your pathway through TYLA? What kind of roles or projects have you worked on and experiences have you had that have prepared you for this next step?

SPEAKER_03 3:39

Absolutely. Uh I started on the board of directors uh of TYLA in 2019 as a the elected director for District 1, which is the Northeast District of Texas. I think it's about like 10 or so counties um that that go all the way uh from uh the northeast part of the Red River down kind of like a quarter circle uh to um about uh center Texas, Shelby County, that that kind of area is kind of like the southern part of it. Uh I represented that district for four years, so over two terms. Uh I during that time I uh was a project lead on a pro se uh litigation guide for expunctions and non-disclosures. Um and then I ended up becoming the chair uh or co-chair of the competitions committee uh and oversaw the uh national mock trial competition, helped administer that for the last four or five years, uh, and the state moot court competition and uh the paper chase uh legal writing competition. Um I've also served as the ABA YLD representative uh for the northern half of Texas. Texas has two uh elected representatives uh that are sent to the ABA Young Lawyers Division Council uh every year. And uh I was lucky enough to be one of those for a term, for a two-year term, uh where I got to represent the interests of the local affiliates from the northern half of the state uh to both the uh YLD council and TYLA. Uh and then for the last two years, I've been on the executive committee uh for TYLA's board of directors, first as the chair elect last year, and this year I've been serving as the board chair, uh so the chair of the board of directors uh of TYLA. So uh have I've had a lot of roles over the last six or seven years. Um I've uh had increasing levels of responsibility uh for administration of uh projects, competitions, um, and the board itself. And uh, you know, I've been able to see in that time what TYLA can really do well and where it can really uh create the most positive change for the membership and for the public in the state of Texas. And so that's why I think that uh my experience uh working with and in TYLA uh makes me uh uniquely uh suited and qualified to be president.

SPEAKER_00 6:31

We're busy the past couple years.

SPEAKER_03 6:35

It's been a ride, it's been fun though.

SPEAKER_00 6:38

Um over to you, Claire. Same question. Um, what has your journey through TYLA been like and what are some of the roles and projects that you've had that have guided you and and maybe prepared you for this next step?

SPEAKER_02 6:53

Yes, so Dave has been on the board a little longer than me, but I would argue my T W TYLA experience uh started before even Dave. Um I my father served on the uh TYLA board of directors. And as a young kid, I can remember going to some of those meetings and being at the hotel. Um and he I knew growing growing up that he made lasting friends and connections and that his time at TYLA was a springboard for him through his legal career to be involved in bar service and the state bar. Um, and so always admired and knew about TYLA. When I moved to Waco from Houston, I was approached from by a more senior attorney at my firm that was rolling off the board of TYLA and approached me and said he thought I would be a good fit for the position. Uming the background of it and what a great organization it was, I jumped at the chance and ran, put my hat in and was elected to the board of directors uh for District 9 in 2023. From there, I served on um the membership and public service committee. Uh, this past year at TYLA, I've co-chaired the Public Service Committee and helped oversee our wonderful president Allison Martinez's big project for the public and have just enjoyed all my time and the people that I've met and look forward to years to come with TYLA.

SPEAKER_01 8:44

Thank you, Claire. Yeah, thank you both. Uh so we are actually recording this episode after you all have gone through three weeks of your statewide campaign. So uh right now I'm sure you're probably thinking, what have I gotten myself into? So to take you back to the beginning, we're gonna ask, what moment or experience first made you consider running for TYLA president-elect? So I guess Claire, we'll start with you.

SPEAKER_02 9:08

So, like many things in life, and I don't think this I'm gonna be you, this is gonna be a unique experience for me. Um, I think sometimes uh it takes someone else prompting you or saying, hey, I think that you would be great at this, or have you thought about this and something that you maybe wouldn't have seen yourself in or thought, um, oh, I'm qualified, or that would be something that I'm good for. Um and then you have enough peers and mentors that um come up to you and boost you up and say, I do think you would be qualified, I do think you would be great, so that you you start to consider it. Um and so then when you're in the room for nominations and they um want to give you that nod or um want to nominate you, um, it becomes real. And you think, wow, could I could I really do this? And um with that encouragement, the answer was yes. And so I am excited. I hadn't thought too many years about it, but I'm happy to be here. Um, and like with anything in the practice of law for TYLA, sometimes the method is you're thrown into the deep end and you learn to swim and you rise up and you do it. And that's what I've been doing all of March, swimming across Texas and meeting as many people as possible, uh, which is what I love to do. I love to talk to other young lawyers and connect with people across the state. And it's been fun. And I look forward to doing more of it.

SPEAKER_01 10:37

That's perfect. Um, you know, sounds like you for sure. Uh Dave, uh, you want to give us your your two cents on the matter?

SPEAKER_03 10:45

Well, I think for me, it it actually goes back um probably about three nomination cycles ago. Uh I remember going and the the way for people that don't know how this works, um, the TYLA board has a nominations committee that meets every year uh to nominate a slate of officers, including the president-elect candidates, uh, to run for officer positions. And uh I think it was about three nominations committee uh meetings ago. Um I was uh wanting to run for uh chair elect, and the nominations committee asked me to, you know, what I thought about running for president. And at that time, um, you know, I I knew I could handle the handle the chair role, but I I just I I thought there's no way I can run for president, let alone put in the time and energy to actually be the president, because I knew the amount of responsibilities that the role comes with. Um and they said, well, think about it. And so I ran for chair, I got elected as chair. Uh the then the next nomination nominations committee meeting, uh you know, I'd I'd had now a year in leadership in the executive committee and had kind of seen uh from a first-person perspective uh what the job entails. The nominations committee asked me again, you know, we know you're not going to run for anything this year, but uh, you know, are you have you thought any about running for president since we last met? And uh I had, but I knew that I needed to make sure that I could get my house in order, make sure that my family was on board with what I wanted to do, um, and to also make sure that I had something that I wanted to say and accomplish as president. And so I spent the rest of that year um and uh most of last year uh thinking about what I would want to do if I were president and what things I would want to accomplish and and what message I want to would want to put out there. And also, you know, making sure that uh my wife was on board with the decision and that uh that uh my practice was going to be in a place where I could afford to take the time and energy that the job requires. And uh by the time January rolled around and we met with nominations again, uh I I felt like I'd put everything in place that I needed to in my personal life, in my work life, um, and uh that I also had uh something I wanted to say and a message that I wanted to deliver on. And uh, you know, I I put that to the nominations committee, and uh I was really lucky that uh and really fortunate that they uh heard me and uh decided to give me the opportunity to run for this. And so that's it's it's been a long process, a deliberative process for me in taking this next step, but it's something that I think uh the way I want to approach it, it it needs uh I needed to do that. I needed to put that time and energy into making sure that uh this was something that not only could I do, uh, but if I uh were to win the position, that I would be able to accomplish something for the membership uh and make it worthwhile. So that's that's how I came to run uh for president.

SPEAKER_00 14:34

You guys both have um two very separate journeys to get here, uh, but we're all excited being part of the organization and seeing both of you um move towards this end goal. Uh it's exciting for us as as your peers to watch it happen because however it turns out you guys are are both really incredible people. And so speaking to that, um what kind of uh values or value systems do you think that you have that guide your approach to to leadership and service? And we'll start with you on this one, Dave.

SPEAKER_03 15:15

Well, I think uh you know, growing up, uh my uh my mother was a uh district judge uh in Marshall, Texas for uh basically my entire childhood. Um uh she was the judge there from 1988 till 2008 when I left high school and uh moved out to go to college. And um, you know, that always uh seeing her and her devotion to public service and to uh uh providing a a you know a fair shake to the people that she served, um that that has always kind of inspired me in my bar service work. Um I I I feel like it's it's vitally important that when you engage in work like this, you always keep in mind uh you know what it's all for. And and what it's all for to me is that uh we have to give back. We've got uh as lawyers uh a tremendous privilege to practice law. Um as Texas lawyers, we've got the benefit of being a self-governing uh profession. Uh and as officers of the court, we have the ability to uh create change, to effect change in the lives of our clients um and our society that very few other you know types of uh job can give you. Uh so we've got these privileges. We have to keep in mind that it is a you know, it comes with a great responsibility uh to take that role seriously. Um and that's true in practice, but it's also true uh in and and and I think the way that you can do that is through public service, uh including bar service. Uh the way I approach bar service fundamentally is are we doing something that's gonna benefit the membership? Are we doing something that's gonna benefit the profession? And are we doing something that's gonna benefit the public? Um and if we can do all three of those at the same time, even better. But uh we always need to be doing at least one. That's what we need to be working for, um, is the betterment of uh young lawyers, uh, the bar as a whole, and or the public of the state of Texas. So that's that's kind of my north star uh in bar service um and uh public service in general.

SPEAKER_02 18:10

Okay. It's uh yeah, that is a big question. What is the values that guide you? Um I think my faith is the foundation of my life, and I believe in separation of church and state, but my faith is what guides me and that the greatest commandment is love and to love people. And I think that means taking care of um and loving the people in our communities that are the beneficiaries of um the service that lawyers provide. I think that means loving other lawyers uh in the bar and um just people in general. And I do. I'm passionate about people, I love people, um, and I don't think that um comes without acting upon it and being there for people, showing up for people, serving people. Um, and that's done. Um one of the ways that's done is through bar service uh to meet the people, be with the people, um, and listen and take the time and um help and be, you know, show up. And so I've tried to do that uh with TYLA and build meaningful relationships there. And I feel like I have. I can say every person on the board is a friend. Um, I've tried to do that everywhere where I've practiced law in Houston and Waco, um, the you know, community I built in law school and each of those cities are full of friends and people that have helped me along the way. Um, and I like to think that everywhere um where I've been for a space that I've occupied or served, that where I'm leaving it better than when I walked into that space. And I think that's the same thing that I hope to do for um TYLA, the state of Texas, the bar, um, and the practice of law across the state is to leave it better and to make um each lawyer and member of the community that I can touch and impact feel loved and supported.

SPEAKER_00 20:20

Thank you. Um I think we all kind of feel like we've become good friends with this group and and the people that we that we work with in the organization. And so for both of you, those sound like great values to move us forward in the coming year.