President’s Andre’ Doguet, Immediate Past President, Blake David, Incoming President and Tricia Pierre, Secretary-Treasurer. Finally, to the staff, Susan, Claire, Penny, Tammy and Katie-thank you for a job well done. I have said this many times privately—none of this would be possible without your dedication to our Association.
the oath to lead this Association. As my term of office winds down and the torch is passed to the new Association President, I am left with a single overarching observation—the sum of this Association’s members is far greater than the collection of the individual members. We are focused, dynamic and goal oriented. We contribute much to our community, on so many levels and in so many way. And I believe in the coming year under the direction of our new President we will have a break-out year. We are moving forward exponentially. We are growing in membership and interest. We are on firm financial footing thanks to the strict financial discipline of the Association’s officer who came before me, and the tireless work of the Lafayette Bar Foundation. With these things in mind, I am confident, that in the next few years, you will witness our Bar Association, become the preeminent regional bar in the nation. My sincere and heartfelt thanks to those who served on the Board this year, and especially the executive officers; namely,
Larry Curtis President Blake David President-Elect
Tricia Pierre Secretary/Treasurer André Doguet Immediate Past President
Julia Autin Nicole Breaux Candace Breaux J. Bradley Duhe Cade Evans Shytishia A. Moore Flugence Paul D. Gibson
Kyle L. Gideon Joseph C. Giglio, Jr. Steven Ramos Cynthia K. Simon Melissa L. Theriot G. Edward Williams, Jr. Cassie Willis
President’s Message . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Executive Directors Message . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 LYLA President’s Message . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Dues Increase . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Bench Bar Conference . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . 11 Mediation Center . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 LYLA Installation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
2012-2013 LYLA Officers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 Awards & Recognition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 John A. Hernandez . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 Grapevine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 Classified . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23