austinbar.org JULY/AUGUST 2018 | VOLUME 27, NUMBER 6
Leading by Example Meet Austin Bar Association’s New President, Adam Schramek
T
he summer months are typically quiet at the Austin Bar Association. The bar year roughly follows the traditional school year. A new president takes the helm in the summer, and the programs and activities of the Austin Bar ramp up in the fall and wind down by the end of May. The end-of-year board reception, held in late May, is a chance for the organization’s leadership to gather and celebrate all the good work it has done throughout the past year. Then, everyone takes a vacation. After catching its collective breath, the Austin Bar starts again in the fall with a new president, new officers, and new board members. Typically… but not this year. On June 1, 2018, newly elected Austin Bar president Adam Schramek hit the ground running. He spent his first day on the job as Austin Bar president at the Travis County courthouse, representing an indigent defendant trying to keep the family home in which he lived from being sold under unfair terms. A commercial litigation partner at Norton Rose Fulbright and chair of his firm’s
pro bono committee, Schramek plans to work to increase participation by Austin lawyers in pro bono projects throughout his term in office. “Attorneys are the only people who can go to the courthouse to represent the legal needs of the poor and disadvantaged,” Schramek said. “Austin lawyers can do more, and we should each strive to meet the State Bar’s goal of at least 50 hours of pro bono service every year.” Proving he doesn’t just “talk the talk” when it comes to rolling up his sleeves and serving others, he has set the bar high and intends to lead by example in the coming year. To introduce himself to the members of the Austin Bar, Schramek slowed down just long enough to answer a few questions about himself. AUSTIN BAR: Where did you grow up and go to school? SCHRAMEK: I grew up in Pasadena, Texas, which is along the Houston ship channel. My father was a pipefitter and my mother worked for the Nabisco cookie factory in downtown Houston. Graduating first in my class at PHS (the fightin’ Eagles!), I attended American University in
(from left) Sara Foskitt, Austin Bar President Adam Schramek, Alexander Clark, and Ivan Grant at the Travis County Courthouse on Schramek’s first day in office.
Washington, D.C., where I studied political science. A lifelong Democrat, I spent my college years interning and volunteering for President Clinton’s White House, the Democratic National Committee, and my Congressman at the time, Ken Bentsen (Lloyd Bentsen’s nephew). After four years in D.C., I decided I was ready to come back home to Texas, so I accepted my offer from the University of Texas School of Law. AUSTIN BAR: How did you become one half of a power couple? SCHRAMEK: As a 3L at UT School of Law, I competed for a spot on the Texas Invitational, an interscholastic mock trial team. I was selected and paired with a 2L by the name of Chari
Kelly. Well, Ms. Kelly and I apparently hit it off pretty well and in 2003, she became “Mrs.” Kelly. Chari and I soon became involved in the Austin Young Lawyers Association and are the only husband and wife in AYLA history to have both been president of the association. AUSTIN BAR: Why did you want to become a lawyer? SCHRAMEK: Growing up in a family where every dollar counted, my mother refused to be taken advantage of by any retailer. If there was a coupon that had been misrepresented or an “automatic renewal” bait and switch, she was on the phone, talking to the manager, and demanding fair compensation. That instilled in me at an early continued on page 6