PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE

2026 TTLA President Todd Clement

When the legendary John Howie gave me my first ever referral check on a brain damaged baby case on March 10, 2000, he made it clear that my joining TTLA was expected and necessary so within days, that is what I did. I guarantee that neither John nor I could have ever envisioned that his actions that day to grow the family would eventually culminate 25 years later in my great honor of serving as your 2026 TTLA President. TTLA has been a huge part of my professional and personal life and my goal this year is to make sure that together, we take action in the present and plan for the future to ensure that TTLA is able to successfully protect Texas families, advocate for good laws and help make good lawyers.

While I was pondering what I could meaningfully say to you in this message, I heard the lyrics of an old Alabama song while driving to work last week and the light came on:

Here we are, once again -- Stronger now than we have ever been
Hand in hand, heart to heart – Now we’ve made it through the hardest part
We had to break it all down to build it back up
Lean on each other when times got rough – We could write a book about love.

TTLA’s #1 priority for 2026 and beyond is to do everything possible to ensure that the 2025 Session success is just the beginning of a new day where Texas families and their lawyers do not have to legitimately worry every two years that their right to fair compensation and trial by jury will be materially harmed or completely destroyed. The first step towards that goal has to be making sure that the TTLA PAC has the necessary funds to help our legislative allies win their primaries.

Besides our landmark legislative success, 2025 also saw the achievement of major organizational milestones. TTLA finished the year with over 3,000 members for the first time since the dues structure was changed in 2004. Our membership is more diverse than ever with a thriving Women’s Caucus and Diversity Committee. We had record attendance at CLEs with over 2,000 attendees which helped galvanize and inspire those who attended to be better lawyers, support our political efforts and create beneficial personal and professional relationships. We must build on these successes in 2026 because TTLA thrives when the tent becomes bigger, our members become more engaged and they spend more time with each other.

You - our members - are the key to TTLA’s 2026 success and beyond. Everyone must do their part to recruit new members, donate to the PAC, attend our CLEs, volunteer for service and, above all, stay engaged and informed.

In summing up our 2025 session, Jack Walker told me that “TTLA always finds a way,” which explains why despite the odds being stacked against us for more than 20 years, TTLA is standing stronger than ever today to protect Texas families and the constitutional right to trial by jury. Together, TTLA will find a way to succeed this year and for the foreseeable future. Thank you for allowing me to serve as your president. I’m ready and I hope you are too.

LET’S GET TO WORK. 

Todd Clement, President
Clement + Speer
Dallas
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