FROM THE CHAIR

By Matt McMurtrey, Esq.*

As 2021 came to an end, I found myself reflecting on my year on TEXCOM. While we escaped lockdown, we still struggled with, and benefited from, the changes caused by COVID. COVID challenged us to find new ways to continue our mission of informing both lawyers and the Legislature about the realities of practicing in the Trusts and Estates field. I am proud to report that, most of the time, we were successful.

COVID forced the cancellation of all live programs CLA-wide. TEXCOM’s Education Committee had to scramble to fill the void by offering more online programming. In 2021, TEXCOM offered 11 webinars and "The 3rd Annual Financial Elder Abuse Symposium" (in four sessions) as new online programs discussing topics Trusts and Estates lawyers encounter. This challenge showed that there is demand for the convenience of watching excellent content from anywhere the participant desires. As we now embrace returning to live programming, we will discover how much our members want to network with their colleagues in-person while learning about our field.

COVID also challenged TEXCOM’s other work. TEXCOM was unable to meet in-person from March to August of last year. Like many of your practices, TEXCOM moved to socially distant meetings—i.e., meeting by Zoom. Likewise, our subcommittees did the same.