TCWLA is turning 50!

To kickoff the 50th year celebration, this year’s Pathfinders celebration will be an evening event.  This special dinner will celebrate both this year’s Pathfinder winners as well as 50 years of TCWLA.  So please bring your loved ones and join us for the evening on November 6, 2026. If you know an extraordinary woman attorney in the Austin area, please nominate them here!

Tickets and tables are limited; to learn more, visit the Pathfinders event page. If you’d like to celebrate with us by sponsoring, learn about the benefits of sponsorship here.

A Message from the President

Thank you for visiting the Travis County Women Lawyers Association website. I am honored and excited to serve as President of TCWLA during such an important time for our community—and during an especially meaningful year for our organization as we celebrate our 50th anniversary in Austin.

We have a robust year ahead. We will begin our year by celebrating 50 years of TCWLA. It may be a little early to start the celebration, but after five decades of this organization’s work, we simply could not wait to get started. Throughout the year, we will carry that anniversary theme with us as we celebrate our history while looking toward our future. We will continue building on our mission to create opportunities for women in the legal profession to meet, mentor, network, learn, lead, and serve.

And so, I want to offer a simple invitation: join us. I understand how busy you are with the demands of family and work. Sometimes, when another organization asks you to add one more commitment to an already full calendar, the invitation to participate can feel a little tone-deaf.  We spend so much of our professional lives giving—to our clients, our families, our firms, our courts, our communities, and the profession itself.

TCWLA is an organization devoted to giving something back to you.  There is a place for you in this organization. Whether you are a law student, a lawyer just finding your footing or taking on new responsibilities, an experienced attorney, or a member of the judiciary, TCWLA has something to offer. I have found through my own time with TCWLA: you will receive support. You will find peers. You will be heard. You will make connections. And you will find people who understand.

Because at its heart, TCWLA is about connection. We are connected by our profession, by a desire to excel in our work, and by a calling to protect and advance the legal rights of women and children.

Here, connection means more than simply sharing a profession. TCWLA creates community. It provides women lawyers with opportunities to build relationships, enjoy one another’s company, and find camaraderie among people who understand the unique aspirations and challenges that come with being a woman in the legal profession. We facilitate one another’s successes by sharing information, ideas, experiences, resources, opportunities, and, perhaps most importantly, encouragement.

And, if we are being honest, our parties are pretty great, too.

Come to an event. Introduce yourself. Bring a colleague or friend. Stay for the program—or stay afterward and enjoy the conversation. Find a mentor. Be a mentor. Share what you know. Ask for what you need.

We have been here for 50 years. We are just getting started. I hope you will be part of what comes next.

With gratitude and excitement,

Cassandra Pillonel
President
Travis County Women Lawyers Association

A Day in Federal Court Seminar

Are you applying for admission to practice in the Western District of Texas? If so, TCWLA offers online access to the required seminar “A Day in Federal Court.” This seminar provides 6.5 hours (including 1 hour of ethics) of CLE credit.