Senior associate recognized by the Texas Young Lawyers Association with the President’s Award of Merit

Senior associate Reginald Wilson of Houston has been named a recipient of the President’s Award of Merit for 2021-2022 by the Texas Young Lawyers Association (TYLA).

The award, which recognizes individuals who have made significant contributions to TYLA with exemplary service to the public and the bar, was presented to the winners at the annual meeting on June 10. Honorees are selected by the president of TYLA, the public service arm of the State Bar of Texas. This year’s awards were presented to individuals who put forth exceptional efforts on behalf of TYLA through their committees. 

“I am honored to be chosen for this award and to be involved in TYLA,” he said. “This organization is an instrumental resource for young lawyers and a resource to the public. As someone with a passion for community service and seeing others succeed, TYLA is one of the best opportunities to pay it forward.”

Wilson, whose Norton Rose Fulbright practice focuses on public law, has served as a director on the TYLA board since 2017. Earlier this year, the Texas Minority Counsel Program, also a part of the State Bar of Texas, named Wilson their inaugural Rising Star for his extraordinary efforts to increase diversity. The TMCP was created by the State Bar of Texas in 1993 with a mission to increase opportunities for diverse attorneys who provide legal services to corporate and governmental clients and to expose organizations to the legal talent of diverse attorneys in Texas.

Wilson also utilizes his advocacy efforts at the firm, where he serves on the influential Racial Equity Council. Created in 2020 in response to the country's wave of civil unrest, the council has made significant progress toward its mission to improve the experience of the firm's black personnel and to advance racial equity throughout the firm with Wilson’s help and guidance. He also serves as a mentor with Go to High School, Go to College, an educational initiative in which underrepresented students learn the importance of completing secondary and collegiate education.

Professionally, Wilson has experience in traditional tax backed financings, tax increment financings, revenue financings and private placements. He acts as bond counsel, disclosure counsel, underwriters' counsel and trustees' counsel in a variety of transactions involving municipal governments, including cities and counties, independent school districts, healthcare systems, universities, tax increment reinvestment zones, conduits and non-profit organizations. He also serves as general counsel to various special districts in Texas.

TYLA, created in 1930, is often referred to as the public service arm of the State Bar of Texas. TYLA  aims to facilitate the administration of justice, foster respect for the law and advance the role of the legal profession in serving the public, including underserved members of the community such as the homeless, elderly and military members.