Tomorrow, Friday, April 21, is an important meeting in Austin. I want our members to know that TEXDRA will be there, representing our membership, and we will re-urge the adoption of our common-sense ethical proposal for the Texas Code of Professional Conduct "Fees" Section, which our counsel first submitted on May 10, 2016, which you can find under Recommended Reading on the home page. Passions are running very high right now. I am very proud of the way our association members and leadership have conducted themselves through this arduous process, and I want to remind our members that it is to the benefit of all Texas court reporters for us to continue to conduct ourselves with dignity and professionalism and respect for everyone, especially those with whom we disagree.
Having said that, I think it's important for our members to know that TEXDRA is very concerned that there will be a decision tomorrow that ultimately removes the rule in its entirety because there has been such tremendous discord among Texas reporters on this issue; I addressed this concern specifically in "What is the Deal with the 1/3 Rule" on 9/11/16 (see Recommended Reading on the home page). TEXDRA has tried repeatedly to reach middle ground but has regrettably been unable to do so, and TCRA is not willing to budge on their stance of keeping the 1/3 Rule intact despite instruction from the Advisory Board to the contrary at its April 1, 2016 meeting (also available under Recommended Reading). I want to reassure our members that we are standing firm in our commitment to KEEP THE RULE in our Code of Professional Conduct but AMEND the rule so that it is truly fair to all, prevents the "doomsday one-cent original" scenario, and puts our Texas freelance court reporters and court reporting firms on a parity with our counterparts in the other 49 states. We are committed, we are strong, we are determined, and we will not waver in our promises to our membership.
Thank you for your attention and for supporting your profession, and we will keep everyone updated. It is an honor to represent you. With sincere gratitude, Susan Perry Miller, TEXDRA President