DAYL Leadership Class Application

Application Deadline
Friday, June 25, 2021

To apply for the DAYL Leadership Class, complete the information below. The application deadline is Friday, June 25, 2021.

Each year, DAYL selects a group of young lawyers from all practice areas, firm sizes, experience levels, and backgrounds to participate in its award-winning DAYL Leadership Class. The DAYL Leadership Class provides opportunities for young lawyers to develop relationships with local city leaders, network with one another, and deploy their newly-honed leadership skills. The DAYL Leadership Class promotes leadership development within the bar association as well as within Dallas’s nonprofit and civic communities and provides a forum for identifying the many ways to give back to North Texas.

Led by a team of five Class Facilitators, including Dena DeNooyer Stroh, General Counsel with NTTA; Mark Melton, Partner at Holland & Knight; Rebekah Brooker, Partner as Scheef & Stone; Meyling Ly-Ortiz, Managing Counsel of Labor & Employment, Toyota Motor North America, Inc.; and Terry James, the DAYL Leadership Class experience will be a unique and beneficial experience for all young lawyers (age 36 and under or in first five years of practice). With over 800 alumni, including judges, general counsels, law school professors, city leaders, and law-firm name partners, the DAYL Leadership Class has been emulated by bar associations across the state and the country and serves as a gateway for leadership among lawyers in the North Texas area.

Currently, this year’s Leadership Class is scheduled to occur virtually, with programming to be held by Zoom or similar format. DAYL’s Board of Directors will continue to evaluate when DAYL meetings, including the 2021 Leadership Class meetings, can start to be held in-person (complying with safety protocols). DAYL anticipates that in the coming months additional information about in-person gatherings will be available, and updates will be provided to the Leadership Class at that time.

Once selected, Leadership Class members will:

Meet each other and Class Facilitators at a class happy hour on August 12, 2021 from 6:00 - 8:00pm
Attend the DAYL Leadership Class Retreat on Friday, August 20 and Saturday, August 21, 2021
- Plan on participating for a full day on Friday, beginning at 8:00am with a possible overnight, and a half day on Saturday, until approximately 3:00pm.
- Full participation during each part of the Retreat on both days is mandatory, although overnight may be optional.
Participate in a series of up to seven lunches featuring local and state leaders speaking on their personal experiences in leadership positions will follow. See lunch dates below.
Organize a Leadership Class community service project.

Please direct questions to Cherie Harris.

First Name *

Middle Name

Last Name *

Firm or Company *

Mailing address *

Mailing City, State, ZIP *

Telephone Number *

Cell Phone Number *

Number of Years in Practice *

Area(s) of Practice *

Email address *

Are you a DAYL member (membership required) *

T-Shirt Size

Can you attend the mandatory retreat as noted above? *

Have you previously applied to the DAYL Leadership Class? If so, when? *

Are you actively involved in any DAYL committees or events? If so, which ones? *

How did you hear about the DAYL Leadership Class? *

What is your comfort level attending in-person events, with 1 being least comfortable and 10 being most comfortable? Please note that your response does not in any way affect your selection to the Leadership Class.

The 2021 DAYL Leadership Class will meet promptly from 11:30 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. on the following dates: September 9, October 7, October 28, November 16, December 16, January 20, 2022, and February 10, 2022 (all Thursdays except for November 16, which is a Tuesday). There will also be an introductory class happy hour on Thursday, August 12, from 6:00 - 8:00 p.m., and a mandatory class retreat from Friday, August 20 to Saturday, August 21, 2021. If accepted to the Program, class participants are expected to attend all class lunches and activities.

1. Attach your one-page résumé, which shall include bar association, business/professional, and civic activities in which you have participated. List any awards or special recognitions you have received. Also separately attach a professional photo that can be used in Class materials.

2. On a separate sheet of paper, provide a personal statement that describes: (a) what leadership means to you; (b) why you wish to participate in this program; and (c) how you expect to use your experience in this program.

3. Please provide a letter of recommendation from someone who has known you for at least two years.

4. There is a $300 administrative/enrollment fee. This fee covers the course materials and other fees. It will not include any overnight accommodations, if applicable. If necessary, the $300 may be made in installments, with $150 due upon acceptance, the remainder due by September 15.

5. Scholarship Award: We are excited to be able to offer two full scholarships this year, sponsored by the Dallas Bar Association, in honor of DAYL Past President (2008) and former Leadership Class Facilitator Karen D. McCloud who passed away in 2020. Please indicate your need on an additional sheet of paper and include it with your application. The scholarships will be given to someone who has the desire to emulate Karen's zest for life and bar service.

Applicants are requested, but not required, to provide the following information. Please indicate which of the following categories utilized by the EEOC best describes you

Asian Black or African American Hispanic or Latino American Indian or Alaskan Native White Two or More Races Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander

Please upload the following documents:

Leadership Application Materials: (1) Resume as described above; (2) personal statement as described above; and (3) a letter of recommendation as described above.

These materials should be saved as ONE document as a PDF and saved as follows: lastname_firstname.pdf

Photo Attachment: please upload a professional photo of yourself and save it in the same manner as your other document: lastname_firstname.jpg

Leadership Application Materials

Photo Attachment

By clicking the submit button, I represent that the information provided herein and on the attached pages is true and correct. Also, I indicate that I understand that the DAYL Leadership Class will require a substantial time commitment and participation on my part. I will be an active participant of the 2021 Leadership Class, which includes attending the required retreat and luncheons as stated above, participating in small group activities that will be held periodically throughout the program, and participating in the Class project.

Dallas Association of Young Lawyers