Members of the Texas Young Lawyers Association will decide between Raymond Baeza of El Paso and Victor Flores of Denton in the upcoming election for the next president-elect of TYLA.

A 2010 graduate of Texas Tech University School of Law, the 33-year-old Baeza has been a trial attorney for Farmers Insurance Exchange since May 2012.

Baeza currently serves as vice president of the TYLA board and is the organization's District 14 director. He also is a board member of the El Paso Young Lawyers Association, serving twice as that organization's treasurer and also as its vice president.

Becoming the president of TYLA would be his way of giving back. Baeza said he comes from a family of limited resources and was helped by other people throughout his life, including receiving a four-year scholarship from the Colorado-based Daniels Fund, established by the late Bill Daniels.

“I know I wouldn't be here today if it wasn't for his generosity and desire to give back,” Baeza said.

Baeza said that if he becomes TYLA president, his goal is to educate the legal community in Texas about S.B. 179, known as David's Law, which was passed by the Legislature in 2017 to provide a new tool to help stop teen cyberbullying that has led teenagers to commit suicide.

Since September 2017, Flores has been the deputy city attorney in Denton and previously was an assistant city attorney in McAllen. He serves on the Texas Bar Journal Board of Editors and the State Bar Texas Government Law Council.

Flores, 35, received his law degree from Western Michigan University Thomas M. Cooley Law School in 2011. He was in the U.S. Marine Corps from 2001 to 2008, was a staff sergeant and served in the Iraq War. The loss of two Marines with whom he served has inspired him to seek ways to be of service.

“I've just had a drive to serve more,” Flores said.

One of the initiatives he hopes to implement if elected TYLA president, Flores said, would be a program aimed at helping the families of veterans, especially those suffering from post-traumatic stress. While help is available to the veterans, their families do not receive much help, he said.

TYLA members will cast ballots from April 2 to May 1, with the election results to be announced May 1. Winner of the race will serve as TYLA president from June 2019 to June 2020.