March 25, 2022
Kelly M. Walla to Lead TMA Legal Team
The Texas Medical Association (TMA) has named Kelly M. Walla, JD, LLM, as its next general counsel beginning July 1.
Ms. Walla’s promotion to head TMA’s Office of the General Counsel (OGC) follows 42 years of successful service by her predecessor, General Counsel Donald P. “Rocky” Wilcox, JD, who is retiring in June.
“It’s an honor to be selected as TMA’s next general counsel and to carry forward the legacy of my predecessor. I am excited for the opportunity to represent TMA in this new role and to continue advancing the organization’s physician and patient-focused mission,” Ms. Walla said. “The state and the nation have witnessed the courage of Texas physicians over the course of the pandemic, and I am proud to advise TMA as it works to support its physician members.”
TMA Executive Vice President and Chief Executive Officer Michael Darrouzet said Ms. Walla has been a valued member of OGC during her 15 years of service to TMA, first as an assistant general counsel and most recently as associate vice president and deputy general counsel.
“I am confident that Kelly will continue the respected leadership of the association’s in-house legal team, and I am so pleased she is taking on this new leadership role,” Mr. Darrouzet said.
With this transition, “TMA can continue to stand up boldly for Texas physicians, on both the state and federal levels,” Board of Trustees Chair Rick Snyder, MD, said.
Ms. Walla has 21 years of legal experience and 15 years of legislative advocacy experience. Prior to joining TMA, she was an associate in the private law firms Arter & Hadden, LLP in Dallas and Bean & Bean, LLP in Houston. Ms. Walla earned her bachelor of arts degree in political science, summa cum laude, from Southeastern Oklahoma State University in 1997, and her juris doctor, with honors, from The University of Texas School of Law in 2000. She received her master of laws in health law from the University of Houston Law Center in 2008.
Ms. Walla currently serves on the council for the Health Law Section of the State Bar of Texas and on the board of the Texas Alliance for Patient Access, and she is immediate past president of the American Society of Medical Association Counsel. She also chairs the policy subcommittee for TMA’s staff diversity and inclusion committee. Ms. Walla is a member of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma.
TMA is the largest state medical society in the nation, representing more than 56,000 physician and medical student members. It is located in Austin and has 110 component county medical societies around the state. TMA’s key objective since 1853 is to improve the health of all Texans.
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