In this edition of P.S., we have July dates, times and locations of the Dallas Volunteer Attorney Program’s legal aid clinics (with info on this month’s sponsors); a prestigious public service award that the American Bar Association will present to Legal Aid of NorthWest Texas in August, two Winstead lawyers taking leadership roles in DEI and a pro bono win by Baker Botts in the U.S. Supreme Court.
(Editor’s Note: Lawbook pro bono, public service and diversity writer Natalie Posgate is on vacation — in fact, as you read this she’s likely getting soaked by a Stage 4 rapid on a river in the Costa Rican rainforest — so there will be no P.S. column next Friday.)
To submit your public service news to be considered for inclusion in a future column, email public.service@texaslawbook.net
The Latest
— Winstead recently announced that Austin shareholder Alex Valdes will serve as the firm’s new chair of its diversity committee, while Dallas shareholder Kristen Sherwin will chair the firm’s women’s forum, which brings together clients, business leaders and Winstead attorneys to discuss important topics impacting women in the business and legal communities. Valdes has been at Winstead since 2002 and practices in the firm’s real estate development and investment group. Sherwin has been at Winstead her entire career, since 2004, and practices construction law. In a statement, Winstead CEO Jeff Matthews said “there’s still more work to be done” with the firm’s DEI initiatives despite being proud of what the committee has accomplished so far and that Valdes will work with him and Winstead’s board to continue building “a culture that embraces equity, inclusion and belonging across every level of our organization.” Matthews said he asked Sherwin to “reimagine our efforts and those of the women’s forum as we move forward as a firm.”
— Legal Aid of NorthWest Texas will be honored with the American Bar Association’s Hodson Award Aug. 4 at the ABA’s annual meeting in Denver. The Hodson Award recognizes an exceptional government or public sector law office. In its announcement, the ABA cited multiple programs and efforts by LANWT that deemed the organization worthy of the award: the Disaster Legal Services Unit, which provides mobile legal assistance to survivors of natural disasters; the Home Preservation Project, which addresses eviction and rental assistance; the Pro Se Assistance Program, which helps those who do not have a lawyer; LANWT’s medical/legal partnerships, which provide legal aid for medical patients when clinical staff detects that the patient needs help with something, such as illegal eviction.
— The Dallas Bar Association’s pro bono arm, the Dallas Volunteer Attorney Program, will host nine virtual and in-person legal aid clinics in July for low-income individuals in need of legal services.
All virtual clinics run from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. To enroll, visit here: https://tinyurl.com/DVAPClinic
Virtual Clinics
July 6: DVAP and SMU Dedman School of Law
July 7 Veterans Clinic: DVAP and Bradley Arant Boult Cummings
July 13: DVAP and DLA Piper
July 20: DVAP, SMU Dedman Law and Haynes Boone
July 27: DVAP and SMU Dedman Law
In-person Clinics
Veterans clinic: July 7 at 1:30 p.m. at the VA Medical Center (4500 Lancaster Rd., Dallas). Sponsored by DVAP, Hunton Andrews Kurth and Reed Smith
South Dallas Clinic: July 11 at 5 p.m. at the Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Center (2922 Martin Luther King Blvd., Dallas). Sponsored by DVAP and Winston & Strawn
East Dallas Clinic: July 20 at 5 p.m. at Grace United Methodist Church (4105 Junius at Haskell, Dallas). Sponsored by DVAP and Solo Volunteers
South Dallas Clinic: July 25 at 5 p.m. at the Martin Luther King., Jr. Community Center (2922 Martin Luther King Blvd., Dallas). Sponsored by DVAP and Solo Volunteers
— On June 29, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of a Baker Botts pro bono client in Groff v. DeJoy, a religious liberty case. The unanimous decision ruled that under Title VII under the Civil Rights Act, employers must accommodate an employees’ religious practice or belief unless doing so would impose a “substantial cost” on the conduct of the business. Baker Botts partner Aaron Streett argued the case on behalf of client Gerald Groff, a devout Christian and former Pennsylvania-based Postal Service mail carrier who was disciplined by USPS for skipping Sunday shifts to observe the sabbath instead of delivering Amazon packages.
For more background on the case, read a previous Lawbook Q&A with Streett here.