In this edition of P.S., Attorneys Serving the Community announced it raised more than $586K for POETIC, a nonprofit helping youth survivors of exploitation, with over $60,000 coming from its sold-out annual luncheon featuring Elizabeth Smart. Meanwhile, the Dallas Bar Association and J.L. Turner Legal Association are preparing to honor the 60th anniversary of the Voting Rights Act with a special program featuring civil rights leaders and legal experts.
‘When Everyone Gives Some’
Following its annual luncheon, Attorneys Serving the Community — a volunteer organization of women lawyers, judges and law students — announced it has raised more than $586,000 for POETIC, a nonprofit organization that aids youth who have been victims of maltreatment, sexual exploitation and trafficking.
Each year, ASC selects a beneficiary from a thorough application process and raises money for the organization through its fiscal year, which runs from July to June. The yearlong effort culminates in an annual luncheon, held this year on June 13 at the Thompson Dallas hotel.
The event sold out the 740-person ballroom and raised more than $60,000, according to event chairs Devon Sharp and Debrán O’Neil. Sharp, associate general counsel at Galderma Laboratories, said the generosity of supporters was positively overwhelming and the amount raised surpassed the ASC’s fundraising goal of $40,000.
“When everyone gives some, it’s incredible,” Sharp said.
The ASC also presented its Friend of the Community Award to Muse Communications and its Co-Chairs’ Most Valuable New Member Award to Simran Nijjar (SMU Dedman School of Law, Class of 2025).
Elizabeth Smart, whose 2002 abduction from her home in Salt Lake City gripped the country, served as the keynote speaker. Now a prominent advocate for survivors of child abduction, sexual violence and exploitation, Smart emphasized the crucial role POETIC serves in the recovery process. She reflected on the importance of a safe and supportive environment, something many survivors lack in their homes.
“She said, ‘POETIC is, to the girls it serves, what my family has always been to me,’” Sharp recalled. “It is a safe space that they can go to — and a lot of these girls don’t have any safe space, which is heartbreaking.”
Sharp’s term as lead chair ends in July. O’Neil, a partner at Carrington, Coleman, Sloman & Blumenthal, will step into the lead role, with Kathleen Klein, legal director of Mosaic Family Services, joining her as co-chair.
ASC operates under a unique model: it is not a standalone nonprofit and does not maintain its own bank account, allowing every dollar raised through events, membership dues, and corporate sponsorships to go directly to the selected beneficiary.
This year’s luncheon sponsors were: Crawley Family Foundation, Galderma, JMA Firm, Sheppard Mullin, Baker McKenzie, D CEO, Platinum Intelligent Data Solutions, Marketing Connection, Baker Botts, Bradley, Cool Women Attorney Network, Dykema, Gibson Dunn, Haynes Boone, Hilgers Graben, Legal People, Lynn Pinker Hurst & Schwegmann, Muse Communications, Quilling Selander Lownds Winslett Moser, Reed Smith, The Schelin Family, Spencer Fane, Troutman Pepper Locke, Veracity Forensics, Extenet, Amy Stewart Law, Carrington Coleman, Consilio, DWLA Dallas Women Lawyers Association, Estes Thorne Ewing & Payne, Goldenrod Companies, Gray Reed, Greenberg Traurig, Gupta & Wiora, Kilpatrick, LeBoeuf Law, Lewis Brisbois, Munck Wilson Mandala, Munsch Hardt, Petty & Associates, The Sharp Family, Thompson Coburn, Canterbury, Duffee + Eitzen Attorneys at Law, Farrow-Gillespie Heath Wilmoth, JAMS, K&L Gates, Katten, Littler, McGuireWoods, Richard & Aracely Muñoz, Platt Richmond, Winstead, Winston & Strawn, Andrews & Barth, Clark Hill, Jackson Walker, Mars United, O’Melveny, Sidley, Ashley & Michael Welvaert, Angle Herr, Tiffany Lam-Bentley & Family, Law Office of Carol A. Wilson, Liechty, McGinnis, Berryman & Bowen, Angela Maverick, Norton Rose Fulbright, The O’Neil Family, Patrons of Attorneys Serving the Community, Rochelle McCullough, SMU Dedman School of Law, Dr. Delphinium, Facets by Lauren Fox, Kate Weiser Chocolate, MARS United Commerce, Pineapple Avenue Creative, Roma Osowo Studio, That’s Oasis and The Diamond Factory.
Dallas Legal Groups to Commemorate 60th Anniversary of Voting Rights Act
The Dallas Bar Association and J.L. Turner Legal Association will host a program on Thursday commemorating the 60th anniversary of the Voting Rights Act.
Featured speakers include Jan Sanders, widow of Judge Barefoot Sanders; Joaquin Gonzalez, civil rights attorney and professor; Rev. Peter Johnson, civil rights activist; and Olivia N. Sedwick, attorney with Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law.
The landmark legislation, which aimed to eliminate barriers to voting for Black people and other marginalized communities, was signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson on Aug. 6, 1965.
The event will take place at the Arts District Mansion, located at 2101 Ross Avenue in Dallas. It will be held in a hybrid format and attendees are encouraged to register here. Participants will receive one hour of continuing legal education credit.