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The Texas Lawbook

Free Speech, Due Process and Trial by Jury

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Bruce Tomaso

Bruce Tomaso spent more than 30 years as a writer and editor at The Dallas Morning News. When asked what positions he held there, he usually says it’s easier to list those he didn’t.

As enterprise editor on The News’s breaking news desk in the summer of 2016, he played a key role in covering the downtown shooting spree that left five police officers dead. For its coverage, The News was a finalist for the 2017 Pulitzer Prize in Breaking News Reporting.

He spent most of 1997 in Denver covering the federal criminal trials of Oklahoma City bombers Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols. Four years later, he covered McVeigh’s execution.

His first major reporting assignment for The Texas Lawbook was a retrospective on the 20th anniversary of the $119.6 million verdict for 10 young men who’d been molested as children by Rudy Kos, a priest in the Catholic Diocese of Dallas. The stories earned Bruce and his Lawbook editor, Allen Pusey, the Dallas Bar Association’s 2018 Stephen Philbin Award for Feature Writing.

In 2019, he covered the seven-week medical fraud trial of nine physicians, healthcare executives and others associated with Forest Park Medical Center, a now-defunct Dallas surgical hospital.

He’s a member of the Alumni Hall of Fame at Arizona State University’s Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication. He and his wife, Dallas attorney Patricia A. Nolan, have one grown son, who is smarter than either of them.

He will drop everything, including preposterous sums of money, to see Lady Gaga, Notre Dame football, or the U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team.

You can reach Bruce at bruce.tomaso@texaslawbook.net.

Emoji Creator Sues Apple in Waco Federal Court

Apple received kudos when it rolled out a stock of emoji that revealed diverse skin colors along with their typically diverse emotions. But a Texas woman has filed suit in Waco contending that Apple stole the concept when she approached the company about a partnership. Bruce Tomaso has details of the litigation.

December 10, 2020 Bruce Tomaso

First COA Reverses $1.5M Verdict Against Baylor Medical J/V

The ruling in favor of Baylor Miraca Genetics Laboratories pours out a 2018 verdict for former company executive Brandon Perthius who had claimed commissions on sales made after he left for a competitor. The Lawbook’s Bruce Tomaso has the details.

December 5, 2020 Bruce Tomaso

Republican Jim Wright Defeats Dallas Lawyer Chrysta Castañeda for RRC Seat

No Democrat has won a seat on the industry-friendly Railroad Commission since 1990.

November 4, 2020 Bruce Tomaso

Democrats Hold Grip on Dallas, Harris County District Courts

With results still trickling in, Democrats seemed certain to maintain their lock on the civil District Court benches in the state’s two most populous counties.

November 4, 2020 Bruce Tomaso

The Lowdown on Straight-Ticket Voting in Texas

Straight-ticket voting is no more in Texas, but what are the implications? This article explains the history of the voting method and both parties’ attitudes toward it.

October 30, 2020 Bruce Tomaso

SCOTX Election Overview: Incumbency Has its Privileges

The four races in the Supreme Court of Texas bring notable aspects from both groups of candidates. The incumbents have the advantage of much more campaign finance support from the legal community. The incumbents’ opponents – all women – comprise the most diverse slate of challenger candidates the court has seen.

October 21, 2020 Bruce Tomaso

Fifth District COA Candidates Make Their Case in Refreshingly Civil Virtual Forum

The Democratic and Republican candidates for three seats on the Fifth District Court of Appeals in Dallas did something Thursday evening that, in 2020, could strike many voters as odd. They engaged in a cordial, thoughtful, informative discussion of their qualifications to the bench, their legal experience and their judicial philosophies. Bruce Tomaso details what was said at the forum, which was moderated by The Texas Lawbook.

October 16, 2020 Bruce Tomaso

Dallas COA Races Test the Strength of Incumbent Republicans

The power of incumbency, normally a potent advantage at the ballot box, may prove to be of diminished relevance in this year’s three races for seats on the Fifth Court of Appeals in Dallas. This article explains the dynamics and background of the three races in Dallas’ Fifth Court of Appeals.

October 8, 2020 Bruce Tomaso

Pharma Marketer Indicted in $60M Kickback Scheme

Vinson Woodlee, 68 was charged in the Northern District of Texas with four counts under the federal anti-kickback statute. If convicted on all counts, he could be sentenced to 35 years inprison.

August 20, 2020 Bruce Tomaso

Doctor Sentenced to 66 Months in Forest Park Med Center Fraud

Richard Toussaint, a co-founder of Forest Park Medical Center, is already serving time in federal prison for a different fraud. Bruce Tomaso reports.

August 10, 2020 Bruce Tomaso

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Features

  • Texas Lawbook Thanks Keurig Dr Pepper and Shell, Toyota and Vitol, and Many of You - A devoted single mom of three who worked two hourly wage jobs — one as a dishwasher and the other changing oil — because the state of Texas forced her to pay hundreds of dollars each month in child support to her deadbeat baby daddy, who was serving 20 years in prison for raping one of their children. She literally struggled to pay the rent and food for her family. Within hours of The Texas Lawbook writing about the case, lawyers at Reese Marketos stepped forward. Weeks later, a Dallas district judge signed an order reversing the Texas attorney general.

    Three years ago, The Lawbook launched a full-time reporter position to write about pro bono, public service and diversity in the Texas legal profession. During the three years, The Lawbook has published more than 240 articles on Texas lawyers representing military veterans, abused children, asylum seekers, the elderly and those discriminated against because of their religious beliefs. Those 240 stories highlighted the pro bono work, public service initiatives and diversity efforts of more than 400 lawyers, 115 law firms and 60 corporate legal departments in Texas.

    Now, we need your help.
    July 25, 2025Mark Curriden
  • My Five Favorite Books: Jennifer Rodriguez (Head of Legal at Half Price Books) - Pulling this list together was harder than expected. My book choices vary greatly — from chick lit rom-coms to biographies to thrillers. I love a book that doesn’t make me think. I’m a lawyer — I have to think a lot. So it’s sometimes nice to just read something light and mindless. That said, what this exercise taught me is that I am really drawn to books that weave storylines together and pull me in enough that I get to the “just one more chapter” stage. I hope you enjoy them as much as I did. And, if you happen to come by Half Price Books’ flagship store in Dallas to grab one of these books, let me know! My office is right upstairs.

    Editor’s note: The Texas Lawbook is pleased to launch this new column in partnership with Texas-based Half Price Books sharing our readers’ favorite reads.
    July 23, 2025Jennifer Rodriguez

GCs, Lawyers & Firms

  • Paul Hastings Continues TX Growth Play with Energy M&A Hire - Peter Hays has had a career-long focus on onshore and offshore energy and a practice spanning both domestic and international markets.
  • Sorrels Law Adds Veteran Houston Litigator
  • Fisher Phillips Adds Houston Litigator
  • Bradley Adds Partner in Dallas
  • Meet the New Head of Litigation at J.D. Silva & Associates
  • Dorsey & Whitney’s New Managing Partner Has Texas Ties and Big Plans
  • Vartabedian Hester & Haynes Hires Richard Roper to Launch New White Collar, Investigations Practice Group
  • Willkie Continues to Expand its Dallas Office with Veteran Dealmakers
  • FBFK Adds Two Lawyers to its Austin Office
  • Beck Redden Bolsters Appellate Group With Hire From Troutman Pepper Locke
More GCs, Lawyers & Firms

Lawyers in the News

Hover right to see full list

Barry Barnett
Wes Bearden
Emily Westridge Black
Michael Burke
Alicia Campbell
John Campbell
Madeleine Carpenter
Alexander Clark
Dawn Pittman Collins
Richard Finneran
Elizabeth Freeman
David Gail
Elizabeth Gibson
David Jones
Frank Lopez
Abbe Lowell
Neal Manne
Billy Marsh
Tom Melsheimer
Tasha Moser
Justin Nelson
Reed O'Connor
Kate Pennartz
John “J.” Pieratt
Danielle Reyes
Christopher Richardson
Randy Sorrels
Harry Susman
Larry Vincent
Victor Vital
Brent Walker
Matt Weybrecht
Melody Wilkinson
Alex Wolens

Firms in the News

Hover right to show full list

A&O Shearman
Bryan Cave
Cozen O'Connor
Haynes Boone
Holland & Knight
Jackson Walker
King & Spalding
Kirkland & Ellis
Law Office of Liz Freeman
Paul Hastings
Porter Hedges
Sorrels Law
Susman Godfrey
Toyota
Troutman Pepper Locke
Willkie
Vinson & Elkins
Weil
Winston & Strawn

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