The Texas Lawbook

Free Speech, Due Process and Trial by Jury

Avatar photo

Krista Torralva

Krista Torralva covers pro bono, public service, and diversity matters in the Texas legal market.

Krista Torralva

Krista Torralva covers pro bono, public service, and diversity for the Texas Lawbook Foundation and The Texas Lawbook. Previously, she covered courts for The Dallas Morning News. Krista has spent the bulk of her decade-plus-long career covering criminal courts in Texas and Florida. Her reporting includes the high profile federal terrorism trial against the Pulse nightclub shooter’s widow in Orlando, which ended in a rare acquittal. Her civil courts coverage has included the long-winding Texas voter ID lawsuit, legal battles over local Covid-19 mandates and school board disputes. Krista's work has been recognized by the State Bar of Texas' Gavel Awards, the Texas Association Press Managing Editors, the National Headliner Awards program and various local chapters of the Society of Professional Journalists.

The daughter of a Naval officer, Krista grew up traveling every few years but calls Corpus Christi home and talks about the Texas Gulf Coast every chance she gets. She lives in Dallas’ North Oak Cliff with her husband, Fares Sabawi.

Krista graduated from the University of Texas at Arlington.

P.S. — HBA’s Days of Service Mobilizes Houston Legal Community to Support 14,000 Residents, Early Giving Underway in El Paso, and More

In this week’s edition of P.S., the Legal Aid of NorthWest Texas is reviving its in-person Builders of Justice Progressive Dinner and Awards Program in McKinney, honoring local advocates for expanding access to justice. In Houston, the Bar Association’s Days of Service engaged about 300 lawyers and benefitted more than 14,000 people through community service projects. Meanwhile, Texas RioGrande Legal Aid is encouraging early donations for El Paso Giving Day to support its wide-ranging civil legal work across 68 counties, and the Association of Corporate Counsel San Antonio makes a donation to the San Antonio Legal Services Association. Rounding out this issue, Bracewell hosted 25 Aldine ISD students for a law career panel in partnership with Momentum Education. 

Krista Torralva

Once a Patient in Need, this Houston Lawyer Helps Medical Services Charity Heal Others

Houston attorney Allan Kirk, a mergers and acquisitions partner at Kirkland & Ellis, drew on his own childhood experience with clubfoot and his faith-driven desire to help others when he helped Christ Clinic — a faith-based healthcare provider for low-income and uninsured patients — secure a pro bono legal team from his firm. Kirkland aided the clinic’s joint venture with Innovative Wellness, expanding access to care in the Houston area. 

Krista Torralva

P.S. — October is Pro Bono Month for this Houston Organization, Plus Dallas Hispanic Bar Association Celebrates 20th, and Lambda Legal Honors Trailblazing Judge 

October brings a flurry of pro bono and legal community celebrations across Texas. Houston Volunteer Lawyers is marking the entire month as Pro Bono Month, spotlighting volunteers and hosting CLE opportunities. The Dallas Hispanic Bar Association celebrated its 20th Anniversary Noche de Luz Gala during Hispanic Heritage Month, honoring civil rights pioneer Sylvia Mendez as keynote speaker and presenting awards to leaders in the legal community. Looking ahead, Lambda Legal will host its Landmark Dinner on Oct. 11 in Dallas, where it will present Judge Tonya Parker with the Liberty Award for her civil rights work and feature speakers including decorated Navy pilot Commander Emily “Hawking” Shilling and Texas lawmakers Jessica González and Nathan Johnson.

Krista Torralva

P.S. — Jail Mail Censorship Settlement, Ten Commandments Lawsuit, and Fundraisers for Justice 

In this week’s edition of P.S., we include coverage of two pro bono cases. First, SMU’s First Amendment Clinic and O’Melveny & Myers teamed up to secure a $290,000 settlement and a permanent injunction against mail censorship at a Texas jail. Second, Simpson Thacher & Bartlett joined a coalition of civil liberties groups in a new lawsuit challenging Ten Commandments Displays in Texas classrooms. In Dallas, the Hispanic Bar Association prepares to celebrate its 20th Anniversary Noche de Luz Gala. And, shoppers, get excited. Jewelry brand Kendra Scott and luxury clothing store St. John Dallas Boutique are each hosting benefit events to raise funds for legal aid services across Texas.

Krista Torralva

P.S. — Wills for Officers, AZA Partner Goes to U.N., Eviction Advocacy Comes to Houston

In this edition of P.S., we highlight the Texas legal community’s impact at home and abroad. In Dallas, nearly 100 volunteers came together for the Wills for Heroes Clinic, helping police officers prepare more than 80 wills. Meanwhile, the Dallas Eviction Advocacy Center — a nonprofit organization fighting unlawful evictions — is expanding its reach to Houston. On the global stage, AZA Houston Partner Shahmeer Halepota addressed the United Nations, offering insight on Pakistan’s water crisis. 

Krista Torralva

Sarah T. Hughes Scholarship Returns With New Focus on Hardship, Drops ‘Diversity’

The Dallas Bar Foundation has resumed its long-running Sarah T. Hughes Scholarship after pausing it earlier this year but has removed “diversity” from its title and eliminated explicit references to race and minority status from the scholarship’s description and application. Formerly titled the Sarah T. Hughes Diversity Scholarship, the stated purpose was to support minority law students and promote diversity in the North Texas legal community. The revised version now focuses on applicants who have demonstrated resilience and overcome hardship, emphasizing broader examples of underrepresentation such as being first-generation college students or balancing school with work or military service. 

Krista Torralva

SALSA Names New Executive Director

The San Antonio Legal Services Association announced it has hired nonprofit executive and fundraising strategist James Martinez to lead the organization as executive director. After experiencing a funding shortfall earlier this year, SALSA touted Martinez’s more than two decades of experience fundraising and leading nonprofit organizations.

Krista Torralva

Texas Law Graduates Win Precedent-Setting Civil Rights Case Before Receiving Bar Exam Results 

Just a few days before joining Kirkland & Ellis as litigation associates, and while awaiting the results of their bar exams, Gabrielle Olubanke Howells and Lizeth Badillo Garcia notched their first court win — a precedent-setting decision from a panel of judges at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. The rare opportunity to argue a pro bono case before a federal appeals court before bar admission was the result of a collaboration spearheaded by Kirkland & Ellis Partner Zack Ewing, who was inspired by the graduates to emulate a program afforded to him while a student at the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School.

Krista Torralva

P.S. — ‘Dean of the Texas Appellate Bar’ Honored, HBA Launches Days of Service and How to Boost Giving to LANWT  

In this week’s column, renowned appellate attorney Mike Hatchell of Haynes Boone is set to receive the Chief Justice Jack Pope Professionalism Award for his decadeslong contributions to appellate law in Texas. The Houston Bar Association also announced its new Days of Service initiative. And the Texas Indigent Defense Commission approved more than $1.7 million in grants to bolster mental health defense services and public defender capacity across rural counties. 

Krista Torralva

© Copyright 2025 The Texas Lawbook
The content on this website is protected under federal Copyright laws. Any use without the consent of The Texas Lawbook is prohibited.