Free Speech, Due Process and Trial by Jury
Krista Torralva covers pro bono, public service, and diversity matters in the Texas legal market.
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.
Dallas commercial litigator Mark L. Johansen has moved to boutique law firm Egan Nelson, the firm announced this week. Johansen spoke with The Lawbook about his reasons for the move and a pending case he is considering removing to the new business courts.
Jennette “Jenny” DePonte joined Brown Fox last week as a partner in the Dallas-based boutique law firm. She was previously a principal at national labor and employment law firm Jackson Lewis.
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is overstepping its authority and bringing unfair enforcement actions against the cryptocurrency industry, several interested parties have argued in amicus briefs filed in a lawsuit asking Judge Reed C. O'Connor to rule that digital assets are not securities. LEJILEX, a Texas company that intends to launch a digital asset trading platform, filed suit against the SEC in February. Seven states also argue the SEC’s aggressive actions threaten to preempt dozens of state laws.
Becoming a lawyer was about the furthest thing from a young Dylan B. Russell’s mind when he was a budding saxophone player at the University of Texas in the 1990s.
Armenian brothers Artyom Khachatryan and Gurgen Khachatryan faced accusations that their multimillion-dollar Beverly Hills mansion was purchased with bribes. Following a two-year investigation, the government announced it had closed the case and reached a settlement with the family to share proceeds from the sale of the luxury estate. The resolution is touted as a significant victory by the brothers’ Dallas lawyer, Ephraim “Fry” Wernick.
State District Judge Megan Fahey granted summary judgment to Fort Worth-based Tug Hill Inc. in a lawsuit brought by a former executive. The ex-exec argued a verbal agreement was reached with the company’s president that entitled him to management incentive units that should have been paid out to him in an amount over $10 million.
John Scott, formerly of Scott, Clawater & Houston, his wife and son were seriously injured in a wreck while visiting family for Christmas in 2020. A Dallas County jury determined a drunken driver was liable after a four-day trial.
A federal jury in the Eastern District of Texas found Verizon infringed on two patents obtained by Dallas-based General Access Solutions in the early 2000s. Verizon vowed to appeal the verdict.
Lauren Black, formerly a partner at BoyarMiller, has joined Bradley’s litigation practice group. She rejoins Philip Dunlap and Cyrus Chin, two former BoyarMiller lawyers who joined Bradley as partners last year.
Houston-based SBSB Eastham has opened its Dallas location with six new partners who joined from Hartline Barger. The group will focus on construction defect litigation, personal injury defense and employment and labor law.
© Copyright 2026 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.