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.
Dean Omar Branham Shirley represented an Oregon mother of three who said her mesothelioma diagnosis came after years of using J&J’s baby powder. The company is facing lawsuits across the country from plaintiffs who claim J&J knew cancer-causing asbestos was turning up in its baby powder for decades but didn’t warn consumers or the FDA.
Thanks to joint efforts by the Dallas County Democratic and Republican parties, voting hours were extended after severe weather that knocked out more than 100 polling locations. Lawyer Robert Tobey, representing the Democrats, and GOP chair Jennifer Stoddard-Hajdu, a lawyer herself, worked together and later consolidated cases with the sheriff who hired Carter Arnett to also extend voting hours. The parties got an assist from the Dallas County district attorney’s office, which represented the Elections Department.
Drs. Desi Barroga and Deno Barroga admitted to submitting false insurance claims purporting to give patients more than 80 corticosteroid shots in a single visit. In reality, the doctors often mimicked injecting patients by placing a needle on their bodies without piercing their skin.
Former Baker Botts partner Greg Dillard has joined BakerHostetler’s Houston office as a partner. Dillard has represented big companies such as BP, Chevron and ExxonMobil in crisis responses and regulatory enforcement actions.
Adam Rehm is part of a trio of former Polsinelli lawyers who went to Norton Rose’s IP practice. Rehm is a former design engineer and U.S. Patent and Trademark Office examiner with more than two decades of legal experience.
Litigation spend by Texas companies with revenues of $1 billion or more reached an average of $3.9 million, according to Norton Rose Fulbright’s 19th annual trends survey of corporate general counsel. Two top lawyers from the firm discussed with The Texas Lawbook what is driving up the costs.
A Dallas County district judge and top civil lawyers shared their observations about what leads to large jury verdicts and discussed changes in jury attitudes during a recent CLE hosted by The Texas Lawbook.
Natalie Alfaro Gonzales joins the Houston boutique from Baker Botts, where she was a partner and co-leader of the firm’s energy tech sector. Her hiring is part of a “critical initiative” for Yetter Coleman, its leaders said.
Paulette Miniter joins the Dallas boutique law firm as a partner where she will focus on business and commercial litigation, as well as appeals. In an interview with The Texas Lawbook, Miniter discusses making the move from Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher where she was an associate.
Court reporter Jo Ann Holmgren and her firm, Preferred Legal Services, are seeking a court finding that the Judicial Branch Certification Commission failed to do its job when it dismissed a complaint of alleged violations of court reporting laws by a digital recording company. The Third Court of Appeals rejected the JBCC’s appeal and remanded the case to the trial court.
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