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The Texas Lawbook

Free Speech, Due Process and Trial by Jury

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  • Bankruptcy
  • Commercial Litigation
  • Corp. Deal Tracker/M&A
  • GCs/Corp. Legal Depts.
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  • Pro Bono/Public Service/D&I

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.

Q&A with Trial Lawyer Daryl Washington

Washington began his legal career working in mergers and acquisitions for Jackson Walker. A former wide receiver for the Grambling State University football team, Washington also represented professional athletes and college coaches, where he got a taste of litigation. But he wanted to be a fulltime trial lawyer.

January 31, 2025 Krista Torralva

Dallas Boutique Nabs Former Appeals Court Justice Amanda Reichek

Former Fifth District Court of Appeals justice Amanda Reichek has joined Dallas law firm Tillotson Johnson Patton as a partner after losing her re-election bid in November. Reichek, who previously worked in plaintiff-side employment law and union-side labor law, expressed excitement about returning to a small firm setting and joining a “top-notch” legal team. The firm’s name partner, Jeff Tillotson, praised Reichek’s knowledge and skill, noting she adds tremendous value to their already strong appellate group.

January 29, 2025 Krista Torralva

Lawsuit Alleges North Texas Jail’s Book, Magazine Bans Violate Free Speech, Due Process Rights

The Human Rights Defense Center is suing Grayson County and the sheriff, claiming the facility’s rejection of books, magazines and other materials sent to inmates violates the organization’s First and Fourteenth Amendment rights. The lawsuit, filed in September, argues that the jail’s policies prevent inmates from receiving important legal literature, with no clear process for challenging rejections. U.S. District Judge Amos Mazzant had questions for both sides during a hearing Monday on the plaintiff’s motion for a preliminary injunction.

January 29, 2025 Krista Torralva

Dallas Firm Defeats $150M Lawsuit Against Energy Transfer in New York Trial 

Lynn Pinker Hurst & Schwegmann secured a major win for Energy Transfer in a complex fraud and breach of contract claim mounted by investment funds associated with Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC and the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan Board. After a three-week trial in New York, the judge ruled Jan. 17 that Energy Transfer was not liable on any counts, effectively avoiding a potential $200 million judgment including pretrial interest.

January 22, 2025 Krista Torralva

Workrise Associate GC Kelsey Williams Revolutionized Company’s Legal Strategy and Collections

Kelsey Williams almost didn’t become a lawyer. She bucked her parents’ efforts to persuade her to follow in her father’s footsteps. But it was in a specific moment during her undergraduate literature studies that she realized she may be a natural fit for the legal profession. Today, her peers say she has a “signature brand of meticulous and thoughtful legal work” that has transformed Workrise’s profitability and stability. And she is a finalist for the 2024 DFW Senior Counsel of the Year Award. 

January 21, 2025 Krista Torralva

Premium Subscriber Q&A: Kelsey Williams

In this premium subscriber Q&A, Workwise GC Kelsey Williams discusses the traits she seeks in outside counsel, what outside counsel need to know when working with her and more.

January 21, 2025 Krista Torralva

Baker Botts Boosts International Disputes and Antitrust Practices with High-Profile Hires

Ben Love returns to Texas after working out of Boies Schiller Flexner’s New York and Washington D.C. offices. Former Texas-based lawyer Edward Duffy joins Baker Botts from the U.S. Department of Justice.

January 21, 2025 Krista Torralva

Energy Transfer and Far West Texas Gas Companies Settle Lawsuit One Week Before Trial

Energy Transfer, represented by Lynn Pinker Hurst & Schwegmann, filed a lawsuit in April 2022 against Culberson Midstream Equity and Moontower Resources Gathering alleging a breach of their 2018 contract because the gas gatherers didn’t deliver committed gas. Culberson and Moontower, represented by Reese Marketos, filed a counterclaim also alleging a breach of contract.

January 16, 2025 Krista Torralva

Quinn Emanuel Elevates Christopher D. Porter to Co-Chair of National Trial Practice 

Christopher D. Porter, already co-managing partner of Quinn Emanuel’s Houston office, was recently named co-chair of the national trial practice group. Porter boasts more than 16 years as a trial lawyer with a practice focused on business litigation.

January 15, 2025 Krista Torralva

Veteran Trial Lawyer Mary-Olga “Mo” Lovett Exits King & Spalding to Launch Self-Titled Firm

Mary-Olga “Mo” Lovett, formerly a partner at King & Spalding and a past senior vice president at Greenberg Traurig boasts more than 30 years of experience as a trial lawyer. Owning her own firm has been a lifelong dream, she said.

January 14, 2025 Krista Torralva

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Features

  • P.S. — Raising the Bar: Lawyers Fight Food Insecurity, Support Veterans and More  - In this week’s P.S. Column, the Dallas-area legal community is recognized for raising more than $145,000 and donating nearly half a ton of food to the North Texas Food Bank through the annual Food from the Bar campaign, with top-performing firms honored at a recent awards celebration. In Houston, Bracewell and Cheniere Energy recently worked a free legal clinic at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center, assisting 23 veterans with challenges such as housing disputes. Meanwhile, Kirkland & Ellis and AlixPartners have launched the first-ever Knock Out the Need blood drive to address summer shortages. Other notable updates include nonprofit board appointments, scholarship awards and Communities Foundation of Texas presenting its 2025 Vester Hughes Award to Holland & Knight’s David Rosenberg.  June 6, 2025Krista Torralva
  • New UT Law Grads Make Courtroom Debut in Federal Appeals Arguments - In their career debuts, two newly minted University of Texas law school graduates and incoming Kirkland & Ellis associates faced pointed judicial questioning from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit in a prison conditions case. Gabrielle Olubanke Howells and Lizeth Badillo Garcia spoke with The Texas Lawbook about rising to the rare occasion of presenting oral arguments in a federal appeals case before even taking the bar exam.  June 5, 2025Krista Torralva

GCs, Lawyers & Firms

  • Bracewell Partner Becomes Shareholder in Greenberg Traurig’s Houston, New York Offices - A former Bracewell labor and employment partner joins global law firm Greenberg Traurig as a shareholder in the firm’s Houston and New York offices. The firm’s leaders say the addition is part of its strategic growth.
  • Bradley Hires Former EVP, CLO of Texas Regional Bank
  • Dell Technologies In-house Counsel Joins Yetter Coleman IP Group
  • Atma Kabad Moves from Kirkland to Gibson Dunn
  • Fisher Phillips Hires Reed Smith Partner to be Regional Managing Partner in Houston
  • Gibson Dunn Partner Launches Solo Dallas Firm to ‘Reengineer Litigation Models for Businesses’
  • President Names Career Prosecutor as NDTX U.S. Attorney
  • Megan Knell Joins Steptoe & Johnson
  • Kim Bueno Among Kirkland’s Litigation Haul from King & Spalding
  • O’Melveny Adds Experienced Trial Lawyer in Houston
More GCs, Lawyers & Firms

Lawyers in the News

Hover right to see full list

Reem Abdelrazik
Doug Bacon
Harry Beaudry
Jonathan Benloulou
Gene Besen
Doug Bland
Jacqui Bogucki
Vera De Brito de Gyarfas
David Buck
Nora Burke
T.J. Campbell
Wayne Chan
Michael Considine
Mogan Copher
James Cowen
Kevin Crews
Samantha Crispin
Dawud Crooms
Shamus Crosby
Clint Culpepper
Brock Degeyter
Nick Dhesi
William Eiland
Austin Elam
Miles Emery
Bill Finnegan
David Gail
Adam Garmezy
Sami Ghubril
Breen Haire
Kim Hicks
J. Dean Hinderliter
Nicole Islinger
James Johnston
Atma Kabad
John Kaercher
Erin Kaufman
Paul Kukish
Thomas Laughlin
Oscar Fernando Leija
Emily Lichtenheld
Rob Little
Ryan Logan
Bryan Loocke
Katy Lukaszewski
Ryan Lynch
Ryan Maierson
Benjamin J. Martin
Madeline McCune
Sean McFarlane
Richard McGee
Sarah McLean
Sameer Mohan
Andrew Monk
Charlie Ofner
Stephen Olson
Joe Orien
Zach Parker
John Pitts
Benjamin Potter
Brendan Quigley
Kevin Richardson
Alex Robertson
Jason Rocha
Julian Seiguer
Mark Sloan
Chad Smith
Lande Spottswood
John Stribling
Vanessa Sutherland
Tanner Sykes
Martha Todd
Michael Vardanian
Thomas Verity
Douglas Warner
Kyle Watson
Luke Weedon
John Wetwiska
Sean Wheeler
Debbie Yee

Firms in the News

Hover right to show full list

Akin
Baker Botts
Bracewell
Haynes Boone
Holland & Knight
Kirkland & Ellis
Latham & Watkins
Morgan Lewis
Pillsbury
Porter Hedges
Sheppard Mullin
Sidley
Simpson Thacher
V&E
Weil
White & Case
Willkie

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