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Free Speech, Due Process and Trial by Jury

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Krista Torralva

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

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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 Angela Zambrano

Angela Zambrano often tests her arguments against her children before presenting to a judge or jury. Because if there’s one thing kids understand, it’s fairness, Zambrano reasoned. The co-leader of Sidley’s Dallas office and the firm’s global litigation practice shared these and other tips in an exclusive interview with The Texas Lawbook.

April 22, 2025 Krista Torralva

Q&A with Trial Lawyer Bob Hilliard

Robert C. Hilliard has argued before the U.S. Supreme Court. He was on the forefront of litigation against General Motors over its faulty ignition switches. And he helped free a man from prison for a fatal car wreck that Hilliard proved was the result of an auto defect in a lawsuit against Toyota that netted an $11.4 million jury verdict. But a story of a serendipitous connection between an early client and one of his colleagues is the one he tells to convey how fulfilling his legal career has been. 

April 18, 2025 Krista Torralva

P.S. — Women’s Champions Honored, Auction Items Sought, First Amendment Lawyer Recognized

Legal Aid of NorthWest Texas has announced its Women’s Advocacy Awards recipients who will be honored at its annual reception June 11 at the Arts District Mansion in Dallas. That and more, including details on the Hispanic Bar Association's Houston Annual Gala, in this edition of P.S.

April 18, 2025 Krista Torralva

Q&A With Trial Lawyer Chip Babcock

When more than 50 Texas Democratic senators fled the state in 2003 to deny the senate a quorum over a controversial Republican redistricting bill, they called Charles “Chip” Babcock, one of the finest First Amendment trial lawyers famously known for representing talk show host Oprah Winfrey in a six-week trial in Amarillo. Babcock, who is currently defending far-right cable network One America News against a defamation lawsuit by Dominion Voting Systems, recently concluded a 25-year run as chair of the Texas Supreme Court Advisory Committee. He shares thoughts from his 40-year legal career in this Texas Lawbook exclusive. 

April 15, 2025 Krista Torralva

Southwest Airlines Asks Judge for One Cent Judgment to End Litigation Over Squashed Free Flights Program

Lawyers for Southwest Airlines have asked a judge to enter a judgment ordering the Dallas-based airline to pay one cent and reasonable attorneys’ fees to the American Alliance for Equal Rights to end its lawsuit over a defunct program that offered free flights to low-income Hispanic students traveling to visit their parents. Southwest Airlines ended the charitable program “¡Lánzate!” — meaning “Take off!” — after political conservative Edward Blum’s AAER sued Southwest on behalf of a white student and an Asian student who claimed they were illegally denied benefits of the program. The AAER sought one cent in damages from Southwest. (Photo courtesy Ashlee D. Smith/Southwest Airlines)

April 15, 2025 Krista Torralva

Dallas Eviction Advocacy Center Reaches Major Milestone

For the first time this week, the Dallas Eviction Advocacy Center has lawyers stationed at each of the county’s 10 eviction courts. They will be available to help tenants every day there’s an eviction docket. The center, founded by Holland & Knight partner Mark Melton, reached this goal at a time when the Texas Legislature is considering bills that would scale back due process and judicial oversight for evictions. 

April 9, 2025 Krista Torralva

Q&A with Trial Lawyer Jeffrey B. Simon

“There is no right that is so entrenched in the American experience that someone can't take it away,” trial lawyer Jeffrey B. Simon told The Texas Lawbook about writing his book, Last Rights: The Fight to Save the 7th Amendment. Simon, who co-leads the state’s opioid multidistrict litigation, shared why he wrote his book and how it's a collection of thoughts and ideas developed over a career spanning more than three decades. 

April 8, 2025 Krista Torralva

O’Melveny, Texas-based First Liberty Institute Win Preliminary Injunction For Church in California

A federal judge in the Central District of California handed a win Monday to a Chinese- and Taiwanese-American church in Santa Ana that is represented by a pro bono team of lawyers from O’Melveny & Myers and Plano-based First Liberty Institute.

April 8, 2025 Krista Torralva

Q&A with Trial Lawyer Geoffrey Harrison 

Susman Godfrey trial attorney and partner Geoffrey Harrison won five lawsuits last year involving a total of more than $1.25 billion. In this exclusive interview, Harrison talks about his trial rituals, what name partner H. Lee Godfrey taught him as a newly minted lawyer, the litigation trends he’s watching closely and more.

April 4, 2025 Krista Torralva

P.S. — Law Firm Delivers with Hams for Easter; Houston’s Legal Rockers Battle for Charity Glory

In this week’s P.S. Column, one Dallas-Fort Worth law firm is putting $50,000 toward feeding families this Easter with a ham meal giveaway. Also, Law Rocks is making its way to Houston, where lawyers face off in a battle-of-the-bands style competition for charity. Meet the Houston bands who are competing. Finally, The Texas Lawbook continues to invite submissions on pro bono collaborations between corporate legal departments and law firms for a new monthly column.

April 4, 2025 Krista Torralva

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Features

  • 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.  October 10, 2025Krista Torralva
  • Toyota’s Derek Lipscombe Named Texas Lawbook Foundation Co-Chair - The Texas Lawbook Foundation has named Derek Lipscombe, managing counsel at Toyota North America, as the new co-chair of the nonprofit’s board of directors. Lipscombe, a former newspaper reporter who is past president of the Association of Corporate Counsel’s DFW Chapter, has served on The Lawbook Foundation board since it was founded in 2023. The Lawbook Foundation’s sole mission is to provide support for The Texas Lawbook’s news coverage of pro bono, public service and diversity in the Texas legal community. October 8, 2025Mark Curriden

GCs, Lawyers & Firms

  • White & Case Adds Energy M&A Dealmaker in Houston - White & Case bolstered its M&A and energy group by hiring veteran Houston dealmaker Ian Goldberg, the firm announced in a news release. Bringing considerable experience with complex energy transactions, Goldberg also advises on energy transition, from carbon capture to renewable projects.
  • Norton Rose Hires Veteran Finance Partner from Winston & Strawn
  • Invitation Homes Selects Former SEC Associate Director as VP of Litigation and Investigations
  • Houston Trial Firm Boosts Associate Salaries
  • SALSA Names New Executive Director
  • New GE Vernova GC of Wind Energy Dionne Hamilton: ‘We’re Working to Make the World a Better Place’
  • Ross & Smith Announces Partnership with Full-Service Maryland Firm
  • Martin Sosland, Candice Carson Join Vartabedian Hester
  • Banks Brings Decades of Experience to Husch Blackwell’s New Biz Dev Leadership Role
  • Former Energy GC Brock Degeyter Joins Troutman Pepper Locke in Dallas
More GCs, Lawyers & Firms

Lawyers in the News

Hover right to see full list

Chip Babcock
Chris Bankler
Jamie B. Beaber
David J. Beck
Bill Benitez
Jessica Berkowitz
Brent Bernell
Tyler Bexley
Shawn Blackburn
Michael Blankenship
Jeffrey Brill
Anita Brown
Ian Brown
Stuart Campbell
Jack Chadderdon
Paul Clement
Erin Nealy Cox
Scott Craig
Kevin Crews
Shamus Crosby
Hannah M. Crowe
Geoffrey Culbertson
Sean Cunningham
John Daywalt
Rajiv Dharnidharka
James Ducayet
Brian K. Erickson
Scott Everett
Weiru Fang
Elizabeth Freeman
Tad Freese
Melanie Fry
Geoff Gannaway
Paul Genender
John J. Gilluly III
Rodney Gilstrap
Andrew Gorham
John Greer
Joseph Grinstein
Matthew Haddad
Colleen Haile
Breen Haire
Shahmeer Halepota
Dionne Hamilton
Troy Harder
Rusty Hardin
Michael Hawes
Nathan Hecht
Stephen Hessler
Hillary Holmes
Marc Jaffe
Lauren Jenkins
David Jones
Atma Kabad
Susan Kennedy
David Kinder
Justin King
Allan Kirk
Melanie Koltermann
Doug Kubehl
Joe Laurel
Sang Lee
Steven Lockhart
Arthur Lotz
Barbara Lynn
Mike Lynn
Nora McGuffey
Stephanie McPhail
Mark Melton
Jeri Leigh Miller
Kimberly A. Moore
Mark Moore
Shelby Morgan
Alia Moses
Davis Mosmeyer III
Darren Nicholson
Eamon Nolan
Ivy Nowinski
Holland O’Neil
George Padis
Ian Peck
Jonathan Platt
Chase Proctor
Doug Rayburn
Joel Reese
Kevin Richardson
Andrew Rodheim
Seth Rubinson
Mazin Sbaiti
Ana Sanchez
Vincenzo Santini
Jeffrey Scharfstein
Robert Schroeder III
Scott Seidel
Steven Sexton
Ahmed Sidik
Robert Slovak
Emily Smith
Melissa R. Smith
Jonathon Soler
Robert Soza
Lande Spottswood
Craig Stanfield
Justin Stolte
Josh Teahen
Kelly Tidwell
Linda Tieh
Rafael B. de Toledo
Monica Uddin
Rhett Van Syoc
Rahul Vashi
Gabe Vazquez
Patrick Venter
Sarah Walden
Kandace Walter
Kyle Watson
Mikell Alan West
Noël Wise
Meng Xi

Firms in the News

Hover right to show full list

AZA
Baker Botts
The Bandas Law Firm
Beck Redden
Boies Schiller Flexner
Bracewell
Bradley Arant
Burns Charest
Clement & Murphy
Condon & Forsyth
DLA Piper
Dykema
Foley & Lardner
Gibson Dunn
Gillam & Smith
Haynes Boone
Holland & Knight
Jackson Walker
King & Spalding
Kirkland & Ellis
Latham & Watkins
Lynn Pinker
Mayer Brown
MoloLamken
Pamela Welch PLLC
Patton Tidwell Culbertson
Paul Hastings
Porter Hedges
The Probus Law Firm
Reese Marketos
Rusty Hardin & Associates
Sbaiti & Company
Sidley Austin
Simpson Thacher
Skadden
Squire Patton Boggs
Sullivan & Cromwell
Susman Godfrey
Troutman Pepper Locke
Vinson & Elkins
Weil
Willkie
Winston & Strawn

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