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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.

First CEO of San Antonio Legal Services Association Steps Down from Non-profit, Board Initiates Search  

Sarah Dingivan, the founding CEO and Executive Director of the San Antonio Legal Services Association otherwise known as SALSA, is stepping down after leading the nonprofit since 2019. SALSA’s Managing Attorney Robert Mihara will serve as interim executive director while a search for her successor is underway. A former Air Force JAG, Dingivan guided the organization through challenges including the COVID-19 pandemic, the Uvalde school shooting and a recent funding crisis.

Krista Torralva

P.S. — Champions of Justice Gala Shatters Record, Remembering Fallen Heroes and Dallas to Kyiv: One Lawyer’s Solidarity with Ukraine  

In this week's edition of P.S., the 2025 Champions of Justice Gala shattered previous fundraising records by collecting over $1 million to support legal aid for veterans, with AT&T’s David McAtee and Halliburton’s Van Beckwith co-chairing the event and receiving widespread support from the legal community. Keynote speaker Bryan Stevenson highlighted the importance of access to justice, while Texas lawyers Rebecca Flanigan and Fred Krasny were honored for their dedication to legal aid. Meanwhile, Dallas attorney Rogge Dunn raised over $100,000 at a dinner with Gen. David Petraeus to support Ukrainian mental health efforts and plans to attend the Kyiv Security Forum. In a separate initiative, Carry the Load launched its annual Memorial May campaign to honor fallen heroes, with longtime legal support from Sidley Austin’s Aaron Rigby, a U.S. Navy veteran and founding supporter of the nonprofit.

Krista Torralva

Q&A with Trial Lawyer Chris Patton 

Firm partner Chris Patton deserved a “most valuable player” award for zipping back-and-forth between New York and Pennsylvania representing Energy Transfer in two trials around the winter holidays, said name partner Mike Lynn of Dallas-based Lynn Pinker Hurst & Schwegmann. 

Krista Torralva

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.

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. 

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. 

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)

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. 

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. 

Krista Torralva

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