• Subscribe
  • Log In
  • Sign up for email updates
  • Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

The Texas Lawbook

Free Speech, Due Process and Trial by Jury

  • Appellate
  • Bankruptcy
  • Commercial Litigation
  • Corporate Deal Tracker
  • GCs/Corp. Legal Depts.
  • Firm Management
  • White-Collar/Regulatory
  • Pro Bono/Public Service/D&I
Avatar photo

Krista Torralva

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

Email Krista

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.

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

Six Lawyers Jump from Bradley to Sheppard Mullin

Partners Gene Besen, Elisha Kobre and Scarlett Singleton Nokes, as well as special counsel Stephen Moulton and associates Rebecca James and Courtlyn Ward, have joined Sheppard Mullin’s governmental practice. The team’s practice grew exponentially at Bradley and a move to Sheppard Mullin was a strategic decision to grow their practice further in a larger firm, Besen said. 

January 13, 2025 Krista Torralva

Social Media Influencer’s Texas Lawsuit Against Rival Could Pave the Way for Future Copyright Cases

A lawsuit filed by Sydney Nicole Gifford, a former Austin resident who promotes Amazon products, against fellow Austin-area influencer Alyssa Sheil survived a motion to dismiss last month. Lawyers who spoke with The Texas Lawbook said widespread attention on the case is likely to incite other influencers to contact lawyers and explore legal avenues, including litigation, to safeguard their brand aesthetics, even though those same legal observers expressed skepticism about the case’s viability moving forward.

January 10, 2025 Krista Torralva

Johnson & Johnson Cleared of Causation in Mesothelioma Trial, But Jury Still Attempts to Award $22M in Punitive Damages

A Pittsburgh jury returned a confusing verdict Monday in a mesothelioma trial involving Texas lawyers on both sides. Jurors handed a defense verdict to the pharmaceutical giant but went on to answer questions about punitive damages that they shouldn’t have. J&J is nevertheless claiming the verdict as vindication.

January 9, 2025 Krista Torralva

Thompson Coburn Taps Ex-Federal Prosecutor for Partner

Errin Martin, an assistant U.S. attorney of 17 years, has joined Thompson Coburn’s Dallas office, the firm announced Monday. A former chief of the national security cyber section in the Northern District of Texas, Martin boosts the firm’s business litigation and white collar defense and investigations practice groups.

January 9, 2025 Krista Torralva

  • « Go to Previous Page
  • Go to page 1
  • Interim pages omitted …
  • Go to page 5
  • Go to page 6
  • Go to page 7
  • Go to page 8
  • Go to page 9
  • Interim pages omitted …
  • Go to page 19
  • Go to Next Page »

Primary Sidebar

Features

  • P.S. — House Moves to Slash Legal Aid Funding as Senate Proposes Increase, SALSA Makes Plea for Giving, Texas Tech Tops ABA Competition and More - In this week’s P.S. Column, we cover the House Appropriations Committee’s vote to cut Legal Services Corporation funding by 46 percent, a move that could leave millions without access to legal aid. Meanwhile, the San Antonio Legal Services Association makes a plea for donations to support core operations. September 12, 2025Krista Torralva
  • A Tribute to Alistair Byrne Dawson - Alistair Dawson loved the courtroom. He relished the crucible of trial, the chance to stand before a judge and jury and advocate with clarity and conviction. His skill was evident early. At an age when most lawyers are still finding their footing, he was entrusted with cases involving some of the nation’s most prominent executives and businesses. He represented real estate magnate Sheldon Solow in a high-stakes dispute in New York. He led a case for Marvin Davis, the legendary oil wildcatter. He took on complex antitrust litigation for AT&T. These were not assignments given lightly nor to just anyone. Clients who could have hired any lawyer in the country chose Alistair. And they chose wisely. His loss is immeasurable. September 9, 2025David J. Beck

GCs, Lawyers & Firms

  • Ross & Smith Announces Partnership with Full-Service Maryland Firm - Dallas-based bankruptcy and litigation boutique Ross & Smith announced Thursday that it has inked a business partnership with Offit Kurman, a 280-attorney full-service firm founded in Maryland that now has 20 offices across the U.S.
  • 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
  • Houston Law Firm Adds Former Texas Supreme Court Justice to Name 
  • Hunton AK Adds New Leader of Appellate Practice
  • Dallas PE Partner Boomerangs Back to Weil
  • Ret. Judge Barbara Lynn Joins Lynn Pinker
  • Holland & Knight Hires Another Longtime King & Spalding Healthcare Veteran
  • Barnes & Thornburg Adds PE Hire in Dallas
More GCs, Lawyers & Firms

Lawyers in the News

Hover right to see full list

Barry Barnett
Wes Bearden
Emily Westridge Black
Michael Burke
Alicia Campbell
John Campbell
Madeleine Carpenter
Alexander Clark
Dawn Pittman Collins
Richard Finneran
Elizabeth Freeman
David Gail
Elizabeth Gibson
David Jones
Frank Lopez
Abbe Lowell
Neal Manne
Billy Marsh
Tom Melsheimer
Tasha Moser
Justin Nelson
Reed O'Connor
Kate Pennartz
John “J.” Pieratt
Danielle Reyes
Christopher Richardson
Randy Sorrels
Harry Susman
Larry Vincent
Victor Vital
Brent Walker
Matt Weybrecht
Melody Wilkinson
Alex Wolens

Firms in the News

Hover right to show full list

A&O Shearman
Bryan Cave
Cozen O'Connor
Haynes Boone
Holland & Knight
Jackson Walker
King & Spalding
Kirkland & Ellis
Law Office of Liz Freeman
Paul Hastings
Porter Hedges
Sorrels Law
Susman Godfrey
Toyota
Troutman Pepper Locke
Willkie
Vinson & Elkins
Weil
Winston & Strawn

Footer

Who We Are

  • About Us
  • Our Team
  • Contact Us
  • Submit a News Tip

Stay Connected

  • Sign up for email updates
  • Article Submission Guidelines
  • Premium Subscriber Editorial Calendar

Our Partners

  • The Dallas Morning News
The Texas Lawbook logo

1409 Botham Jean Blvd.
Unit 811
Dallas, TX 75215

214.232.6783

© Copyright 2025 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.