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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.

Dallas-Based Dean Omar Branham Shirley Takes Johnson & Johnson to Trial in String of Legal Fights

DOBS has been in near back-to-back trials this year across the country against Johnson & Johnson over claims its talc-based baby powder was contaminated with cancer-causing asbestos. At the heart of DOBS’ latest trial is Michaeleen Lee, an 80-year-old grandmother and former chemistry professor who died from mesothelioma, a cancer in the lining of the lung.

November 27, 2024 Krista Torralva

Rapper Drake Taps Houston Firm AZA to Take Rap Beef to Courtroom 

Rapper Drake has tapped Houston law firm Ahmad Zavitsanos & Mensing, known as AZA, to represent him in a legal action against Universal Music Group amid his high-profile feud with fellow rapper Kendrick Lamar. AZA Partners John Zavitsanos, Daryl Moore, Monica Uddin and associate Michael Killingsworth on Monday filed a pre-lawsuit petition in Bexar County requesting permission to take depositions of corporate representatives for UMG and iHeartMedia.

November 26, 2024 Krista Torralva

North Texas Tollway Authority Nets $280M Verdict Against President George Bush Turnpike Constructors

A Dallas County jury found Prairie Link Constructors, a joint venture of construction companies Fluor Enterprises and Balfour Beatty Infrastructure, breached its contract with the North Texas Tollway Authority to build six and a half miles of roads, bridges and retaining walls on the President George Bush Turnpike. A majority of the walls were found to be defective, the NTTA alleged.

November 26, 2024 Krista Torralva

Marshall Jury Hits Samsung with $118M Verdict 

A federal jury in Marshall found Samsung willfully infringed three patents owned by semiconductor manufacturer Netlist regarding computer memory modules. The verdict is the latest in a string of wins for Netlist against Samsung.

November 25, 2024 Krista Torralva

Self-Driving Truck Company TuSimple Sues Co-Founder’s New Venture Over Alleged Theft of Trade Secrets, Proprietary Technology

Autonomous trucking company TuSimple Holdings Inc. is suing a new venture led by TuSimple’s co-founder and ex-CEO in one of the first Texas business court cases. Lawyers for TuSimple say the case is among the earliest and largest nationwide in which artificial intelligence technology is at the core.

November 15, 2024 Krista Torralva

Real Estate Developer Pleads Guilty in Dallas City Hall Corruption Scandal

Sherman Roberts, president and CEO of City Wide Community Development Corporation, pleaded guilty to a federal charge of conspiring to commit bribery. Roberts is accused of bribing two former Dallas City Council members in exchange for their support of his real estate projects.

November 12, 2024 Krista Torralva

Appellate Lawyers Talk About Impact of Judicial Elections

An Election Day “red wave” has left the Texas legal world scrutinizing incoming justices and trying to determine what changes may be coming to the intermediate appellate courts in the state’s most urban areas. 

November 7, 2024 Krista Torralva

East Texas Jury Clears Nokia In Patent Case

A federal jury in Marshall deliberated about an hour and a half Wednesday before returning its verdict for Nokia. Correct Transmission had sought to prove Nokia infringed on three of its patents and should pay about $35 million.

November 5, 2024 Krista Torralva

Nokia Says Dallas-Area Company is ‘Overreaching’ in Pursuit of $35M Patent Infringement Verdict

Correct Transmission, which offices in Allen, rested its case Friday after a damages expert testified that Nokia owes $35 million for its alleged infringement of three patents covering technology used in routers. Nokia denies it uses the patented technology and is challenging the validity of one of the patents.

November 1, 2024 Krista Torralva

Trial Begins in $30M Patent Infringement Case Against Nokia 

Lawyers for a Dallas-area company that holds the patents told an East Texas jury tech giant Nokia of America Corporation used its technology to improve Nokia routers without paying royalties as trial began Wednesday. Nokia denies it uses the patented technology and alleges the marketplace wasn’t interested in the technology.

October 31, 2024 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

  • Jackson Walker Hires Bracewell Partner to Lead Appellate Group - Roughly one month after adding former Texas Supreme Court Chief Justice Nathan Hecht to its ranks, the firm has tapped Jeff Oldham to be the firmwide chair of its appellate section. Oldham had most recently been an appellate partner in Bracewell’s Houston office.
  • Bracewell Partner Becomes Shareholder in Greenberg Traurig’s Houston, New York Offices
  • 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
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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