The Texas Lawbook

Free Speech, Due Process and Trial by Jury

Krista Torralva & Mark Curriden

Shell USA’s Cisselon Nichols Hurd Is Advancing Diversity While Setting the Standard in Environmental Law

After meeting a lawyer at her elementary school’s career day, Cisselon Nichols Hurd went home and informed her mother she did not want to follow in her footsteps of becoming a teacher. She wanted to become a lawyer instead.

That’d be just fine, her mother replied.

Fast forward to 2009, and Hurd’s mother accompanied her to the U.S. Supreme Court, where Hurd helped steer a groundbreaking environmental case that narrowed seller liability, endorsed apportionment principles and remains a cornerstone to the Superfund practice.

The Association of Corporate Counsel’s Houston Chapter and The Texas Lawbook are honoring Hurd, Shell USA Senior Counsel, with the Achievement in Diversity and Inclusion award at the May 28 ceremony.

Krista Torralva & Mark Curriden

Shell USA Senior Counsel Sara Keith ‘Does It All’

Sara Keith is one of those people who seems to do it all and make it look effortless.

At Shell USA, where she serves as senior legal counsel of global litigation, Keith manages complex legal matters while also devoting significant time to pro bono work, mentoring young lawyers and leading service initiatives across Houston’s legal community — all while raising two daughters.

The Association of Corporate Counsel’s Houston Chapter and The Texas Lawbook are honoring Keith with the Harry Reasoner Pro Bono Advocacy Award at the 2026 Houston Corporate Counsel Awards on May 28.

Krista Torralva & Mark Curriden

Houston Methodist’s Marissa Marquez’s Best Days are Helping Others

As a child, Marissa Marquez had to navigate an educational system not designed for kids like her.

A native Spanish speaker raised primarily by a grandmother without a high school diploma, Marquez learned English in school and worked her way into the gifted and talented program and eventually graduated 8th in her high school class of about 800 students.

Now labor and employment counsel at Houston Methodist Hospital, her life work and volunteerism “reflect a through line” in her life, “from her earliest experiences as a bilingual student to her current leadership roles, of using her skills and lived experience to uplift others,” said Jackson Walker partner Sang Shin.

Krista Torralva & Mark Curriden

For Jacobs Deputy GC Sarah Wariner, the Best Legal Advice Comes from Diverse Voices

Known for her collaborative leadership and strategic judgment, Sarah Wariner, senior vice president and deputy general counsel at Jacobs, has built high-performing teams by prioritizing diverse perspectives, mentorship and business-focused legal strategy. Her commitment to diversity and inclusion amid a shifting legal landscape has earned her recognition from the ACC DFW Chapter and The Texas Lawbook.  

Krista Torralva & Mark Curriden

Daughter of Immigrants, 7-Eleven Corporate Counsel Nayelly Dominguez Builds Pathways, Not Just Programs

From a first-generation student to a corporate lawyer with a national platform, Nayelly Dominguez has spent her career expanding access and mentorship to attorneys from underrepresented communities. For her work across in-house legal departments and bar associations, she is one of two lawyers receiving the award for Achievement in Diversity and Inclusion from the Association of Corporate Counsel’s DFW Chapter and The Texas Lawbook.

Krista Torralva & Mark Curriden

P.S. — DFW Corporate Counsel Awards for Pro Bono and Diversity Announced

At a time when many law firms and legal organizations have suddenly gone quiet related to their pro bono and diversity efforts, a handful of leaders at DFW corporate legal departments are following the advice of the great legal philosopher Bob Seger by going “against the wind.”

The Association of Corporate Counsel’s DFW Chapter and The Texas Lawbook announce that senior counsel at Phillips Enterprises, Toyota North America, 7-Eleven and Jacobs International will be honored for their extraordinary work and successes involving pro bono and public service and diversity and inclusion.

Krista Torralva & Mark Curriden

P.S. — TX Appleseed, V&E and Witherite Making the Holiday Spirit

The Texas Lawbook will announce next week the finalists for the 2025 DFW Corporate Counsel Awards, including Achievement in Pro Bono and Public Service and Achievement in Diversity and Inclusion. In addition, the Texas Lawbook Foundation is seeking interests for its board of directors. More details in this week's column, plus, we have two firms — Vinson & Elkins and the Witherite Law Group — and a group of lawyer volunteers led by Michael Hurst that are spreading the holiday spirit early, and TODAY ONLY we have an extraordinary opportunity to help Texas Appleseed achieve some of its amazing public service work.

Krista Torralva & Mark Curriden

Trump Budget Proposal Would Eliminate Legal Services for Tens of Thousands of Veterans, Low-Income Texans

Legal aid activists in Texas are “deeply concerned” that President Donald Trump’s proposed fiscal year 2026 budget calls for eliminating Legal Services Corporation, the federal nonprofit that provides funding to legal aid organizations across the state that help military veterans access rightful benefits, victims recover from natural disasters, survivors of domestic violence obtain protective orders and more. In Texas, the proposed elimination threatens more than $45 million in annual grants that help fund three major legal aid organizations: Lone Star Legal Aid, Legal Aid of NorthWest Texas, and Texas RioGrande Legal Aid. Those grants account for approximately one-third of these organizations’ total funding. 

Krista Torralva & Mark Curriden

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