Q&A with Newly-Appointed Pro Bono, Public Service and Diversity Reporter Natalie Posgate
Natalie shares why she wanted to take on the new beat, how the public service bucket is different from pro bono and issues of particular importance to her.
P.S. — An Anti-Bullying Grant, Awards Season Frenzy, A Thank-you Note
In this week’s P.S. column, we highlight a slew of attorneys and law firms awarded for their pro bono efforts, some recent nonprofit board appointments, an upcoming CLE featuring pro bono veterans in the industry (with ethics credit), and a significant grant awarded to a San Antonio-based project that supports children and their families impacted by bullying.
Dallas Minority Bar Orgs Launch New Job Board
Finding diverse job candidates in Dallas just got easier for firms. Six minority bar organizations have launched the Dallas Legal Equity and Diversity job board, a diversity and inclusion-focused job site. Natalie Posgate reports on how it came together and how employers and diverse attorney candidates can begin connecting on the platform.
Texas Lawbook Foundation Launches, Natalie Posgate to Lead Pro Bono, Public Service and Diversity Coverage in Texas
The daily news is filled with articles about lawyers scoring multimillion-dollar jury verdicts, closing billion-dollar M&A deals or reaping tens-of-millions of dollars in annual firm profits. The Texas Lawbook announces today its commitment to focus significantly more on what is essentially the legal profession's ESG. From this day forward, The Lawbook has a full-time reporter — Natalie Posgate — doing nothing but researching and writing about pro bono, public service and diversity efforts involving Texas law firms and corporate legal departments. She will publish articles that highlight the successes of Texas lawyers and firm leaders, but also examine where and how the legal profession is failing. Posgate will be the first legal journalist in Texas to write exclusively about pro bono and diversity.
Texas Lawbook Launches ‘P.S.’ — a New Public Service Column for Lawyers
The Texas Lawbook has launched a new column that focuses on the charitable contributions of Texas lawyers in their communities. Natalie Posgate explains the new public service column, how to send submissions and includes a few inaugural items, including a Houston firm that made a donation that stemmed from longstanding litigation, a well-attended gala that raised $1 million and a Dallas legal power couple's goals for one of Dallas' oldest nonprofit organizations.
David Cole to Move from V&E to Kirkland
Cole, a nationally recognized expert on tax controversies and tax litigation, is expected to join K&E in October. His lateral hiring is the latest in a variety of moves by firms to beef up their energy practices. Mark Curriden has the details.
‘Can I Come Over and Hang Out?’: Behind the Scenes of Akin Gump’s Houston Office Refresh with Gensler
Individual workout and meditation rooms and Pelotons, plus an Icee machine and Houston Rockets Pop-A-Shot. Akin Gump's revamped Houston office has them all. The Texas Lawbook sat down with Houston leaders at Akin Gump and Gensler to discuss what it takes to shepherd the "office of the next generation" and glean early reviews from attorneys and clients.
Publisher's Note: This article is a sponsored partnership with Gensler.
Porter Hedges Adds Co-Managing Partner
Rob Reedy, who has served as Porter Hedges’ managing partner for 13 years, told The Texas Lawbook that the decision is part of the firm’s leadership succession planning process.
St. Mary’s Hosts Lawtina Network Summit
This weekend, the Lawtina Network Summit will bring together pre-law students, law students, practicing lawyers and allies of Latinas in the legal profession. The summit is the brainchild of St. Mary's 3L Brianna Chapa.
DBJ: Munsch Hardt Opts to Keep HQ at Ross Tower with New Lease
The firm, which hit record profits last year, has 50% more employees since it first made the move to Ross Tower and expects to move to the new space in the fall of 2023.
Three GCs Provide a Peek into Their Companies’ Diversity Efforts
The top lawyers at Jacobs Engineering Group, Southwest Airlines and El Rancho Supermercado spent Tuesday’s lunch hour speaking about multiple aspects of diversity within the legal profession — what diversity means for them and their organizations, why it’s important in both the in-house and outside counsel context and how it could be improved. The Lawbook attended the event, which was organized by the Dallas Regional Chamber, hosted by UNT Dallas College of Law and sponsored by Munsch Hardt and Carrington Coleman.
Law Experts: Firms Need to Take TX Freedom Caucus Threats on Abortion Assistance Seriously
Corporate law firms should not ignore nor routinely dismiss threats made last week by Texas Republican legislators that they will punish law partners who fund travel for Texas employees who go to other states to have abortions. Leading academic experts who studied the Texas Freedom Caucus letter to Sidley say law firms "should treat this like any other legal challenge” and “throw all the resources and knowledge they have ... to analyze any potential legal risk than a collection of legislators who don’t seem to understand what the law is or how the law works.”