The Texas Lawbook

Free Speech, Due Process and Trial by Jury

Pro Bono/Public Service/D&I

P.S. — Yetter Coleman Represents Professors in Challenge to Texas A&M Teaching Policy 

In this edition of P.S., the J.L. Turner Legal Association in Dallas and the San Antonio Bar Foundation recently announced the honorees for their annual award ceremonies. Among those being recognized are prominent criminal defense lawyer Cheryl Wattley and U.S. District Judge Fred Biery, whose sharply worded ruling condemning the Trump administration’s immigration tactics drew national attention earlier this year. 

We also cover the Houston Bar Foundation, which is providing $30,000 in scholarships across Houston’s three law schools to support students pursuing careers in public interest law and public service. In addition, the foundation has opened applications for the second year of its Community Grants Program, which awarded $100,000 to 15 community projects during its inaugural funding cycle. 

Attorneys taking on immigration matters pro bono may find a newly launched mentorship initiative from the Austin-based nonprofit VECINA especially valuable. Supported by a grant from the Texas Bar Foundation, the Texas Immigration Legal Resiliency Program offers virtual office hours where participants can seek guidance on immigration cases. We’ve got the details.  

And finally, Yetter Coleman has joined the ACLU of Texas and the national ACLU in a lawsuit challenging the Texas A&M University System Board of Regents’ restrictions on teaching about race, gender and sexuality. The Houston-based litigation boutique is handling the matter on a pro bono basis.

Krista Torralva

The Akin Partner Who Helped Change Pro Bono in Big Law

Steven Schulman has spent the past three decades helping reshape the role of pro bono work in Big Law. After building Latham & Watkins’ pro bono program, he persuaded Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld to create a full-time pro bono partnership for him. Since then, he has watched corporate firm pro bono work expand from fewer than 1 million hours nationwide in 1994 to more than 5 million annually today, a transformation that mirrors his own rise as one of the country’s leading pro bono advocates. Colleagues say Schulman, who is based in Dallas, has helped drive that growth, leveraging his role to shape not only Akin’s pro bono program but also the broader legal profession’s approach to public service. 

Krista Torralva

P.S. — Haynes Boone’s Sean Lewis Honored with Dallas Association of Young Lawyers Pro Bono Award

In this edition of P.S., Haynes Boone associate Sean Lewis was recently recognized for more than 400 hours of pro bono service last year, including his trial representation of a minister and gospel singer who won a $973,000 jury verdict in a fraud lawsuit against a longtime acquaintance and former business partner. The Texas Lawbook previously profiled Lewis and his Haynes Boone colleagues on the case. 

Krista Torralva

P.S. — Sidley’s Ostolaza Named Latina Trailblazer; Rusty Hardin Gets Pro Bono Win at the Fifth Circuit

In this edition of P.S., civil rights organization LatinoJustice PRLDEF has honored Sidley Austin Management Committee Chair Yvette Ostolaza with a 2026 “Latina Trailblazer” award; representing a former Houston police officer on a pro bono basis, Rusty Hardin and John MacVane secured a unanimous victory before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit in a lawsuit stemming from the high-profile 2019 Harding Street raid; and Akin Gump recently announced the winners of its annual firmwide Bruce McLean Pro Bono Awards.

Krista Torralva & Elle Grinnell

Unsettled: Inconsistent Standards of Review for the Well-settled Defense Under the Hague Convention Fail to Protect Children

The Supreme Court's refusal to act leaves an acknowledged circuit split unresolved on the proper standard of review for the Hague Convention’s “well settled” defense, which is a doctrine with life-altering implications for vulnerable families seeking safety in the United States. This article analyzes the circuit split, the weaknesses of the “well settled” standard, and what reform could look like.

Roger C. Diseker & Joakim Soederbaum

Beyond Buenrostro-Mendez: The Fifth Circuit Completes New Framework for Mandatory Immigration Detention

The Fifth Circuit’s recent decisions in Buenrostro-Mendez v. Bondi and Sosnava-Rodriguez v. Ortega fundamentally reshape immigration detention law within Texas, Louisiana, and Mississippi. This article analyzes how the two decisions fit together, explains the constitutional significance of the Fifth Circuit’s newly imposed 90-day limit on mandatory detention without individualized review, and explores what these rulings mean for litigants, immigration judges, and the Department of Justice going forward.

Daniel H. Weiss

P.S. — Corporate Legal Chiefs Tell Congress Legal Aid Funding is a ‘Uniquely Important Priority’

General counsel and chief legal officers from 132 of America’s biggest companies — including AT&T, USAA and Oracle — are urging Congress to fully fund the Legal Services Corporation, arguing that civil legal aid strengthens economic stability for families, communities and businesses. The executives signed a May 29 letter to every member of Congress asking lawmakers to provide sufficient funding for fiscal year 2027 to LSC, the federal nonprofit that funds civil legal aid organizations nationwide. At least a dozen Texas-based legal leaders joined the effort.

Krista Torralva

P.S. — Stand with Santos Campaign Tops $600K, Jackson Walker Mobilizes 200+ Volunteers for Day of Service

In this edition of P.S., now former State Bar President Santos Vargas announced that his term’s fundraising campaign, Stand with Santos, raised more than $600,000 through pro bono commitments and direct contributions benefitting the Texas Access to Justice Foundation. During his last meeting as president, Vargas also recognized several leaders and organizations with presidential citations.

Krista Torralva

Small-town Justice: Some Thoughts on Truman Capote’s In Cold Blood

Truman Capote’s In Cold Blood was published in 1966, which suggests that the 60th anniversary is good time to revisit it. The novel was a subject of discussion in our Legal Philosophy seminar at Texas A&M University School of Law earlier this semester, and we found some of the seminar participants’ observations worth sharing: such as whether there are important, inherent differences between urban and rural justice systems.

Randy Gordon & Grace Chapman

ABA Summit Touts Value of DEI Amid Growing Backlash 

Legal leaders gathered virtually this week for the American Bar Association’s Equity Summit, where speakers discussed the progress the profession has made on diversity, equity and inclusion while acknowledging the challenges that remain amid the current political landscape.

Krista Torralva

P.S. — The Texas Lawbook Foundation Needs Your Help — Please

For more than three years, The Texas Lawbook's readers have enjoyed the benefits of having the only full-time journalist who covers pro bono, public service and diversity in Texas.

The position is funded entirely by donations made to the Texas Lawbook Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit.

But those tax-deductible donations have declined significantly as pro bono, public service and diversity initiatives have become politically unpopular.

Mark Curriden

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