In this issue of P.S., we highlight an example of pro bono collaboration as volunteers from Baker Botts, Koch and The Beacon provided wide-ranging legal assistance at a Pasadena driver’s license restoration clinic. We also report on the bestowment of The Center for American and International Law’s highest award to legal trailblazer Harriet Miers for her decades of leadership and advocacy for justice. Also, the Texas Bar Foundation renewed its support for youth-focused nonprofit One Heart Project, helping continue programming for incarcerated youth. Plus, the Texas Access to Justice Commission is now accepting nominations for its 2025 Corporate Counsel Pro Bono Award and The Texas Lawbook is seeking stories about your pro bono cases or public service projects involving veterans.
Anti-DEI Group Accuses Southwest Airlines of Trying to Dodge Liability in Federal Lawsuit
Southwest Airlines is seeking a court judgment that would allow it to pay nominal damages and attorneys’ fees without an admission of liability in a federal civil rights lawsuit over a now-defunct program that offered free flights to low-income Hispanic students. Prominent conservative Edward Blum’s American Alliance for Equal Rights, which sued the airline on behalf of white and Asian students, argued in a court filing Tuesday that Southwest’s request is improper and aimed at avoiding legal accountability. The group urged the judge to reject Southwest’s bid and instead grant its own motion for summary judgment to resolve the case on its merits.
With Ivett Hughes at the Helm in Houston, ‘Baker Hughes is a Corporate Leader in Pro Bono Service’
In the first quarter of 2024, Baker Hughes launched a global legal and compliance diversity, inclusion and belonging counsel with the mission of infusing those values into the legal department through internal and external engagement. Led by Ivett Hughes in Houston, a regional team of lawyers and staff partnered with Houston Volunteer Lawyers to represent four clients — roughly one pro bono case per five lawyers. They blew past their goal by 500 percent. The Houston Association of Corporate Counsel and The Texas Lawbook have selected Hughes and Baker Hughes as its 2025 Achievement in Pro Bono and Public Service award recipient.
P.S. — Hispanic Law Foundation’s ‘Thank You’ is ‘Deeper Than It’s Ever Been,’ President Says at Scholarship Luncheon
The Dallas Hispanic Law Foundation celebrated its annual Amanecer luncheon, awarding scholarships, internships, and bar study grants to 14 Hispanic law students amid new fundraising challenges resulting from President Trump’s scrutiny of diversity initiatives. Foundation President Andrés Correa expressed deep gratitude to sponsors for their continued support despite donor hesitations. In related legal community news, the San Antonio Legal Services Association recently honored Haynes Boone lawyers for pro bono work supporting a child in a bankruptcy case; former U.S. Attorney Leigha Simonton joined the Texas Council on Family Violence board; and the Houston Bar Association named award winners ahead of its annual dinner, marking leadership transitions and community service achievements.
First CEO of San Antonio Legal Services Association Steps Down from Non-profit, Board Initiates Search
Sarah Dingivan, the founding CEO and Executive Director of the San Antonio Legal Services Association otherwise known as SALSA, is stepping down after leading the nonprofit since 2019. SALSA’s Managing Attorney Robert Mihara will serve as interim executive director while a search for her successor is underway. A former Air Force JAG, Dingivan guided the organization through challenges including the COVID-19 pandemic, the Uvalde school shooting and a recent funding crisis.
Appeals Court Upholds Part of Verdict for Fired Southwest Flight Attendant, Tosses Religious Training Order
Southwest Airlines won partial relief from a jury verdict in a case involving the firing of a flight attendant over antiabortion messages she sent to her union president. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit ruled Thursday that while the airline violated Charlene Carter’s right to religious expression, it did not break federal laws banning religious discrimination in the workplace. The court also struck down U.S. District Court Judge Brantley Starr’s order requiring three of the airline’s attorneys to attend religious liberty training with a Christian legal group.
Susman Godfrey: President Trump Executive Order is ‘Unconstitutional — Full Stop’
A lawyer for the U.S. Justice Department told a federal judge Thursday that President Donald Trump was legally exercising his executive authority by prohibiting lawyers with the Houston-based law firm Susman Godfrey from entering federal buildings or representing clients who had contracts with the federal government and suspending their security clearances. U.S. District Judge Loren AliKhan of Washington, D.C., repeatedly asked U.S. Deputy Associate Attorney General Richard Lawson to provide evidence supporting the president’s April 9 executive order condemning Susman Godfrey for racial discrimination in their hiring practices and for “spearheading efforts to weaponize the American legal system and degrading the quality of American elections.”
P.S. — Champions of Justice Gala Shatters Record, Remembering Fallen Heroes and Dallas to Kyiv: One Lawyer’s Solidarity with Ukraine
In this week’s edition of P.S., the 2025 Champions of Justice Gala shattered previous fundraising records by collecting over $1 million to support legal aid for veterans, with AT&T’s David McAtee and Halliburton’s Van Beckwith co-chairing the event and receiving widespread support from the legal community. Keynote speaker Bryan Stevenson highlighted the importance of access to justice, while Texas lawyers Rebecca Flanigan and Fred Krasny were honored for their dedication to legal aid. Meanwhile, Dallas attorney Rogge Dunn raised over $100,000 at a dinner with Gen. David Petraeus to support Ukrainian mental health efforts and plans to attend the Kyiv Security Forum. In a separate initiative, Carry the Load launched its annual Memorial May campaign to honor fallen heroes, with longtime legal support from Sidley Austin’s Aaron Rigby, a U.S. Navy veteran and founding supporter of the nonprofit.