Free Speech, Due Process and Trial by Jury
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.
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.
Martha Hardwick Hofmeister was a freshly minted lawyer and new to Dallas when she joined the Dallas Bar Association because, she recalled, “I thought that’s what you were supposed to do when you’re a lawyer.”
She joined the association’s entertainment committee and had to miss a meeting. She got a letter shortly thereafter appointing her director of a new project, a show without a lot of structure, that would raise funds for the newly established Sarah T. Hughes Diversity Scholarship.
Four decades later, Hofmeister is still the director of that production. Bar None, a lawyer-written and lawyer-performed musical comedy, has raised more than $2.5 million for full-ride law school scholarships. Over the years, the cast and crew have cultivated a Bar None family that has celebrated cast members who marry and have children and have rallied together in the hard times, including the loss of teammates.
In this edition of P.S., Kirkland & Ellis partner Michael Considine is calling on the legal community to give blood at the second annual Knock Out the Need Blood Drive taking place June 15-16. We also feature Efrain Vera, who recently jumped from Reed Smith to become the director of the pro bono affiliate of Brewer Attorneys & Counselors.
When Sarita Prabhu and Jacque Kruppa first enrolled their sons in recreational soccer, it cost about $80.
But as the boys advanced into more competitive leagues, the price tag climbed to upwards of $5,000.
They saw other kids drop out because their families could not keep up with the rising costs.
Prabhu, managing vice president and legal counsel at Gartner, and Kruppa, a partner and transactional lawyer at Bradley Arant Boult Cummings, occasionally made donations to their nonprofit soccer club to bridge the gap. But they also began thinking about how they could make a broader impact after seeing the value soccer provided their kids beyond the field – leadership, teamwork, strategy, grit and exposure to diverse groups of kids.
The result was Dallas Soccer Scholars, which launched in July, obtained 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status in January, and has accepted 12 scholars into the program. Additional applications are pending for the 2026-2027 season. The organization has also sponsored two soccer tournament teams to ease travel costs.
That and more in this edition of P.S.
The paradox of modern complex litigation is that the cases we dream of trying almost never get tried — and the smaller cases that once trained generations of trial lawyers are rarely handled at large firms anymore. As a result, I recommend resisting the urge to ask, “Where should I go?” Try asking, “What else can I do?” That question has one uncomfortable but effective answer — take responsibility for building your own trial experience.
In this edition of P.S., we cover a Texas House Criminal Jurisprudence Committee hearing on how the state’s law schools can help address a lawyer shortage in rural parts of Texas. Lawmakers heard from Texas A&M University School of Law Dean Robert Ahdieh and SMU Dedman School of Law Deason Criminal Justice Reform Center Executive Director Pamela Metzger, among others, about how the legislature, bar and universities can work together to ease the gap.
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.
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.
Omar Syed’s path to representing educational institutions came during the summer before his senior year in college while participating in a program designed to train future schoolteachers and education leaders. He realized he would "better help those schoolchildren as a public advocate and counsel than as a classroom teacher."
Now the GC at Rice University, Syed is still advocating and counseling during one of the most tumultuous periods in higher education. Citing his extraordinary successes, the Association of Corporate Counsel’s Houston Chapter and The Texas Lawbook are awarding Syed the 2026 Houston Corporate Counsel Award for General Counsel of the Year for a Nonprofit.
In this edition of P.S., Gray Reed Managing Partner Kyle Sanders opens up about his three bouts with blood cancer in an effort to fundraise for blood cancer research, patient services and advocacy. The nonprofit Blood Cancer United has named Sanders a candidate for its Visionary of the Year.
In this edition of P.S., the Pro Bono & Grants Committee of the State Bar of Texas Corporate Counsel Section announced its annual grant recipients. The success of the Champions of Pro Bono sponsorship program pushed this year’s giving to $79,000 — above the initial goal, according to committee chair Michael Marin.
The University of Houston Law Center more than doubled last year’s fundraising haul at its 49th annual Law Gala and Auction, generating more than $1.6 million, while honoring distinguished alumni.
In Dallas, 33 Dykema lawyers and staff packed welcome baskets filled with household necessities for individuals and families who are exiting homelessness with the help of The Stewpot, a nonprofit that provides housing programs that pair subsidized housing assistance with case management and support services.
And former Hilgers partner Cynthia Schmidt discusses her recent decision to leave the firm to lead the nonprofit Catholic Pro-Life Community.
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