The Texas Lawbook

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Pro Bono/Public Service/D&I

Texas Lawyers: The Growing Source for Minority College Scholarships

During the past decade, more than 500 Texas high school students – a large majority of whom are Hispanic, African-American and Asian – have gone to college thanks to scholarships funded by individual lawyers, law firms and legal organizations in the state. Texas lawyers have quietly awarded more than $1.6 million in financial aid to low-income students or students of color. This article spotlights the lawyers and firms who give money and more.

Natalie Posgate

DBA: Equal Access to Justice Fundraiser Nears Goal

American Airlines Assistant GC John S.F. Gross and Haynes and Boone partner Greta E. Cowart could be the poster children for all that is good with the legal profession. They are definitely the reason people should consider contributing to the Equal Access to Justice campaign.

Mark Curriden

DBA’s Equal Access to Justice Helps Fund Cases that Change Lives

The Dallas Bar Association’s Equal Access to Justice fundraising campaign is underway. EAJ funds the Dallas Volunteer Attorney Program, which represented 2,476 low-income Dallas individuals in legal disputes in 2011. The fundraising efforts are off to a great start, but there's still a long way to go to raise the $700,000 needed. “The severe recession has hit poor people especially hard,” says Michael Hurst, a partner at Gruber Hurst and the chair of the EAJ’s fundraiser for 2012. “More than 600,000 people in Dallas County qualify financially for DVAP’s help."

Mark Curriden

Big Dallas Law Firms Get “F” for Diversity

Only one percent of the 840 equity partners at the 20 largest Dallas law firms are black. Thirteen of those law firms have no African-American partners at all. Nine law firms have no Hispanic partners, according to a new report by the Dallas Diversity Task Force. Overall, lawyers of color comprise 12 percent of all the attorneys working at the 20 biggest firms, which is actually an increase from eight percent just six years ago. Two major Dallas law firms – Weil, Gotshal & Manges and K&L Gates – received a passing grade.

Natalie Posgate

Heman Sweatt’s Family Files Brief in UT Law Admissions Case

Sixty-six years ago, Heman Sweatt walked into the University of Texas Tower seeking admission to the UT Law School. His application was denied for one simple reason: “the fact that he is a negro.” Sweatt sued and won a historic case at the Supreme Court of the United States in 1950. This week, his daughter and other family members filed amicus curiae briefs with the Supreme Court in the Abigail Fisher v. University of Texas, which challenges the law school’s consideration of race in its admissions policy. “The purpose of the Sweatt family’s brief is simple,” says Allan Van Fleet, a litigation partner in the Houston office of McDermott Will & Emery, who is representing the family pro bono. “They want the Supreme Court to remember their father and uncle and his story.”

Mark Curriden

Sidley Austin Helps Secure Landmark Pro Bono Victory After 15-Year Legal Battle

After a 15-year legal battle, Robert Velevis and Yvette Ostolaza led a Sidley Austin team to a landmark pro bono victory in a class action lawsuit against the state of Texas for unlawfully confining people with intellectual and developmental disabilities in nursing homes. A federal judge issued a sweeping 475-page opinion finding that Texas caused “irreparable injury” by failing to offer community-based living alternatives. Sidley Austin represented the plaintiffs alongside the Center for Public Representation and Disability Rights Texas.

Krista Torralva

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