Fort Worth Family Gets Win Against Landlord in Case Lynn Pinker Handled Pro Bono
Jessica Cox and Gloria Cangé, young lawyers from the firm, won a swift jury verdict over conditions in “a really horrible house.”
And Justice for All … of Those Who Can Afford It
A new bill was recently filed in the Texas House to ease the burden of landlords that want to evict a tenant. It provides for sweeping reforms to the Texas Property Code, all of which are aimed at removing due process protections and denying tenants access to justice, such as getting help from legal aid lawyers. Afterall, it’s much easier to evict tenants that can’t defend themselves. And if you can’t win in a fair fight, then simply make sure the fight is rigged.
I’m not arguing that eviction is inherently wrong. Private property owners should be paid for the use of their property. But I am saying that evictions should be executed lawfully. It’s only the unlawful evictions I have a problem with. It just turns out, that describes most of them. And by the way, we only win the cases where the landlord proceeded unlawfully.
We shouldn’t fix this problem by making lawful what is currently unlawful. And we certainly shouldn’t fix it by removing due process and accountability from the system so that landlords can return to an environment where noncompliance with the law is simply overlooked and the poor can be denied their rights as a matter of course.
P.S. — AT&T and Halliburton GCs: Legal Aid ‘Is a Texas Issue that Deserves Your Voice and Advocacy’
Lawyers, corporate general counsel and leaders of the Texas legal profession — 467 of them to be exact — received an email letter Thursday from AT&T General Counsel David McAtee and Halliburton Chief Legal Officer Van Beckwith announcing the annual Champions of Justice Gala that raises funds for Texas Access to Justice and military veterans. The 2025 Gala — to be held on April 30 at the Four Seasons Hotel in Austin — will feature Equal Justice Initiative Executive Director Bryan Stevenson, author of New York Times bestseller Just Mercy, which was made into a major motion picture of the same name. “To me, the Champions of Justice Gala has always been special,” McAtee said. “Working with Van to extend its reach and legacy is a real thrill. The funds we raise are dedicated to the many legal needs of our veterans. Last year, we set a fundraising record. We hope to shatter that record this year.”
Representation Matters: The History, the Journey, the Impact
According to the American Bar Association, there are more than 1.3 million lawyers in the United States. From 2014 to 2024, the legal profession grew by over 41,000 lawyers. However, while the number of lawyers steadily increased, the representation of Black lawyers has remained stagnant, holding firm at just 5 percent of the legal population, the same as it was a decade ago. This disparity becomes even more glaring when we focus on Black women.
Trouble & Justice: How Trouble in Texas Led to the Court Martial Trial of America’s Beloved Jackie Robinson
Decades before Fort Hood (now Fort Cavazos), a Texas U.S. Army base, made national civilian news over the ever-present dangers and sexual misconduct-related injustices that too often await military service women — like Vanessa Guillen who was sexually harassed and murdered there in 2020 — it was the site of another type of injustice: racial discrimination against its Black servicemembers. Too often in the 1940s, racial discrimination, both on and off U.S. military bases, was so heinous it ended in tragedy. In one notable instance, it would lead to the court martial trial of Major League Baseball’s future pioneer and legend: Jackie Robinson.
P.S. — Living Black History Panel, DFW Lawyers Rock for Charity, Houston Corp. Counsel Diversity and Pro Bono Nominations Open
Black History Month comes alive Feb. 23 with an extraordinary panel discussion in downtown Dallas. In two weeks, musicians from more than a half-dozen law firms will rock for charity. And nominations are officially open for the 2025 Houston Corporate Counsel Awards, recognizing pro bono and diversity.
Antonio Milton: Black History Month is about ‘Generations Past that Struggled to Ensure the Basic Freedoms and Privileges’
Antonio X. Milton got the bug to be a lawyer when he visited his father’s southern Louisiana law office after school. “I was in first grade, and I’d go to his office to do homework,” Milton told Tulane University, his alma mater, in a 2022 interview. “I would see him working with clients, representing real people and arguing before the courts. Just seeing him in action had such an impact on me.”
Milton was the first African American editor-in-chief of the Tulane Law Review, clerked for former Chief Judge Carl Stewart of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit and is now a lawyer at the Houston litigation firm Ahmad, Zavitsanos & Mensing. For Black History Month, The Texas Lawbook asked Milton five questions about race, diversity and inclusion and whether he worries about Black history being “cancelled.”
V&E’s Quentin Smith: Black History Month Helps ‘All Better Understand Our Nation’
The spring, summer and fall of 2020 was a time of turbulence and uncertainty. The Covid-19 shutdowns meant law firm offices were closed, courts put all trials on hold and clients were struggling to survive. The media was filled with stories on the killings of George Floyd and Ahmaud Arbery. There was a feeling of isolation. But it was later that year that Vinson & Elkins promoted Quentin Smith to partner.
Smith has scored a handful of multimillion-dollar trial victories for clients and is currently one of the lead lawyers representing Oncor Electric Delivery and other transmission and distribution utilities in the Winter Storm Uri litigation in which 15,000 plaintiffs seek several billions of dollars in damages in wrongful death, personal injury and property damage cases. Despite his busy schedule, Smith agreed to discuss Black History Month and diversity efforts with The Texas Lawbook.