The Houston Bar Foundation names its new chair and recognizes many more for their pro bono work. Dallas lawyers at one firm advocate for people of color incarcerated by outdated drug laws. The North Texas Chamber of Commerce names new lawyer leadership on its board. All that and more in this week’s P.S. column.
P.S. — More Legal Aid Announcements; Meet Weil’s Newest “Lend-A-Lawyer”
This week’s edition of P.S. features details on the next Weil associate to be selected for the firm’s unique pro bono volunteer program, how to get free legal help if you were the victim of the Jan. 24 tornado that hit the Houston area and the February dates for the Dallas Bar Association’s legal hotline. Natalie Posgate has the details.
Harnessing the Power of Crowdsourced DEI Innovation to Affect Change
Hackathons are a powerful crowdsourcing concept that will not only lead to the creation and implementation of innovative programming, but can help foster a more inclusive corporate culture. At Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP, the firm has successfully implemented this concept during the summer associate program since 2020. One of the fruits has been the creation of a new scholarship program for first-generation law students.
Hogan Lovells Files Pro Bono Lawsuit on Behalf of TX Death Row Inmates
Solitary confinement nearly 24 hours a day without adequate recreational time is violating the federal and state constitutional rights of 185 male Texas inmates on death row, according to a new lawsuit in Houston federal court. The suit also says current prison conditions don’t allow for adequate medical attention or legal assistance. Natalie Posgate has the details.
P.S. — Dallas Legal Clinics Announced for Feb; A Bankruptcy Becomes Charitable — UPDATED
In this week’s P.S., Natalie Posgate highlights a sizable donation one firm and one company gave to the Houston Food Bank, upcoming free legal clinics in Dallas and a group of new sponsors of the Lawbook Foundation.
Mark Berg & Barry Thomas: Improving Lives Across Texas
Barry Thomas and Mark Berg have many things in common. They’re both M&A lawyers by training. They’ve both handled multibillion-dollar deals in the oil patch together as high-ranking colleagues at Pioneer Natural Resources. Beyond their professional accolades, they’re both committed to public service. Berg has helped Dallas CASA significantly grow in order to achieve its goal of serving every abused and neglected child in need on the Dallas County child welfare docket. And Thomas volunteers his free time serving as general counsel of the Permian Strategic Partnership, a coalition of 20 oil and gas companies committed to improving the roads, workforce, healthcare, schools and housing of the rural West Texas and New Mexico communities that the Permian Basin encompasses.
What else do they have in common? Tonight, they’ll both will walk a stage in the George W. Bush Presidential Center to accept the 2022 DFW Corporate Counsel Award for Pro Bono and Public Service Award.
Q&A: Mark Berg and Barry Thomas
As winners of the 2022 DFW Corporate Counsel Award for Pro Bono and Public Service, Mark Berg and Barry Thomas have more in common than the fact that they are high-ranking colleagues at Pioneer Natural Resources: They are both committed to leveraging their time and talents for the betterment of others.
Pro Bono Writer Natalie Posgate had the opportunity to chat with Berg and Thomas both about their pro bono projects and about ways that readers of The Texas Lawbook can help.
For GM’s Juli Greenberg, DEI is ‘Part of her DNA’
General Motors counsel Juli Greenberg was sitting in a conference room in 2018 getting CLE ethics credit when everything changed. What she learned sent her on a quest to create DEI initiatives and do her part to improve the diversity pipeline in the legal profession.
Fast forward nearly five years, and the product of Greenberg’s work has reached hundreds of people from every stage of the pipeline. She’s also the recipient of the 2022 DFW Corporate Counsel Award for Achievement in Diversity and Inclusion.
A Word with Human Trafficking Institute’s Victor Boutros
Victor Boutros knew he wanted to devote his legal career to combatting human trafficking before he even got to law school. Now more than two decades later, after working in private practice, serving as a federal prosecutor and writing a book, Boutros leads the Human Trafficking Institute, which partners with foreign governments to help them implement trafficking enforcement systems.
The Texas Lawbook recently sat down with Boutros and will cover a CLE later today in Dallas about human trafficking trends and updates and how lawyers can get involved. More details, including how to register, in this article.
P.S. — Casino Nights, Running Tights, Calling All Trivia Brights
A fun run in Houston that benefits people with intellectual disabilities. A CLE on human trafficking. A casino night that benefits abused and neglected children. A trivia night that benefits legal aid. Natalie Posgate details them all in this week’s P.S.