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Pro Bono/Public Service/D&I

After Finding a ‘Port in a Storm’ in Lawyers, LyondellBasell’s Dave Louie Now Serves as One for Others Through Pro Bono Work

When Dave Louie was 17, he caused a car wreck. His father feared the family could lose everything in a resulting lawsuit, a possibility that weighed heavily on Louie. But his nerves eased after he met with the legal team hired by the family’s insurance company.

“They were like a port in a storm,” Louie said. 

Now a lead counsel at LyondellBasell, Louie strives to provide that same sense of reassurance to the families he serves through his pro bono work. The Association of Corporate Counsel’s Houston Chapter and The Texas Lawbook are honoring Louie, along with Shell USA Senior Litigation Counsel Sara Keith, with the Harry Reasoner Pro Bono Advocacy Award at the 2026 Houston Corporate Counsel Awards on May 28.

Krista Torralva

Toyota CLO Sandra Phillips to Retire from ‘Dream Job’

Toyota Motor North America chief legal officer and corporate secretary Sandra Phillips told The Texas Lawbook Tuesday that she is retiring from the company’s top legal post July 31 to spend more time with her parents, who are in their 80s, and to focus more on serving on corporate boards.

“I’ve been living the dream job for 15 years, working with a great team,” Phillips said. “I am proud that I was able to help Toyota navigate some of its most difficult issues and to help move this great company forward. This is a good time to transition to a team that is ready to take more responsibility and lead Toyota into the future.”

Mark Curriden

Texas Access to Justice Gala Raises Record $1.05M for Legal Aid, Veterans

The Texas Access to Justice Commission’s Champions of Justice Gala in Austin topped last year’s record-shattering haul with $1.05 million raised for legal aid and veterans. Co-chaired by Toyota Motor North America CLO Sandra Phillips and CenterPoint Energy GC Monica Karuturi, the event Thursday honored Texas lawyers for their contributions to advocacy. 

Krista Torralva

P.S. — ‘Our Bar Card Is Not Merely a Ticket to a Better Bank Account,’ Retired Fifth District Court of Appeals Justice Kenneth Molberg Says Accepting Dallas Bar Foundation Award

In this edition of P.S., retired Fifth District Court of Appeals Justice Kenneth Molberg urged lawyers to defend the rule of law and ensure their efforts extend beyond the privileged to those most in need, while accepting the Dallas Bar Foundation’s 2026 Fellows Justinian Award. 

“Our bar card is not merely a ticket to a better bank account,” Molberg said to a room of about 350 attendees. 

In Austin, Jackson Walker is hosting the 5th Annual Hispanic National Bar Association Region XII Summit at the firm’s office there. 

In Houston, the nonprofit outreach program Girls Inc. of Greater Houston honored Pye Legal Group President Stacy Humphries with its Melanie Gray Vanguard Award for her “unwavering commitment to community leadership and philanthropy” at its 2026 Strong, Smart & Bold Luncheon last week. 

And back in Dallas, the much-anticipated opening of South Dallas’ Halperin Park is set for May 9 with lawyers from Greenberg Traurig, T-Mobile and Cienda Partners among those leading the transformative project.

Also, TODAY is the deadline to nominate an appellate lawyer or judge for the Texas Center for Legal Ethics 18th annual Chief Justice Jack Pope Professionalism Award. The award will be presented at the Texas Supreme Court Historical Society Dinner in September. Find details for how to nominate in this column.

Krista Torralva

DOJ’s Plans to Revoke Naturalizations Could Undo Hundreds of Convictions

The DOJ's accelerated plans to revoke the citizenship of hundreds of naturalized citizens who “committed fraud” in the naturalization process will rely, in part, on a provision allowing revocation when the citizen is convicted after naturalization of a crime that started or occurred before naturalization. Ironically, such a move could provide the legal predicate to invalidate the very convictions the government will use to seek denaturalization. Citizens who pled guilty to pre-naturalization crimes likely had no idea that doing so could lead to denaturalization. Unless they were warned of this risk — and in our experience they were not — their guilty pleas may now be subject to challenge as uninformed and involuntary, even after the fact.

David Gerger & Matt Hennessy

Immigration Habeas Filings Jump 250% in North Texas After Policy Shift, Judge Says

Facing a “tsunami of litigation” driven by the Trump administration’s expansive classification of noncitizens as “applicants for admission” — making them ineligible for bond — lawyers and judges in the Northern District of Texas have “answered the call,” with attorneys stepping forward to represent immigrants on a pro bono basis and with judges working around the clock to issue timely, thoughtful orders, U.S. District Judge James Wesley Hendrix said Friday during closing remarks at the district’s annual Bench Bar Conference, held this year in Arlington.

Krista Torralva

P.S. — Texas Appleseed Launches 30th Anniversary Campaign with $1.5M Goal 

In this edition of P.S., the Dallas Association of Young Lawyers' 2025 Leadership Class capped its nearly yearlong charitable efforts Saturday with a day of service at Viola's House, a nonprofit that provides maternity housing and support for expectant mothers facing unstable living situations. The lawyers are now exploring ways to package the professional development curriculum for Viola's House and other nonprofits. Several DAYL Leadership Class projects have become lasting initiatives, including The Freedom Run 5k run and one-mile walk, created by the 2001 Leadership Class that raises funds for the Dallas Police Association's Assist the Officer Foundation. 

Also, the nonprofit public interest justice center Texas Appleseed has launched a fundraising campaign aimed at raising $1.5 million in celebration of its 30th anniversary.

Also, today is the deadline to nominate a corporate counsel and in-house Texas attorney for the Texas Access to Justice Commission Corporate Counsel Pro Bono Award.

Krista Torralva

‘People Are Definitely Going to Get Sick’: Trial Over Texas Prison Heat Awaits Ruling

More than 30 lawyers across six firms, including the Texas offices of O’Melveny & Myers and Winston & Strawn, have worked on a lawsuit challenging the lack of air conditioning in Texas prisons, contributing over 5,000 pro bono hours valued at more than $5 million. At the end of a nine-day trial this month, U.S. District Judge Robert Pitman said the case ranks among the most significant of the lawyers’ careers. 

Krista Torralva

P.S. — Haynes Boone Tops Law Firms in United Way Giving in Houston; King & Spalding, Baker Botts Follow

In this edition of P.S., Jackson Walker has established the Jackson Walker Endowed Scholarship Fund in Memory of Emma Hackney at SMU Dedman School of Law, honoring a former associate in its banking and finance practice who was killed in a car wreck last year. The scholarship “represents the very best of who Emma was: a warm, kind and thoughtful person who put others ahead of herself,” said Justin Shipley, a finance partner in the Dallas office where Hackney worked.  

The San Antonio Legal Services Association held its annual luncheon this week, bringing together attorneys, judges, business leaders and community advocates committed to expanding access to civil legal services for low-income Texans in San Antonio and surrounding counties. Find out who was recognized at the premier fundraising event. 

The Haynes Boone offices in Houston and The Woodlands raised a record $185,000 through a year-long campaign benefiting the United Way of Greater Houston. The effort is part of a broader campaign among law firms, with Haynes Boone ranking as the top contributing law firm.

Krista Torralva

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