The Texas Lawbook

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Pro Bono/Public Service/D&I

P.S. — 2024 DFW Pro Bono and Diversity Award Nominations Now Welcomed

The Association of Corporate Counsel’s DFW Chapter and The Texas Lawbook are seeking nominations for the 2024 DFW Corporate Counsel Awards for Achievement in Pro Bono and Public Service, Achievement in Diversity and Inclusion and Create Partnership. The awards recognizing pro bono and diversity celebrate the efforts and successes of corporate in-house counsel who use their positions to serve their communities and the legal profession.

This week, P.S. also highlights Texas Veterans Legal Aid Week and efforts by Texas Access to Justice, legal aid programs, local bar associations and law schools providing free legal services to qualified military veterans in Texas.

P.S. Spotlights Chevron, Jennifer Banda, Lael and Peter Brodsky, Latham, Sidley and Haynes Boone

In this week’s P.S. column, we highlight upcoming events such as Texas Appleseed’s annual Good Apple Dinner and the Institute for Energy Law’s Excellence in Diversity and Inclusion Award reception. The Center for Women in Law at the University of Texas School of Law has a new executive director. Haynes Boone gives the Dallas Volunteer Attorney Program $25,500. And the Texas Chapters of the American Board of Trial Advocates honor Fort Worth trial lawyer Steve Laird with its first-ever Ethics and Civility Award.

Plus, The Texas Lawbook seeks your contributions or efforts in helping those in need for the holidays.

P.S. — Bankruptcy Judge Harlin Hale, Craig Glidden, Martha Hofmeister Honored, DFW Corporate Counsel Award Nominations Open

The Association of Corporate Counsel’s DFW Chapter and The Texas Lawbook are now accepting nominations for the 2024 DFW Corporate Counsel Awards, including nominations for Achievement in Pro Bono and Public Service and Achievement in Diversity and Inclusion. In the news this week, the American Bar Association honors former LyondellBasell GC Craig Glidden, and the Federal Bar Association recognizes Dallas lawyer Martha Hardwick Hofmeister for outstanding leadership. On Thursday, the Dallas Bar Foundation presented retired NDTX Bankruptcy Judge Harlin Hale with the Justinian Award.

Plus, The Lawbook thanks Sempra Energy Chief Risk Management and Compliance Officer Carolyn Aiman and Shell USA Head of Legal Travis Torrence for donations to the Texas Lawbook Foundation to support our coverage of pro bono, public service and diversity in the legal profession.

Editor’s note: The Lawbook misspelled Judge Hale’s first name in earlier editions. We apologize for the error.

P.S. — ADL Honors Reasoners, Dallas Hispanic Bar Gala, Inns of Court Recognizes Gray Reed Partner

Two years ago, The Texas Lawbook created the full-time pro bono, public service and diversity writer position with a carrot-and-stick approach: Highlight the successes of Texas lawyers in these three critical areas to hopefully encourage others to do the same and to provide data and analysis about where lawyers and firms are falling short. To be sure, the sticks are being sharpened to address failures. But today, we have three successes to highlight.

P.S. — ACC San Antonio, Texas Lawbook Announce Partnership, Honor Christine Reinhard and Vincent Johnson for Ethics, Leadership

The Texas Lawbook and the Association of Corporate Counsel’s San Antonio Chapter have agreed to a new media content partnership similar to partnerships The Lawbook has with ACC chapters in DFW and Houston. And as part of the partnership, ACC San Antonio has announced that it is honoring St. Mary’s University School of Law professor Vincent R. Johnson and San Antonio labor and employment lawyer Christine Reinhard with the 2024 Lee Cusenbary Ethical Life and Leadership Award. This week’s P.S. column also highlights the new leadership of the Houston Chapter of the Association of Corporate Counsel, led by chapter president and Pattern Energy Senior Counsel Lauren Haller.

P.S. — North Texas Giving Day, ‘LAWtería’ Game Night, Texas Watch Honors Steve Laird

Lawyers flooded social media this week with announcements that they — and hundreds of their best friends — were named Texas Super Lawyers. But we identified some amazingly good things lawyers did this week for the legal profession and the community.

For example, Legal Aid of Northwest Texas benefited from the annual North Texas Giving Day. Texas Access to Justice Foundation and the State Bar of Texas’s Hispanic Issues Section announced it is hosting its fifth annual virtual game night to raise funds next week. The nonpartisan citizens advocacy group Texas Watch honored Fort Worth trial lawyer Steve Laird with its Champion of Justice Award. And Sheppard Mullin kicked off the Dallas Bar Association’s Equal Access to Justice Campaign, which is being co-chaired by Oncor GC Matt Henry, with a five-figure donation.

P.S. — Jack Balagia’s New UT Law Assignment, San Antonio ACC’s Ethics & Leadership Award Nominations

Retired Exxon Mobil GC Jack Balagia gets a new position. The American Bar Association recognizes retired Texas Criminal Court of Appeals Judge Elsa Alcala. And the Association of Corporate Counsel’s San Antonio Chapter seeks nominations for its prestigious Lee Cusenbary Ethical Life & Leadership Award.

Next week, The Texas Lawbook will announce a planned expansion of the Texas Lawbook Foundation and its mission. Also, a reminder: Please send us any information about scholarship programs set up by law firms, lawyers or legal organizations for students from low-income and disadvantaged families and communities.

P.S. — V&E Scholars Announced, Dallas SABA Gala Benefits Victims of Domestic Violence

Seven recent Texas high school graduates with an interest in a future practicing law learned this week that they are receiving a huge boost toward achieving their dreams. Vinson & Elkins announced that four students from Houston, two from Dallas and one from Austin are recipients of the firm’s annual V&E Scholars Program, which provides tuition funding and summer internships.

An abundance of potentially great legal talent is left on the sidelines because young people lack mentors, role models and the financial ability to position themselves for success. Over the next three months, The Texas Lawbook plans to highlight law firms, corporate legal departments and organizations who step up to improve diversity in the pipeline.

Also in this edition of P.S., The Lawbook recognizes several law firms that support the South Asian Bar Association of Dallas and its fundraising for a charity that helps South Asian victims of abuse.

P.S. — Looking Forward, Stepping Back and Acting Now

This week’s rendition of P.S. highlights the long overdue recognition of a former Texas chief justice and an educational program that helps children with superpowers. In addition, as law firms struggle to attract and retain talented and diverse young lawyers, The Texas Lawbook is asking law firms and legal organizations to provide information regarding grants and scholarships being offered to low-income and disadvantaged students who are interested in becoming lawyers.

P.S. — Greedy, Money-Grubbing, Good-For-Nothing Corporate Lawyers: This Column Is Not For You

During the dozen years since I launched The Texas Lawbook, hundreds of lawyers have told me that we never publish articles about the good deeds that lawyers do. The Lawbook fixed that by assigning a full-time reporter to cover pro bono, public service and diversity in the Texas legal profession. We recognize the charitable and community work of lawyers every Friday in a column called P.S.

Now we need your help. Please send us news of your monetary donations to charitable causes, your service for community organizations and your non-profit fundraising efforts.

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