Texas Lawyers Open Doors for Asylum Seekers
Scores of Texas law firms are helping asylum applicants who can't afford legal counsel to assist in their case.
Attorney Fees Awarded in Landmark Voting Rights Act Case
The historic case determined last year the City of Farmers Branch's election system was unfair to Hispanics and other minorities.
Brittany Byrd: A Passion for Pro Bono
Winstead associate Brittany Byrd has been selected the Dallas Association of Young Lawyers’ Outstanding Young Lawyer for 2013. She’s “shocked” and also “grateful,” especially for the opportunity to bring awareness to certain pro bono projects. But along her path to achievement, Byrd has had to pause and ask, “Why, God?” Yes, she got an answer.
Thompson & Knight Organizes Support for PACE Legislation
TK's statewide pro bono effort aims to aid the ability of Texas property owners to improve their water conservation and energy efficiency.
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.
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.
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."
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.
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.”
Act III Helps Women Thrive in Law Firm Environment
Ophelia Camiña designed networking group to staunch exodus of women from firms.
Mandatory Pro Bono Best Way for Lawyers to ‘Pass it Forward,’ says Supreme Court’s Medina
All six of the other candidates running for the Texas Supreme Court say free legal representation should be voluntary. Only half of Texas lawyers are doing pro bono work, meeting a mere 20 percent of low-income Texans’ civil legal needs.
Why Attorneys Should Want To Do Pro Bono
AT&T Counsel says lawyers have a moral and professional obligation to provide legal services to those who cannot afford them. But lawyers also should want to fit pro bono into their busy schedules.