The Texas Center for Legal Ethics (TCLE) annually recognizes one lawyer and one judge who “personify the highest standards of professionalism and integrity in the field of law” with the Jack Pope Professionalism Awards. This year’s honorees are Haynes and Boone partner Nina Cortell and Senior Circuit Judge Patrick Higginbotham.
“Judge Higginbotham and Ms. Cortell are exemplars of professionalism and integrity who – like Chief Justice Pope – have made immense contributions to the legal profession,” TCLE Executive Director Jonathan Smaby said in a statement. “The Pope Awards highlight the good works that lawyers do, and this year’s recipients are particularly deserving.”
The award recognizes Cortell as “a leader on issues affecting women lawyers for more than 30 years.”
“Nina was the first woman lawyer at Haynes and Boone,” Terry Conner, the firm’s managing partner, said in a statement. “Her contributions have been instrumental in the evolution of the firm’s appellate practice and to this day, she continues to serve as an outstanding lawyer and leader at the firm and in the community.
Cortell, a graduate of The University of Texas School of Law, has represented corporations, public entities and individuals in trial and appellate courts. She is the founder of the Center for Women in Law at the UT School of Law.