This week’s edition of P.S. features two law firms’ school supply giveaways; August dates for the Dallas Volunteer Attorney Program’s legal clinics (plus sponsor info); a new award for Rusty Hardin presented by a foundation; a Weil associate’s remarkable track record for pro bono work, which recently resulted in an award; fundraising results for a recent Dallas Association of Young Lawyers event; new leadership at Hispanic bar associations in Houston and Austin; and awards recently presented to law firms and individuals by a Houston nonprofit dedicated to combatting gender-based violence.
Firms and organizations mentioned in this week’s P.S. include Winston & Strawn, Witherite Law Group, Jackson Walker, Goldman Sachs, AT&T, Nexstar Media Group, Bradley, Cisco, DLA Piper, Haynes Boone, Fish & Richardson, Beck Redden, Weil, Children’s Health, Innocence Project of Texas, Latham, Skadden, Texas Council on Family Violence, King & Spalding, Baker Botts, Targa Resources and Tahirih Justice Center.
For your public service news to be considered in a future P.S. column, email public.service@texaslawbook.net
The Latest
— Houston nonprofit Tahirih Justice Center recently honored a number of individuals, law firms and corporations for their impact on survivors’ lives and dedication to Tahirih’s mission to end gender-based violence. The honorees were recognized June 5 at Tahirih’s Journey to Justice 2024 event in Washington, D.C.
Honorees hailed from all over the U.S., but a decent chunk were from Texas. Half of the honorees in the pro bono attorney or team award category were from the Lone Star State: 1) Houston King & Spalding partner Christie Cardon and 2) Houston senior associate Steve Maule and special counsel Mike Silliman of Baker Botts and Houston senior corporate counsel Brandon Chen of Targa Resources. The Baker Botts-Targa team was honored for its representation of a Nigerian client seeking asylum after enduring severe persecution for opposing female genital mutilation. The lawyers were able to have asylum granted to the client after spending more than a decade representing her.
Other law firms recognized by Tahirih included Latham & Watkins, Winston & Strawn and Skadden, Arps, Slate Meagher & Flom. Tahirih honored Texas Council on Family Violence, an Austin-based nonprofit focused on creating safer communities and freedom from family violence, as one if its community partners.
A full list of the 2024 honorees can be found at this link.
— On Thursday, Jackson Walker partner Luke J. Gilman’s one-year presidential term at the Hispanic Bar Association of Houston (HisBA) began. Gilman specializes in litigation and arbitration, including technology, energy, media-related disputes and internal investigations. He’s also worked on litigation tied to commercial transactions, business governance and First Amendment issues. HisBA is a nonprofit dedicated to advancing Hispanics in the legal profession. One way it does this is through fundraising that supports scholarships for Houston-area high school and law school students.
“I am honored to serve as president of the Hispanic Bar Association of Houston,” Gilman said in a statement. “I look forward to working with our members in continuing the vision of HisBA and strengthening our community through service and advocacy.”
Gilman isn’t the only Jackson Walker lawyer to lead the Hispanic bar; partner Joshua Romero is currently serving as the Hispanic Bar Association of Austin’s president. Romero handles litigation and appeals for matters involving complex commercial business disputes, bad faith insurance claims, trade secrets cases, whistleblower and qui tam cases, and First Amendment issues. Before joining Jackson Walker in 2005, Romero clerked at the Texas Supreme Court and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.
— The Dallas Association of Young Lawyers provided an update to its previously reported Trial by Trivia Fundraiser: the 2023 DAYL class raised $20,000 for Children’s Health. The money raised will support vital programs, including cardiology, cancer and blood disorders, neonatal care, clinic services clinical research and essential patient and family support services.
— In other DAYL news, the association honored Weil, Gotshal & Manges associate Jenae Ward Thursday evening with its 2024 Young Lawyer Pro Bono Service Award. DAYL created the award in 2011 to recognize public service or legal aid performed by a young lawyer who significantly commits to providing access to justice to those in need of legal services. Honorees are selected each year by the DAYL Equal Access to Justice Committee.
In the last two years, Ward put in 750 hours of pro bono service — 238.5 in 2022 and 508.9 in 2023. More than 200 of her hours last year came when she served as Weil’s full-time “lend-a-lawyer” for the Dallas Volunteer Attorney Program. Weil created its Lend-A-Lawyer Program in 2005 to support DVAP’s pro bono work on behalf of indigent clients who otherwise might not be able to afford to hire lawyers for their legal issues.
As part of the program, Ward worked on-site at DVAP for two months full time. During that time, Ward supported DVAP’s South Dallas, West Dallas and Veterans Affairs legal clinics and represented clients in a range of cases involving family law, name changes, estate planning matters and Deceptive Trade Practices Act cases. After her formal secondment with DVAP ended, Ward put in another 150 ours of pro bono work continuing to help DVAP clients with name change and expungement cases.
Last year, Ward was part of the Weil pro bono team that helped exonerate Tyrone Day, who served 26 years in prison and became a registered sex offender upon parole for a sex crime he did not commit. Weil partnered with the Innocence Project of Texas and the conviction integrity division of Dallas’ District Attorney Office to obtain an actual innocence finding and a dismissal of all charges against Day by the DA’s office. Today, Ward serves on the Innocence Project of Texas’ board of directors. At Weil, Ward advises clients in complex commercial litigation, bankruptcy litigation and internal investigations.
“I have witnessed Jenae’s outstanding commitment to the firm and our clients, and her equally remarkable dedication to the community while advocating for those in need of pro bono legal assistance,” said Weil tax partnerJonathan J. Macke, who serves on the firm’s pro bono committee. “Jenae is committed to clients in extremely dire and desperate circumstances, and her relentless advocacy consistently earns her top marks from every pro bono client, in addition to heartfelt gratitude.”
— The Texas Bar Foundation recently awarded Houston trial lawyer Rusty Hardin its 2024 Ronald D. Secrest Outstanding Trial Lawyer Award. Named after Ronald D. Secrest, a founding partner of Beck Redden, the award recognizes an active trial lawyer with outstanding trial and advocacy skills who has demonstrated high ethical and moral standards and exceptional professional conduct. The foundation honored Hardin with the award at its annual dinner at the Hilton Anatole Dallas in June.
“I am deeply honored and grateful to receive this recognition,” Hardin said in a statement. “My entire career, I have felt a deep responsibility not only to do good work but to be good to people — to hold myself and our firm to the highest of standards. I knew Ron Secrest, and to receive an award in his name is really special.”
Last year, the Texas chapter of the American Board of Trial Advocates honored Hardin with its Paul Stallings Civility and Ethics Award on similar grounds — particularly for his commitment to professionalism, civility, graciousness and the highest moral and ethical standards throughout the impeachment trial of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton. Hardin served as a special prosecutor in the case.
— Throughout the month of August, the Dallas Volunteer Attorney Program will host 10 virtual and in-person legal clinics for anyone in need of legal services who can’t necessarily afford a lawyer. DVAP is the pro bono arm of the Dallas Bar Association that’s a joint venture between the DBA and Legal Aid of NorthWest Texas.
Virtual clinics (all run from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m)
Aug. 1: DVAP and Nexstar Media Group
Aug. 2 (Veterans clinic): DVAP and Bradley Arant Boult Cummings
Aug. 8: DVAP and Cisco
Aug. 22: DVAP and DLA Piper
Aug. 29: DVAP and Haynes Boone
To apply for free legal advice at one of these virtual clinics, fill out this online form.
In-person clinics
Veterans clinic: Aug. 2 at 1:30 p.m. at the VA Medical Center (4500 S. Lancaster Rd., Dallas). Sponsored by DVAP and Goldman Sachs
South Dallas clinic: Aug. 13 at 5:30 .m. at the Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Center (2922 Martin Luther King Blvd., Dallas). Sponsored by DVAP and AT&T
East Dallas clinic: Aug. 15 at 5:30 p.m. at the Grace United Methodist Church (4105 Junius, Dallas). Sponsored by DVAP
West Dallas clinic: Aug. 22 at 5:30 p.m. at the West Dallas Multipurpose Center (2828 Fish Trap Rd., Dallas). Sponsored by DVAP and Fish & Richardson
South Dallas clinic: Aug. 27 at 5:30 p.m. at the Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Center (2922 Martin Luther King Blvd., Dallas). Sponsored by DVAP
— This Saturday and next Saturday, Aug. 10, the Witherite Law Group and affiliate 1-800-TruckWreck will serve as the primary sponsors of the Third Annual Ron Murray Scholarship Supply Giveaway events. Witherite Law’s sponsorship will provide 400 backpacks filled with supplies — composition books, erasers, folders, glue sticks, index cards, paper, pencils and pens — to students in need. School supply costs have skyrocketed in recent years, with families spending $875 on average this year on clothing, shoes, school supplies and electronics for the 2024-2025 school year. This is only $15 shy of last year’s all-time record of $890, according to the National Retail Federation.
The first supply giveaway will take place at Pinkston High School in Dallas between 12 p.m. at 3 p.m. on Aug. 3. The second will be at Seguin High School in Arlington from 12 p.m. to 2 p.m.
Winston & Strawn also orchestrated a recent school supply giveaway. On July 17, two attorneys and 11 staff members from the firm’s Houston office did a “Back 2 School” build-a-kit event, preparing school supplies for 150 children of Houston-area military families.