In this week’s edition of P.S., we highlight the Houston Lawyers Association and its members who earned several national honors at the National Bar Association Convention. Meanwhile, the Dallas Bar Foundation awarded a $20,000 grant to the SMU Dedman School of Law’s First Amendment Clinic, bolstered by a $40,000 matching gift from the Stanton Foundation. Finally, an auction of memorabilia from retired U.S. District Judge Barbara Lynn raised over $8,000 for the Dallas Women Lawyers Association Foundation, supporting grants for female legal professionals and women in need across North Texas.
Houston Lawyers Association Members Earn National Awards
The Houston Lawyers Association and its members swept up awards at the National Bar Association Convention.
The African American Bar of Houston announced that it or its members received the following awards from the convention, held from July 26 to Aug. 1.
- Houston Lawyers Association: Affiliate of the Year from the Young Lawyers Division
- Immediate Past President Traci Gibson: Affiliate Leadership Award from Region V and Excellence Award for Service as Region V Treasurer
- Past President Goodwille Pierre: Outstanding Service Award from NBA Omega Psi Phi Fraternity
- Past President DeMonica Gladney Johnson: Outstanding Corporate (In-House) Counsel Award from NBA Women Lawyers Division
- Johnson and Past President Eartha Johnson: Respect Yourself Inspire Award for NBA Women Lawyers Division
Gibson was also elected and sworn in as deputy chair of Region V.
$20K Awarded to First Amendment Clinic
The Dallas Bar Foundation recently awarded a $20,000 grant to the First Amendment Clinic at SMU Dedman School of Law.
The Stanton Foundation, which launched a matching gift challenge in July, contributed an additional $40,000. It has pledged to double all donations to the Clinic made by Dec. 1 — up to $2 million — in addition to the $3 million endowment it has already provided.
Funds for the DBA’s gift were donated by Susan Philbin, in honor of her brother, Stephen Philbin, a leading authority on media law at the time of his death in 1982. He was a partner at Locke, Purnell, Boren, Laney & Neely and a longtime member of the Dallas Bar Association.
Philbin mentored Thomas Leatherbury, director of the First Amendment Clinic and a veteran media lawyer in Texas. Leatherbury, who spent most of his career at Vinson & Elkins, credits Philbin with launching his path in First Amendment Law.
“This gift is especially meaningful to me,” Leatherbury said.
Each summer, the Dallas Bar Foundation places two fellows at the Clinic to “learn from Tom Leatherbury, one of our nations’ foremost First Amendment lawyers,” said Gabe Vazquez, who is the 2025 DBF Chair and Vice President and Associate General Counsel at Vistra Corp.
“This grant award demonstrates the importance of educating future lawyers who are committed to safeguarding our fundamental rights under the First Amendment, a cornerstone of our democracy,” Vazquez said.
The donations will allow the Clinic to “continue to focus on resolving pressing legal problems for those in our community and uphold the protections guaranteed in the Constitution,” said Jason P. Nance, the Judge James Noel Dean and Professor of Law.
Auction Raises $8K For Dallas Women Lawyers Association Foundation
An auction of memorabilia and artwork from the chambers of retired U.S. District Judge Barbara Lynn raised more than $8,000 for the Dallas Women Lawyers Association Foundation.
The virtual auction came to a close Aug. 22, with Judge Lynn present to sign items for winning bidders at the Earle Cabell Federal Courthouse in Dallas.
Proceeds from the auction will support DWLAF’s grant-making efforts for female attorneys, law students, and women and children in need across North Texas. With the addition of its newest grant last year, the DWLAF now awards three distinct grants: the Outreach Grant, the Get Started Grant and the Karen D. McCloud Memorial Grant, named in honor of a past president of the Dallas Women Lawyers Association who died in 2020.
Auction volunteers included:
- U.S. Magistrate Judge Rebecca Rutherford, clerk Stacy Stevens and interns Domonique Gray, Rachel Fisher and Caroline Tichenor
- Catherine Balido, Alexis King and Manuel Berrelez of Paul Hastings
- Stephanie Culpepper
- Chelsea Hilliard
- Kris Ikejiri