Last week, The Texas Lawbook had the honor of co-hosting the 2025 DFW Corporate Counsel Awards with the Association of Corporate Counsel DFW Chapter. The words shared by the four honorees in the Diversity and Inclusion and Pro Bono and Public Service categories are still resonating with us and are well worth sharing with readers in this column. We have also included links to The Lawbook’s previously published profiles of the honorees. The acceptance remarks below have been edited for length and clarity.
In this edition of P.S., we also report that Dallas-based Attorneys Serving the Community held a record-breaking fundraising event for Shared Housing Center and a Paul Hastings Texas partner has joined the advisory board of the Wilson Center for Science and Justice at Duke Law.
Honorees Inspire at DFW Corporate Counsel Awards
The award for Achievement in Diversity and Inclusion went to Nayelly Dominguez, a corporate lawyer at 7-Eleven, and Sarah Wariner, senior vice president and deputy general counsel of Jacobs.
Dominguez, the daughter of Mexican immigrants, had this to say:
“This is so exciting and I want to thank my parents. Oftentimes people ask me, ‘How’d you get to where you are?’ And I’m like, ‘Well, you know what the difference between a lunch lady, a welder and a lawyer is? It’s one generation. One generation of opportunity and working hard.’ Immigrants really do make this country great. My parents have produced a teacher, an Iraq combat war veteran and now a lawyer. So we do love this country. This is our American dream. We’re here to make it great, and we already have made it great. … It’s also nice to share the stage with a fellow woman of color, so that’s super exciting.”
Wariner, who has intentionally sought out diversity in outside counsel, shared:
“Thank you all for coming out tonight and celebrating all of us. And thank you to The Texas Lawbook and the ACC for taking the time and having the courage to still give out this award given the State of the Union. It’s very important, I think, to everyone in this room that we continue on this path and that we continue to champion the values around diversity and inclusion. It’s certainly important to me and my company at Jacobs. At Jacobs, I have the privilege of working alongside an exceptional group of talented people whose diverse backgrounds, perspectives, lived experiences make us all better at what we do. And I always believe that the best legal advice — the kind we all want that’s strategic, that’s creative, that’s grounded in sound judgment — comes when we bring people together from different backgrounds. When we share our different experiences and we contribute, we get a great legal product. I hope you all agree with that, and I hope we all can continue on that pathway, despite what challenges we have in the country or around us right now. … This award is meaningful because it reflects not just past work but continued commitment by this organization to these values. The legal landscape may shift, norms may evolve, cases may come down, challenges may arise, but our responsibility is to champion diverse perspectives fairly, authentically and boldly and remain consistent. So thank you all for this recognition. I’m honored, humbled and inspired to keep moving this work forward.”
The honorees for Achievement in Pro Bono and Public Service were Phillips Enterprise General Counsel Shannon Cagnina and Toyota Managing Counsel Scott Young.
Cagnina, who helped draft Trey’s Law and supported camp safety legislation last year, said:
“Thank you Texas Lawbook and ACC for giving me an opportunity to raise awareness about something that’s really important. There’s nothing more important than our children. So I commend to you Trey’s Law and No More Victims Alliance. Lawyers can make a difference, and I just would encourage all of you to learn more and advocate alongside the teams that are doing this important work.”
Young, who is often sought out by other lawyers and legal departments pursuing pro bono opportunities, shared:
“I want to thank all those who are on the front lines of service, day in and day out. I want to tell you about one of these people who I’ll call Brandon. Brandon works all day every day to take care of a revolving door of children who have escaped abused and trafficked family situations. He constantly scrambles to find food, shoes to put on their feet, clothes for their bodies, backpacks and supplies to go to school and much more. With funding insecurity, I reached out to him, and I said,’ Brandon, are you okay? How’s your job?’ And he said, ‘I don’t know, but we’re still going to be taking care of the kiddos.’ I love that. I worked closely with him for over a decade, and I’m so grateful for him and the myriad of others whose compassion leads them to a life of service. As the Dalai Lama said, “If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be happy, practice compassion.” As lawyers, there’s no better way to practice compassion than to lend our skills through pro bono. Please give a call to Dallas Volunteer Attorney Program or any one of our other local pro bono organizations. You can also search standwithsantos.org. He’s our State Bar president. You’ll find a million opportunities to get involved. And I promise you that as you do so, you will indeed make yourself happy.”
Attorneys Serving the Community Raises Record Donation from Holiday Bazaar
Attorneys Serving the Community raised nearly $22,000 at its annual Holiday Bazaar, more than doubling its previous fundraising record.
The proceeds go directly to Shared Housing Center, which provides housing support and services to women, children and families at risk of homelessness in Dallas.
The event was hosted at FlexEtc Plano and featured more than 50 local vendors, drawing record participation from both sponsors and shoppers.
ASC is a Dallas-based volunteer organization composed of women lawyers, judges and law students that selects one beneficiary each year to receive funds from events, membership dues and corporate sponsorships. Applications are currently being accepted for 2026-2027 partnership. More information is available on the ASC website here.
Dallas-Based Lawyer Joins Advisory Board of Criminal Justice Think Tank
Paul Hastings Partner Paul Genender has joined the advisory board of the Wilson Center for Science and Justice at Duke Law.
Genender, who serves as co-chair of the Dallas office as well as co-chair of the firm’s Complex Litigation and Arbitration practice and chair of the Texas Commercial Litigation practice, is a 1994 graduate of Duke University School of Law. He also obtained his undergraduate degree from Duke University.
The advisory board provides strategic guidance and support to the Wilson Center for Science and Justice, which brings together researchers, practitioners and policymakers to develop data-driven solutions to make the criminal legal system safe for all, support recovery and reduce criminalization.
“The Wilson Center for Science and Justice is doing vital work to ensure that our criminal legal system is grounded in rigorous research and real-world impact,” Genender said. “I am honored to join the Advisory Board and to support the Center’s efforts to advance fair, evidence-based solutions that strengthen justice.”