By Naomi Martin of The Dallas Morning News
Mark McPherson is no Erin Brockovich. The Plano environmental lawyer, 50, has represented land developers and helped oil and gas companies secure water for fracking.
So what’s he doing taking on — as his first-ever pro bono case — the plight of Sandbranch, an impoverished Dallas County community that lacks running water?
Naomi Martin, a reporter for The Dallas Morning News, sat down with McPherson, a solo practitioner at the McPherson Law Firm, to get the scoop.
The Dallas Morning News: How did you get involved in this?
McPherson: It’s a funny story. I’m a member of the Christ United Methodist Church in Plano. We did the delivery of water coolers on Monday of last week. They said, ‘Hey we’ve got this opportunity, do you want to come help us out?’ I said, ‘Sure.’
Monday was the very first time I’d heard about Sandbranch. It just really touched me. The pastor [Eugene Keahey, of Mount Zion Baptist Church in Sandbranch] mentioned they were having a meeting on Wednesday of last week with governmental agencies. I attended that meeting. I knew immediately that I was in a very good position to be able to help this community and to do so on a pro bono basis.
The Dallas Morning News: What’s your goal in Sandbranch?
McPherson: The goal, from my point of view, is to find a way to provide a reliable and safe water supply for the Sandbranch community. It is not to do a buyout where we move the community out. I just don’t see how that would come anywhere close to solving this problem.
My job is to help navigate the various legal challenges that the project is going to present. This project is very complex.
To read the full article, please visit thescoopblog.dallasnews.com/sandbranch.