Legal Aid of NorthWest Texas has announced its Women’s Advocacy Awards recipients who will be honored at its annual reception June 11 at the Arts District Mansion in Dallas. That and more, including details on the Hispanic Bar Association’s Houston Annual Gala, in this edition of P.S.
P.S. — Sound of Service: This Year’s ACC Houston Pro Bono and Diversity Recipients Strike Common Chord
This week’s P.S. Column is packed with award winners, from corporate counsels who are leading the way in pro bono and diversity initiatives to the longest-serving woman justice on the Texas Supreme Court to rock-and-roll attorneys fundraising for charities.
Dallas Eviction Advocacy Center Reaches Major Milestone
For the first time this week, the Dallas Eviction Advocacy Center has lawyers stationed at each of the county’s 10 eviction courts. They will be available to help tenants every day there’s an eviction docket. The center, founded by Holland & Knight partner Mark Melton, reached this goal at a time when the Texas Legislature is considering bills that would scale back due process and judicial oversight for evictions.
P.S. — Law Firm Delivers with Hams for Easter; Houston’s Legal Rockers Battle for Charity Glory
In this week’s P.S. Column, one Dallas-Fort Worth law firm is putting $50,000 toward feeding families this Easter with a ham meal giveaway. Also, Law Rocks is making its way to Houston, where lawyers face off in a battle-of-the-bands style competition for charity. Meet the Houston bands who are competing. Finally, The Texas Lawbook continues to invite submissions on pro bono collaborations between corporate legal departments and law firms for a new monthly column.
I Succeed Because You Did Before Me
Nobody succeeds in a vacuum. Not in this industry, anyway. We rise and fall as part of a community, and we look to leaders and mentors to shape that community. Women lawyers today find themselves in the unique position of having women in leadership roles to guide them.
Jackson Walker’s Suzan Kedron ‘Took the Job to Make a Difference’
When it comes to male-dominated areas of business law, it is easy “to notice when you are the only woman or the only person of color in a room,” said Jackson Walker partner Suzan Kedron, whose practice focuses on representing landowners and developers in litigation-related matters. As Women’s History Month winds down, The Texas Lawbook interviews Kedron, who is a graduate of the South Texas College of Law Houston and widely recognized as one of the leading real estate lawyers in Texas.
P.S. — Reed Smith’s Global Managing Partner Celebrated, Volunteers Needed in San Antonio
In this week’s P.S. column, the San Antonio Legal Services Association and another nonprofit are seeking volunteer lawyers to participate in a housing rights workshop on Saturday to educate tenants on housing rights and show them how to draft repair requests. Also, the Center for Women in Law will honor Reed Smith global managing partner Casey Ryan with the Hortense Ward Courageous Leader Award at its April 4 luncheon, featuring BBC journalist Katty Kay as keynote speaker. Finally, The Texas Lawbook invites submissions on pro bono collaborations between corporate legal departments and law firms for a new monthly column.
Much Has Changed, but Issues Remain the Same
As I mentor and visit with women in the legal profession today, I find they struggle with issues similar to the ones faced by women decades ago. Many firms still struggle as before with getting women and underrepresented talent through to partnership. But there are reasons to be encouraged.
Back to the Future in the Practice of Law
Leaving the practice of law to raise a family and deciding to reenter the workforce are major life decisions that require sacrifice and perseverance. Here’s my story of navigating the challenges of returning to practice law after more than a decade at home.
P.S. — Food from the Bar Campaign Benefits North Texas Food Bank, $5M Gift Creates Law School’s Business and Transaction Law Center, Firm Covers Lyft Rides from Rodeo Houston
Let the competition begin. In this week’s P.S. column, the North Texas Food Bank is set to soon start its annual “Food from the Bar” campaign, a friendly competition among the Dallas-area legal community to raise food for children while they’re out of school this coming summer. Also, St. Mary’s University School of Law got a generous gift to create a center for business and transaction law. And one law firm is making sure Houston Rodeo participants get home safe with free Lyft rides.