Thompson & Knight Names Emily Parker Its New Managing Partner

By Mark Curriden and Brooks Powell, Staff Writers for The Texas Lawbook mark.curriden@texaslawbook.net, brooks.powell@texaslawbook.net  Thirty-eight years ago, Thompson & Knight hired its first woman lawyer in an office of 40 white men. This week, the Dallas-based law firm announced that very same lawyer, Emily Parker, is its next managing partner – one of the few women lawyers leading law firms in Texas. A 1973 graduate of the SMU Dedman Law School, Parker is widely regarded as one of the region’s premier tax lawyers.Parker has been at Thompson & Knight for her entire career, except for two-and-a-half years (2002-2004) when she was the Deputy Chief Counsel and later Acting Chief Counsel of the Internal Revenue Service, where she was ultimately responsible for all legal matters within the IRS and leadership of the agency’s more than 1,500 attorneys. “My election shows that the respect and skills needed to lead a major law firm are no longer limited to men,” says Parker. “Nobody should take on the leadership of a law firm if they don’t want to make a difference in their communities and with their clients.” Last year, Thompson & Knight, which has 350 lawyers in 10 offices, underwent a major strategic planning…