Dallas Bar Association
HEADNOTES
Focus Corporate Counsel/Mergers & Acquisitions
February 2015 Volume 40 Number 2
Equal Access to Justice Campaign Tops $1 Million by Alicia Hernandez
On Saturday, January 17, the Dallas Bar Association announced that the 2015 Equal Access to Justice Campaign raised a recordbreaking $1,100,415 for pro bono legal services to the poor. The Equal Access to Justice Campaign (EAJ) is a joint fundraising campaign of the Dallas Bar Association and Legal Aid of NorthWest Texas, which benefits the two organizations’ joint pro bono program, the Dallas Volunteer Attorney Program (DVAP). The Campaign’s momentum has been steadily increasing over the last seven years with significant increases every year in donations to the campaign. This year, campaign Co-Chairs Robert Tobey and Laura Benitez Geisler focused on increasing the number of campaign donors and the overall campaign total, and the results show that they were successful on both ends. In addition to the record-breaking, $1 million plus total, the campaign benefited from an 8 percent increase in donors. “The growth of our EAJ Campaign totals has been phenomenal,” said Brad Weber, 2015 DBA President. “In 2009, we raised about $544,000. This year we topped $1.1 million—a 102 percent gain over six years. Part of the reason for this success is the campaign leadership we have had in place dur-
ing the last seven years. Each year the new Campaign Chairs are determined to break the record set the year before, and each year they achieve a new record. After last year’s recordbreaking campaign results, I knew that this year we would need two tireless and competitive Co-Chairs if we wanted to break last year’s total. Robert Tobey and Laura Benitez Geisler were the two people I knew would rise to the challenge and they did, by shattering the record by more than $177,000.” Campaign proceeds will be used to continue and expand DVAP’s work in the community. With over 600,000 people meeting legal aid’s financial guidelines for assistance, there is more work to be done in keeping access to the courts open in Dallas. DVAP will focus its efforts on recruiting more volunteer attorneys to represent clients in more complex cases and contested family law cases. The Dallas Bar Association and Legal Aid of NorthWest Texas joined forces in 1997 to create DVAP from the organizations’ two, previously separate and competing pro bono programs. DVAP’s 15 person staff coordinate legal advice and intake clinics, manage the program’s pro se family law clinics, work up cases for referral to volunteer attorneys, and recruit, train, and mentor volunteer attorneys to represent clients. In addition to its partnership with the DBA for DVAP, Legal Aid of NorthWest Texas has a Dallas office
that operates like a law firm where staff attorneys represent low-income clients on a daily basis. Even with DVAP’s volunteers and Legal Aid’s staff attorneys hard at work, the programs turn people away because they do not have enough lawyers to help. More work needs to be done, and the Campaign’s success demonstrates the legal community’s commitment to making this happen. Now 18 years old, DVAP and the relationship between the Dallas Bar Association and Legal Aid of NorthWest Texas continues to strengthen and grow. “We want Dallas lawyers to see the Dallas Volunteer Attorney Program as their pro bono program—a reliable resource for the low-income people who cannot afford to hire a lawyer and one of the most important things our legal community does,” said Campaign Co-Chair Robert Tobey. “I am confident that Dallas lawyers will see the value in access to justice for all and will continue to increase their support for DVAP,” continued Co-Chair Laura Benitez Geisler. “Robert and I are so proud of our bar and the standard it has set in supporting equal access to justice HN for the poor.” Alicia Hernandez is the director of the Dallas Volunteer Attorney Program and the DBA director of community services. She can be reached at ahernandez@dallasbar.org.
Energy Future Holdings, Luminant & TXU Energy Donate $25,000 by Alicia Hernandez
The 2014-2015 Equal Access to Justice Campaign culminated at the Dallas Bar Association Inaugural Ball on January 17 with a record number of donations and an historical high of $1,100,415. “Only a few years ago, the $1 million mark seemed unobtainable. Now that we’ve passed this mark, I am hopeful that this becomes the norm, and we pass it every year,” said Brad Weber, 2015 Dallas Bar Association President. “If we can continue to raise over a million dollars each year going forward, we will be able to extend the reach of DVAP and help even more low income individuals who desperately need pro bono legal representation.” The donations will provide legal aid to the poor in Dallas through the Dallas Volunteer Attorney Program, a joint pro bono program of the Dallas Bar Association and Legal Aid of NorthWest Texas. Equal Access to Justice Campaign CoChairs Laura Benitez Geisler and Robert Tobey, with their relentless enthusiasm, maintained the momentum of the campaign from its kickoff in September 2014 to its completion by focusing on increasing new donors and bringing back prior donors. They also pulled together a team of local lawyers from a variety of types and sizes of
practices, including corporate counsel, to reach into the Dallas legal community and gain support for legal aid to the poor. “One of our Campaign goals this year was to expand the donor base through the involvement of in-house counsel. This aspect of the Campaign was very successful thanks in large part to the efforts of our Honorary CoChairs, Stacey Doré of Energy Future Holdings and Jack Stacey Doré Balagia of Exxon Mobil Corporation,” said Robert Tobey. “In addition, Dan Kelly of Energy Future Holdings (EFH) is a longtime supporter of the Dallas Volunteer Attorney Program, and his work on the Campaign this year was critical to its success!” Ms. Geisler echoed Mr. Tobey’s sentiments. “The Campaign’s Honorary CoChairs, Stacey Doré and Jack Balagia were a tremendous help in making this year’s Campaign a record-breaking success,” said Ms. Geisler. “Robert and I are very grateful for all of their efforts toward improving Equal Access to Justice in Dallas County.” Energy Future Holding, TXU Energy and Luminant donated $25,000 to the Equal Access to Justice Campaign, the largest cor-
porate donation in the history of the Equal Access to Justice Campaign. The fundraising efforts of Ms. Doré and Mr. Kelly brought in an additional $102,500 to the campaign. Energy Future Holdings Corporation is a Dallas-based, privately held energy company with a portfolio of competitive and regulated energy companies, including TXU Energy and Luminant. Ms. Doré, the Executive Vice President and General Counsel of Energy Future Holdings, has been with the company since 2008 and has served as vice president and general counsel of Luminant, and as associate general counsel in charge of litigation for Energy Future Holdings. In 2010, she was named Outstanding In-House Counsel by the Association of Corporate Counsel and DCEO Magazine. Before joining Energy Future Holdings, Ms. Doré was a business litigation attorney at Vinson & Elkins for 11 years and served as the firm’s Pro Bono Coordinator, where she increased its pro bono involvement in the Dallas Volunteer Attorney Program and other pro bono organizations. Dan Kelly, Vice President and Associate General Counsel of Energy Future Hold-
ings, is also a long-time supporter of DVAP. Mr. Kelly, formerly an attorney with Vinson & Elkins, was a pro bono volunteer while in private practice, has continued to represent pro bono attorneys since joining EFH, and serves as the legal department’s pro bono coordinator. The Dallas Volunteer Attorney Program recruits, trains and mentors volunteer attorneys to provide free, civil legal services to the poor. The funds pay the expenses of the program and to keep all the DVAP activities running. Activities include at least 11 legal clinics each month where clients apply for help and speak with an attorney, referral of client cases to pro bono attorneys, and special legal clinics and outreach programs for the low-income community. DVAP’s activities also include sponsoring CLE programs for local attorneys, going out to law firms, corporations, and other bar associations to spread the word about DVAP and recruit volunteers. DVAP’s staff oversees all pro bono cases referred through the program and mentors attorneys who take these cases, and the program provide malpractice insurance coverage on pro bono cases handled through the program. The support of Energy Future Holdings, TXU, Luminant and all donors to the Equal continued on page 8
Inside 5 Agency as an Affirmative Defense 9 Insurance Issues in Mergers and Acquisitions 10 Inaugural of Brad Weber 13 Trends in M&A Law: Shale Development
Don’t miss your opportunity to advertise (print & online) in the #1 “Legal Resource & Expert Witness Guide” in Dallas County. Contact PJ Hines at (214) 597-5920 or pjhines@legaldirectories.com