Dallas Bar Association
HEADNOTES
Focus Family Law
September 2017 Volume 42 Number 9
Dallas Bar Assoc
iation
Dear Association Memb
ers and Non-Members
: I would like to thank all of our current Dallas Bar Association (DBA) me support of our programs mbers for your ongoin and commitment to our g community! If you are not a curren t DBA member, I hope you enjoy this complim Headnotes publication entary issue of our mo and take advantage of nthly the following special me mbership offer! Newly joining members that join the DBA onl ine during the month over 30% on dues, wh of September will sav ich includes up to 16 e mo months. This special is available to attorneys who nths of membership for the price of 12 are not currently or rec ently a DBA member. Go to dallasbar.org and click on Join the DBA to sign up TODAY! You can see an extens ive list of our member ben efits on page 28, but a few important ones are : FREE CLE CREDIT HOURS – The Dallas Bar Association is the 2nd CLE courses in the sta largest provider of te of Texas (See Page 2 for CLE courses). MAKING A DIFFER ENCE – Join one of our ma ny Co to provide legal servic mmittees to work with es to the poor, volunt other lawyers eering within the commu and donate needed item nity to build homes, s and resources. DIVERSITY – Mento r and collaborate with lawyers of all ages and strengthen the fabric of backgrounds to our diverse legal commu COLLEGIALITY – nity. Network with other law yers who practice in Section meetings and your field at monthly attend CLE courses tha t relate directly to your practice. As a DBA Member, you will be able to take adv learn, network, and ma antage of these valuab ke a difference. To find le opportunities to member, please visit out more about the ben efits of being a DBA dallasbar.org, or con tact our Membership kwatson@dallasbar.org Director, Kim Watson, or (214) 220-7414. I hope you join today and look forward to seeing you at the Belo Mansio n, DBA headquarters! And again thank you to all our current DBA me mbers for your continu ed support! Stronger Together,
Left to right: Rob Crain, Chris Lewis, Quentin Brogdon
A Proud Tradition: Crain Lewis Brogdon Kicks Off 2018 EAJ Campaign by Michelle Alden
The Dallas Bar Association (DBA) is pleased to announce that Crain Lewis Brogdon, LLP is the kickoff donor for this year’s Equal Access to Justice Campaign, with a generous contribution of $30,000. The firm has a long and distinguished history of contributing to the Campaign. Including this gift, the firm has donated more than $160,000 to legal aid for the poor since 2004. The Equal Access to Justice Campaign is the annual fundraising campaign which supports the activities of the Dallas Volunteer Attorney Program (DVAP). The firm’s gift makes it possible for DVAP to continue to provide and enhance legal aid to the poor in Dallas, keeping the doors to the courthouse and our overall justice system open to many more people in our community. Since 1982, DVAP has provided, recruited, and trained pro bono lawyers to provide free legal aid to the poor in Dallas. Last year, a 15 member staff supported over 3,000 volunteers in their efforts to volunteer at legal clinics and advise and represent clients. The founding principles of Crain Lewis Brogdon dovetail quite nicely with DVAP’s goals. The firm specializes in the areas of personal injury and criminal defense, and was founded with the idea of representing people, not cases. As Rob Crain, partner in the firm and current DBA President, stated, “In our cases, regular people feel overwhelmed by a system that seems to ignore them. Our job as lawyers is to make sure that the client’s voice and story are heard clearly in court. Similarly, this is why DVAP is so important. Without DVAP, lowincome people face tremendous barriers in
accessing justice and are often unable to obtain veterans’ benefits, divorces, or child support as they are not sure how to navigate court filings and processes on their own. The legal services provided make a world of difference in the lives of so many who are helped by DVAP.” Mr. Crain’s law partner of a decade, Chris Lewis, understands the importance of access to justice through his daily work as a criminal defense attorney. “I am really glad to see that DVAP is helping more clients obtain expunctions and non-disclosures of their criminal records. It can make all the difference when the person is trying to find a job, if they are no longer encumbered by an old criminal charge from decades ago.” The justice gap in Dallas County is daunting. In a country based on justice for all and access to our court system, over 25 percent of Dallas County residents live near the poverty level, and 42 percent have slim hope of being able to afford an attorney. With annual poverty incomes of $30,750 for a family of four, justice is a luxury for low and moderate income families. Quentin Brogdon, an attorney board certified in personal injury and civil trial advocacy, said, “We encourage lawyers to give time, money, or both. The Dallas legal community is a generous one, but there is so much more to be done to narrow the justice gap. Our firm is proud to be a part of increasing access to the justice system.” This year is an especially important one for legal aid funding due to several challenges on the horizon. Earlier this year, the administration proposed a federal budget continued on page 16
Rob Crain President Dallas Bar Association
2101 Ross Ave. ▪ Da
The keynote speaker at this year’s luncheon is David McCraw, Vice President The 34th Dallas Bar Association annual and Deputy General Counsel of The New Stephen Philbin Awards for Excellence York Times. Mr. McCraw has spent the last 15 years at The Times, where he in Legal Reporting will be held serves as the newspaper’s top Friday, October 13, at noon at newsroom lawyer. He has been the Belo Mansion. Winners in the lawyer behind virtually every various news categories will be major investigative story The announced at the luncheon. Times has done in recent years, The luncheon honors not including its Pulitzer Prize-winonly the local media, but also the ning stories on workers’ deaths memory of Stephen Philbin who at a Texas foundry, the lethal lost his battle with leukemia in aftermath of Hurricane Katrina 1982. A long-time member of the at a New Orleans hospital, and Dallas Bar Association and a partthe secret fortunes of China’s ner with Locke, Purnell, Boren, political elite. Laney & Neely, at the time of his David McCraw Mr. McCraw is among the nation’s most death, Mr. Philbin was a leading authority on media law in Texas. In honor of Mr. Philbin, prolific litigators of freedom-of-information his family, acting through the Dallas Bar Foundation, funds the awards each year. continued on page 30 by Jessica D. Smith
09 When Criminal & Family Law Interact 14 Premarital Agreements: Negotiating Love Since 1980 22 The Dangers of Not Using an ERISA Attorney 26 Trusts and Divorce: What You Should Know
(214) 220-7414
David McCraw to be Keynote Speaker at Philbin Awards
Inside 18 Celebrating 40 years at Belo
llas ▪ TX ▪ 75201 ▪
2018 DBA COMMITTEE PREFERENCES Please take a minute to submit your committee preferences online.
Submit your preferences by Friday, October 13. Please note, if you are on a 2017 Committee you must still sign up again if you wish to continue to serve on a Committee in 2018. You will not be automatically assigned to Committees. Sign up online here: https://goo.gl/2UT85L.