Dallas Bar Association
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Focus | Probate, Trusts & Estates/Tax Law
December 2020 Volume 45 Number 12
Dallas Bar Elects 2021 Officers Krisi Kastl Elected President-Elect STAFF REPORT
Members of the Dallas Bar Association proudly elected its 2021 officers during the Annual Meeting on November 6. Kristina “Krisi” Kastl, of Kastl Law, P.C., was elected president-elect and will serve as the Association’s 113th president in 2022. Ms. Kastl is an experienced trial lawyer whose practice focuses in the area of personal injury claims. A graduate of Texas Tech School of Law, she is a long-time supporter of pro bono and was a Co-Chair of the 2018-2019 Equal Access to Justice Campaign, which raised over $1 million for pro bono legal services. Ms. Kastl has been active in the Dallas Bar Association for many years and currently serves as the Board Advisor to the Entertainment, Art & Sports Law Section and the Golf Tournament Committee. Among her many accolades, she has been recognized as a Rising Star, Top Young Lawyer in Texas, and as a Texas Super Lawyer. Other officers elected at the Annual Meeting were: Cheryl Camin Murray, of Katten Muchin Rosenman, elected first vice-president; and Bill Mateja, of Sheppard Mullin, elected second vice-president. Robert Tobey, of Johnston Tobey Baruch, P.C. will serve as immediate past president, and Aaron Tobin, of Condon Tobin Sladek Thornton Nerenberg will serve as president in 2021. Additionally, on November 12, ballots for secretary/treasurer and director positions were sent to members and one of the following nominees will assume the position of secretary-treasurer in 2021: Ebony Rivon or KoiEles “Koi” Spurlock; and six of the following nominees will assume director positions in 2021: Vicki Blanton, Stephanie G. Culpepper, Rocío García Espinoza, Martin Hoffman, David Kent, Audrey Moorehead, Sarah Rogers, Andrew (Drew) Spaniol; Amy M. Stewart. Ballots were due back
Aaron Tobin
Kristina “Krisi” Kastl
Cheryl Camin Murray
November 23 and results were not available at press time. The 2021 presidents of the minority bar associations will also serve on the board as Directors, and the presidentelects of these associations will serve on the board as Advisory Directors. Also at the meeting, the membership approved an amendment to the Bylaws, which recognized the addition of the president of the LGBT Bar Association as an ExOfficio Advisory Director to the DBA Board of Directors. On November 12, the DBA hosted a virtual awards program where several award recipients were recognized. Each year, the Texas Center for Legal Ethics & Professionalism co-sponsors the presentation of the Morris Harrell Professionalism Award with the DBA. The award was created in 1999 in honor of DBA Past President Morris Harrell to recognize an attorney who best exemplifies, by conduct and character, truly professional traits who others in the bar seek to emulate. This year’s Morris Harrell Professionalism Award recipient is Lewis R. Sifford, of Sifford, Anderson & Co., P.C. In 2017, the DBA created the Kim Askew Distinguished Service Award. The award recognizes DBA members who have demonstrated a lasting dedication to the DBA and Dallas community, consistently given back, and who gone above and beyond traditional service of DBA members. This year’s award was given posthumously to Karen D.
Bill Mateja
McCloud for her many years of dedicated service to the DBA. Karen was a sounding board, ever ready to listen, question and guide. She was calm, self-confident, and led with strength and dignity. She was the only person to have ever served as President of the J.L. Turner Legal Association, Dallas Women Lawyers Association, and Dallas Association of Young Lawyers while also being poised to become president of the Dallas Bar Association in 2022. In 2019, the DBA created the Al Ellis Community Service Award to honor and recognize those DBA members who exemplify the spirit of community involvement and service. This year’s recipient is Martha “Marty” Crandall Coleman, of FisherBroyles, LLP. The co-chairs of the Continuing Legal Education Committee: Gabriel Reyes, of The Law Office of Gabriel Reyes, PLLC, and Leroy Street, of Street & Rudy, LLC, received the Jo Anna Moreland Outstanding Committee Chair Award. The Tort & Insurance Practice Section, chaired Paul Stafford, of Stafford Law Firm, P.C., received the Cathy Maher Special Section Award. The Outstanding Minority Attorney Award was presented to Lisa Tomiko Blackburn, of Blackburn Law PLLC. And Al Ellis, of Sommerman, McCaffity, Quesada & Geisler, L.L.P., received the Judge Merrill Hartman Support Award, for his continued support of the DBA Home Project. Presidential Citations were also presented to behind-the-scenes members who have faithfully performed often time-consuming
tasks for the association. This year’s recipients were Art Anthony, Locke Lord, LLP; Scott McElhaney, Jackson Walker, L.L.P.; and Nicole Muñoz, Figari + Davenport, LLP, for their work on the DBA Vote Project; Paul Stafford, Stafford Law Firm, P.C., for his work both on the DBA Vote Project and on the Allied Dallas Bars Equality Task Force; Hon. Audrey Moorehead, County Criminal Court No. 3, and Hon. Lisa Green, County Criminal Court No. 5, for efforts on behalf of the Civil and Criminal Bench Bar Conferences; Hon. Tina Clinton, Criminal District Court No. 1; Jen Falk, Dallas County District Attorney’s Office; Lynn Richardson, Dallas County Public Defender’s Office; and Mary Walters, U.S. Attorney’s Office, for their outstanding work on the first DBA Criminal Bench Bar Conference; and Ladd Hirsch, Winstead PC; Bill Mateja, Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP; and Cheryl Camin Murray, Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP, for their efforts on the DBA Coronavirus Task Force. Vicki Blanton, AT&T, for her efforts on behalf of the DBA Coronavirus Task Force, as well as her work with the Allied Dallas Bars Equality Task Force and the Law Firm Diversity Survey; Amy M. Stewart, Stewart Law Group PLLC, for her work on behalf of the DBA Coronavirus Task Force and her outstanding work on the DBA ‘Rona Pep Talk Series; Josiah Daniel, for his outstanding work as DBA Historian; Chief Justice Carolyn Wright (Ret.) and Justice John Browning, the Fifth District Court of Appeals, for their efforts on behalf of the J.H. Williams Project, obtaining posthumous bar admission to the Texas Bar for Mr. Williams who was denied admission because he was a black man; Nnamdi Anozie, Anozie, LLP, and Leslie Chaggaris, Reese Marketos LLP, for their work on the Virtual Town Hall on Race Relations and Faith Leaders’ Program; Jeff Tillotson, Tillotson Law, for his efforts on behalf of the STEER program; and Rob Crain, Crain Brogdon Rogers, for his work on behalf of Racial Justice Issues and Community Relations. HN
Thank You to Our Major Donors The Dallas Bar Association and Legal Aid of NorthWest Texas kicked off their annual Equal Access to Justice Campaign benefiting the Dallas Volunteer Attorney Program. A number of Dallas firms, corporations, and friends have committed major support. Join us in recognizing and thanking the following for their generous gifts*:
GOLD PATRON
PLATINUM SPONSORS
PLATINUM SPONSORS
Hartline Barger LLP
Margaret & Jaime Spellings Witherite Law Group
CHAIRMAN’S COUNCIL
DIAMOND SPONSORS
Jerry & Sherri Alexander
AT&T Haynes and Boone Foundation Kimberly-Clark Corporation
Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP Business Litigation Section Capital One Condon Tobin Sladek Thornton Nerenberg Covington & Burling LLP Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP Latham & Watkins LLP Locke Lord LLP Mike McKool
Munsch Hardt Kopf & Harr, P.C. Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough LLP The Rosewood Foundation Simon Greenstone Panatier, PC Stewart Law Group Thompson & Knight Foundation Robert L. Tobey Toyota Vistra Energy
PRESIDENT’S COUNCIL
E. Leon & Debra Carter The Kilgore Law Firm
*As of November 16, 2020
Inside 8 A Guideline for Taxation of Settlements and Judgments 12 When Families Fight: Ways to Resolve Inter-Family Disputes 24 Pro Bono Attorney & Firm of the Year 29 Tax Consequences of Amending Leases During COVID-19
DBA MEMBER REMINDER – RENEW ONLINE NOW
You may renew your 2021 DBA Dues now! Go to dallasbar.org and click on the My DBA button to log in and Renew online or print the 2021 Renewal Dues Invoice to mail in with payment. Your 2021 DBA DUES must be paid by December 31, 2020 in order to continue receiving ALL your member benefits. Thank you for your support of the Dallas Bar Association!