Dallas Bar Association
HEADNOTES |
|
Focus | Entertainment, Art & Sports Law
March 2021 Volume 46 Number 3
DBA Living Legends Program Interview series will highlight Dallas female attorneys BY CHALON CLARK
Left to Right: Rob Crain, Quentin Brogdon, Sarah Rogers, and John Spillane
Crain Brogdon Rogers LLP Contributes to a Record EAJ Campaign BY MICHELLE ALDEN
In this challenging time, during the last few weeks of the 2021 Equal Access to Justice Campaign, the Dallas Volunteer Attorney Program (DVAP) was fortunate to receive the support of Crain Brogdon Rogers LLP, who came in with a $25,000 donation. This makes an impressive grand total of $257,605 from Rob Crain and his previous and current firms, along with a $50,000 pledge to the DVAP Endowment, also known as the Justice Forever Fund. Crain Brogdon Rogers, LLP is a team of lawyers and professionals focusing on serious personal injury and wrongful death cases of all types. Though their practice is concentrated in North Texas, the firm handles cases throughout the country. Why do the accomplished attorneys of Crain Brogdon Rogers support equal access to justice? “DVAP is a one-of-a-kind program that allows Dallas lawyers to make a real difference for real people. I can’t think of a program that’s more worthy of our firm’s support. Now, more than ever, DVAP needs all of us to help it continue its mission,” said Quentin Brogdon. The justice gap in Dallas County remains 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 $33,125 for a family of four, justice is a luxury for lowand moderate-income families. As with every other business and nonprofit around, 2020 was an unprecedented year for DVAP. Unable to hold its usual intake clinics around Dallas County due to the pandemic, DVAP launched virtual clinics in April, and
has held general intake clinics virtually on a weekly basis since then, along with periodic specialized wills, driver’s license restoration, and veterans clinics. DVAP has seen a variety of people seeking help with legal issues tied to COVID-19, including employment issues, Chapter 7 bankruptcies, visitation disputes due to the changes brought about by remote learning for children, and landlord-tenant issues. One such case involved “Anna,” who was furloughed due to the pandemic. As a result, she was unable to pay her rent and her landlord moved forward with an eviction. Aaron Chibli, of Foley & Lardner LLP, volunteered to take her case and filed an emergency motion to abate the trial pursuant to the CDC’s nationwide eviction moratorium and the Texas Supreme Court’s Emergency Order applying the same. “The court granted the motion to abate, which ultimately allowed Anna more time to stay in the house, along with giving Foley enough time to negotiate a favorable settlement on her behalf. It truly was a rewarding experience,” Aaron explained. Anna faces a brighter future thanks to Aaron, Foley, and DVAP. Each case placed with a volunteer attorney by DVAP can lead to one more parent with access to their children, one more veteran with access to benefits earned, one more grandparent able to adopt a child whose parents are absent, or one more person who is able to finally secure employment due to an old criminal charge being expunged. Last year, DVAP placed 830 cases with volunteer attorneys for full representation. This number does not include all those who received advice and brief services through DVAP continued on page 22
On January 20, 2021, I sat in my living room teary-eyed as I watched Kamala Harris take her oath of office as Vice President. I recalled when I was a little girl, and I proudly announced that I wanted to be the President of the United States. My grandmother, born in 1919 in rural Texas and the granddaughter of a slave, responded in her matter-of-fact tone, “Ain’t no black and ain’t no woman ev-ah gon’ be President of America. You best find somethin’ else to do.” She did not intend to discourage me, but instead, to prepare me for the reality of life as an AfricanAmerican woman. She could not have imagined how close America would get to changing that reality on Inauguration Day as Kamala Harris shattered glass ceilings of race and gender. This year, Dallas Bar Association President, Aaron Tobin, has a plan to uncover the stories of many Dallas women who shattered glass ceilings through his brainchild program, Living Legends. The Living Legends interview series will explore the untold stories of Dallas female attorneys. Current members and alumnae of the DBA Women Empowered to Lead Class (WE LEAD) will conduct the interviews. For now, the interviews will be conducted and recorded via Zoom. The interviews will then be broadcast for Dallas Bar Association members and posted online for members to access later. Mr. Tobin thought the program would be a wonderful way to get the WE LEAD classes, consisting of up-and-coming female attorneys, involved in honoring these unsung heroes. Often, women have been overlooked in the legal profession, and Mr. Tobin wants to bring their stories to a greater audience. He describes a Living Legend as, “a person who has, for a sustained period of time, navigated through the legal profession in a collegial and professional manner, and someone who has the ability to make others around them better—to lead, influence, and impact the lives and careers of others.” In other words, the Living Legends are total pro-
fessionals—attorneys that do more than simply sit at their desks and bill hours, but instead, meaningfully contribute to the profession. Living Legends will kick off just in time for Women’s History Month, a time to celebrate the contributions women have made to the United States and recognize the specific achievements women have made, in various fields, over the course of American history. Mr. Tobin will launch the program by interviewing Judge Mary Murphy, a retired justice of the Fifth District Court of Appeals of Texas, former judge of the 14th Civil District Court, and former civil court master for the Dallas County district courts. Next, WE LEAD alumnae, Kandace Walter and Marifer Aceves will interview Judge Maricela Moore, presiding judge of the 162nd Judicial District Court. The goal of the program is to conduct one interview each month. Mr. Tobin says the Living Legend list is still being compiled, and he has just scratched the surface of the potential interviewees list. He hopes Living Legends will be a standing DBA program and even imagines it could honor women lawyers posthumously by interviewing people with firsthand accounts of their journeys. The program’s purpose is for younger lawyers to learn the true stories—the good and bad—behind these accomplished women in the legal field. However, Mr. Tobin reveals that even if no one watches the interviews, but, just one interviewer develops a mentorship relationship with a Living Legend, to him, “that would be worth it.” As an alumna of the inaugural WE LEAD class, I have the privilege of interviewing former Chief Justice Carolyn Wright, the first African American to become chief justice of any intermediate appellate court in Texas. If my grandmother could listen in on the Living Legends interviews, I know she would be proud to learn that women, particularly women of color, did indeed leap over seemingly insurmountable obstacles to become lawyers, judges, a vice president, and a plethora of other firsts. Lastly, I know she would be proud that her little granddaughter is breaking some glass ceilings of her own. HN Chalon Clark is a Partner at Husch Blackwell and may be reached at chalon.clark@huschblackwell.com.
Inside 6 Equality Committee Presents Firm Diversity Report 9 Inaugural of Aaron Tobin 14 Stairway to Heaven: The Demise of the Inverse Ratio Rule 18 Meet the DBA We Lead Class of 2021 23 Show Me the Money! Incentives for the Entertainment Industry
DBA MEMBER REMINDER: All members who have not yet renewed for 2021 will be dropped on March 19, 2021. Renew TODAY in order to continue receiving all your member benefits. Thank you for your support of the Dallas Bar Association!