Dallas Bar Association
HEADNOTES
Focus Real Property & Construction Law
January 2010 Volume 34 Number 1
Ike Vanden Eykel To Be Inaugurated As 101st President by Jenna P. Wright
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n Saturday, January 23, 2010, the Dallas Bar Association will inaugurate Ike Vanden Eykel as its 101st president. Ike brings to the Bar not only leadership, years of service and a wealth of experience in law and the DBA, but also an enthusiasm for the Dallas Bar, its members and its programs. “My plan for the DBA this year will focus on adding strength and definition to the first-class programs the Bar already has in place,” says Mr. Vanden Eykel. “I view this Ike Vanden Eykel as an opportunity to build on what my predecessors have established—to make the DBA stronger and to help direct our association’s future.” Mr. Vanden Eykel began his tenure with the Dallas Bar Association in 1998 when close friend and law school buddy W. Mike Baggett, shareholder and chairman emeritus at Winstead, suggested that he would get a lot out of working as a board member of the bar. Once the decision to become involved was made, Mr. Vanden Eykel assumed various leadership positions in the bar and the community. He was first elected to the Board of Directors of the DBA in 2000, and has served as Vice-Chair, Chair of the Board, as well as Second Vice-President, First Vice-President and President-Elect. He served as President of the Board of Directors of the Community Service Fund and is currently a Trustee and a Fellow of the Dallas Bar Foundation. He was General Chair of the Campaign for Equal Access to Justice. He has been active in both the local and state Family Law Section. In 1994, when then-president Peter Vogel contacted Koons, Fuller, Vanden Eykel & Robertson, the firm became one of the first six firms in Dallas to underwrite the Dallas Volunteer Attorney Program through the Campaign for Equal Access to Justice. To date, Koons Fuller has donated more than $200,000, not including what the firm’s individual attorneys have donated personally to the program. “We believe in pro bono and make it a priority from top to bottom,” says Mr. Vanden Eykel. The firm also made a sizable contribution to the Mansion Expansion Campaign. In the community, Mr. Vanden Eykel has served as a member of the Boards of Directors of the Dallas Opera, Heritage Farmstead, Collin County Children’s Advocacy Center, Inc., the Child Abuse Prevention Center and the Domestic Violence Legal Help Center. Born in Slayton, Minnesota, Mr. Vanden Eykel’s family moved to Wheaton, a western suburb of Chicago when he was two years old. Early in life, Ike thought about becoming a minister. However, in seventh grade, he took an aptitude test that recommended he become a lawyer. By the time that Ike had made up his mind to pursue an education in law, he had already obtained a Bachelor of Science degree from Drake University and family was on the move again. Mr. Vanden Eykel’s father was a captain with American Airlines and was head of Flight Training when the organization moved its headquarters from New York to Dallas-Fort Worth. The family followed. Now in Texas and ready to embark on the next part of his journey, Mr. Vanden Eykel decided to attend Baylor Law School to become a trial lawyer. He graduated with his JD from Baylor in 1973. After law school, he settled in Dallas and started practicing business litigation with Stroud & Smith, a firm which ultimately merged with Vial Hamilton. He continued his business litigation practice continued on page 11
Becoming part of the solution: Donors Contribute to the Campaign for Equal Access to Justice
Top, left: Michael & Judy Shore Top, right: DBA President Christina Melton Crain poses with Equal Access to Justice Campaign donors (left to right, back row) Robert Tobey of the DBA Business Litigation Section; DBA President-Elect Ike Vanden Eykel, managing partner, Koons, Fuller, Vanden Eykel & Robertson, P.C., Andy Payne of Payne Mitchell Law Group; (front row) Alan Dorantes of AT&T; Sally Crawford, partner, Jones Day; and Campaign Chair Scott McElhaney, partner with Jackson Walker, LLP. Left: Hon. Deborah Hankinson by Alicia Hernandez
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he Dallas Bar Association and Legal Aid of NorthWest Texas will recognize major donors to the Annual Campaign for Equal Access to Justice at the Inaugural of Ike Vanden Eykel on January 23. The annual fundraising campaign culminates at the Inaugural and supports the Dallas Volunteer Attorney Program, a joint program of the Dallas Bar Association and Legal Aid of NorthWest Texas. Since it began in 1993, the Campaign has raised more than $4.7 million for legal aid to the poor. Michael and Judy Keller Shore have been major donors to the campaign for 12 years, supporting this year’s Campaign with a gift of $25,000. The Shores have donated $280,000 to the campaign since 1999. Honorable Deborah G. Hankinson, a major donor for seven years, continues to demonstrate her support for legal services to the poor. Justice Hankinson contributed $25,000 to this year’s Campaign, and she has given $140,000 to the campaign since 2003. Payne Mitchell Law Group donated $25,000 to this year’s campaign. Over the last three years, Andrew Payne and his firm have donated $51,750 to the Campaign. “Payne Mitchell Law Group is pleased to again support DVAP,” says Andy Payne. “Lawyers alone can provide life-changing pro bono services. As a profession, we have an obligation to commit both time and resources to pro bono legal services. Payne Mitchell is proud to do their part in DVAP’s important work.”
Inside 3 The 2010 Vision: Bar Presidents Look Forward 6 Perfection of Liens 8 Trial Masters 12 Green-Tinted Commercial Office Leases
Koons, Fuller, Vanden Eykel & Robertson, P.C. has been a major donor for 15 years. With their 2010 gift of $15,000, the firm has contributed more than $200,000 to the Campaign. The following have generously donated at the $10,000 level: AT&T, the DBA Business Litigation Section, Exxon Mobil Corporation, Jones Day and the Thompson & Knight Foundation. As of our print date, the campaign has raised more than $440,030. Dedicated volunteers have donated their time and fundraising skills to make this year’s campaign a success. Scott M. McElhaney, a partner with Jackson Walker LLP, a DBA Community Service Fund board member and Vice-Chair of the 2009 DBA Board of Directors, is this year’s Campaign Chair. Jerry Alexander, a partner with Passman & Jones, P.C. and a member of the 2009 DBA Board of Directors, is this year’s Vice-Chair. The 2009 Campaign Committee Members are 2007 DBA President Beverly Godbey, 2009 DBA President-Elect Ike Vanden Eykel, 2009 Second Vice President Paul K. Stafford, 2009 DBA Board Chair Sally Crawford, 1990 DBA President Al Ellis, Mike Forshey, Michael Hurst, Christina McCracken, Greg Sampson, Anne Shuttee, Lindsey Stengle, Dena Stroh and Diane Sumoski. As a part of the annual campaign, the committee sponsored several telephone banks where lawyers volunteered to call attorneys in continued on page 13
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