THL_NovDec23 by QuantumSUR

Law School and the Practice of Law, the Hard Way Over 50 Years of Law: My Journey From Law School to the Judiciary In Their Own Words: Memories From Former Editors in Chief of The Houston Lawyer The Houston Lawyer at 60 nch 74th Annual Harvest Celebration

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THE HOUSTON

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Volume 61 – Number 3

THL Celebrates Six Decades of Publishing

November/December 2023

Norton Rose Fulbright is proud to support the 74th Annual Harvest Celebration benefitting Houston Volunteer Lawyers. Law around the world nortonrosefulbright.com

contents November/December 2023

Volume 61 Number 3

FEATURES

50 Years of Law: My Journey 10 Over From Law School to the Judiciary By The Honorable Josefina M. Rendón

School and the Practice of 12 Law Law, the Hard Way By David T. López

Their Own Words: Memories 14 InFrom Former Editors in Chief of The Houston Lawyer By Tara Shockley

18 The Houston Lawyer at 60 By Tara Shockley

the City with Justice: 22 Painting Downtown Murals Reflect

UN’s Sustainable Development Goals By Anna Archer and Kristen Lee

Annual Harvest Celebration: 28 74th Celebrating Pro Bono and the Power of Houston’s Legal Community

The Houston Lawyer

Annual Harvest Celebration 30 74th Sponsors

The Houston Lawyer (ISSN 0439-660X, U.S.P.S 008-175) is published bimonthly by The Houston Bar Association, 1111 Bagby Street, FLB 200, Houston, TX 77002. Periodical postage paid at Houston, Texas. Subscription rate: $12 for members. $25.00 non-members. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to: The Houston Lawyer, 1111 Bagby Street, FLB 200, Houston, TX 77002. Telephone: 713-759-1133. All editorial inquiries should be addressed to The Houston Lawyer at the above address. All advertising inquiries should be addressed to: Quantum/SUR, 10306 Olympia Dr., Houston, TX 77042, 281-955-2449 ext 1, www.thehoustonlawyer.com, e-mail: leo@quantumsur. com. Views expressed in The Houston Lawyer are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the editors or the Houston Bar Association. Publishing of an advertisement does not imply endorsement of any product or service offered. ©The Houston Bar Association/QuantumSUR, Inc., 2023. All rights reserved.

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edicated, aspiring lawyers bring their passion for justice, excellence, and service. South Texas College of Law Houston provides them awardwinning programs, real-world experiences that make them practice ready, and a supportive community. Because of this exceptional legal education, an engaged network of more than 16,000 purposedriven alumni now lead and serve with distinction — across Texas and the nation.

WHERE PASSION IGNITES PURPOSE

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November/December 2023

contents November/December 2023

Volume 61 Number 3

departments

Message 6 President’s Celebrating 60 Years of an Informed

and Engaged Bench and Bar

By Diana Gomez

the Editor 8 From Celebrating 60 Years By Liz Malpass

Giving Back 32 Lawyers Fostering Connections: The Impact

of a Judge-Founded Program to Mentor Foster Care Youth By The Honorable Dena Fisher

Family 33 Law–TheIn TheGuzman Family

–The Agosto Family

THE RECORD 36 OFF Tangoing With a Tax Lawyer

By Dave Louie and Ania Czarnecka

Profile in professionalism 37 AAlamdar Hamdani

United States Attorney (USA) for the Southern District of Texas

Spotlight 38 committee AIDS Outreach Committee:

Connecting the Legal Community With Those in Need

By David Miller, Hilary Tyson, Anna McMullen, and Staci Wilson

Section Spotlight 39 Probate, Trusts & Estates Section By Lane Morrison

reviews 40 Media Murdaugh Murders: A Southern Scandal,

Season 2

Reviewed by Harrison Long

Dinners with Ruth: A Memoir on the Power of Friendships Reviewed by Jennifer Smith

trends 41 legal Gregory v. Chohan: Compensating

for Mental Anguish and Loss of Companionship By Nikki Morris

The Houston Lawyer

Personal-Jurisdiction and “Dieselgate” in State v. Volkswagen Aktiengesellschaft By Tony Lucisano

44 Litigation MarketPlace 4 November/December 2023

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Arnold & Porter’s Houston office was established in 2014 and provides critical litigation, regulatory, and transactional representation to clients in Texas and around the world. Learn more about our globally integrated law firm at arnoldporter.com

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president’s message By Diana Gomez Chamberlain Hrdlicka

Celebrating 60 Years of an Informed and Engaged Bench and Bar

The Houston Lawyer

I often use the occasion to remind the audience and myself that he power of Houston’s legal community never ceases to we are all trying to do the best we can while juggling some of the amaze me. same difficulties. We never know what other people are dealing We recently celebrated the 74th Annual Harvest Celwith in their lives. When we extend professional courtesy and give ebration at River Oaks Country Club on November 13, others—including opposing counsel—the benefit of the doubt, it proudly sponsored by the HBA, the Houston Bar Founnot only benefits the other person, but it also benefits us. As I like dation, and the Houston Bar Association Auxiliary. It was a wonto say, the practice of law is stressful enough; we can advocate derful evening of fellowship and record-breaking fundraising benwell for our clients without trying to make the life of another indiefiting Houston Volunteer Lawyers (HVL), the largest provider of vidual miserable. pro bono legal services in Harris CounOur judiciary also plays an importy and the surrounding areas. As HBA tant role in setting a tone of profespresident, I was proud to serve as cosionalism and respect. That role was chair of this year’s celebration, alongon full display at the pre-event held at side HBA Treasurer Daniella Landers this year’s Harvest Celebration, where and HBF Chair Monica Karuturi. Chief Justice Nathan L. Hecht, Chief It is especially fitting to write about Justice Thomas R. Phillips, and HBA the Harvest Celebration in this issue Past President Warren Harris held a commemorating The Houston Lawyer’s discussion marking the 35th anniver60th anniversary since the magazine (L to R) Chamberlain Hrdlicka Shareholder R. Kyle Hawes, premiered at what was then the Harvest South Texas College of Law Houston Dean Michael F. Barry, HBA sary of the Texas Lawyer’s Creed and President Diana Gomez, and the Honorable Michael Gomez of the its goal of promoting the highest valParty on November 6, 1963. This pub129th Civil District Court. ues of ethical and professional conduct and equal access to compelication began as a simple digest for attendees. Since then, it has tent representation, including through crucial pro bono services. grown alongside Houston’s legal profession. Former Managing EdiWe are fortunate that our judiciary is incredibly active, includtor Tara Shockley, who served at the HBA for 41 years, writes about ing in The Houston Lawyer, both as the subject of its articles and as the magazine’s evolution on page 18 of this issue. the authors who write them. In this anniversary edition, the HonFor 60 years, The Houston Lawyer has informed and engaged the orable Josefina Rendón, a longtime member of The Houston Lawbench and the bar. In addition to articles on legal developments yer editorial board, reflects on her 50-year journey in law on page at the local, state, and federal level, our magazine spotlights HBA 10. The Honorable Dena Fisher writes about the Houston PEARLS members and their amazing work in our community. Foundation, a program co-founded by three Harris County judges Fifteen years ago, The Houston Lawyer asked me to write the in 2021 to provide mentorship and support for youth in foster “Profile in Professionalism” column for one of its issues. Recently, care on page 32. In addition, the Honorable Eva Guzman and her while unpacking in my renovated office, I came across the article. daughter Melanie write about their shared dedication to the law in As a young attorney, individuals who modeled grace and profesthis issue’s “Law in the Family” profile on page 33. sionalism surrounded me, and it inspired me to write the words in Thank you to our judiciary for joining us in our service to my column that still resonate with me today: “We should always Houston’s legal profession and the community. And thank you all treat people with kindness and respect.” U.S. Attorney Alamdar for your support of HVL through the Harvest Celebration, and for Hamdani extols the same message beautifully in his “Profile in your continued support of The Houston Lawyer over the past 60 Professionalism” column in this issue on page 37. years. On behalf of the HBA, I wish everyone a wonderful holiday This year, I have had the wonderful opportunity to speak at a season! number of events, frequently for law students and new attorneys. 6 November/December 2023

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BOARD OF DIRECTORS President

Secretary

President-Elect

Treasurer

First Vice President

Immediate Past President

Diana Gomez

Collin Cox

David Harrell

Daniella Landers

Kaylan Dunn

Christopher V. Popov

Second Vice President

Greg Ulmer

DIRECTORS (2023-2025) Carter Dugan Jeff Oldham

Greg Moore Colin Pogge

DIRECTORS (2022-2024) Keri Brown Samantha Torres

Robert Painter

DIRECTORS (2023-2024) Seepan V. Parseghian

editorial staff Editor in Chief

Liz Malpass Associate Editors

Anna M. Archer Nikki Morris Andrew Pearce

Sydney Huber Bateman Lane Morrison Braden Riley

Editorial Board

Anietie Akpan Nicholas Beekhuizen Hon. Kyle Carter Teresa Hudson Harrison Long Dave Louie Raymond Panneton Hon. Josefina Rendón Kyle Steingreaber Mark Yablon

Jaclyn Barbosa Natasha Breaux Dasha K. Hodge Kristen Lee David T. Lopez Eli Medina Ciara Perritano Jennifer Smith Rachael Thompson

Managing Editor

Maggie Martin

HBA office staff Executive Director.................... Mindy G. Davidson Associate Executive Director....... Ashley G. Steininger Receptionist and Membership Assistant............... Fabiola Garcia Controller ............................... Sarah Kole Director, Marketing and Communications ..................... Maggie Martin Communications Specialist........ Briana Ramirez Education Coordinator ................. Alli Hessel Director, Projects and Events...... Bonnie Simmons Projects and Events Assistant..... Georgina Peña Director, Membership and Technology Services................. Ron Riojas

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Marta M. Mejía

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Mary Chavoustie

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from the editor By Liz Malpass Baker Botts L.L.P.

Associate Editors

Anna M. Archer U.S. District Court

Sydney Huber Bateman Horne Rota Moos

Nikki Morris BakerHostetler

Lane Morrison Bush Seyferth

The Houston Lawyer

Andrew Pearce BoyarMiller

Braden Riley Cozen O’Connor

Celebrating 60 Years

ixty years ago, a handful of lawyers compiled the first issue of The Houston Lawyer, a small pamphlet circulated at the Harvest Celebration. In doing so, they created a legacy. As we reflect on the magazine’s past in this issue, we are reminded of the incredible journey that we, as a legal community, have traveled over the last 60 years. When the magazine was founded, attorneys pored over the beige and gilt-edged bindings of South Western Reporters to gather the legal authority for briefs that they drafted by hand. Today, those South Western Reporters are largely decorative, serving as an atmospheric backdrop for hours spent on Zoom depositions, churning through a revolving door of incoming emails, or clicking through cases on Westlaw. Apart from the substantial shifts in the way we perform these day-to-day tasks, Houston’s population and economy have also boomed, and the number of lawyers, law firms, and courts—particularly in recent years—has likewise expanded and diversified in an effort to meet the city’s changing needs. The pages of this publication bear witness to the evolution of our legal system, the diversification of the legal community, the challenges this community has overcome, and the triumphs we’ve celebrated. It is a testament to the dedication, hard work, and commitment of not only the individuals who have contributed to the magazine, but also the rich history of the Houston Bar Association. Two of our editorial board members, the Honorable Josefina M. Rendón and David T. López, have been practicing for nearly as long as the magazine has been in circulation, and have personally experienced many of these transformations. In these pages, they share their accounts and perspectives on their decades-long practices, and the way that they, the legal community, and the practice have changed over time. In commemorating this milestone issue, we are also mindful to express our gratitude to those who paved the way before us. For 41 of our 60 years, the wonderful Tara Shockley served as the managing editor of The

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Houston Lawyer, guiding decades of editors through the many small trials and triumphs of each issue’s publication schedule. I had the good fortune of joining the editorial board before Tara retired and received the benefit of her ready smile and sound counsel throughout those years. Although she has purportedly retired, Tara took up the mantle of reaching out to six decades of editors in chief to gather their reflections about their time on the magazine. It is unsurprising that Tara features prominently in many of those remembrances. Apart from her unfailing optimism and incredible hard work, Tara also lent this editorial board her institutional knowledge. Much of that knowledge is reflected in her article about the history of this magazine and its many evolutions from 1963 to its current form. There is no doubt that without her guidance and attention to detail, the magazine would not be what it is today. Maggie Martin, Tara’s successor and our current managing editor, is already doing an incredible job leading The Houston Lawyer into its next 60 years. In another example of editorial board members who continue to serve beyond the call of duty, Anna Archer, a former editor in chief and the current host (for the second year running) of our podcast, Behind the Lines, will be featuring many past editors on the podcast to talk about their contributions, both on and off The Houston Lawyer, as well as authors whose award-winning articles have appeared in our pages. Anna has also submitted a wonderful article with editorial board member Kristen Lee describing the background behind the murals that have materialized on 17 of our downtown skyscrapers over the past year. Thank you to our two guest editors, Jaclyn Barbosa and Teresa Hudson, for helping us produce this milestone issue. Lastly, we are grateful to the Houston Bar Association and to our readers, who have supported the magazine for the last 60 years. Thank you for reading The Houston Lawyer.

EDITORS OF THE HOUSTON LAWYER 1963-1964 *Quinnan H. Hodges 1964-1965 *Harold Lloyd 1965-1966 *Harold Lloyd/ Joseph Jaworski 1966-1967 *George L. Robertson / *Melvin W. Parse, Jr. 1967-1968 *Melvin W. Parse, Jr. 1968-1974 *John Teed 1974-1975 Jim M. Perdue 1975-1978 *Ralph S. Carrigan 1978-1980 The Hon. Mary Bacon 1980-1981 Otway B. Denny, Jr. 1981-1982 Dan S. Boyd 1982-1983 Chris C. Pappas/John B. Lay 1983-1984 John B. Lay 1984-1985 Chris C. Pappas 1985-1986 Hartley H. Hampton 1986-1987 The Hon. Sim Lake 1987-1988 W. Scott Carpenter 1988-1990 *Joel M. Androphy 1990-1991 Lynne Liberato 1991-1992 Warren W. Harris 1992-1993 Patrick L. Hughes 1993-1994 Steven I. Soffer 1994-1995 Amy Karff Halevy 1995-1996 Elizabeth Black Berry 1996-1997 Susan S. Septimus 1997-1998 David J. Levy 1998-1999 Todd J. Zucker 1999-2000 Ruth B. Downes 2000-2001 Tim T. McInturf 2001-2002 Lionel M. Schooler 2002-2003 Ruth E. Piller 2003-2004 Ryan J. Maierson 2004-2005 Patrice Pujol 2005-2006 Brad A. Allen 2006-2007 Michelle Hoogendam Cash 2007-2008 *David V. Wilson II 2008-2009 *Fred A. Simpson 2009-2010 Ann D. Zeigler 2010-2011 John S. Gray 2011-2012 Tamara Stiner Toomer 2012-2013 Keri D. Brown 2013-2014 Robert Painter 2014-2015 Robert Painter 2015-2016 Angela Dixon 2016-2017 Jill Yaziji 2017-2018 Farrah Martinez 2018-2019 Polly Fohn 2019-2020 Taunya Painter 2020-2021 Anna Archer 2021-2022 Anietie Akpan 2022-2023 Brooksie Bonvillain Boutet 2023-2024 Liz Malpass *Deceased thehoustonlawyer.com

November/December 2023

By The Honorable Josefina M. Rendón

Over 50 Years of Law:

My Journey From Law School to the Judiciary

he Houston Lawyer is celebrating its 60th anniversary. As a longtime member of its board, I wanted to share some of my experiences as a lawyer. As I reminisced on my career, I realized that three seems to be my lucky number. I started law school in 1973, became a judge in 1983, and became a mediator in 1993. I have been a student of law for 50 years, a judge for 40, and a mediator for 30. In between, I got married (my husband Ruben is also a lawyer). We had a son and a daughter and now we have three lovely grandchildren. There are also three themes that have changed through these 50 years that are worth discussing: (1) Technology, (2) Alternative Dispute Resolution, and (3) Diversification of the Profession. I could write a book about each of these topics, but I will just summarize here. Technology When I started law school in 1973, computers were already in use. The world around us was not a computer-less world but a world of huge computers that were less widespread than they are now. In the early 70s, the University of Houston had a whole basement by the main library dedicated to housing huge computers. To perform legal research, you went to the library, looked in the library catalog (composed of little drawers filled with cards about books), and then walked to the area of the library that had the books you wanted. Research and writing were usually done by hand. When I started to practice law, legal paperwork was still mostly done 10 November/December 2023

by hand or using typewriters. I got our first computer at home in the mid-80s and my then-7-year-old son and I, fascinated by it, quickly learned to use it. I also remember the very first laptop I ever saw. I was already a judge and attorney Brian Quintero had this portable computer where he read and wrote information from the trial we were having. Excited to see that brand new technology, I bought my very first laptop soon afterward. I’m writing this piece on a laptop, now the norm. I also love and use Zoom and got comfortable with it soon after the pandemic dramatically increased our need for technology. And, of course, there is ChatGPT, of which I still must learn more. All these things would have sounded like science fiction back then, but now they are indispensable to our practice. Alternative Dispute Resolution My friend Judy Dougherty was one of the first mediators in Texas. She was also cofounder of the Texas Association of Mediators. She tells of a time when she had the opportunity to give a speech about mediation to an audience of lawyers. She remembers how they laughed as she spoke about the concept and how they disregarded her talk. Our alternative dispute resolution statute in Texas became law in 1987.1 Justice Frank Evans, chief of the First Court of Appeals, discovered mediation and fell in love with it. He started to talk to our state’s legislators and judges about it and succeeded in getting the alternative dispute resolution law passed. Fortunately, by then, the practice of mediation had already slowly started

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in our state. In fact, the Dispute Resolution Center (“DRC”) in Houston, founded in 1980, was one of the first three DRCs in the nation. I did not experience mediation until after I became a judge. I became familiar with it when a prosecutor recommended mediation in a Misdemeanor C assault case that I was presiding over. There were two elderly gentlemen who were neighbors and one was accused of assaulting the other. After the accused offender pled not guilty, the prosecutor suggested mediation. After conferring with the parties, I sent them to mediation with the DRC. Weeks later, they came back with an agreement where the parties apologized to each other, the “victim” agreed not to throw trash in the defendant’s backyard, and the defendant promised not to play the piano after a certain time at night. I quickly realized that as judge I had the power to find somebody guilty or not guilty but, either way, this back-and-forth conflict would have escalated to a more serious and violent conflict. Instead, the parties reached a creative agreement that solved their dispute. I then started sending cases to mediation with great results and became a mediator soon after. Diversification of the Profession When I started law school in 1973, there were very few women and minority lawyers in Houston. In fact, there was only one Hispanic woman attorney in town, Rosemary Saucillo. Around that year, local law schools started acknowledging diversity and admitting more women and minorities. Still, it took many years for minorities to be represented in proportionate numbers. Though there were very few of us women and minorities in law school, it was still much better than my first year in college at the University of Texas at El Paso, when my sociology professor told me that he noticed I had an accent and that his class was very hard. “I don’t think you’ll make it,” he said. “So maybe you should quit now before it’s too late.” I was actually more amused than offended by his ignorance and did not quit. And the rest is history.

Fortunately, in law school, I don’t remember experiencing discrimination. While still in school, I was invited to be a teaching assistant for a research and writing class and to do some research for two different professors. I guess my gender did not affect their choices. I wish I could say the same about being a lawyer, but after graduating and passing the bar, I went into the real world of the practice of law. Because there were so few Latina attorneys, and partly because of my youth, people were often surprised that I was an attorney. And yes, for several years I was treated differently than other lawyers. Even after becoming a judge in 1983, people assumed I was a party to a case, not the judge. Amusingly, my clerk happened to be a middle-aged white man and people assumed he was the judge. Once, I was off the bench in the courtroom when a lawyer came and very discourteously told me he needed to see the judge. My clerk came in and the lawyer immediately assumed that my clerk was the judge and treated

him with the expected courtesy. My clerk laughed as he told the lawyer “You just talked to her, the judge.” The lawyer, by then embarrassed and apologetic, came back to me. Nowadays, law schools and our profession are much more diverse. The number of women and minority lawyers have become more proportionate to the diversity of our city and or state. But as recently as this year, women and minorities are still making history by being the first at something in our profession. For instance, it was this year when Diana Gomez became the Houston Bar Association’s first Latina president. This trend of diversity, equity, and inclusion in the field of law is picking up in our profession for all of us. Looking back, the Houston Bar Association, and The Houston Lawyer, has been women-led for many years. Kay Sim served as HBA executive director for 38 years and Tara Shockley served as managing editor of The Houston Lawyer for 41 years. I have had the pleasure of working with both of

them through many years. They were each followed respectively by Mindy Davidson and Maggie Martin, of whom I am equally proud for their excellent leadership. In conclusion, the world of law has changed dramatically over the last 50 years. It has been a pleasure seeing it happen. I still love the law and love writing about it. The Honorable Josefina M. Rendón is a 1976 graduate of the University of Houston Law Center. She is a former state district judge and is currently a special judge for the Harris County justice of the peace courts. She is also a proud longtime member of The Houston Lawyer editorial board. Endnotes

1. Texas Alternative Dispute Resolution Act, TEX. CIV. PRAC. & REM. CODE § 154.001 et seq.

Leading the Way King & Spalding proudly supports the Houston Bar Association in its vital mission to serve the needs of Houston-area lawyers and enhance the legal profession. kslaw.com thehoustonlawyer.com

November/December 2023

By David T. López

Law School and the Practice of Law, the Hard Way

n my second semester at South Texas College of Law, I commuted daily from San Antonio. That had not been my intent, particularly since I lived in Houston and had signed up for a full load of 15 or 16 hours. Despite having the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund (“MALDEF”) pay for my tuition and books, I had to keep my full-time job as field representative of the national American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (“AFL-CIO”). I had responsibilities throughout Texas and had been given a special assignment away from my home in Houston. Since limitations surely are less than 50 years, I now can admit that I did not attend all the classes for which I was credited. Attendance was kept on index cards for each student, on which class dates were stamped with space for a student’s signature. After class, the office stamped “Absent” on the current date that was not signed. When a previous absence had not been noted on classes I missed, I signed on the available blank spaces. I nevertheless worked hard on the cases to be discussed, even if I could not attend the class. After driving to class from San Antonio, I was not very awake, but managed because most professors called on students in alphabetical order. I could figure out the case I was to discuss and review it while others were reciting. Without disparaging the Socratic method, I ruminate on whether I graduated at the top of my class because I was not fully awake for the discussions between the professors and my classmates. More likely,

my exam papers got better grades because they were more legible. Unlike many of my fellow students, who handwrote their exams, I brought my typewriter, was sent to a separate room so I would not disturb other test takers, and I applied my news reporter experience to fashion my arguments. My ability to attend law school was fortuitous. I was the labor representative handling a strike at a manufacturing plant in El Paso. Unable to find a labor lawyer closer than Amarillo to assist, I had to handle negotiations and matters before the National Labor Relations Board. It was 1968 and MALDEF opened its doors after receiving a $2.2 million grant from the Ford Foundation. One of the founders of MALDEF was a lawyer from El Paso. He was aware of my work with the union and recommended me for a law school scholarship. I graduated from South Texas in the class of 1971. Although I was at the top of my class, I did not receive any employment offers from any law firms, perhaps because I was still a labor representative or perhaps because that job kept me from working on applications. I obtained a small loan and opened a solo office. Lawyers at the time could not advertise. The Citizens for Good Schools advocacy group was exploring the potential addition of a Latino to their three-candidate slate for the Houston Independent School District Board of Education, and I considered that as a way of getting known. The group selected me based on my previous work covering education for newspapers in Laredo and Corpus Christi. When my endorsement was proposed to the group, some members walked out, arguing that having a Latino on the slate would end with all three candidates being defeated. There were 12 candidates for the position for which I ran. I received the largest number of votes and was elected without a runoff. Ironically, I became better known in town but had to dedicate considerable time to ongoing desegregation and other problems of Houston schools, instead of developing my solo practice. Without the support and mentoring of an established law firm, I plunged into

litigation. My first court case was one I might have been counseled to avoid—an employment discrimination case, naming as defendant the federal agency charged with enforcing equal employment opportunity—the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Even though a sympathetic federal judge issued a preliminary injunction, my client was not satisfied. She replaced me, then sued me, opposing counsel, and the judge. As the case progressed, she added each judge on the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals as defendants and, finally, each justice of the United States Supreme Court. I made it all the way to the Supreme Court with my first case, but as a defendant. My first four years as a lawyer coincided with my term on the school board, so I took a wide variety of cases besides employment—family law, personal injury, commercial, and even a patent case. In my continuing solo practice, I was appointed to represent a class of all Latino inmates in Texas jails who were complaining of racial discrimination. I had cases that established significant precedent, including an appellate decision that presaged the federal law on disability discrimination. My solo firm grew to 13 associates and two branch offices in Austin and the Rio Grande Valley. In 1998, I completed courses in mediation and domestic and international arbitration and became a JAMS mediation and arbitration panelist. I changed to the American Arbitration Association and International Centre for Dispute Resolution when JAMS required panelists to work full time. I have returned to solo practice, concentrating on arbitration and mediation. My recent decision to focus on dispute resolution is based on my litigation experience and my participation in mediation and arbitration as an advocate. I was repeatedly frustrated by mediators initially addressing only monetary issues. Many of my clients were dissatisfied with a mediated settlement, later wanting to reject it, including one who waited three years before withdrawing the settlement funds ordered deposited in federal court. Now that I can treat mediation and arbitration more as an avocation than my profession, I hope to promote through

my services and collegial activities what I consider vital improvements to dispute resolution. I practice and recommend thorough preparation for conducting mediation, full consideration of the parties’ interests, seeking satisfaction of all and, where possible, restoration of the parties’ relationship. I practice and promote arbitration that conforms to its stated purposes of expedient and economical determinations. I am increasingly pleased to see continuous progress in the use of mediation and attention to the fulfillment of the parties’ expectations. David T. López, a labor and employment litigator for more than 50 years, is a past recipient of the Texas Bar Foundation’s Ronald D. Secrest Outstanding Trial Lawyer Award. He now limits court practice and concentrates on arbitration and mediation. David is also a member of The Houston Lawyer editorial board.

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under Joel Androphy and Lynne Liberato when they were editors in chief. During that time, they greatly raised the magazine’s profile and reshaped its content. HBA Past President Warren W. Harris (2018-2019), EIC 1991-1992

By Tara Shockley

In Their Own Words:

Memories From W Former Editors in Chief of The Houston Lawyer

ach attorney who has served on the editorial board of The Houston Lawyer has contributed to the magazine’s success over six decades. Those who took on the job of editor in chief (“EIC”) also left their marks on the magazine’s character through scholarship, creativity, and hard work. We asked former EICs to share a memory, observation, or accomplishment about their time leading the magazine’s editorial board.

hen I was editor, I was still a young lawyer trying to make a reputation. I tried to use a minor talent I had by creating some humorous lawyer cartoons. Sadly, that effort was too successful. When I met people they would say, “Oh, you’re the guy who draws the cartoons.” Not something I wanted to be known for, so that was the end of my cartoonist career. Jim Perdue, EIC 1974-1975

y 1980, editors of the journal began advocating for the employment of a full-time director of communications and for more substantive content for the magazine, correctly asserting that the Houston Bar Association’s membership deserved an expanded publication with articles of substance about evolving law. This resulted, first, in the employment of Tara Shockley, a major step forward for the publication. That was followed by an expanded format 14 November/December 2023

with greater substantive content, a formula that has continued successfully for 42 years. John B. Lay, EIC 1982-1983 and 1983-1984

hen I was editor in chief, my great good fortune was to have Tara do all of the actual editorial work. I shudder to think what we would have published without her guidance. Hartley H. Hampton, EIC 1985-1986

t was always a pleasure working with The Houston Lawyer’s staff because of their experience and professionalism. They kept the train on track without delay! W. Scott Carpenter, EIC 1987-1988

recall vividly when the editorial board passed around a proposed cover illustration on which the artist had drawn all white, male lawyers. We directed that he add female and African-American faces. This seemingly minor modification was an example of our l980s sensitivity to the rapid evolution of the composition of our profession. HBA Past President Lynne Liberato (1993-1994), EIC 1990-1991

he Houston Lawyer is dear to me because it was the first Houston Bar Association (“HBA”) committee on which I served. I worked on the editorial board

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e wanted to develop a backlog of articles for our issues. I remain grateful to our tireless editorial board and contributors for making that happen. And for Tara Shockley, who ensured deadlines were met and that content fit the guidelines. Thanks to our predecessors, our magazine was useful. Patrick L. Hughes, EIC 1992-1993

joined the editorial board under the very capable leadership of Joel Androphy. My first meetings were in Joel’s office. When Lynne Liberato appointed me editor in chief, I believe I was the first who was not in private practice. Being from the corporate world, I brought a different perspective to the magazine, particularly to the editorial page. It was an honor and a privilege to serve the HBA in this way. Steven I. Soffer, EIC 1993-1994

uring my tenure on the editorial board, we celebrated the 200th anniversary of the adoption of the Bill of Rights. Working on the issue dedicated to that milestone was a wonderful experience. The editorial board was an extremely collaborative group of lawyers focused on addressing legal topics that would interest HBA readers. Amy Karff Halevy, EIC 1994-1995

y friend Joel Androphy (may his memory be a blessing), encouraged me to become involved with the HBA. The Houston Lawyer was the most challenging of my volunteer work. The hard-working and creative board members and the HBA staff made my year as editor in chief successful and memorable. Elizabeth Black Berry, EIC 1995-1996

s a confirmed (by too many to count) “law nerd,” I was greatly honored to assume the position of editor in chief of The Houston Lawyer. My thanks extend to Tara Shockley and to the many attorneys who gave generously of their time and talents. Susan Septimus, EIC 1996-1997

was especially proud of the special issue on professionalism published in The Houston Lawyer’s November/ December 1998 issue. It explored the interplay between our adversarial litigation system, which requires a fight for victory, and mandatory ethical rules, aspirational creeds, and mentoring activities, which help preserve traditions of civility in the process. Todd J. Zucker, EIC 1998-1999

recall my co-editors fondly, a congenial and collaborative group, creative in writing and conscientious in editing. They made it easy to sit in the “chief” chair. One member told me, “We never had such quick meetings before!” I took it as a compliment, and still prefer brisk meetings! Ruth B. Downes, EIC 1999-2000

evant and informative. And of course, my lasting impression is that none of it would have been possible without Tara. Ryan J. Maierson, EIC 2003-2004

eing editor in chief of The Houston Lawyer in 2004-2005 may well be one of the most rewarding professional experiences of my legal career, primarily because of the people with whom I worked on the board—especially Managing Editor Tara Shockley, who kept order in a room full of opinionated lawyers. Patrice Pujol, EIC 2004-2005

erving on the editorial board of The Houston Lawyer continues to be one of my proudest moments as a lawyer. It is difficult to imagine a more diverse group of people and thoughts. Yet we combined to make the editorial board a cohesive team with the singular focus to provide the best magazine possible to reflect the

depth and breadth that is the Houston Bar Association. Brad A. Allen, EIC 2005-2006

he Houston Lawyer was a groundbreaking local bar publication containing well-researched, timely, and substantive articles, as well as showcasing bar events and members. My favorite issue had no specific theme and contained articles on several topics, which allowed me to compare it to the “perfect” country western song by David Allen Coe (requiring references to trains, prison, “momma,” and pickup trucks, among others) in the Editor’s Note. It was an honor to serve as editor in chief. Michelle Hoogendam Cash, EIC 2006-2007

t was my pleasure to serve The Houston Lawyer’s readers with legal information, plus the history of Houston and its legal community. The HBA President’s

y tenure as editor was marked by the advent of the new millennium. I therefore wanted to focus upon trends and practice challenges for lawyers and the HBA in the 21st century. Unfortunately, our first issue had to focus instead upon the flooding of downtown Houston in the summer of 2001. After that, I was fortunate to work with my diligent editorial board, and Tara Shockley in particular, to present consistently timely and comprehensive articles for our readership. Lionel M. Schooler, EIC 2001-2002

am still struck by the sense of earnest commitment that the volunteer editors of The Houston Lawyer brought to ensuring that each issue of the publication was relthehoustonlawyer.com

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Award I received really represented the hard work and talent of my entire board. Ann D. Zeigler, EIC 2009-2010

perience one that I will always remember fondly. Congrats on 60 years of excellence! Angela L. Dixon, EIC 2015-2016

s editor in chief from 2011-2012, I was most fond of the September/ October 2011 issue in which the editorial board commemorated the 175th anniversary of Texas Independence and the 175th birthday of Houston. Working in the background, I learned quite a bit about our state’s and city’s rich history, making it that much more rewarding in bringing the issue to THL’s readers. Tamara Stiner Toomer, EIC 2011-2012

hile serving as editor in chief was an honor, and having our pulse on the comings and goings of Houston’s preeminent lawyers and legal organizations was always educational and usually inspiring, the best part of being part of The Houston Lawyer was working with likeminded people who cared about what members of our profession were up to and who were excited to publish interesting stories. Keri Brown, EIC 2012-2013

he 60th anniversary of The Houston Lawyer gave me an opportunity to revisit the issues the 2016-2017 board published. That year, our 30-lawyer editorial board focused on mentoring, immigration, LGBT jurisprudence, juvenile justice, and leadership. While immigration, LGBTQIA+ rights, and juvenile jurisprudence have undergone many changes since then, the principles of mentoring and leadership remain constant and continue to define what we do every day. Jill Yaziji, EIC 2016-2017

W Former EIC Joel M. Androphy, pictured here with his children in the November/ December 1993 issue of the magazine, is fondly remembered by many former editors, HBA members, and members of the greater legal community.

hen a crisis hits, HBA editorial board members rise to the occasion to volunteer, give, and offer solutions. After Hurricane Harvey, many members suffered profound loss. Yet, they rose to the occasion to help others, proving the best leaders among us are givers who contribute without expecting anything in return. Farrah Martinez, EIC 2017-2018

had the unique experience of serving two consecutive years as editor in chief because of an unexpected death on the board. I often think of that person, Don Rogers, and so many other friends I made during my time on this outstanding HBA committee. Robert Painter, EIC 2013-2014 and 2014-2015

n a profession where our daily interactions are too often adversarial, serving as editor in chief of The Houston Lawyer, which takes pride in spotlighting the accomplishments and service of individual lawyers, left me with a deep respect for the humanity and compassion of the Houston bar. Polly Fohn, EIC 2018-2019

t was an honor to have served as the editor in chief of The Houston Lawyer for the 2015-2016 bar year. Working with such a wonderful board and staff made the ex-

16 November/December 2023

erving with fellow Houstonians and having a creative license to dive into issues facing our profession was, by far, the most rewarding voluntary experience

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in my career. Seize the opportunity and embrace an investment in The Houston Lawyer and lifelong friends! Taunya M. Painter, EIC 2019-2020

eing the editor in chief of The Houston Lawyer during the 2020-2021 bar year was both challenging and rewarding. We covered the pandemic, racial justice, the HBA’s 150th anniversary, and much more. The team worked together to produce issues that accurately documented these historic events and served as an important resource for Houston lawyers. Anna Archer, EIC 2020-2021

hough there are many accomplishments of the 2021-2022 editorial board that I am proud of, the publication of our Space Law issue (the first in the publication’s history), Women in the Law issue (a curated collection of columns celebrating women in Houston’s legal community), and the HBA veteran spotlight series, were particularly special to me. Anietie Akpan, EIC 2021-2022

n addition to service as the magazine’s editor in chief, I had the opportunity to start Behind the Lines: The Houston Lawyer Podcast. The companion podcast is a great way to further explore issues covered in print and provide on-the-go CLE opportunities to HBA members. I am glad that this offering continues today under Anna Archer’s leadership. Brooksie Bonvillain Boutet, EIC 2022-2023.

Tara Shockley joined the Houston Bar Association as communications director in 1980 and was named associate executive director in 2019. She served as managing editor for The Houston Lawyer from 1980 until her retirement in December 2021.

Equal Access Champions The firms and corporations listed below have agreed to assume a leadership role in providing equal access to justice for all Harris County citizens. Each has made a commitment to provide representation in a certain number of cases through the Houston Volunteers Lawyers. Abraham, Watkins, Nichols, Agosto, Aziz & Stogner Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP Angela Solice, Attorney at Law Archie Law PLLC Baker Botts L.L.P. BakerHostetler LLP Balch & Bingham LLP Beck Redden LLP Blank Rome LLP Bracewell LLP CenterPoint Energy, Inc. Chamberlain Hrdlicka Chevron USA Coane & Associates Dentons US LLP Elizabeth S. Pagel, PLLC Eversheds Sutherland US LLP Exxon Mobil Corporation Fleurinord Law PLLC Foley & Lardner LLP Frye and Benavidez, PLLC Fuqua & Associates, PC Gibbs & Bruns LLP Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP Gray Reed Greenberg Traurig, LLP Halliburton Hasley Scarano, L.L.P. Haynes and Boone, LLP Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP Jackson Walker Jenkins & Kamin, LLP Jeremy Northum, Attorney at Law

King & Spalding LLP Kirkland & Ellis LLP Law Office of Cindi L. Rickman Law Office of Norma Levine Trusch Law Office of Robert E. Price Law Offices of Omonzusi Imobioh Limbaga Law Locke Lord LLP LyondellBasell Industries Martin R.G. Marasigan Law Offices McDowell & Hetherington LLP McGarvey PLLC Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP Norton Rose Fulbright O’Melveny & Myers LLP Painter Law Firm PLLC Reed Smith LLP Royston, Rayzor, Vickery & Williams, LLP Sanchez Law Firm Shell USA Shipley Snell Montgomery LLP Shortt & Nguyen, P.C. Sidley Austin LLP Sorrels Law Squire Patton Boggs The Ericksen Law Firm The Jurek Law Group, PLLC Travis Bryan Law Group, PLLC Vinson & Elkins LLP Weycer, Kaplan, Pulaski & Zuber, P.C. Wilson, Cribbs, & Goren, P.C. Winstead PC Winston & Strawn LLP Yetter Coleman LLP thehoustonlawyer.com

November/December 2023

Before I joined the HBA, I was a newspaper reporter in Port Arthur when my husband accepted a job offer in Houston. I was ready for a new challenge. We moved in early September 1980, and on November 15th, I started work at the HBA. The late James B. Sales was HBA president and Otway B. Denny, Jr. was the editor in chief of The Houston Lawyer. My duties included writing and producing the Houston Bar Bulletin he Houston Bar Association (the HBA’s monthly newsletter), creat(“HBA”) is 153 years old. For ing brochures and program materials, 60 of those years, The Houston and serving as managing editor of the Lawyer has chronicled both magazine. developments in the law and For the first 20 years the legal community. of publication, the During that time, the magazine had an edimagazine has provided tor in chief, but no edia record of local, state, torial board. The first and federal law, and a issue of The Houston history of one of the Lawyer was distributlargest and most reed at the Harvest Party spected bar associa(now known as the tions in the nation. Harvest Celebration) Previous milestone on November 6, 1963, anniversary issues with Quinnan Hodges featured insight on serving as editor and the legal topics and Harold Lloyd serving community issues the as business manager. magazine has explored The magazine was a through the decades, The first issue of The Houston Lawyer monthly publication and I invite readers debuted at the Harvest Party on that would “keep pace to visit www.thehousNovember 6, 1963 as a 6-inch by with the growth of ton lawyer.com to read 9-inch digest. the Houston Bar Association and with more about its evolving content. This our growing community,” according to article focuses on the importance of Hodges’ first editor’s column. Those earvolunteer editors who have made The ly editors wrote many of the articles in Houston Lawyer an award-winning pubthe magazine, in addition to soliciting lication, and what happens behind the articles by members and judges. They scenes to make the publication possible. also had to sell the advertising to parSince November 1963, hundreds of tially offset the cost of the magazine. outstanding lawyers have gone far beIn 1977, the pressures of monthly yond the call by serving on the editorial deadlines and increasing costs led to board of The Houston Lawyer. They have the announcement of a new bimonthly contributed thousands of hours of their publication schedule. However, that time to research and write articles. They schedule also proved unfeasible, and have pored over millions of words to the magazine became a quarterly publiensure the content, grammar, and citacation for several years. In 1978, under tions are correct, interesting, and useful the editorship of Judge Mary Bacon, The to practicing attorneys and judges. I was Houston Lawyer underwent a dramatic privileged to work with the HBA, The visual change, expanding from a 6-inch Houston Lawyer, and these outstanding by 9-inch digest to The Houston Lawyer’s individuals for 41 years. By Tara Shockley

The Houston Lawyer at 60

current format. Editors in the early 1980s shouldered the bulk of editing and soliciting legal articles. The magazine went to a publication schedule of five issues a year. We did not have the luxury of a backlog of articles but ran those that were submitted unsolicited or obtained by the editor in chief calling and cajoling attorneys known to be experts on a topic we wanted to cover. The editor also helped me proof the entire magazine, a necessary task with an editorial staff of two. “Producing” the magazine was a significantly different process than it is today. It was not just editing and managing the articles and the printing schedule. I also set the type and created paper layouts or “spreads” on a drafting table before sending it to the printer. Typesetting meant using a magnetic card printer that was really a glorified electric typewriter. Articles were saved on a magnetized card about the size of a small envelope. To print galleys of type, the card was inserted into a separate piece of equipment called a reader. Then, I inserted special paper into the typewriter and pushed the print command. For bold or italic type, I had to put in a stop code and change out the typeball, an extremely time-consuming process for legal articles with case names and footnotes. It only took a few issues before I asked Otway Denny to petition the HBA board to invest in phototypesetting equipment. Our new equipment made it much easier to produce galleys of type, but the process involved chemical baths reminiscent of developing photos in a darkroom. Our first Mac computer followed a few years later, then we moved incrementally toward the digital age. The magazine moved into the mid80s with a focus on themed issues, legislative updates, book reviews, opinion pieces, and original cover art. In 1985, The Houston Lawyer made the transition to a bimonthly publication schedule. Although it featured color covers, most of the magazine, including photos, was

black and white until the 1990s. In 1982, the HBA added a professional communications assistant position that included advertising and graphic design for the magazine and other HBA publications. I have been fortunate to work with many talented communications professionals through the years. One long-serving communications assistant, Karen Ramsey, is now executive director of the Houston Lawyer Referral Service. As the communications department’s role in the HBA expanded, we sought small publishing companies that offered a turn-key operation for production and printing, while the content, editing, and proofing remained with the editorial board and managing editor. Since this time, The Houston Lawyer has benefitted from long-time vendors who have contributed to the success of the publication. In 2000, we partnered with Quantum/SUR, Inc. for magazine production and advertising sales. Quantum/SUR also maintains The Houston Lawyer

website and posts the digital edition, as well as maintains an archive of back issues starting in 2003. 1Vision handles the printing. Business Extension Bureau, our longest-serving vendor, mails each issue. As with any publication, the finished product does not always go as smoothly as we hope readers think it does. When I started at the HBA, I inherited some photos taken in various state government buildings in Austin. In the early 1980s, photographers often provided film images that were about three inches by four inches and could be enlarged to a high-resolution photo. I had used several of these on magazine covers, and I had one left that featured an empty conference table set with memo pads and pens for an upcoming meeting. It seemed an appropriate generic cover photo for our issue. A few days after sending everything to the printer, I received a proofing copy of the full magazine, but at the time, those were lowresolution copies, and everything was a

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little fuzzy. I sent it back for printing. sue out and saved someone in Austin, as finest legal writers in Houston and the A week or so later, I received high-reswell as ourselves, from an embarrassing state. olution printed copies and, as always, situation. The editor in chief began the tradiI sent one to our editor That is the “sausage tion of meeting with the incoming HBA in chief. A little while making” that goes on president and discussing topics to cover later, I got a concerned in any publication. New during the year, based on anticipated lephone call. If you look technology has vastly gal developments and the focus of the closely at the cover, he improved the printbar. Setting the general topics for all six said, you can read one of ing process and that fix magazines at the beginning of each bar the memos on the table. would no longer work, year reduced both stress and the time It contained a statement but we were fortunate spent in meetings. that no one would want at that moment in In 1990, Edipublished. I immediately time that it wasn’t tor in Chief called the printer and exquite there yet. Lynne Liberato plained why he could not In 1984, HBA championed send those magazines to President Frank the creation of The cover from the 25th anniversary issue of The Houston the mail house yet. Kay Davis realized that associate ediLawyer (November/December Sim, then-HBA executive an expanded editor positions 1988), featuring some of the director, and I huddled torial board would responsible for magazine’s past editors. in her office, desperately benefit a growing specific coltrying to figure out a sobar association and umns and editlution. The only thing its flagship publicaing duties. Not we could think of was to tion. Rather than only does this reprint the cover spread a single editor, he system distribFormer Houston Lawyer editors pose holding past issues with a different photo. appointed several ute the work of the magazine for the 50th The printer would have attorneys to serve among a larger anniversary issue. to remove all the covas an editorial board. group and streamline focus, but it also ers and rebind the issue That small group began creates a pathway for editorial board with the new cover. the tradition of dedicamembers who are interested in serving While we were mulltion and commitment as editor in chief. Editorial board meming over the time and that has expanded into bers often serve in several positions beexpense that would inthe large, diverse editofore being appointed to articles editor, a The cover from the 30th volve, I got a call back anniversary issue of The Houston rial boards that make The prerequisite to serving as editor in chief Lawyer (November/December from the printer. “Do you Houston Lawyer a nationthe next year and a path to ensure con1993), featuring past editors of have an eraser handy? ally respected, awardtinuity. the magazine. Rub the eraser over that winning publication. During the 2019-2020 bar year, editext on the memo pad. It Soon, more attortorial board member Brooksie Bonvilcomes off.” I tried it out, neys were interested in lain Boutet started a podcast based on and it did. working on the editorial each issue of the magazine. This new Over the next couple board. They had more medium gave editors the opportunity of days, most of the HBA contacts that resulted in to expand on articles, cover additional staff and a few temporary wider outreach to find related topics, and explore personal obemployees erased a small authors on relevant topservations from legal experts. Brooksie section of nearly 6,000 ics. HBA members began took on the role of podcast producer, as covers of The Houston contacting us with ofwell as host, and Behind the Lines: The Lawyer. I learned there is fers to write articles on Houston Lawyer Podcast, quickly took such a thing as an elechot topics or new develoff. When Brooksie became editor in tric eraser. Everything opments in the law. No chief, former editor in chief Anna ArFormer editors gathered at the in our boardroom was magazine’s printer to capture this longer strapped for good cher took on the job of producing and photo for the 40th anniversary covered in ink dust, and articles, the publication’s hosting the podcast. Anna continues issue of The Houston Lawyer, with some of my fellow staff assistance by Quantum/SUR staff editorial board could seto produce six episodes each year that and Woodallen Photography. members didn’t speak to lectively choose and efcomplement the topics in each issue and me for a long time. But we got our isfectively solicit articles from among the explore programs of the HBA. 20 November/December 2023

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Throughout The Houston Lawyer’s 60 years, the editors in chief and the editorial boards have been the engines that drive this publication. They have contributed style, substance, personality, expertise, and untold hours to the continued success of the magazine. The Houston Lawyer editorial board now typically includes 25-30 members from many practice areas and firm sizes, from solos to big firm partners to judges. They are a diverse group that has in common the desire to provide their fellow attorneys with informative, educational, inspirational articles on cuttingedge legal topics and skills for life. As a board, they are congenial, collaborative, and focused on excellence. Each member of the editorial board commits to attending a meeting at noon on the second Tuesday of each month, as well as writing, editing, and working with authors. Every article is edited and proofread at least three times. Each editor has a full-time practice yet spends an incredible amount of their free time

working on The Houston Lawyer. It was not unusual for me to wake up and check emails, only to find several of our editors had been discussing an article at 1:00 a.m. They balance the need for interesting, informative articles with the demands of deadlines. I appreciate each attorney who served as an editor during my 41 years with the magazine, as well as all of those who built the early foundation of The Houston Lawyer. The support of the HBA board and professional staff has also been crucial to the magazine’s success and continuity. I had the honor of working with iconic HBA Executive Director Kay Sim for four decades. Her support and guidance were invaluable, and she left an indelible legacy of member and community service. After Kay retired, HBA Executive Director Mindy Davidson continued to provide that crucial support, including managing the office during a year of working from home due to the COVID pandemic. Although Mindy has announced her retirement, she

will leave her own legacy of leadership through challenging times and changes in the profession and the workplace. Leaving The Houston Lawyer in the very capable hands of current Managing Editor Maggie Martin and my last editor in chief, Anietie Akpan, gave me a profound sense of confidence in the magazine’s continued success as I retired at the end of 2021. The thousands of members of the Houston Bar Association are the resources, the authors, and the inspiration for the magazine. Thank you all, and cheers to the next 60 years. Tara Shockley joined the Houston Bar Association as communications director in 1980 and was named associate executive director in 2019. She served as managing editor for The Houston Lawyer from 1980 until her retirement in December 2021.

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November/December 2023

By Anna Archer and Kristen Lee

Painting the City with Justice:

Downtown Murals Reflect UN’s Sustainable Development Goals

Lady Justice, by Victor Ash, Street Art for Mankind (SAM)

uring the past year or so, lawyers who work or drive downtown have witnessed something amazing.1 They may have looked out of their office windows and watched a beautiful mural depicting a woman holding the scales of justice come to life before their eyes or driven through the streets and been inspired by a mural of a Latina riding a horse whose lasso spells out “Freedom.”2 They may have wondered why there are so many new murals depicting themes that specifically speak to lawyers and what we care about. The murals are part of a project called “Big Art. Bigger Change.,” a partnership between the Houston Downtown Management District, Harris County, the City of Houston, TotalEnergies, and Exxon.3 The murals are curated by a nonprofit organization, Street Art for Mankind, and created by local and international artists. The project was conceived by Harris Coun-

ty Precinct 1 Commissioner Rodney Ellis,4 and its purpose is to “amplify social and environmental justice in Houston and beyond, and to beautify and redynamize the Downtown and make it ‘The New Street Art Destination.’”5 Commissioner Ellis’ office “has made public art an integral part of [its] efforts to celebrate the diverse community and history we are so proud of,” and he points out that “it’s more than just creating a public art culture or transforming downtown into an open-air museum. It’s also about framing these vital issues in ways that speak to the public and convey them without words.”6 Local leadership unanimously supported this historic art installation.7 The Idea The story of the Houston murals starts with Street Art for Mankind (SAM), a “non-profit organization that strongly believes in the power of Art to trigger social change.”8 The co-founders of SAM, Audrey and Thibault Decker, started the organization to raise awareness about child trafficking9 but have expanded its mission to include other human rights issues, including raising awareness about the United Nations’ (“UN”) Sustainable Development Goals (“SDGs”).10 The organization uses landmark murals to bring conversations about the issues they are tackling “‘to the street’ to reach a large and diverse public.” The SAM murals that can be found around the world are painted by more than 80 street artists with diverse styles and backgrounds who are dedicated to SAM’s mission of “bond[ing] communities and generations around human rights.” SAM, along with its volunteers, artists, and community partners, believe art can “make[] our world a better place.”11 SAM originally chose Houston for a project called “Zero Hunger,” aimed at eliminating hunger in the African American community, because it is a major U.S. city that “fight[s] pretty

well to solve these problems.” “Zero Hunger” is a 250-foot mural on the façade of the Hampton Inn near Minute Maid Park in downtown Houston. Commissioner Ellis was on a bike ride one day and happened to run into the Deckers as they were working on the mural. This started a “tremendous partnership between SAM, Harris County, and [the] downtown management district to reshape downtown.” Thibault Decker said “Houston has been an incredible adventure” and that he appreciates how engaged Houstonians are in the project. When SAM leaves, he said, the murals “belong to Houstonians.”12 The Legal Logistics A project like Big Art. Bigger Change. necessarily presents various legal issues and requires many contracts. The City of Houston (the “City”) and the Houston Downtown Management District (the “District”) entered into an “interlocal agreement for management and installation of artwork on public buildings” that required the District to manage the project and the City to provide some of the funding.13 The owners of the properties on which the murals were painted entered into agreements with SAM (the “Property Agreements”). Under the Property Agreements, the owners approved sketches prior to painting, and they provided access to, and allowed the murals to be painted on, their properties. They must allow the murals to remain on their buildings for at least one year. SAM provided a commercial general liability insurance policy listing each property owner as an additional insured and agreed to repair the artistic content if any portion of the mural is damaged.14 The artists provided release forms in which they agreed that the property owners could remove their artwork twelve months after completion. The property owners, in turn, cannot sell the artwork, modify it (even in part), or seek to make any

profit from the artwork without first obtaining the approval of both SAM and the artist.15 The Inspiration The themes of the murals in Houston are inspired by the UN’s 17 SDGs, and there is at least one mural in Houston for each of the 17 goals.16 These goals were adopted by the UN Member States in 2015 and are meant to “provide[] a blueprint for peace and prosperity for people and the planet, now and into the future.”17 When the Houston murals are complete, Houston will have the only mural collection curated by SAM that has at least one mural representing each of the SDGs.18 The 17 SDGs are part of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and are extremely ambitious. The general topics of the goals are as follows: (1) no poverty, (2) zero hunger, (3) good health and well-being, (4) quality education, (5) gender equality, (6) clean water and sanitation, (7) afford-

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able and clean energy, (8) decent work and economic growth, (9) industry, innovation, and infrastructure, (10) reduced inequalities, (11) sustainable cities and communities, (12) responsible consumption and production, (13) climate action, (14) life below water, (15) life on land, (16) peace, justice and strong institutions, and (17) partnerships for the goals.19 While not a panacea for these very real and troubling issues that many lawyers dedicate their lives to correcting, SAM’s mission to raise awareness about these goals is a start. Mesmerizing art brings these goals to the forefront of our attention and really makes people think about the world in which we live and how we need to face the issues together. We, together, can make a difference, and the art sparks important conversations we all should be having. The Art Local and international artists created the Houston murals. While the focus is on the 17 SDGs, the murals are also inspired by Houston’s diversity and by the “local people and organizations who make a difference in Houston and around the world.”20 There are 29 murals associated with the Big Art. Bigger Change. project, and four additional murals curated by SAM in our Houston outdoor art museum.21 A street artist who goes by Dragon76 created “Zero Hunger,” the first Houston mural curated by SAM, which is located at 710 Crawford Street. “Zero Hunger” spans five stories and 13,000 square feet.22 It was part of a collaboration between the World Food Program USA and SAM. Commissioner Ellis conceived his idea of a walkable mural collection when he saw “Zero Hunger,” and the Big Art. Bigger Change. project was born.23 Ten different artists, including three local artists, created the first nine murals of Big Art. Bigger Change. These murals were unveiled in the 24 November/December 2023

fall of 2022.24 With the exception of “Legacy” by Houston artist Bimbo Adenugba, these murals address SDGs 4, 5, 7, 13, 15, and 17. “Legacy,” which the Downtown Management District describes as “a reflection on the essential task before us in providing a sustainable planet for future generations,” addresses all of the SDGs. This mural features a Native American girl holding a jar of fireflies and contains several details that may prompt the viewer to ponder the different sustainability issues our planet is facing.25 On January 12, 2023, a related mural devoted to amplifying the message of the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration was unveiled. This sixteenstory-high mural created by Argentinian artist Martìn Ron is of a woman’s hand holding a live oak branch and is meant to remind viewers how growing trees can help restore local ecosystems. SAM also curated this mural, and it is part of a collaboration with the UN Environment Programme and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN. It is the first of a fivepart series of murals throughout the United States.26 The Remembrance Murals overlooking Congress Plaza were created by artist Victor Ash. They were unveiled in honor of Black History Month in 2023.27 These murals are meant to “create a space of recognition and discourse around the historical arc of racial terror and the continuing existence of system injustice in this country.”28 The stunning images in these murals, such as a woman with multicolored eyes demanding “Justice for All!” and a Black “Lady Justice” with a scarf covering her eyes, really speak to lawyers who encounter them when visiting the criminal courthouse, civil courthouse, or family law center, and the murals remind lawyers and nonlawyers alike who enter the jury plaza or Harris County Law Library that equality and justice are important to all.29

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According to Commissioner Ellis, [The] “Lady Justice” and “Justice for All” murals reflect the call for true and fair justice that has long echoed across this country. It’s not a coincidence that they overlook Congress Plaza, which is at the center of our Harris County justice system. It’s also the former site of the largest slave auction block in Texas. Those murals are there to remind everyone that fair, equal, and impartial justice is owed to everyone, no matter the color of their skin, how much money they have, who they are, or where they’re from.30 In May 2023, 19 more Big Art. Bigger Change. murals were unveiled. These murals address SDGs 1–6, 8–13, and 15–16. Murals that may specifically “speak” to lawyers include “Empowered,” located at 1018 Preston, and “Human Rights,” located at 1117 Prairie Street. “Empowered” portrays a woman surrounded by birds. It was painted by artist Adry del Rocio and “highlights the work of Houston’s Women’s Commission, which aims to advance equality and equity for women in the City of Houston and focuses in particular on economic parity.”31 “Prairie” depicts a Latina girl on a horse whose lasso spells out “freedom.” It was painted by Victor Ash and “highlights Houston’s strong commitment to ensuring freedom, peace and social justice for all, as well as its constant efforts to fight human trafficking.”32 Commissioner Ellis said they have “worked hard to ensure that all of [the] mural projects reflect the beauty and diversity of our community,” and it is “so essential for every community to see themselves reflected in our art.” One mural that reflects this goal is “Social Equity.”33 This mural “features Houston, a local kid who’s part of the enrichment program at the SHAPE Community Center in the 3rd

Ward. He now also adorns the facade of a large building downtown on his bike, looking tall and proud.” Commissioner Ellis reported that “[i]t was terrific to meet Houston and his family and [witness] his reaction to seeing himself in the large building.”34

Houston lawyers interested in viewing the art can visit https://downtownhouston.org/experience/big-art-big ger-change, which includes photos of each mural and a downloadable map of downtown Houston’s open-air museum. Prepare to be inspired.

The Wellness Benefit The murals have an additional benefit for Houston lawyers: looking at art can improve well-being.35 In fact, research shows that art, in general, can spark positive emotions and new ideas.36 Viewing art helps to activate the parasympathetic nervous system, which is the “‘de-stressing part of our nervous system.’”37 Because the murals are aimed at raising awareness about the UN’s SDGs, hopefully they will not only help with general happiness levels, but also ignite new ideas to improve our city and the world so that lawyers in future generations will be able to appreciate similar beauty.

Anna Archer is a former editor in chief of The Houston Lawyer, and she is the host of Behind the Lines: The Houston Lawyer Podcast. Kristen Lee is the senior director of legislative affairs for Harris County Commissioner Adrian Garcia and has been a member of The Houston Lawyer editorial board for several years.

Endnotes

1. Many thanks to former editor in chief of The Houston Lawyer, Brooksie Bonvillain Boutet, for suggesting this topic. One of the amazing new murals can be viewed from her office window. 2. “Human Rights,” which depicts “the new lone ranger of Houston,” Amy, “harness[ing] freedom and mak[ing] sure Houston stays a safe place,” was painted by Victor Ash. See Street Art for Mankind, FACEBOOK (Oct. 22, 2022). The Black “Lady Justice,” who “is here to defend and fight for the rights of all people,” was also painted by Victor Ash. Id. (Jan. 9, 2023). 3. Email from Algenita Davis, Gov’t & Cmty. Affs. Officer, to Anna Archer (author) (Aug. 18, 2023) (on file with author). Ms. Davis noted that the funding varied with each phase of the project, but that the “artists were willing to travel around the world, work outdoors” in Houston’s less-than-desirable weather conditions, face challenging work conditions like balance on a lift, and “get paid less than they deserve,” which “demonstrates a tremendous commitment to sustainability.” Id. 4. Adam Zuvanich & Patricia Ortiz, MultiMural Art Project in Downtown Houston Aims to Inspire Social Change, HOU. PUB. MEDIA (Oct. 14, 2022, 3:47 p.m.), https://www.houstonpublicmedia.org /articles/art s-culture / local-arts/2022/10/14/435243/multi-mural-artproject-in-downtown-houston-aims-to-inspiresocial-change//. 5. Big Art, Bigger Change: Transforming Houston into an Open-Air Museum, STREET ART FOR

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MANKIND, https://streetartmankind.org/bigartbiggerchange/ (last visited Nov. 30, 2023). 6. Email interview by Kristen Lee with Rodney Ellis (Aug. 24, 2023). 7. Email from Algentia Davis, supra note 3. 8. About Us, STREET ART FOR MANKIND, https://streetartmankind.org/about-us/#Mission (last visited Nov. 30, 2023). 9. Id. 10. SAM first became involved with the SDGs when the UN contacted SAM to curate a mural for the International Labor Union’s centennial. Then, the UN was interested in a mural on gender equality. Since these initial murals, SAM has continued curating murals that call attention to the important environmental and social issues addressed by the SDGs. Telephone Interview by Anna Archer with Thibault Decker, Co-Founder of SAM (Sep. 18, 2023). 11. Id. 12. Id. 13. Interlocal Agreement for Management and Installation of Artwork on Public Buildings (on file with author). 14. Template of Street Art for Mankind Mural Agreement (on file with author). 15. Template of Street Art for Mankind Artist Mural Release Form (on file with author). 16. Big Art, Bigger Change, supra note 5; see also Street Art for Mankind, FACEBOOK (May 30, 2023). 17. United Nations, The 17 Goals, DEP’T OF ECON. & SOC. AFFS., https://sdgs.un.org/goals (last visited Aug. 18, 2023). 18. downtownhouston, INSTAGRAM (May 26,

2022), https://www.instagram.com/p/CstUYZnKAYk/. 19. United Nations, Make the SDGS a Reality, DEP’T OF ECON. & SOC. AFFS., https://sdgs.un.org (last visited Aug. 4, 2023). 20. Big Art, Bigger Change: Transforming Houston into an Open-Air Museum, supra note 5. 21. Street Art for Mankind & Rodney Ellis, Central Hous., Downtown Dist., Big Art. Bigger Change. Mural Map (on file with author). 22. Houston’s “ZERO HUNGER” Mural Is Largest in City, Highlights Poverty Problem, ABC EYEWITNESS NEWS (Mar, 14, 2021), https://abc13.com/ zero-hunger-mural-where-is-the-houstonslargest-art-installation-in-houston/-10416889/. Other Zero Hunger murals can be found in New Orleans, Oakland, Detroit, Washington, D.C., and Battle Creek, Michigan. Zero Hunger Murals, Street Art for Mankind, https://streetartmankind.org/zero-hunger/ (last visited Oct. 25, 2023). 23. Zuvanich & Ortiz, supra note 4. 24. Big Art, Bigger Change: Transforming Houston into an Open-Air Museum, supra note 5. 25. Big Art. Bigger Change., DOWNTOWN HOUS., https://www.downtownhouston.org/big-artbigger-change/ (last visited Aug. 18, 2023). 26. Press Release, UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration, Houston Hosts First UN Ecosystem Mural in the USA (Jan. 12, 2023), https://www. decadeonrestoration.org/press-release/houstonhosts-first-un-ecosystem-restoration-mural-usa. 27. Ashley Brown, Two Downtown Houston Murals Celebrate Black Women, Social Change in Honor of Black History Month, HOU. PUB.

MEDIA (Feb. 13, 2023, 4:14 p.m.), https:// www.houstonpublicmedia.org/articles/artsculture/2023/02/13/443701/two-murals-downtown-houston-celebrate-black-women-socialchange-in-honor-of-black-history-month/. 28. Remembrance Murals: Supporting Justice for All, STREET ART FOR MANKIND, https://streetartmankind.org/remembrance/ (last visited July 20, 2023). The “Justice for All” mural honors State Representative Senfronia Thompson, who is serving her 25th term and is the longest-serving African American woman in the Texas Legislature’s history. The Remembrance Murals are on the Harris County Attorney’s office, which Ellis noted is located on what was once one of the most popular slave auction trading blocks in Houston. See Brown, supra note 28. 29. Id. 30. Ellis Interview, supra note 6. 31. Big Art. Bigger Change., supra note 25. 32. Id. 33. Ellis Interview, supra note 6. 34. Id. 35. Stephanie Stahl, Art Has Several Health Benefits, Can Improve Your Well-Being: Study, CBS NEWS PHILA. (June 15, 2023, 8:19 a.m.), https://www. cbsnews.com/philadelphia/news/new-studyshows-art-has-several-health-benefits-and-canimprove-your-well-being/. 36. Id.; see also Christina Cacouris, Is Looking at Art a Path to Mental Well-Being?, WSJ MAGAZINE (Jan. 5, 2022, 8:30 a.m.), wsj.com/articles/artmental-health-11641387911. 37. Cacouris, supra, note 35 (quoting New York University professor neuroscientist Wendy Suzuki).

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November/December 2023

74th Annual Harvest Celebration:

Celebrating Pro Bono and the Power of Houston’s Legal Community

hank you to the generosity of the Houston legal community for your support of the 74th Annual Harvest Celebration. 100% of net proceeds benefit Houston Volunteer Lawyers. These photos are just a snapshot of how the Harvest Celebration brought Houston’s legal community together on November 13 at the River Oaks Country Club. We enjoyed every minute spending this special evening with our members, friends, and colleagues. Thank you to all of the attendees who joined us in celebrating the pro bono services provided by HVL. Below are some photos from the event. To see additional photos from the 74th Annual Harvest Celebration, please visit hba.org. Photos by Deborah Wallace, Barfield Photography (exceptions noted with*)

(L to R) The 74th Annual Harvest Celebration co-chairs: HBF Chair Monica Karuturi, HBA President Diana Gomez, and HBA Treasurer Daniella Landers.•

(L to R) State Bar of Texas President-Elect Steve Benesh, HBA Treasurer Daniella Landers, HBA President Diana Gomez, and HBA President-Elect David Harrell.*

HBA President Diana Gomez with her husband, the Honorable Michael Gomez of the 129th Civil District Court. 28 November/December 2023

(L to R) HBAA President deborah lawson, HBA Treasurer Daniella Landers, HBA President Diana Gomez, HBA Executive Director Mindy Davidson, and HBF Chair Monica Karuturi.

(L to R) State Bar of Texas Executive Director Trey Apffel, State Bar of Texas President Cindy Tisdale, HBA President Diana Gomez, State Bar of Texas President-Elect Steve Benesh, and HBA Executive Director Mindy Davidson.*

HBA Past President Benny Agosto, Jr. (2019-2020), poses with the Honorable Raúl Rodríguez of Harris County Criminal Court at Law No. 13 (R) and attendees.

HBA President Diana Gomez poses with some of the 2023-2024 HBA The Harvest co-chairs pose with the pre-event speakers. (L to R) HBA Past President Warren W. Harris (2018-2019), HBA Treasurer Daniella Landers, Former Texas Ambassadors. (L to R) Jake Johson, Audrey Momanaee, Rachel Sedita, Myra Siddiqui, Farah Kamal, Daniel Rodriguez, and Simone Bray (Not Supreme Court Chief Justice Thomas R. Phillips (ret.), HBA President Diana Gomez, Texas Supreme Court Chief Justice Nathan L. Hecht, and HBF Chair Monica Karuturi. pictured: Emma Brockway, Traci Gibson, and Jose R. Lopez II). thehoustonlawyer.com

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November/December 2023

100% of net proceeds benefiting Houston Volunteer Lawyers Thank you, Houston legal community, for your generous support of pro bono legal services provided by Houston Volunteer Lawyers.

Diamond Sponsors

Baker Botts L.L.P. Bracewell LLP Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP Locke Lord LLP Norton Rose Fulbright Vinson & Elkins LLP Williams Hart & Boundas, LLP

Ruby Sponsors

Benny Agosto, Jr. & Nikki Agosto AZA Law Chamberlain Hrdlicka Chevron Corporation HBA Litigation Section

Sapphire Sponsors

BakerHostetler LLP CenterPoint Energy, Inc. LyondellBasell Industries Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP Susman Godfrey L.L.P. Winston & Strawn LLP

Gold Sponsors

Arnold & Porter LLP Beck Redden LLP Blank Rome LLP Greenberg Traurig, LLP HBA Labor & Employment Section Hewlett Packard Enterprise Hicks Thomas LLP Johnson DeLuca Kurisky & Gould, P.C. King & Spalding LLP Latham & Watkins LLP

Silver Sponsors

Abraham, Watkins, Nichols, Agosto, Aziz & Stogner Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP Jane & Doug Bland Hon. Harvey Brown ConocoPhillips Foley & Lardner LLP Gibbs & Bruns LLP Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP

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Tom & Debbie Godbold Halliburton David & Tammie Harrell Haynes and Boone, LLP HBA Alternative Dispute Resolution Section HBA Energy Law Section HBA Family Law Section HBA Real Estate Section Hicks Davis Wynn, P.C. Jackson Lewis P.C. JAMS Jones Day Monica Karuturi & Kumaran Sathyamoorthy Kirkland & Ellis LLP Liskow McGuireWoods LLP O’Melveny & Myers LLP Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP Quanta Services Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan; Karl Stern Shackelford, Bowen, McKinley & Norton, LLP Shearman & Sterling Shook Hardy & Bacon L.L.P. Sidley Austin LLP SLB Spencer Fane Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP Yetter Coleman LLP

Bronze Sponsors

Barry & Sue Abrams Akerman LLP Christian Attar Baker Wotring LLP Balch & Bingham LLP Bissinger, Oshman, Williams & Strasburger LLP Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP Burford Perry, LLP Bush Seyferth PLLC CITGO Petroleum Clark Hill Cokinos | Young Coné PLLC Jacquelyn & Collin Cox Mindy & Joshua Davidson

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Dentons US LLP Diggs & Sadler Digital Insurance, LLC dba One Digital Dobrowski Stafford LLP Emma Doineau Duane Morris LLP Energy Transfer Eversheds Sutherland US LLP Fogler, Brar, O’Neil & Gray LLP Frost Bank Frost Brown Todd LLC Kerry Galvin Germer PLLC Hon. Michael Gomez & Diana Gomez Gray Reed Hagans Harris County Attorney’s Office Jim & Susan Hart Hartline Barger LLP HBA Corporate Counsel Section HBA Federal Practice Section Linda & Tracy Hester Hispanic Bar Association of Houston Hogan Thompson Schuelke LLP Houston Lawyer Referral Service, Inc. Houston Young Lawyers Association Husch Blackwell LLP Jackson Walker Jenkins and Kamin, LLP Jim Adler & Associates Jordan Lynch & Cancienne Kane Russell Coleman Logan PC Kean Miller LeBlanc Flanery PLLC McDowell Hetherington LLP Greg & Jennifer Moore W. Michael & Laurie D. Moreland Munsch Hardt Kopf & Harr, P.C. Okin Adams Bartlett Curry LLP Jeff Paine & Brandon Holcomb, Goldman Sachs Plains All American Pipeline, L.P. Chris Popov Porter Hedges LLP Reed Smith LLP Reynolds Frizzell LLP The Sarofim Foundation Service Corporation International

Shipley Snell Montgomery LLP Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP South Texas College of Law Houston Hilary Tyson Vorys, Sater, Seymour and Pease LLP Westlake Corporation Womble Bond Dickinson (US) LLP Wright Close & Barger, LLP

Crystal Sponsors

Hon. Terry Adams & Anne Adams Ajamie LLP American National Bank & Trust Andrews Myers, PC Katie Baehl Bartholet Mediation Sharon M. Beausoleil Brent & Christy Benoit Susan L. Bickley & Bob Scott Bragg Law PC Sejal Brahmbhatt Keri Brown & Ben Womack The Buck Family Fund Hon. Brett & Erin Busby BWA Video, Inc. Chugh, LLP Copeland & Rice LLP Cozen O’Connor Crowe LLP David Toy Law Firm Wendy & Alistair Dawson DLA Piper LLP (US) Eric & Kami D’Olive Carter Dugan Kaylan & John Dunn Fullenweider Wilhite, P.C. FTI Consulting Jackie & John Furlow Lynn & Stewart W. Gagnon Roland Garcia Christian A. & Janet G. Garza Family Craig & Penny Glidden Andrew Gratz Gregory Law Firm PLLC Hon. Joseph “Tad” Halbach Lauren & Warren Harris Gregory & Jennifer A. Hasley Hon. Kristen Hawkins HBA Appellate Practice Section HBA Bankruptcy Section HBA Commercial & Consumer Law Section HBA Construction Law Section HBA Criminal Law Section HBA Juvenile Law Section HBA Mergers & Acquisitions Section HBA Taxation Section HBAA Charitable Fund, Inc. Hedrick Kring Bailey PLLC Hirsch & Westheimer, P.C. Hogan Lovells US LLP

Hillary Holmes & Matthew Archer Jim & Cisselon Nichols Hurd Catherine & Brian James Monica Karuturi, TAJC Corporate Counsel Pro Bono Award Recipient Shae Keefe & Mark Jacobs John Raley & Associates, PLLC Sara & Jason Keith Neil & Dana Kelly Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton LLP Elizabeth & Bill Kroger Daniella D. Landers The Law Office of Daniel D. Horowitz, III, PC Law Office of Jack Balagia Law Office of Seth Kretzer James Leader Elizabeth & Russell Lewis Peter Lowy & Gabriela Boersner Hon. Erin Lunceford & Mike Lunceford Mahendru, PC Diana & Dwaine Massey Tim & Ginnie McConn McGarvey PLLC Hon. David M. & Hon. Pamela Medina MehaffyWeber PC Hon. Margaret Mirabal Audrey Momanaee Hon. Daryl L. Moore Munck Wilson Mandala Nathan Sommers Jacobs Holly Nini Christopher Northcutt Jeff & Melissa Oldham Olson & Olson, LLP O’Neil Wysocki, PC Robert & Taunya Painter Christine & Seepan V. Parseghian Connie H. Pfeiffer Colin & Sangita Pogge Kelly & Mike Prather Quadros Migl & Crosby PLLC Rapp & Krock PC Aaron M. Reimer & Amanda Heidemann Reimer Karen & Scott Rozzell Rusty Hardin & Associates, LLP Hon. Frank Rynd Travis & Sandy Sales John & Denise Scofield Shell USA, Inc. Kay Sim Tramaine Singleton Quentin & Aerin Smith Smyser Kaplan & Veselka Hon. Susan S. Soussan Sponsel Miller Greenberg PLLC The Springer Law Firm PLLC Steven C. Howard P.C. Takla Law

Terry G. Fry, P.C. & Gina Lucero Jennifer Tomsen Samantha Torres & Jimmy Hollowell Sandy & Greg Ulmer Roy & Dominique Varner Ware, Jackson, Lee, O’Neill, Smith & Barrow, LLP West Mermis Richard & Laura Whiteley Wiley George Mediation PLLC Hon. LaShawn A. Williams Winstead PC William D. Wood Michael S. Wright – Mediator Andrew Yeh & Ann Elise DeBelina Alan Ytterberg/Ytterberg Deery Knull LLP Krisina Zuñiga & Rick Houghton

Friend Sponsors

Ascent Emergency Medical Center LLC B. Riley Advisory Services Hon. Julie Countiss Jeanne & Tom Cunningham Amy Catherine Dinn Scott Ellis Polly & Stephen Fohn Freedom Law, PLLC Hon. Angela Graves-Harrington David T. Harvin HBA Antitrust & Trade Regulation Section HBA Probate, Trusts & Estate Section Juris Medicus Hon. Brittanye Morris Hon Veronica Rivas-Molloy & David Molloy Terry Roberson Jane Langdell Robinson S. Mayer Law Hon. Robert Schaffer Hon. Jerry Simoneaux Hon. Charles Spain & John Adcock Brooks & Jacquelyn Tobin Travis Torrence University of Houston Law Center

Other Sponsors

190th Judicial District Court Hon. Tanya Garrison HBA Animal Law Section HBA Entertainment & Sports Law Section HBA Environmental Law Section Craft Hughes Gregg M. Rosenberg Mediation Samantha Jarvis Hon. Margaret Poissant Robin Raasch Hon. Fran Watson

In-Kind Sponsors

Innovative Legal Solutions

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November/December 2023

LAWYERS GIVING BACK

Fostering Connections:

The Impact of a Judge-Founded Program to Mentor Foster Care Youth

By The Honorable Dena Fisher

The HBA offers many opportunities for attorneys and firms to give back to the community through its committee work. Learn how at hba.org/committees. This year, we’re highlighting other organizations that also offer an avenue for lawyers to give back to Houston.

The Houston Lawyer

nknown to most people, many Houston-area teens in foster care sit down to dinner with judges and mentors twice a month. They share a meal and then spend the evening listening to a speaker or participating in a fun activity. The teens build relationships with these mentors and judges, spending August through May going on outings and events as they prepare to be young adults on their own. The Houston PEARLS Foundation is an organization that provides mentorship and support for young men and women in the foster care system in Harris County and surrounding counties. I cofounded the organization with fellow Harris County judges Susan Brown and Angela Graves-Harrington in 2021. We all have years of experience presiding over Child Protective Services (“CPS”) cases. We also have a profound understanding of the challenges faced by the dozens of youth who age out of the foster care system at 18 each year with very little resources or support. We set out to create a program that would build relationships between foster youth and adults in their communities to help the youth address those challenges. The Houston PEARLS Foundation is wildly popular with the youth participants. It is a voluntary program, not court-ordered, although it is judge-driven and judges are present for programming and facilitate the program. Each teen is assigned a mentor from the community, but the truth is that all of the adults in the program support all of the youth participants. If you enter the room on any given night of programming, it feels a bit like Girls Scouts or Boy Scouts. Participants and mentors go on outings on weekends, such as hiking, sailing, and fishing. They also participate in days of giving, where they perform community service. They celebrate each other’s birthdays and yearly holidays together and have a large college and career fair in the spring. As one mentor said at a recent program, “I set out to try to help

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change a kid’s life, but she has changed mine forever, in so many wonderful ways I did not anticipate. She has changed our whole family.” There are several ways that people from the community can be involved with the Houston PEARLS Program: as a mentor, an ambassador, or a volunteer speaker. You can sign up as a mentor, where you commit to be present at programming nights and are assigned to a teen mentee. You are asked to maintain contact with your mentee outside of programming nights, and to provide advocacy and guidance. If you do not have the time to fully commit to be a mentor, you can sign up to be an ambassador. Our ambassadors provide support and leadership to our program in many ways, by showing up for programming nights whenever possible, helping with food setup, assisting with outings and events, and looking for speakers or guests and ideas for outings. You can also volunteer to speak at one of our programming nights on a practical topic—such as financial planning, interviewing skills, or building and maintaining credit—assist with planning an outing for the teen participants, or sign up to speak about your industry or profession. Currently, we have many lawyers, judges, law school staff, and law students participating in our program. You can sign up or contact us to discuss how you can help on our website houstonpearls.org. The Honorable Dena Fisher is the executive director of the Houston PEARLS Foundation. As a former associate judge in Harris County’s juvenile district courts and a former attorney representing children in both the CPS and delinquency systems, Dena is all too aware of the vulnerability and needs of at-risk youth. She has spent her entire adult life working and advocating for the children in the Houston area who are system-involved. Leading the Houston PEARLS Foundation is a very natural continuation of that advocacy.

LAW IN THE FAMILY

The Guzman Family Before becoming a partner at Wright Close & Barger, LLP, Eva Guzman led a life in public service, making her mark at three levels of the Texas judiciary. She first took the bench by gubernatorial appointment in 1999, leaving private practice to become judge of the 309th District Court of Harris County. In 2001, a second gubernatorial appointment elevated her to the Houston-based 14th Court of Appeals. Then, in 2009, a third gubernatorial appointment put her on the Texas Supreme Court, where she made history as the first Latina elected to statewide office in Texas. Now, back in private practice after 22 years in the Texas judiciary, she focuses on appellate work, mediation, and arbitration in state and federal courts, and serves as general counsel for the Texas Association of Business.

to private practice has brought new professional challenges and opportunities. The whole of my journey has been made possible through prayer, strong belief in the law, and the love and support of family. Fiercely independent, Melanie made it clear to my husband, a Houston police officer, and me from an early age that she wanted to cut her own trail. So, we made a conscious decision not to push our only child toward any career, but we were thrilled when she chose a career in law.

Melanie: Growing up the daughter of a judge and an HPD police sergeant gave me an early glimpse into how law impacts people’s lives. I had a front row seat to the hard work, challenges, and rewards that come with helping people solve problems. I was After earning a B.A. from Harvard and not one of those kids who knew from The Honorable Eva Guzman swearing-in her a J.D. from Duke Law, Melanie Guzthe start that I wanted a life in the daughter, Melanie. man spent two years clerking for the law, but I knew from watching my Honorable Alfred H. Bennett on the United parents that I wanted a career rooted in States District Court for the Southern Dishelping people. Today, as a member of one trict of Texas. In 2021, she joined the Housof the foremost helping professions, I get ton office of Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & to help people solve problems every day Sullivan, LLP, where she works primarily (and most nights and weekends). Though on complex commercial litigation and arbilaw is a demanding profession, it is also an tration. empowering one that opens doors to serving others in ways no other profession can. Eva: I’d never met a lawyer before attendMy mom, or as we affectionally call ing college. Though my only exposure to her, “The Judge,” understands the profesthe law came from watching “lawyers” sion’s call to service better than anyone on television, strong mentors fueled my I know. A lifelong overcomer, she knows interest in law. After graduating from the the importance of making justice accesUniversity of Houston and South Texas sible to all. Her career reflects her heart College of Law Houston, I practiced law for service and her knack for outreach. for 10 years before becoming a judge. DurThroughout her career she has used her ing my 22-year judicial career, I ruled on platform as a leader and role model to enthousands of cases, authored hundreds of courage and inspire members of our proopinions, and chaired two Texas Supreme fession to go beyond the demands of the Court Commissions. But some moments paying job and use their legal know-how are forever enshrined in my memory. First to serve the underserved in our commuis the honor of swearing-in my daughter, nities. That dedication to helping those The Honorable Eva Guzman with her daughter, Melanie, and husband, Tony. Melanie. The other is presiding over adopin need is a legacy I’m committed to contions and helping children find their “forever homes.” My return tinuing as I forge my own path in the law. thehoustonlawyer.com

November/December 2023

LAW IN THE FAMILY

The Agosto Family Benny Agosto, Jr. grew up in Santa Paula, Guaynabo, Puerto Rico. After graduation from Wesleyan Academy, he was the first in his family to go to college when he attended Houston Baptist University to play NCAA Division I collegiate soccer, where he lettered for four years. After some graduate work at the University of Houston, he taught and coached soccer before entering law school. Agosto, Jr. graduated from South Texas College of Law Houston in 1995. He is a board certified personal injury trial lawyer and is the managing partner of Abraham Watkins, the longeststanding personal injury law firm in Texas. He is a past president of the HBA (2019-20) and has won numerous awards and recognitions but is most proud of the dedication his wife Nichole and he have for education and helping others. (They founded The Benny Agosto, Jr. Diversity Center at STCLH). While Agosto, Jr. is the first lawyer in the family, two of his sons have followed his lead and are now trial lawyers themselves (Ben III and Jon Agosto are also lawyers at Abraham Watkins).

The Houston Lawyer

Ben Agosto III grew up in Spring, Texas, a small town located in northwest Houston. Ben went to the same high school as his mother, Klein High School. It was during his time at Klein that Ben gained his love for advocacy through active participation in Klein’s speech and debate program. Ben credits his time competing in policy debate as vital as his development as a future lawyer. After graduating from Klein, Ben attended the University of South Florida in Tampa, Florida, where he graduated in four years with a Bachelor of Science in finance with a minor in business economics. After graduating from USF, Ben returned to Houston to attend South Texas College of Law Houston. Prior to coming to Abraham Watkins, Ben worked at another prominent plaintiff’s firm in Houston, where he gained invaluable experience that he has been able to directly transfer to his day-to-day work for his clients at Abraham Watkins. Ben now sharpens that experience with the leadership of his father, Benny Agosto, who can provide fatherly guidance, in addition to incalculable wisdom through his many years of experience and success. In 2023, Ben was selected to the Texas Super Lawyers/Rising Stars list, as well as the Latino Leaders National Top Attorneys list. Benny Agosto, Jr.: Qué Orgullo/Family Pride—I still have a vivid memory of my parents’ faces when I walked across the stage and graduated from law school at South Texas College of Law Houston in 1995. They were so proud that I was the first in my family to go to college and then become a lawyer, but also because they instilled in our hearts that education was the most important thing that we could achieve to bless our family. I became an Agosto lawyer. My mom and dad only went up to the sixth grade in school. 34 November/December 2023

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Puerto Rico was coming out of WWII and like many other cities in America, rural schools were not well established. Families were struggling and my parents were not any different. They both went to work by age 13. After WWII, my dad enlisted in the Army as an infantryman, my parents migrated to NYC and started a jewelry business that helped raise the family and form our strong beliefs in hard work and faith that with God all things are possible. In 1969, the family returned to Puerto Rico, and I was able to complete my education there before heading to college at Houston Baptist University. I believe that mentoring is the key to bringing others along into the practice of law. I had many mentors. Not all of them looked like me. In fact, Alice Oliver Parrott, former chief justice of the First Court of Appeals, mentored me and gave me the opportunity to try my first death case. “Go get them,” she would say to me, never doubting for one second that that is exactly what I would do. Today, I recall all the mentors that helped me and I am inspired to do the same and help others. Even though I was the first Agosto lawyer, others have followed. Our sons, Ben Agosto III and Jon David Agosto, are now practicing lawyers. My stepson, Matthew Russell, works at the firm as a legal assistant. Mandie DiMartino (my goddaughter-in-law) is an Army JAG lawyer and Gio Agosto, my nephew, is currently a law student at STCLH. Our youngest child, Victoria Agosto, is 21 years old and has shown interest in law school, as well. God bless us all. I hope I have been a good father and role model for my children and family members. I hope that I have inspired them not only to get educated/go to law school, but to excel in everything they do for the Glory of God! If you could only see my face right now, I am so proud! Ben Agosto III: It is hard for me to begin a conversation on the topic without immediately saying: I am very thankful for the opportunity to work with my father. I try to remind myself as often as I can that, indeed, it is a blessing to be able to see my father, every day, and to share in the same craft. The significance of continuing my family’s legacy is not lost on me—nor is the value of Benny’s direct advice and counsel, given the caliber of lawyer that he is. It can be frustrating to work through certain difficulties, but the measure of success we enjoy together is incomparable. It is an honor to represent Abraham Watkins, and it is perhaps even more so to work with my father. I am eager for our joint work into the future, where I am certain we will continue our trend of decisive victories.

We are proud to support the

74th Annual

HARVEST CELEBRATION

With over 900 lawyers in the United States, Asia, Europe and the Middle East, Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP serves clients across a broad range of complex transactional, litigation and regulatory matters. We are known for our strength in the energy, financial services, real estate, and retail and consumer products industries, as well as our considerable experience in more than 100 distinct areas of practice, including privacy and cybersecurity, intellectual property, environmental, and mergers and acquisitions. Our full-service litigation practice is one of the largest in the country, with particular depth in key litigation markets such as Texas, California, Florida and the Mid-Atlantic.

November/December 2023

OFF THE RECORD

Tangoing With a Tax Lawyer

The Houston Lawyer

By Dave Louie and Ania Czarnecka

oes life begin at 76? For George Connelly, it may have. In April 2022, George, a shareholder and former tax litigation practice chair at Chamberlain Hrdlicka, noticed a dance studio at a Memorial-area strip mall. The then-76-year-old respected tax attorney had hit a rut. He had an illustrious career with a multitude of honors, including his 2019 Texas Lawyer’s Lifetime Achievement Award. He spent many years dedicated to public service and many noteworthy causes. Now, he needed a new challenge. His search led him to ask the studio about a practice lesson. The rest is history. George was never a “dancer.” He and his late wife, Elaine, could not dance, whether fast or slow. After she passed away, George spent many a wedding reception and social event seated watching others dance. George describes himself as the stereotypical man with two left feet and no rhythm. But when he came across Memorial Dancesport Ballroom, he went in committed to gaining confidence to step out on the dance floor. “I wasn’t trying to learn every possible dance, but I wanted to feel confident,” he said. He continued taking private lessons with his instructor, Kim, once or twice a week. Over time, the studio participated in a few amateur “competitions,” but George sat those out. Things changed when the San Antonio Classic was announced to take place in August 2023. Kim began encouraging George to compete. “She asked me what I had to lose,” George recalled. Despite having major doubts, he figured that he should at least give it a try after a year and a half of lessons. After all, what was the worst that could happen? “This would be a good chance to gauge my progress. I thought I’d let the chips fall where they may,” said George. With several competition categories available, the now-78-yearold George qualified as a “newcomer,” finding himself dancing some 40 two-and-a-half minute dances with Kim as his partner. The competition went from 7 a.m. until 10 p.m., with multiple efforts at a polka, waltz, foxtrot, two-step, cha-cha, bachata, rumba, 36 November/December 2023

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and swing. Kim and George also worked on a choreographed dance to the tune of “Secret Agent Man,” which they entered in the “solo” category (even though he had a partner). George embraced the role, looking every bit the part of a spy by donning a white tux and even blackening his hair. George says he hasn’t had so much fun in years but did not think for a moment that he might have done well. To his surprise, his solo won first prize and, an even bigger surprise, George was awarded the Best Male Newcomer. He has been on cloud nine ever since. In a professional career filled with countless accolades, George proudly said this ranks “damn high” because it was so unexpected. He’s also quick to share that in total, eight of Kim’s students brought home awards that weekend, not just him, and that—not surprisingly—Kim was awarded Best Teacher, and the Memorial Dancesport Ballroom won the Best Ballroom award. Looking ahead, George plans to do more competitions, work schedule permitting. So, after all this, what advice does George have for a wallflower who seldom dances in public? “Look, at my age, the warranties on your body start to expire. Get yourself out there and try a private lesson. Try something new!” As the conversation closes, the question comes up about what George has learned from this experience. “Life begins at 76.” Maybe he’s right. George’s dance life certainly did. Dave Louie is lead counsel with LyondellBasell, a global petrochemical company, and an editorial board member for The Houston Lawyer. Ania Czarnecka is vice president at Ward, a Houston-based, fullservice public relations agency. She works with a broad variety of clients, including Chamberlain Hrdlicka, developing and managing strategic media relations and social media programs.

A Profile

in prof e s s io n a l i s m

Alamdar Hamdani United States Attorney (USA) for the Southern District of Texas

s the United States Attorney for the Southern District of Texas, I am the top federal law enforcement official in the Southern District of Texas and have the privilege of leading over 200 federal prosecutors, known as AUSAs, Assistant United States Attorneys, and just as many support staff. The Southern District of Texas covers about 44,000 square miles, 43 counties, shares 400 miles of border with Mexico, and has offices spread throughout the district, with the largest one in Houston. We are responsible for the safety of over nine million residents. Soon after the United States Senate confirmed my appointment as the United States attorney last December, I held an “all-hands” meeting with all the staff. Because I had been in the office for over eight years as an AUSA, I spent little time introducing myself to the audience, and instead introduced them to my mother. Standing in front of a picture of my mother projected onto a wall-sized screen, I explained that I would run the office according to one simple rule, the “Mama Rule.” My mother is 80 years old, she is an immigrant, a woman of color, lives on a fixed income, and knows what poverty feels and looks like. She represents the people the U.S. Attorney’s Office protects every day: the migrants exploited by traffickers, the marginalized communities targeted by bigotry, the elderly swindled by fraudsters, and the poor who are often caught in the crossfire of gangs and violent criminals. The “Mama Rule,” I explained in front of a picture of a smiling mother, is also an ideal. I expect everyone in the office to treat each other and opposing counsel as if we would treat our mother, with respect and kindness. Kindness is about being civil and courteous. A commentator once defined “civility” as “courtesy, dignity, decency, and kindness.” The Virginia Bar Association’s Creed defines “courtesy” as “neither a relic of the past nor a sign of less than fully committed advocacy. Courtesy is simply the mechanism by which lawyers can deal with daily conflict without damaging their relationships with their fellow lawyers and their own well-being.” Showing kindness can sometimes be difficult, especially when there are fundamental deep-seated disagreements between parties or their attorneys. In those situations, it takes “guts” to display kindness and decency. Guts, according to Hemingway, means “grace under pressure.” And it’s paramount that prosecutors, because of their prosecutorial discretion, display Hemingway’s grace under pressure when confronted with strong disagreement. It means disagreeing without being disagreeable. Former Attorney General Robert Jackson explained this in 1940 when he spoke to a room full of United States attorneys. He reminded that room that the prosecutor “has more control over life, liberty, and reputation than any other person in America. His discretion is tremendous.” And “the best protection against the abuse of power...lies in the prosecutor who tempers zeal with human kindness, who seeks truth and not victims, who serves the law and not factional purposes, and who approaches his task with humility.” Kindness is the rebar in professionalism’s foundation and the force behind an AUSA’s quest for justice. Without it, professionalism erodes, and justice evades. thehoustonlawyer.com

November/December 2023

COMMITTEE SPOTLIGHT

AIDS Outreach Committee:

Connecting the Legal Community With Those in Need

The Houston Lawyer

By David Miller, Hilary Tyson, Anna McMullen, and Staci Wilson

he HBA’s AIDS Outreach Committee has been serving the dinates family-style meals for Thanksgiving, as well as the DecemHouston community living with AIDS or HIV since 1996. ber and April holidays for the residents of Omega House and their The committee began by providing CLE seminars to exfamilies every year. The committee also works to fulfill items on pand the education and understanding of the intersection Omega House’s Amazon wish list and has participated in service between law and those impacted by HIV and AIDS in areas days involving gardening, housekeeping and house painting, and of healthcare, employment discrimination, and housing discrimimaintenance projects. nation. As understanding and acceptance of those living with HIV The AIDS Outreach Committee wants to thank all of the law firms, and AIDS grew, the focus of corporate legal departments, lethe committee’s outreach efgal organizations, and individuforts turned toward its current als who signed up to serve as projects, which include its anadopters for this year’s Adopt-anual Adopt-a-Family program Family program. If you’d like to and sponsoring holiday meals learn more about the program and service events at Avenue or the AIDS Outreach Commit360’s Omega House, a hospice tee, please contact HBA Direchome for persons diagnosed tor of Projects & Events Bonnie with HIV- and AIDS-related Simmons at bonnies@hba.org. ailments. You can also visit the committee The Adopt-a-Family propage on the HBA website hba.org/ Blank Rome LLP (L) and the Ramsey Law gram matches one or more Group (R) are among the participants of aids to view photos and a full list of families or individuals af- the 2023 Adopt-a-Family program. our adopters and agencies. If you or fected by HIV or AIDS with participating law firms, corporations, someone you know works with or legal organizations, and individuals who provide holiday gifts to for a social service agency that serves those families and individuals. The program began in 1999 when community members living with the committee adopted one family but has grown significantly over HIV or AIDS, we would love the opthe years. Last year, nearly 70 law firms and companies adopted 117 portunity to work with them to expand our outreach. families (totaling 313 individuals). The committee works with approximately eight different social service agencies to identify famiDavid Miller is a co-chair of the AIDS Outreach Committee and is the lies and individuals in need. Those families and individuals then managing attorney at the Amaro Law Firm, a large Hispanic-owned provide holiday wish lists of items needed or wanted as gifts for the personal injury law firm in the Heights. A Louisiana native, he has holiday season, and the committee matches them with the various lived in Houston for over 10 years. adopters, who provide wrapped gifts for delivery. The Adopt-a-FamHilary Tyson is a co-chair of the AIDS Outreach Committee and is ily program provides the opportunity for some adopter law firms a real estate transactional attorney and shareholder at BoyarMiller, and companies to communicate with and deliver gifts directly to a middle market business law firm representing clients in corporate families, though delivery through the social service agency working M&A, real estate, and litigation matters. She was raised in Houston with adoptee families is also available. Adopters provide gifts valuand returned to join the firm in 2015. ing approximately $200 per person, which helps lighten the load Anna McMullen is a co-chair of the AIDS Outreach Committee and is and provides a source of joy and comfort for adopted families often a litigator at the Amaro Law Firm, where she focuses on motor vehicle struggling with complex medical needs and sometimes the recent and premises liability cases. loss of a loved one. Staci Wilson is a co-chair of the AIDS Outreach Committee who, The AIDS Outreach Committee also works with Omega House, a after more than a decade in private practice, recently joined Chevron’s local AIDS hospice in the Montrose area run through Avenue 360. Americas E&P Litigation group as a senior counsel. Staci is a proud In addition to coordinating sponsors for holiday gifts, HBA coorgraduate of the University of Houston Law Center.

38 November/December 2023

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Section Spotlight

By Lane Morrison

Probate, Trusts & Estates Section

he HBA Probate, Trusts & Estates Section has had a On November 28, the section hosted a lunch meeting at Tofull calendar of events in recent months. ny’s, where Shannon G. Guthrie of the Guthrie Law Firm preOn September 26, the section hosted an early evesented “Talk Nerdy to Me: Communications with Clients.” Durning reception and CLE ing the discussion, she covered atat Regions Bank Financial torneys’ ethical duties to inform and Center in the Greenway/Upper Kirstay in communication with clients by area. A panel made up of Trey Gifand how to effectively do so from the ford (Crain Caton & James), Colin beginning of the engagement to the Norman (Kean Miller), Jenna Shortend. er (Boyar Miller), and Trey Avant This year’s section officers are (Gray Reed) examined and analyzed Chair Brian D. Cororve (Gray Reed), recent opinions from the Supreme Chair-Elect Mary E. Mason (Gray Court of Texas and the Courts of Reed), Vice Chair Aaron Dobbs Appeal that affect their practice. The (Gray Reed), Secretary Tama Klosek section also honored Jimmy Walker (Klosek & Associates PLLC), and with a much-deserved Lifetime Treasurer Keri D. Brown (Baker Botts Achievement Award. LLP). On October 24, the section held You can learn more about the HBA another early evening reception Probate, Trusts & Estates Section and CLE at Regions, where Kaili and read their latest meeting materiCusak of Chamberlain Hrdlicka als by visiting hba.org/sections. discussed the SECURE Act and its post-passage updates. The Setting Lane Morrison isa litigation associate Every Community Up for Retireat Bush Seyferth PLLC. He focuses his ment Enhancement Act of 2019, as practice on product liability and class amended in 2022, has far-reaching action defense and is heavily involved provisions aimed at increasing taxin drafting and arguing critical trial advantaged accounts and preventmotions and appeals. He is the comThe HBA Probate, Trusts & Estates Section presented the ing older Americans from outliving Lifetime Achievement Award to attorney Jimmy Walker on mittee and section spotlight editor for their assets. The Houston Lawyer. September 26.

Behind the Lines: The Houston Lawyer Podcast Behind the Lines: The Houston Lawyer Podcast features in-depth conversations with Houston attorneys and judges, providing insight about the latest legal developments, as well as personal stories of the opportunities and challenges of serving the law. The podcast is the companion to The Houston Lawyer, where each episode focuses on the same themes as the magazine. Learn more about the podcast and how you can subscribe by visiting hba.org/thehoustonlawyer. thehoustonlawyer.com

November/December 2023

Media Reviews

Murdaugh Murders: A Southern Scandal, Season 2 Directed by Julia Willough Nason and Jenner Furst Streaming on Netflix Reviewed by Harrison Long

The Houston Lawyer

or those who’ve been following along with the drama of the Murdaugh clan—from the untimely death of Paul Murdaugh’s friend, Mallory Beach, in February 2019 to his own murder alongside his mother Maggie in June 2021— the story of deceit, calculation, and cunning that has marked this quintessential true crime story comes to a close with season two of the Murdaugh Murders. Where season one was an introspective, deep dive into the psyche of the Murdaugh family, their legacy in their South Carolina enclave, and their influence over the people and environment around them, season two is a cut-anddry courtroom drama. We find Alex Murdaugh on trial for the murder of his wife and son, recapping the initial 911 call out to the Murdaugh estate on the night of the murders, his contact with those at his law office, his housekeeper, and his deceased wife and son, all leading up to the moment that set off the media frenzy that has followed the beleaguered family the past few years. From there, we follow his interviews, the suspicion of law enforcement against him, his charging, the expanse of the trial, and the ultimate verdict. The details of Alex Murdaugh’s scheming are brought to light, his cold demeanor on display throughout the en40 November/December 2023

tirety of the drama unfolding before the viewer, the depth of his plot to cover up his own demons leading up to the fateful day, his drug addictions, embezzlement, and manipulation of those around him drawing a direct line to his actions of June 7, 2021. One particularly startling scene from the series shows an auction of the family’s effects and the household possessions that they used, cherished, and were known for. The townspeople that surround them barter for pieces of local history and curious onlookers hold and examine the everyday items that made their household run. One woman walks away with murdered Maggie Murdaugh’s vacuum as a souvenir, electing not to empty the bag so that she might hold onto the last things that were collected by the efforts of the late Murdaugh matriarch. For true crime fans and curious onlookers alike, season two of this docuseries offers a satisfying conclusion to the story of the Murdaugh family, with some looks to the future. The series is currently streaming on Netflix. Harrison Long is an assistant county attorney with the Harris County Attorney’s Office. He graduated from South Texas College of Law Houston and is originally from Longview, Texas. He is a member of The Houston Lawyer editorial board.

Dinners with Ruth: A Memoir on the Power of Friendships By Nina Totenberg Published by Simon & Schuster Reviewed by Jennifer Smith

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ongtime journalist Nina Totenberg’s Dinners with Ruth is a tribute to friendship. Written as the story of Totenberg’s 50-year relationship with Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, as well as other friends, the book also addresses the many social, political, and legal changes for women over the period. “For women of my era who fought to get in the door, never mind break the glass ceiling, friendship was something special. In a very real sense, it became the Old Girl Network,” wrote Totenberg. In her early working life in the 1960s, she was often the only woman journalist in the newsroom and was always fighting for good assignments. It was lonely. When she joined National Public Radio in 1975, she was elated to form longstanding relationships with the other women on staff. “The organization was so small, there were so few of us and so many things that needed to be done on a shoestring budget that there was no time, energy, or inclination for competition.” Compatriots and longtime friends included the legendary Cokie Roberts and Linda Wertheimer. Meanwhile, life as one of the vanishingly few female law students was hard for Ruth Bader Ginsburg, as well. Famously, the dean of Harvard Law School invited each of the nine women in Ginsburg’s class to a dinner and asked them why they were taking a slot from a deserving man. In her third year, she transferred to Columbia Law School, made law review, and graduated in 1959, tied for first in her class. But twelve law firms refused to employ her, and a Supreme Court justice refused to even grant her an interview for a clerkship. It took an interven-

LEGAL TRENDS

Media Reviews

tion from a professor to find her a job at Rutgers Law School, where she was informed that she would be paid less than a man with similar experience— because he had a wife and two children to support. “That’s the way it was,” said Ginsburg. In 1971, Totenberg called Ginsburg to ask about Reed v. Reed, for which the American Civil Liberties Union had asked Ginsburg to write the principal brief to the Supreme Court. “The brief asked the Court to do something revolutionary: to declare a law unconstitutional because it discriminated ‘on the basis of sex.’ ... The argument may seem obvious today, to the point where it is hard to conceive of how revolutionary it was in 1971.” From that point on, Totenberg started calling Ginsburg regularly to ask legal questions, though they didn’t meet in person for several years. Still, the two professional women formed an abiding friendship that encompassed their spouses and other friends. When Totenberg’s older husband passed through a long and devastating illness, Ginsburg and other close friends helped her through her isolation and grief. And when Ginsburg’s husband passed away, Totenberg reciprocated her kindness. When Totenberg remarried, Ginsburg officiated with joy. “We were present in each other’s lives, especially when it mattered most,” wrote Totenberg. “We showed up.” Though set against the politics of the time, this book’s stories and lessons about friendship are timeless. Totenberg’s Dinners with Ruth shows readers how to cherish and how to maintain friendship, no matter how things change in their lives. Jennifer Smith is director of communication and associate corporate counsel for PPI Quality & Engineering, LLC. She is a member of The Houston Lawyer editorial board.

Gregory v. Chohan: Compensating for Mental Anguish and Loss of Companionship

By Nikki Morris

unaway juries and record-setting jury verdicts frequently make the headlines. However, the Texas Supreme Court’s recent decision in Gregory v. Chohan may reign in some of those verdicts, as the court held that a wrongful death plaintiff must not only demonstrate the existence of compensable mental anguish and loss of companionship damages but also a “rational connection, grounded in the evidence, between the injuries suffered and the amount awarded.”1 Gregory is a wrongful death case in which several people lost their lives after a late-night, multi-vehicle collision. After a jury awarded almost $39 million in damages, two sets of plaintiffs settled their claims, leaving only one family to defend the verdict on appeal. That family’s share of the verdict amounted to $16,447,272.31, of which $15,065,000 was awarded in noneconomic damages.2 Concluding that there was no rational basis for the award, the Texas Supreme Court reversed. The court began by noting that at common law, there was a hesitation to recognize damages for emotional injuries absent an accompanying physical injury.3 It was not until the 1980s that the law allowed for recovery of mental anguish damages without physical injury in the wrongful death context.4 Since the 1980s, the court has placed limits on mental anguish damages in other contexts, requiring not only evidence of the existence of those damages, but also evidence to justify the amount awarded, and the court in Gregory extended those requirements to wrongful death cases.5 In placing these limits, the court empha-

sized that “[j]uries cannot simply pick a number and put it in the blank.”6 Instead, the focus should be on how mental anguish and loss of companionship awards “reasonably compensate surviving family members.” Determining a dollar amount sufficient to compensate someone for the emotional trauma that results from loss of a loved one is not an easy task by any means, and the court provided some guidance on what type of evidence is, and is not, permissible. What Is Not Permissible Evidence? The court rejected what it referred to as “unsubstantiated anchoring,” which includes “suggest[ing] damages amounts by reference to objects or values with no rational connection to the facts of the case.”7 In Gregory, plaintiffs’ counsel referenced multi-million dollar fighter jets and coveted art pieces, and also suggested that the jury award two cents for each of the 650 million miles that the trucking company defendant drove that year.8 However, the court explained that analogies like this provide no rational connection to the emotional damages incurred by the plaintiffs and are improper argument under Rule 269.9 The court also declined to impose a rule based on a ratios connected to economic damages, noting that “we cannot endorse a rule under which a wealthier family can recover more mental anguish damages than another family could simply because the wealthier decedent stood to earn more during his life.”10 But it did not foreclose the use of such ratios when, for example, a decedent suffers through an extended hospital stay that prolongs the family’s mental anguish. What Is Permissible Evidence? The same kind of evidence used to establish the existence of mental anguish damages—evidence of the “nature, duration, and severity” of the damages—is also admissible to prove the amount.11 Examples provided by the court include evidence of the financial consequences of the severe

thehoustonlawyer.com

November/December 2023

LEGAL TRENDS

emotional disruption in the plaintiff’s life and an amount of money that would allow the plaintiff to deal with grief. While direct evidence of a quantifiable amount of damages is not required, the plaintiff must demonstrate “a rational reason grounded in the evidence” as to why the amount sought or obtained is reasonable and just.12 Attorneys on both sides should be aware of these requirements when developing evidence to support or defend against noneconomic awards, arguing limine points, and crafting their next closing arguments. Nikki Morris is a commercial litigation associate and the associate editor of the legal trends column for The Houston Lawyer. Endnotes

1. 670 S.W.3d 546, 562 (Tex. 2023). 2. Id. at 552-53 and n.3. 3. Id. at 553. 4. Id. at 554. 5. Id. at 554-55 (discussing Parkway Co. v. Woodruff, 901 S.W.2d 434, 442 (Tex. 1995) (personal injury); Saenz v. Fidelity & Guar. Ins. Underwriters, 925 S.W.2d 607, 614 (Tex. 1996) (same); Bentley v. Bunton, 94 S.W.3d 561 (Tex. 2002) (defamation)). 6. Id. at 555 (quoting Bentley, 94 S.W.3d at 606). 7. Id. at 557. 8. Id. at 558. This tactic was apparently effective, as the jury awarded a total of $38.8 million—within .05% of the suggested calculation. 9. Id. at 558-59. 10. Id. at 559-60. 11. Id.at 560. 12. Id. at 560-61.

Personal-Jurisdiction and “Dieselgate” in State v. Volkswagen Aktiengesellschaft

The Houston Lawyer

By Tony Lucisano

arlier this year, the Texas Supreme Court issued a highly anticipated personal-jurisdiction decision in State v. Volkswagen Aktiengesellschaft.1 The dispute arose out of “Dieselgate,” a scandal in which German automobile manufacturer Volkswagen Aktiengesellschaft (“VW”) pleaded guilty to federal criminal counts associated with installing so-called “defeat devices” 42 November/December 2023

in its vehicles—devices that tricked emissions testing equipment by altering operations during testing.2 Relevant here, that scheme also involved designing and pushing software down to VW’s American subsidiaries to use for post-sale updates on affected vehicles—including over 23,000 Texas vehicles—in order to ensure that the defeat devices operated effectively.3 After the initial Dieselgate fallout, Texas filed a state court environmental enforcement action against VW, its alleged co-conspirator Audi Aktiengesellschaft (together, the “German Manufacturers”), and certain American subsidiaries.4 The German Manufacturers filed special appearances contesting personal-jurisdiction in Texas.5 The trial court denied the special appearances, the Third Court of Appeals reversed, and the Texas Supreme Court granted review. After recusals resulted in a contested appointment of replacement justices and reargument,6 the Texas Supreme Court finally resolved the personal-jurisdiction question in the affirmative, by a vote of 6 to 3. The Majority Opinion Writing for the majority, Justice Devine concluded that the German Manufacturers had sufficient minimum contacts with Texas.7 According to the majority, “this case does not involve a typical stream-ofcommerce scenario” because the German manufacturers exercised “control over the entire scheme”—by way of importer agreements with the American subsidiaries—that allowed those subsidiaries to “serve[] as the manufacturer’s ‘boots on the ground’” in Texas.8 “Unlike many personal-jurisdiction disputes in which a nonresident manufacturer has merely placed a product in a stream of commerce that fortuitously carried the product to the forum state,” the majority characterized this case as “the German manufacturers effectively—and knowingly—dropp[ing] the tampering software down a chute that guaranteed it would land in Texas.”9 The majority also confronted the U.S.

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Supreme Court’s 2011 plurality opinion in J. McIntyre Machinery, Ltd. v. Nicastro, which conducted a “forum-by-forum” analysis and held that a foreign manufacturer could not be sued in New Jersey despite knowing “that its products are distributed through a nationwide distribution system that might lead to those products being sold in any of the fifty states.”10 The Volkswagen Majority distinguished Nicastro, holding that the German Manufacturers “intentionally reached into this market with certainty that the fraudulent campaigns would be carried out on vehicles that were already here” and that they could not “negate forum contacts based on their similar contacts elsewhere.”11 The Dissent Writing for the dissent, Justice Huddle took issue with the majority’s imputing the American subsidiaries’ contacts onto the German Manufacturers without an adequate showing of alter ego, agency, or some other principle necessary to set aside corporate formalities.12 The German Manufacturers’ import agreements did not, the dissent explained, constitute sufficient “control” to bring agency principles into play, nor did the German Manufacturers themselves have Texas-specific contacts necessary to reach the level of purposeful availment.13 And the dissent found the majority’s discussion of Nicastro more akin to a silent “repudiat[ion]” than sound distinction.14 Stream-of-Commerce Jurisdiction in the Wake of Volkswagen In the dissent’s telling, the Volkswagen Majority greatly expanded stream-of-commerce jurisdiction in a manner that will have “significant ramifications.”15 Time will tell if that prediction comes true, but there at least a few arguments for tempering expectations. First, the Volkswagen decision is, in many respects, a fact-bound debate over the German Manufacturers’ level Continued on page 44

Join the HBA 100 Club! The Houston Bar Association 100 Club is a special category of membership that indicates a commitment to the advancement of the legal profession and the betterment of the community. The following law firms, government agencies, law schools and corporate legal departments with five or more attorneys have become members of the 100 Club by enrolling 100 percent of their attorneys as members of the HBA. Firms of 5-24 Attorneys Abraham, Watkins, Nichols, Agosto, Aziz & Stogner Ajamie LLP Alvarez Stauffer Bremer PLLC Baker, Donelson, Bearman, Caldwell & Berkowitz, PC Buck Keenan LLP Christian Levine Law Group, LLC Coats | Rose Crady, Jewett, McCulley & Houren, LLP De Lange Hudspeth McConnell & Tibbets LLP Dentons US LLP Dobrowski Stafford LLP Doyle Restrepo Harvin & Robbins LLP Ewing & Jones, PLLC Fisher & Phillips LLP Fizer Beck Webster Bentley & Scroggins Fogler, Brar, O’Neil & Gray LLP Frank, Elmore, Lievens, Slaughter & Turet, L.L.P. Funderburk Funderburk Courtois, LLP Germer PLLC Gordon Rees Scully & Mansukhani, LLP Hagans Henke, Williams & Boll, LLP Hirsch & Westheimer, P.C. Holm | Bambace LLP Horne Rota Moos LLP Hughes, Watters & Askanase, L.L.P. Husch Blackwell LLP Jackson Lewis P.C. Jenkins & Kamin, LLP Johnson DeLuca Kurisky & Gould, P.C. Jordan, Lynch & Cancienne Kean Miller Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton LLP Law Feehan Adams LLP Linebarger Goggan Blair & Sampson, LLP

Liskow McGinnis Lochridge McGuireWoods LLP McKool Smith MehaffyWeber PC Morris Lendais Hollrah & Snowden Murrah & Killough, PLLC Nathan Sommers Jacobs Ogletree Deakins Nash Smoak & Stewart, P.C. Paranjpe Mahadass Ruemke LLP Peckar & Abramson, P.C. Phelps Dunbar LLP Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP Ramey, Chandler, Quinn & Zito, P.C. Rapp & Krock PC Reynolds Frizzell LLP Roach & Newton, L.L.P. Ross Banks May Cron & Cavin PC Royston, Rayzor, Vickery & Williams, L.L.P. Rusty Hardin & Associates, LLP Schirrmeister Diaz-Arrastia Brem LLP Schwartz, Page & Harding, L.L.P. Scott, Clawater & Houston, L.L.P. Shannon Martin Finkelstein Alvarado & Dunne, P.C. Shearman & Sterling Shellist | Lazarz | Slobin LLP Shipley Snell Montgomery LLP Smith Murdaugh Little & Bonham LLP Sorrels Law Spencer Fane Sponsel Miller Greenberg PLLC Stuart PC Taunton Snyder & Parish Thompson & Horton LLP Tindall England PC Tracey & Fox Law Firm Ware, Jackson, Lee, O’Neill, Smith & Barrow, LLP

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Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP Locke Lord LLP Norton Rose Fulbright Porter Hedges LLP Vinson & Elkins LLP Corporate Legal Departments CenterPoint Energy, Inc. EOG Resources, Inc. MAXXAM, Inc. Plains All American Pipeline, L.P. Quantlab Financial, LLC Rice University S & B Engineers and Constructors, Ltd. Law School Faculty South Texas College of Law Houston Thurgood Marshall School of Law University of Houston Law Center Government Agencies Harris County Attorney’s Office Harris County District Attorney’s Office Harris County Domestic Relations Office Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County, Texas Port of Houston Authority of Harris County, Texas 1st Court of Appeals 14th Court of Appeals Local Bar Association Boards of Directors Hispanic Bar Association of Houston

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LEGAL TRENDS From page 42

of “control” over the Texas contacts. Second, the majority did not purport to abandon the general framework for stream-of-commerce jurisdiction, which requires an additional “plus factor” of forum-specific conduct.16 And third, the majority repeatedly invoked the “unprecedented” nature of the “fraudulent” and “knowing” scheme in distinguishing this case from others.17 So, it remains unclear whether Volkswagen can meaningfully serve as a blueprint for exercising personal-jurisdiction in more run-of-the-mill cases going forward. Tony Lucisano is a senior litigation associate in the Houston office of Baker Botts L.L.P. He focuses on appellate proceedings and critical motions practice.

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Endnotes

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.

669 S.W.3d 399 (Tex. 2023) Id. at 406-07. Id. at 409-10. Id. at 410. Id. at 411. For more on that recusal and replacement saga, see State v. Volkswagen Aktiengesellschaft, No. 210130, 2022 WL 17072342 (Tex. Nov. 18, 2022). 7. 669 S.W.3d at 405. 8. Id. at 417-19. 9. Id. at 432. 10. 564 U.S. 873, 884, 887 (2011). 11. 669 S.W.3d at 424. 12. Id. at 436-42 (Huddle, J., dissenting). 13. Id. at 439-45. 14. Id. at 448. 15. Id. at 450. 16. Id. at 417. 17. E.g., id. at 416, 425, 432.

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