Tarrant County Bar Association February 2016 Bar Bulletin

1 www.tarrantbar.org ■ February 2016

February 2016


by David E. Keltner

David

President’s page

The Bench Bar Conference is right around the corner—April 22–24. Sev-

eral major changes are in store. Because it will be in Rockwall, the commute to the conference takes about an hour instead of a fi ve-hour road trip. This year the emphasis will be on judicial speakers and panels. I very much appreciate our local

judiciary volunteering as speakers. So, if you ever want to know what judges think on a particular subject—come to the Bench Bar Conference. John Shaw is the Chair, and he and his committee have done a tremendous job. In addition to the CLE, there will be a golf tournament, a casino night, and other fun events. Re-member, what happens at Bench Bar stays at Bench Bar!

Diversity Survey The Association’s Diversity Committee has been hard at work. The purpose of the committee is to foster and promote diversity and inclusion. Texas lawyers serve Texas clients best when the population of the bar is as diverse as the population of the state. In recent years, the demographics in Texas have radically changed. Unfortunately, the demographics of the bar have been slow to catch up. It was only a generation ago that membership in our asso-ciation was limited to white males. African Americans were not permitted. Fortunately, the World War II veteran genera-tion changed that. Our fi rst African American member was Clifford Davis, and he made us proud. He led the legal fi ght to integrate the Fort Worth Independent School District and accomplished that goal while earning the respect of his ad-versaries. As a result, long overdue integration happened in Fort Worth without the pain encountered elsewhere. Judge Davis went on to become a well-respected district judge and an iconic fi gure in the Texas bar. Several years ago we presented Judge Davis with our high-est honor, the Blackstone Award. In his acceptance speech, he made it clear that he was not bitter about his initial exclu-sion and instead expressed appreciation to the bar leaders that changed that policy. In these days of political bickering and insults, we lawyers can learn a lot from Judge Davis. Our Diversity Committee, in collaboration with the Wom-en Attorneys Section, the Mexican-American Bar Association, the Black Women Lawyers Association of Tarrant County and the L. Clifford Davis Legal Association will soon be sending a diversity survey to our lawyers and law fi rms. Please un-derstand that the survey is not an accusation that you are not doing enough. Specifi c law fi rm information will not be dis-seminated. Instead, the purpose of the survey is to monitor our progress and determine what we can do better. We did a survey several years ago and not all law fi rms participated. We hope that all of you will participate so that we can gauge our progress. I want to thank Angel Williams and her committee for the fi ne work they are doing. Rick

Bench Bar ConferenceCruz is chairing the survey and our hats are off to Angel and Rick.

One more word about CLE The highest calling of all bar associations is to educate its members so that its members can provide the most effi cient and effective legal services possible. Over the last four de-cades, the State Bar of Texas has administered the best CLE program in the nation. The effort was started by Gene Cavin. Gene, who was a partner in one of the largest law fi rms in Houston, left his lucrative practice to develop the State Bar of Texas CLE initia-tive. He envisioned a total volunteer effort that encouraged the best practitioners to share their secrets and approach. For-ty years ago, most bar executives did not believe that lawyers would share their secrets to success. But, the last forty years have told a different story. Our best lawyers answered Gene’s call and the rest is a success story. Gene’s idea was to keep CLE fees as low as possible and to provide the same CLE opportunities in Sweetwater as were delivered in Houston. Over the years, the live courses proved to be a problem because Sweetwater lawyers had to leave town and travel to Houston or Dallas for those programs, while Houston lawyers simply walked down the street. Julene Franki and Pat Nester took over from Gene. They recognized the problem and quickly put together the country’s fi rst online and satellite CLE programs. Those served as the model of other bar associations and commercial presenters. Now these online programs are on the Texas Bar CLE website, and any lawyer can download those programs and customize the CLE to his or her practice. Julene left to run ALI/ABA, the national CLE organiza-tion created by the American Law Institute and the Ameri-can Bar Association. She took many of the innovative Texas programs with her and exported Texas–sized ideas to the rest of the country. Pat came back to the State Bar of Texas and improved on Texas Bar CLE’s success. He actively encourages new programs with new speakers. As a result, the programs remain fresh and cutting-edge. If you are interested in pre-senting a CLE topic, call Pat and he will put you to work. I am proud to say that many members of the Tarrant County Bar Association serve as speakers for Texas Bar CLE programs. Our live programs are directed more towards prac-tice in Tarrant County, and the presentations by local judges and outstanding practitioners are extraordinary. A good example is our upcoming Appellate Brown Bag Seminar, which will feature justices from the 2nd Court of Ap-peals as well as staff attorneys from both the Dallas and Fort Worth Courts of Appeals. Of course, we will have outstanding appellate practitioners as well, including our own Russell Bar-ton, Mary Smith and Dwayne Smith, and Matthew Kita. Many thanks to Jody Sanders for putting this CLE activity together. ■


Tarrant County Bar Association817.338.4092 ■ Fax 817.335.9238website: www.tarrantbar.orgemail: [email protected]

2015-2016 OfficersPresident . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . David E. KeltnerPresident-Elect . . . . . . . . . . . Robert G. WestVice President . . . . . . . . . . . . .Nick BettingerSecretary-Treasurer . . . . . . . . . . Lance Evans

DirectorsTerm Ends 2016

Leslie BarrowsJohn Cayce

Term Ends 2017Tawana Gray

Gary L. MedlinJason C. N. Smith

2015-2016 Appointed DirectorsGeffrey AndersonDwayne W. Smith

Tarrant County Young Lawyers Association President2015 Fall

Amber Altemose2016 SpringErin Cofer

Immediate Past PresidentMichael J. Henry

Executive DirectorPatricia Graham, PLS, CLAS

Ex-Officio MembersState Bar Of Texas, Directors

J. Benjamin BarlowGary L. Nickelson

ABA DelegateJanna Clarke

Bar BulletinJohn F. Murphy, Editor

H. Dennis Kelly, Assistant EditorApril Holland, Staff Editor

Graphics/ProductionPark Place Enterprises, Inc.

[email protected] • 817.877.8901

The Tarrant County Bar Bulletin is a monthly publication of the Tarrant County Bar Association. Articles, photos, events for the calendar, suggestions, or comments should be directed to:1315 Calhoun Street • Fort Worth, Texas 76102-6504Deadline for submission is the 1st day of the month, one month prior the date of the issue (e.g. April 1 for the May issue). Items for publication may be emailed to [email protected] in Word format.Articles published in the Bar Bulletin do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the Tarrant County Bar Association, its officers, or the Board of Directors. Calendar listings, classifieds, advertisements, and feature articles should not be considered an endorsement of any service, product, program, seminar or event.

Contents

Features

Departments 1 President’s Page

3 Membership Report

4 100 Club

8 Other Associations’ News & Information

8 YLA Snapshot

9 The IP Domain

12 Snippets

14 Lawyer Referral and Information Service News

14 Transition to Practice

14 Our Sections

14 LegalLine

15 In Memoriam Chris Harris & Mark L. Hart, Jr.

16 TCBA Member Benefits Vendor List

18 Lawyers on the Move & in the News

10 Judicial ProfilesCarey and Sue WalkerRobb and Kim CatalanoFred & Linda Davis

20 Diversity SpotlightAfrican-American History Month

7

5

9

10


CELEBRATING 50 YEARSCELEBRATING 50 YEARSCELEBRATING 50 YEARSCELEBRATING 50 YEARSCELEBRATING 50 YEARSCELEBRATING 50 YEARSCELEBRATING 50 YEARSCELEBRATING 50 YEARSCELEBRATING 50 YEARSCELEBRATING 50 YEARSCELEBRATING 50 YEARSCELEBRATING 50 YEARSCELEBRATING 50 YEARSCELEBRATING 50 YEARSCELEBRATING 50 YEARSCELEBRATING 50 YEARSCELEBRATING 50 YEARSCELEBRATING 50 YEARSCELEBRATING 50 YEARSCELEBRATING 50 YEARSCELEBRATING 50 YEARSCELEBRATING 50 YEARSCELEBRATING 50 YEARSCELEBRATING 50 YEARSCELEBRATING 50 YEARS

Twenty-one of Tarrant County’s most distinguished at-torneys will be recognized for their 50 years of practice at the Tarrant County Bar Association’s Membership

Luncheon on Tuesday, February 9. Judge David Evans, 48th District Court, will be the guest speaker.

Chair Roland Johnson will recognize the following 50 year attorneys:

Dudley D. Beadles

Judge Charles Bleil

Harry M. Brants

Dan Curlee

Charles N. Curry

Robert M. Doby Jr.

Jon Michael Franks

Justice Anne L. Gardner

Terry Gardner

Tolbert L. Greenwood

Frank W. Hill

David L. Hollenbeck

Jerry R. Hoodenpyle

R. David Jones

Neven Michael Kensel

Justice William C. Meier

Paul L. Peebles

Burton Phillip Rolfe

Dean Spurlock

Ben H. Tompkins

Andrew L. Vogel

Congratulations to these attorneys and thank you for your service! ■

21 AttorneysCelebrate 50 Years

of PracticeTuesday, February 9

11:45amCity Club

$26 for members$31 for non-members

RSVP to [email protected]

Membership Luncheon February

If you have any questions regarding your membership, please contact Cindy at 817.338.4092 or email her at [email protected]. ■

MembershipReportIt’s hard to believe we are half-way through our bar year!

The Membership Committee is meeting and working on increasing membership while also trying to increase ben-

efi ts of membership. Did you know that besides being a wonderful networking opportunity in the legal community, membership has other benefi ts?

1) Eighteen Substantive Law Sections offering CLE and networking with members interested in the same areas of law

2) Reduced rates on CLE (Brown Bags, Luncheons, Section meetings, and Last Tuesday CLE)

3) Reduced rates on room rental at the TCBA Bar Center

4) Monthly Bar Bulletin (by email or mail), and updates on upcoming events by email

5) Community Service Opportunities through the Foun-dation: LegalLine, Texas Lawyers for Texas Veterans-Tarrant County Chapter, and Tarrant County Volunteer Attorney Services; and through community service com-mittees: People’s Law School, Annual Food Drive, Blood Drive, Elder Law Committee, and others

6) Reduced rates on advertising in the Bar Bulletin and on the TCBA website

7) Mentoring or being mentored through the Transition to Practice program

8) Reduced rates on offi ce supplies, Sprint, UPS, and shredding documents

9) Discounted tickets to the Fort Worth Zoo

So the next time someone asks you why you joined the TCBA, please let them know. We thank you for your contin-ued membership. This Bar Association is great because of its members like YOU! We would like to take this time to welcome the new members of the TCBA:

AttorneysTheo Bruton

Matt BuckalewDarren De La Cruz

George Gallagher, Jr.Irene Garcia

Peter J. GiesekingJulie N. JohnsonKimberly Nhim

Andrew J. Ramsey

Landon A. WadeZachary Wooley

Herschel V. WoodsLandon D. Young

AssociatesJoy Rice

StudentsShawn Pullum

To be eligible for the 100 Club, any law fi rm, government agency, law school, or corporate legal department that has four or more attorneys and attains 100% TCBA membership compliance for the 2015-2016 bar year qualifi es for “The 100 Club”! The fi rms/organi-zations listed (above) have already paid their membership dues and qualify for 100 Club membership for the new bar year. Any fi rm/or-

ganization that qualifi es in the future will have its name published in every issue of the Bar Bulletin for this bar year. TCBA is proud of the participation of these law fi rms and other groups! The new bar year began July 1, so if you missed your renewal invoice in your email, contact Membership Director Cindy Rankin at 817.338.4092 or email her at [email protected].

100 ClubMembers of the 2015-2016

100 ClubAdams Lynch & Loftin P.C.

Albert Neely & Kuhlmann LLPAnderson & Riddle, LLP

Baker Monroe PLLCBakutis McCully & Sawyer PCBarlow Garsek & Simon, LLP

The Barrows Firm, P.C.The Berenson Firm P.C.

Blaies & Hightower, L.L.P.Bourland, Wall & Wenzel, PC

Brackett & Ellis, P.C.Broude Smith & Jennings PC

Brown, Dean, Wiseman, Proctor, Hart & Howell, LLPCantey Hanger LLP

City Attorney’s Offi ce-City of Fort WorthCook Children’s Health Care System

Curnutt & Hafer, L.L.P.Decker Jones, P.C.

Dowell, Pham & Harrison, LLPEdison, McDowell & Hetherington, LLP

Fillmore Law Firm, L.L.P.Forshey & Prostok, L.L.P.Friedman, Suder & CookeGriffi th, Jay, & Michel, LLP

Harrison Steck P.C.Haynes and Boone, L.L.P.

Holland Johns & Penny LLPJackson Walker, L.L.P.Jim Ross & Associates

Johnston Legal Group, P.C.Kelly Hart & Hallman LLP

KoonsFuller, P.C.

Lacy Lyster Malone & Steppick, PLLCLaw, Snakard & Gambill, P.C.

Lively & Associates, LLPLoe, Warren, Rosenfi eld, Kaitcer, Hibbs,

Windsor, Lawrence & Wolffarth, PCMartinez Hsu, P.C.

McDonald Sanders Law FirmMellina & Larson, P.C.

Moses, Palmer & Howell, L.L.P.Murphy Mahon Keffl er Farrier, LLPNaman Howell Smith & Lee, PLLC

Noteboom Law FirmPadfi eld & Stout, LLP

Law Offi ces of Paup, Shutt& Associates, P.C.Phelps Dunbar LLPPlains Capital BankSchneider Law Firm

Second Court of AppealsShannon, Gracey, Ratliff & Miller, LLP

Stephens, Anderson & CummingsSuzanne I. Calvert & Associates

Tarrant County CDA’s Offi ceTaylor Olson Adkins Sralla & Elam, LLPTexas A&M University School of Law

The Wolf Law Firm, P.C.Thompson & Knight, LLP

Underwood Law FirmVarghese Summersett, PLLC

Watson Caraway Midkiff & Luningham L.L.PWhitaker Chalk Swindle & Schwartz PLLC

Wick Phillips Gould & Martin LLPWinstead PC



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Other Associations’

Arlington Bar AssociationMeets on the 3rd Wednesday of each month. President, Larry Gaydos. For location & information, email [email protected] or call 214.651.5622.

Black Women Lawyers AssociationFor meetings and information, contact Sue Allen, President, at 817.926.5005 or [email protected].

Dee J. Kelly Law Library Welcomes Bar Members! For the latest Texas A&M University School of Law library hours and information, please visit http://law.tamu.edu, or call 817.212.3800.

Fort Worth Chapter Association of Legal AdministratorsMeets on the 2nd Tuesday of each month at the City Club, 301 Commerce Street, Fort Worth, 76102. For more information, contact Lisa Boyd, 817.339.2478 or [email protected].

Fort Worth Paralegal Association - General Membership Meetings are held at noon every 4th Thursday of the month at Joe T. Garcia’s, 2201 N. Commerce. FWPA Board of Directors meets at noon every 1st Tuesday of the month at the Bar Center. For more information, go to www.fwpa.org.

L. Clifford Davis Legal Association (f/k/a TarrantCounty Black Bar Association) holds its meetings on the 3rd Tuesday of each month at 6:00 p.m. For more information, contact President Crystal Gayden at 817.496.8408 or by email at [email protected].

MABA (Mexican American Bar Association)Meets on the last Thursday of each month at Rivas Mexican Restaurant, 5442 River Oaks Blvd., River Oaks 76114. For more information, contact President Eloy Sepulveda at 817.332.1285.

Northeast Tarrant County Bar Association (NETCBA) Meets for CLE luncheons on the 3rd Tuesday of each month at La Hacienda Restaurant, Hwy. 121. Contact President Leslie Barrows at 817.481.1583, lbarrows@barrowsfi rm.com.

Tarrant County Criminal Defense Lawyers Association (TCCDlA) Meets every 2nd Thursday at Joe T. Garcia’s, 2201 N. Commerce. For more information, contact President Randy Bowers at 817.348.8094 or [email protected].

Tarrant County Family Law Bar AssociationMeets at noon on the 4th Tuesday of each month at Family Law Center Assembly Room on the 2nd fl oor. For more information, contact President Kevin Schmid, 817.377.3000 [email protected]

Tarrant County Probate Bar AssociationMeets on the 1st Thursday of each month at the Petroleum Club—members free, guests $30. For more information, contact Tena Fox, 817.280.0811 or [email protected].

Tarrant County Trial Lawyers AssociationMeets on the 4th Wednesday of each month at Joe T. Garcia’s. For more information, contact John S. Jose at 817.288.8988.

Tarrant County Young Lawyers Association 2015-2016 new Bar Year began September 1, 2015. If you need an application or meeting information, call 817.338.4092, email [email protected], or go to the website at tcyla.org.

Texas Association of Defense CounselMeets for lunch every 4th Wednesday at Angelo’s. Contact George Haratsis, McDonald Sanders, 817.336.8651 for more information.

News & Information

Amber

YLASnapshot

Amber Altemose, President TCYLA

As I wrap up my term as President, I can’t help but refl ect on everything that TCYLA has accomplished over the last few months. TCYLA hosted another

successful golf tournament, which raised $8,000 for the Tar-rant County Bar Foundation; created a new CLE program to bridge the gap between law school and the practice of law; partnered with A&M Law School to deliver a professionalism program to law students; prepared lunch for families resid-ing at Ronald McDonald House; and continued to provide CLE and networking opportunities for its members. None of this could have been accomplished without the time and dedication of TCYLA’s Board of Directors, volunteers, and members; Cindy Rankin; and Trisha Graham. Last month, TCYLA held several events benefi ting its membership. TCYLA teamed up with Fort Worth CPAs to host a networking happy hour at Shipping & Receiving. TCY-LA members also volunteered their time to prepare lunch for families residing at Ronald McDonald House. Justice Bonnie Sudderth presented “The Do’s and Don’ts of Appellate Advo-cacy” to TCYLA members at its monthly luncheon. And fi nal-ly, TCYLA mentors attended a Back-to-School-Event at Acre Distillery with their mentees from A&M Law School. I want to thank Rob Henry, Patrick Rose, Jake Ramsey, Kat Hopkins, and Trisha Graham for their help in organizing these events. Looking forward, TCYLA will host another Buzz for a Cause event at Little Red Wasp on February 18. TCYLA will be raising money for Animal Hope Pet Adoptions, a non-prof-it organization that provides injured and sick animals with medical treatment and placement in loving homes. We hope you can attend to support this great organization and see our celebrity bartenders! Finally, TCYLA will be conducting another Salary Sur-vey! TCYLA members will have an opportunity to partici-pate in the anonymous survey, so be on the lookout for an email containing more information about the survey. ■


THE IP DOMAIN:

By Tom Williams and Dustin Johnson

In a ruling surprising to many, a divided U.S. Court of Ap-peals for the Federal Circuit held that the statutory ban on registering “disparaging trademarks” violates the First

Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. In re Tam, No. 2014-1203 (Fed. Cir. Dec. 22, 2015) (en banc). The Federal Circuit expressly overruled In re McGinley, 660 F.2d 481 (C.C.P.A. 1981), which found no First Amendment violation because a rejected trademark applicant remains free to use the “dispar-aging” mark, just without the benefi t of federal registration. In In re Tam, the Federal Circuit vacated the U.S. Patent and Trademark Offi ce’s (USPTO) denial of trademark reg-istration for “The Slants,” the name of an Asian-American dance-rock band. The USPTO had denied registration of the mark based on Section 2(a) of the Lanham Act, which bars disparaging marks. 15 U.S.C. § 1052(a). Simon Shiao Tam had fi led for registration of the mark for his band, The Slants, which he said he chose in an effort to “reclaim” and “take ownership” of Asian stereotypes. In re Tam, at 10-11. Tam felt that Asians should be proud of their cultural heritage and not be offended by stereotypical descriptions. Id. The USPTO found that the mark referred to people of Asian descent in a disparaging way and that a substantial composite of persons of Asian descent would fi nd the term offensive. Id. at 11-12. In analyzing whether a mark is dispar-aging under the Lanham Act, the USPTO considers whether the mark “dishonors by comparison with what is inferior, slights, deprecates, degrades, or affects or injures by unjust comparison.” Id. at 9. To determine if a mark is disparaging under § 2(a), a trademark examiner considers: (1) the likely meaning of the matter in question, and (2) if that meaning refers to identifi able persons, institutions, beliefs or national symbols, whether it may be disparaging to a substantial com-posite of the referenced group. Id. at 10, quoting Trademark Manual of Exam. Proc. § 1203.03(b)(i) (Jan. 2015 ed.). On appeal, the Federal Circuit applauded the Lanham

Lanham Act Ban onDisparaging TrademarkRegistrations Is Unconstitutional

Act’s goals of (1) protecting the public so it may be confi dent that it will get the product that it requests and wants, and (2) protecting the markholder’s investment from misappropria-tion from others. Id. at 5. But the Federal Circuit drew the line at the restrictions in § 2(a) based on the expressive nature of the content, reasoning that the restrictions on disparaging marks do not further the Lanham Act’s purposes of prevent-ing consumers from being deceived and protecting the mark-holder’s investment. Id. at 7. The Federal Circuit concluded that the Lanham Act’s prohibition on registration of disparaging marks is an uncon-stitutional discrimination against unpopular speech. Writing for a six-judge majority, Judge Kimberly Moore stated that “[m]any of the marks rejected as disparaging convey hurtful speech that harms members of oft-stigmatized communities. But the First Amendment protects even hurtful speech.” Id. at 4. The Federal Circuit continued, “[i]t is a bedrock principle underlying the First Amendment that the government may not penalize private speech merely because it disapproves of the message it conveys,” and as such, “[t]he government cannot refuse to register disparaging marks because it disap-proves of the expressive messages conveyed by the marks.” Id. The ruling may hold signifi cant ramifi cations for the Washington Redskins football team, whose federal trade-mark registration was revoked in June 2014, when the Trade-mark Trial and Appeal Board concluded that the REDSKINS mark is disparaging to Native Americans. In a possible nod to the REDSKINS case, the Court in Tam complained that the disparaging mark exclusion can actually undermine the Lanham Act’s goals by allowing a party to challenge a mark many years after its issuance and after the markholder has invested millions of dollars protecting its brand identity. Id. at 7-8. The football team has appealed the revocation to the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals, where it is making First Amendment arguments similar to those adopted in Pro-Football, Inc. v. Blackhorse, No. 1:14-cv-01043-GBL-IDD, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 90091 (E.D. Va. July 8, 2015), appeal dock-eted, No. 15-1874 (4th Cir. Sept. 6, 2015). The question of denying federal trademark registratio n for “disparaging” marks may ultimately be determined by the Supreme Court, especially if the Fourth Circuit decides the Redskins case differently than the Federal Circuit decided Tam, which would create a circuit split only the Supreme Court could resolve. ■

Tom Williams is a partner in the Fort Worth offi ce of Haynes and Boone, LLP. He may be reached [email protected] or 817.347.6625.

Dustin Johnson is a partner in the Fort Worth andRichardson offi ces of Haynes and Boone, LLP. He maybe reached at [email protected] 972.739.6969.


Carey and Sue Walker The Walkers met during law school at Texas Tech Uni-versity over thirty years ago. Now both have been serv-ing on judicial benches since Carey was elected to Tarrant County Criminal Court Number 2 in 2014. Carey was in his third year of law school at Texas Tech School of Law, only two months from graduation, when he met Sue, who was in her fi rst year. They had a whirlwind romance, and less than a year after their fi rst date, they were married in March 1985, at Westminster Presbyterian Church in Amarillo, where Sue grew up. Carey took a po-sition with the Lubbock County District Attorney’s Offi ce during Sue’s next year and a half in law school. After Sue graduated, they secured jobs and moved to Arlington in 1987. Sue’s fi rst job out of law school was as a law clerk with the Fifth Court of Appeals in Dallas. Her experience later as a staff attorney for that court had a signifi cant infl uence on her. “I was so fortunate to have Craig Enoch, James Baker, and Ed Kinkeade as mentors. They all served as justices on the Dallas court when I worked there.” She hoped that she would be an appellate justice someday. “I always had that as my dream,” she said. After becoming Board Certifi ed in Civil Appellate Law in 1993, Sue focused her career in that area, and ultimately established her own solo law practice handling civil and criminal appeals exclusively. In 2001, she was elected to Place 5 on the Second Court of Appeals. She is now serv-ing her sixteenth year on the court. Sue enjoys her work on the court. “I really like a written work product. I like words, writing, researching, and problem solving. The court was a good fi t for me.” After leaving the Lubbock County DA’s offi ce, Carey worked for two different law fi rms in Fort Worth and Arling-ton. In 1995, he set up his own law fi rm, where he practiced civil and criminal law until he was elected to the bench. He made a smooth transition to his judicial post and is now

entering his second year of service as a judge. He says he “now looks forward to Monday mornings.” Carey said his legal career was most infl uenced by then Lubbock County District Attorney Jim Bob Darnell, whom he credits for teaching him how to correctly prepare and try cases while maintaining the highest ethical standards. “Wayne Ward and Harry Cure taught me how to proper-ly practice law in Tarrant County,” he said. “And I always admired Judge Billy Mills and Judge Vince Sprinkle, and I hope to live up to the standards set by these two outstand-ing judges.” As the newest two-judge couple in Tarrant County, the Walkers have made the adjustment. “There is, I guess, somewhat of a novelty to it. I’ve known doctors, dentists, and policemen who were married,” but for married mem-bers of the judiciary, “you don’t see it quite as often,” said Sue. “Because we’ve always been in the legal profession to-gether since day one, it is not much different,” was Carey’s perspective. Now married for over thirty-one years, Sue and Carey Walker have two grown, married children: Janie and Benja-min. They have one granddaughter, Lucy. They are known to Lucy as Lovie and Poopaw, and they agree that Lucy is the apple of their eye. When they do have time to vacation, their favorite vacation spot is Ouray, Colorado.

Robb and Kim Catalano Robb and Kim Catalano are the second husband and wife judicial team being featured this month. Robb has been the Judge of Tarrant County Criminal District Court No. 3 for fi ve years. Kim has been a Municipal Court Judge for the City of Fort Worth since 2006. Robb grew up in Arlington, Texas, where he graduated from Arlington Martin High School in 1988. He graduated in 1992 from St. Edward’s University in Austin with a degree in Criminal Justice. Kim grew up in Fort Worth, graduating from Boswell High School in 1988 and from St. Mary’s University in 1993 with degrees in Vocal Performance and Speech Communica-tion. On a Friday night, while they were studying during law school at St. Mary’s in 1993, Robb asked Kim if she would like to see a movie at the dollar theater. “I’m sure she was really impressed,” he said. She must have been because they married three years later in 1996 at Holy Family Catho-lic Church here in Fort Worth.

By Perry Cockerell

ProfilesJudicial

This month we are profi ling our “Judicial Sweethearts.”


After law school, Robb held positions as an attorney with the Dallas City Attorney’s offi ce, the Tarrant County District Attorney’s Offi ce, and the U.S. Attorney’s Offi ce in the Fort Worth Division. In 2001, he was appointed Munici-pal Court Judge for the City of Fort Worth. In 2010, he was elected to the Criminal District Court bench. Robb became interested in law while working on his degree in criminal justice at St. Edward’s University. For Robb, being elected to the Criminal District bench “is an honor and has been a rewarding experience.” After law school, Kim fi rst worked at Paul Van Ness and Associates in Dallas and then at Kirkley, Schmidt & Cotten. Then she became a Director with Brackett & Ellis. Her primary practice was in insurance defense. In 2006, she set up her own law offi ce to continue handling guardian ad litem and attorney ad litem appointments. That same year she was also named Pro-Tem Municipal Court Judge for the City of Fort Worth, where she continues to serve. As far as balancing their home and professional life with three active boys, ages 14, 13, and 10, “the schedule is diffi cult because we are always going in different direc-tions, but we work as a team and it all comes together,” said Robb. For Kim, being a Pro-Tem Municipal Court Judge and having her own legal practice allows her the fl exibility to be there for her family. Her position as a Municipal Judge allows her to work during the school hours, nights, and weekends. “I love being a judge, lawyer, wife and mom. In my career, I like helping people while making sure they understand the legal process. At home, I love being there for my husband and three boys when they need me,” said Kim. In response, Robb said, “Even though she doesn’t have a regular full-time job, she is working more than full-time. I couldn’t do what I do without Kim.”

Fred and Linda Davis On paper, Fred and Linda Davis are now retired from the Tarrant County judi-ciary, but that does not mean they have stopped working. Af-ter leaving the 17th District Court in 2009, Fred Davis transi-tioned to a mediation practice in Arlington and continued serving as a visiting judge. Last year, he worked sixty days as a visiting judge. Linda Davis retired in 2013 as Judge of the Justice of the Peace Precinct 2 and remains active, although for the moment she is recovering from knee surgery. Fred was born in San Angelo, Texas. While growing up, he worked with his father, who ran three motion pic-ture theaters in Alpine, Texas, and eventually Fred became the movie projectionist. After graduating from Alpine High School in 1956 and Sul Ross in 1960, he chose law school at Baylor University.

He knew he would be a lawyer early on. “I knew I was going to law school because I knew I did not want to be a coach or a doctor.” He told his banker that he had good news and bad news: “The good news is that I’m going to law school. The bad news is that you have to pay for it.” His banker responded: “Flag Freddy’s account and when he gets $500 overdrawn, send him a note for $1,000.” When he graduated from law school in 1962, he owed the bank $5,000. After law school, Fred moved to Arlington and joined Jack Harris and Chester Ball. He recalls them handing him fi les and saying “go try these.” He tried thirty jury trials from 1963 to 1965. “I learned from the lawyers who I tried cases with. The better lawyer I had, the happier I was.” In 1965, he set up his own law practice in downtown Arlington. “All of the Arlington lawyers had a general prac-tice back then.” He practiced for the next twenty-three years, handling civil trial law, workers compensation, fam-ily law, criminal law, and real estate transactions. He even owned an interest in a title company. In 1988, Judge William Brigham, a good friend, urged Fred to run for the 17th District Court. He did and won. It was during that campaign that he met Linda. They were married in 1992 by Judge Brigham. In 2008, he decided not to run for reelection. “I was there for twenty years, and I thought it was enough. I want-ed to transition to a mediation practice after leaving the bench and didn’t believe I would do that if I ran for one more term.” Looking back at his time as a judge, “I tried to be the best judge I could. I let the lawyers run the case. I did not interfere with them, and I did not force them to try a case that was not ready.” When Fred and Linda met, she had just sold her Cen-tury 21 real estate franchise and was taking pottery lessons from Judge Brigham. It was during one of her classes that Judge Brigham encouraged her to apply for the new Tarrant County Jury Administrator position. She was selected, and during her term, she designed, developed, and implement-ed the One Day/One Trial Jury System for Tarrant County. Her system won a National Award and served as a model jury system. In 1998, she decided to run for Justice of the Peace, Pre-cinct 2 in Arlington. “I knew that I would do a good job for the citizens of Precinct 2.” She won and remained in offi ce until 2013. While in offi ce, Linda developed a justice court that was used for training throughout the state for other JP Courts. Linda says that having a District Judge as a husband was valuable to her understanding of her job. She continues to serve as a visiting judge for the JP Courts. Linda was an instructor for the Texas Justice Court Training Center during her tenure. Fred and Linda live in Arlington, where they can access the Shady Valley Golf Course using their own personalized golf cart. Linda gave Fred this golf cart as a Valentines gift. The front of the cart says “Happy Valentine’s Day,” and the left says “Judge” while the right says “Justice.” Fred makes time to play two rounds of golf a week with friends. Retire-ment is good for the Davis judges. ■


Civil and Criminalby Judge Bob McCoy ■ County Criminal Court No. 3

Snippets

Moses

RamsesRamses

Co-EditorLin Morrisett

Associate JudgeProbate Court

No. 2

Who’s That Street Named After?Pantego Drive is the road to Pantego. The town published a booklet that explains the name: The settler Foscue became good friends with an Indian named Pantego, whom he had hired. His loyalty to Foscue was legendary. —From Werner Magnus, Who was Hulen? An Attempt to Find the Origins of Street Names in Fort Worth.

Ask Judge BobJudge Bob, just what exactly is “prima facie” evidence?Prima facie evidence is evidence that, until its effect is over-come by other evidence, will suffi ce as proof of a fact in is-sue. In other words, a prima facie case is one that will entitle a party to recover if no evidence to the contrary is offered by the opposite party.Saratine v. Blunt, 466 S.W.3d 352, 358 (Tex. App—Austin 2015).

Ask The DanesRamses and Moses, are there any new laws concerning rabies vaccination?Yes. The goal behind HB1740 was to improve access to rabies

vaccinations. Previously, a licensed veterinarian was required to complete a full examination of an animal before it could be vaccinated for rabies, based on an administrative rule requiring the establishment of a veterinarian client-patient relationship. HB1740 exempts a veterinarian employed by a county or city with a rabies control program from the requirement that a full examination be given before a rabies vaccination.Shelby Bobosky, Animal Law, Tex. Bar J., Oct. 2015, at 700.

The Danes’ Quote Of The Month“Heaven goes by favor. If it went by merit, you would stay out and your dog would go in.”—Mark Twain

Criminal Items Of Interest1. Diminished Capacity “Texas does not recognize diminished capacity as an affi r-

mative defense. Rather, it is a ‘failure-of-proof defense in which the defendant claims that the State failed to prove that the defendant had the required state of mind at the time of the offense.’”

Henry v. State, 466 S.W.3d 294, 298 (Tex. App.—Texar-kana 2015).

2. Circumstantial Evidence “[T]he State was entitled to rely upon circumstantial ev-

idence because it ‘is as probative as direct evidence in establishing the guilt of the actor, and circumstantial evi-dence alone may be suffi cient to establish guilt.’”Jones v. State, 466 S.W.3d 252, 260 (Tex. App.—Houston [1st Dist.] 2015).

3. Hearsay “A statement is not hearsay if its relevancy does not hinge

on its truthfulness.” Jones v. State, 466 S.W.3d 252, 263 (Tex. App.—Houston [1st Dist.] 2015).

4. Admission of a Drug-Ledger Journal “[T]he trial court correctly admitted the drug ledger be-

cause it was “a ‘tool of the trade’ and . . . an item com-monly associated with the practice of trading in illegal narcotics. The court of appeals concluded that the ledger was not offered to prove the truth of the matters contained therein because it was not ‘used to prove particular drug transactions that were elements of extraneous crimes or of any type of drug conspiracy.’”Jones v. State, 466 S.W.3d 252, 266 (Tex. App.—Houston [1st Dist.] 2015).

5. Categories of Offenses “We distinguish offenses into three different categories

of offenses based on the offense-defi ning statute’s grava-men, or focus: ‘result of conduct,’ ‘nature of conduct,’ or ‘circumstances of conduct’ offenses. Result-of-conduct of-fenses concern the product of certain conduct. Nature-of-conduct offenses are defi ned by the act or conduct that is punished, regardless of any result that might occur.Lastly, circumstances-of-conduct offenses prohibit other-wise innocent behavior that becomes criminal only under specifi c circumstances.”Robinson v. State, 466 S.W.3d 166, 170 (Tex. Crim. App. 2015).

6. Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law “[N]o statute authorizes fi ndings of fact and conclusions

of law after a bench trial in a criminal case.”Robinson v. State, 466 S.W.3d 166, 172–73 (Tex. Crim. App. 2015).

7. Theft “Evidence of possession alone is not legally suffi cient evi-

dence of theft. Possession must be accompanied by ‘other facts connecting the defendant with the unlawful taking of the property,’ such as that the possession of stolen prop-erty was ‘recent, personal, unexplained, and involved a distinct and conscious assertion of right to the property.”


Torres v. State, 466 S.W.3d 329, 334–45 (Tex. App.—Ama-rillo 2015).

Civil Items Of Interest1. Commute from Temporary Housing is Employ-

ment. “[W]e conclude that Interstate Treating’s business called

for employing specialized, non-local work crews in con-stantly changing, remote locations on temporary assign-ments. Interstate Treating’s business required its instal-lation workers, like Lopez, to obtain temporary housing and travel from that temporary housing to that temporary, remote location. Lopez’s travel from his temporary hous-ing to the Ridge job site and, more importantly, the risks associated with such travel were dictated by Interstate Treating’s business model and enabled by Interstate Treat-ing’s provision of the vehicle and payment of per diem and other expenses. . . . . Accordingly, we hold that the relationship between Lopez’s travel and his employment ‘is so close that it can fairly be said that the injury had to do with and originated in the work, business, trade or profession’ of Interstate Treating.”

SeaBright Ins. Co. v. Lopez, 465 S.W.3d 637, 644 (Tex. 2015).

2. Judicial Admission “A judicial admission is a formal waiver of proof that dis-

penses with the production of evidence on an issue and bars the admitting party from disputing it. As long as the statement stands unretracted, it must be taken as true by the court and jury; it is binding on the declarant and he cannot introduce evidence to contradict it.”

In re Estate of Guerro, 465 S.W. 3d 693, 705 (Tex. App.—Houston [14th Dist.] 2015).

3. Must Request Attorneys Fees “Having grounds to seek attorney’s fees is not the same as

requesting attorney’s fees. Likewise, being entitled to at-torney’s fees is not the same as seeking to recover them. A request for affi rmative relief requires positive action—an ‘ask.’”

Stoman v. Tautenhahn, 465 S.W. 3d 715, 718 (Tex. App.—Houston [14th Dist.] 2015).

4. Mandamous Available Only When There is a Sole Rational Decision

“A writ of mandamus may issue when the facts and cir-cumstances dictate only one rational decision under un-equivocal, well-settled, and clearly controlling legal prin-ciples.”

Hous. Firefi ghters Relief & Retirement v. Hous., 466 S.W.3d 182, 187 (Tex. App.—Houston [14th Dist.] 2015).

5. Merger Clause Vitiated by Fraudulent Induce-ment

“[E]ven a written contract containing a merger clause can be avoided for fraud in the inducement, and the parol evidence rule does not stand in the way of proof of such fraud.”

Wilmont v. Bouknight, 466 S.W.3d 219, 230 (Tex. App.—Houston [1st Dist.] 2015).

6. Post Judgment Foreclosure not Subject to Appeal “This court has recently articulated the general rule that

‘post-judgment orders made for the purpose of enforcing or carrying into effect a prior judgment are not subject to appeal because they are not fi nal judgments. . . . . In sum, we conclude that the judicial foreclosure order is a post-judgment enforcement order. Accordingly, in line with our Walter precedent, we lack jurisdiction to consider this ap-peal from a post-judgment enforcement order.”

Kelly v. Wiggins, 466, S.W.3d 324, 327, 329 (Tex. App.—Houston[14th Dist.] 2015) (citing Walter v. Marathon, 422 S.W.3d 848, 855 (Tex. App.—Houston [14th Dist.] 2014).

7. Texas Public Information Act for Private Parties “[Texas Gov’t Code s]ection 522.104’s exception applies

to both the government and private parties and may be invoked by either to protect the privacy and property in-terests of a private party in accordance with its terms.”

Boeing Co. v. Paxton, 466 S.W.3d 831, 838 (Tex. 2015).

8. Percentage Responsibility “Because [Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 33] evidences the

legislature’s intent that the factfi nder determine the ‘per-centage of responsibility,’ its plain language requires the factfi nder to compare the conduct of those who allegedly violated a legal standard—even if the plaintiff could not hold all of them liable for the resulting harm.”

ExxonMobile Corp. v. Pagayon, 467 S.W.3d 36, 50 (Tex. App.—Houston [14th Dist.] 2015).

Quote of the Month “Ye shall know the truth and the truth shall make you mad.”—Aldous Huxley

Memorable Quote from County Court at Law Number 3Judge: What has been getting you into trouble?Accused: I have been thinking too fast. I need to slow my thinking down.

Legal Quote of the Month“Man’s capacity for justice makes democracy possible, but man’s inclination to injustice makes democracy necessary.”—Reinhold Neibuhr

Old NewsFifty Years Ago:

Average House Cost: $14,200; Average Car Cost: $2,600; Aver-age Salary: $6,900;

Supreme Court hands down Miranda decision, Star Trek de-buts, Beatles perform last commercial concert, and start re-cording Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts club band.

Gallon of Gas: $0.32, Infl ation was 3.1%, top of the line IBM 360 computers are sold, which will perform up to 10 million instructions per second, with up to 4 megabytes of memory, meaning that the mid-range Iphone 6 is 140 times faster and has 16,000 times more memory.

The Year 1966 from the People History, www.thepeoplehistory.com (November 25, 2015); Wikipedia (November 25, 2015).


Lawyer Referral andInformation Service

News

The LRIS has received $93,410.19 in referral fees since July 1! Special thanks to William Brotherton, Bill Catterton, David Cook, James

Culbertson, James Davidson, Sylvia Duarte, Todd Durden, Joan Durkin, Bryan Fears, Lacie Friday, Andrew Gore, James Graham, Earl Hargrave, Christian Jenkins, James Jinks, Lyn-dell Kirkley, Brian McGrath, Thomas McKenzie, Chris Milt-enberger, Caleb Moore, Stephen O’Rear, Dustin Payne, Mi-chael Remme, Lantis Roberts, Sarah Seltzer, Daniel Smith, Brian Walker, Jerry Walker, Jacob Wallace, and Brett Wyatt. Thank you all! We wouldn’t be here without you! Also a special thank you to staff members Carolina Ibar-ra and Brittany Gilbert for all they do to make sure reports are sent and returned in a timely manner, as well as referring the many callers to our attorney members. ■

NewsAnd, now a word from…

Our ADR Section The Tarrant County Bar Association’s Alternative Dispute

Resolution Section is back! Our fi rst meeting received high praise as Christian Dennie, Barlow Garsek & Simon, LLP, presented “Recent Developments in Sports Arbitra-tions.” One attendee stated, “That was a very fun and infor-mative presentation!” We will have more informative and interesting speakers on a wide range of topics involving dis-pute resolution. We are also working with other bar sections to provide useful CLE and workshops to assist ADR practitioners. We are also working with other ADR Sections throughout Texas in an effort to promote cooperation and discussion among ADR practitioners statewide. We hope you will consider joining as we push forward toward a successful 2016. If you have any questions about the Tarrant County Bar ADR Section please feel free to contact me.

Dan Paret, Chair, ADR Section • [email protected]

JURIS FABRILIS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18KOONSFULLER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . INSIDE FRONT COVERTHE LAW OFFICE OF GREG JACKSON P.L.L.C. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17LAW OFFICES OF STEVEN C. LAIRD, P.C. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19LAWPAY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16LEXISNEXIS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . INSIDE BACK COVERNORTHERN REALTY GROUP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16PARKER LAW FIRM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6STEPHENS ANDERSON & CUMMINGS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . BACK COVERTEXAS LAWYERS’ INSURANCE EXCHANGE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18TINDALL SQUARE OFFICE COMPLEX . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18

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Please consider donating two hours of your time the 2nd & 4th Thursday, January through November from 6:00pm-8:00pm. Bring a friend.

LegalLine is a valuable community service outreach program that needs your time and skills. If you are interested in volunteering or sponsoring, please contact Carolina at 817.338.4092 or [email protected].

Dinner served at 5:30pm for all volunteers.

Help!LegalLine for 2016 has begun

and we need volunteers.

The Transition to Practice mentoring program kicked off the 2016 year on Janu-

ary 20. The program was titled “Getting Hired and Getting Paid, Employment Contracts, Billing, and IOLTA Accounts.” The pro-gram included an orientation for mentors and mentees, followed by a panel. It was a great way to start off the program for young lawyers beginning a new practice. The Committee is putting together informative programs with the newly licensed attorneys in mind, “What do They Need to Know?” The program needs more mentors. If you are an attorney who has been practicing ten years or more, then TCBA needs you. It only takes an hour a month, and it will help a young lawyer tremendously! The Transition to Practice mentoring program pairs you with a young lawyer who practices in the same area of law. There are six meetings a year with free CLE and lunch at the TCBA offi ces. You can use that time to visit with your mentee and answer questions or just get acquaint-ed. The other six months of the year, we ask you to meet with your mentee by phone, over coffee, or at lunch. If you are a new lawyer, this program is for you. If you know any other attorneys who are newly licensed or have been practicing for three years or less, let them know about the program. The programs are set up with you in mind, get-ting you familiar with the practice of law, and helping you navigate the pitfalls. If you have questions or are interested, please contact Cindy at [email protected] or at 817.338.4092. ■

2016 Transition to Practice Mentoring Programoff to a Great Start


In Memoriam In Memoriam In MemoriamFormer state lawmaker Chris

Harris died peacefully on December 19, 2015, in Fort

Worth. His funeral was held at Crossroads Christian Church in Grand Prairie on December 22, 2015. The family wishes that, in lieu of fl owers, donations be made in Senator Chris Harris’s honor to the JoAnne Harris Schol-arship Fund at the University of Texas at Arlington or the American Heart Association. Chris was born February 22, 1948, in Pasadena, California. He was the son of attorney Jack Harris and artist JoAnne Harris. Chris graduated from Arlington High School in 1966. He attended Texas Christian Uni-versity, and he earned his Juris Doctorate degree from Baylor Law School in 1971. He was the longest-serving Republican in the Texas Senate. Harris spent almost three decades representing parts of Tarrant, Dallas, Denton, Johnson, and Parker counties in the Legislature. Harris served as Chairman of the Senate Admin-istration Committee for fi ve terms and was the Senate President Pro Tempore in 2001. He led an extensive overhaul of the Texas Family Code in the mid-1990s. When he retired, Senator Harris was the ranking Re-publican in the Legislature. Harris spearheaded efforts to increase funding for the University of Texas at Arlington, especially for the College of Nursing and Health Innovation and the Col-lege of Engineering. In 1999, Senator Harris received the University’s Honorary Distinguished Alumni Award, and in 2011, he was added to the UTA Walk of Fame. Harris is the Founding Partner of Harris Cook, L.L.P. with its principle offi ce in Arlington. Harris was a civil trial litigator, primarily representing businesses and families in civil courts and family courts for almost forty-fi ve years. Additionally, Senator Harris was a re-spected fee attorney in the title industry for over twen-ty-fi ve years. He worked closely with the Texas Land Title Association and the Real Estate Industry. His title company in Arlington currently represents First Ameri-can Title. Chris is survived by his loving wife of thirty-nine years, Tammy Allred Harris; his fi ve children, Heather Harris Heftler and her spouse Jerry Heftler; Don Har-ris and his spouse, Adrianne Harris; Chris Harris, Jr.; Justin Harris and his spouse, Amy Harris; and his six grandchildren: Halley Harris, Caitlin Clasin, Harrison Beagles, Jesse Harris, Alley Harris, and Courtney Har-ris. Chris was predeceased by his father, Jack Harris; his mother, JoAnne Harris; his brother, Grady Harris; and his son, Courtney Harris. ■

Chris Harris Mark L. Hart Jr.

Attorney Mark L. Hart Jr., of Kelly Hart & Hallman LLP, passed away on Christmas Eve, December 24,

2015, after fi ghting a sixteen-year battle with Parkinson’s disease. A memorial ser-vice was held on Wednesday, December 30, at University Christian Church in Fort Worth. Mark was born on April 21, 1943. His parents were Frances Shear Hart of Waco and Mark Lafayette Hart of Fort Worth. He graduated from R.L. Paschal High School in 1961 and from there went on to attend the University of Texas at Austin and the Uni-versity of Texas School of Law in 1968, where he was Associate Editor of the Texas Law Review and where he graduated with honors. Mark was an avid athlete in baseball and basketball. In high school, he was a three-year starting pitcher and a two-year start-ing forward. During his freshman year in college, he pitched for the Longhorns, and from there he was heavily involved with in-tramural sports. He was All-Universi ty eleven times in four differ-ent sports, and he held the record for the longest softball throw at University of Texas. During law school, as a quarterback, he led the “Legal Eagles” to two university titles. In his honor, the Mark L. Hart Jr. Endowed Scholarship is awarded annually to two UT students who are involved in the intramural sports program. The University of Texas School of Law also created the Mark L. Hart Jr. Endowed Chair in Corporate and Securities Law in his honor. In 1968, Mark began his law career at Vinson Elkins Law Firm in Houston. In 1969, he married his true love, Adele Perry. He and Adele had three children: Mark Hart III, Mary Lipscomb, and Elizabeth Hart. Mark decided to move his family to Fort Worth in 1972, and in 1979, he founded the law fi rm of Kelly Hart & Hallman LLP along with partners Dee Kelly and Bill Hall-man. Mark was the managing partner of the fi rm until he retired, and after his retirement, he remained of counsel until his death. Kelly Hart & Hallman is one of the largest and most respected fi rms in all of Texas. Mark was very active in the community and served on many charitable boards. He was special advisor to the board for the Kimbell Art Museum, president of the Board of Trustees of the Fort Worth Museum of Science and History, president of the lo-cal branch of the American Cancer Society, and president of the Board of Trustees of Fort Worth Country Day School. Although Mark was very involved with the community and with his work, he was devoted to his family and spent much time coaching his children’s sports teams and doting on his wife. Nu-merous people knew him as a mentor who offered wise, sound counsel. He always had a sense of humor and taught many what it means to be brave and dignifi ed. Mark is survived by his wife, Adele Hart; his son, Mark Hart III and wife, Shannon, and their children, Mark, James, and Mary Shannon; his daughter, Mary Lipscomb and her husband, Blake, and their children, Jody and Miles; his daughter, Elizabeth Hart; and his sister, Harriet Hart and her husband, Sonny Wallace. ■


ABA Retirement Funds program provides full-service 401(k) plans to benefi t the legal community. To learn more, contact local rep. Jacob Millican at 817.451.5020 or visit www.abaretirement.com.

AMO Offi ce Supply offers TCBA members the lowest price guaran-teed on offi ce supplies, with next-day delivery and free shipping! Call 800.420.6421.

Falcon Litigation Solutions offers discounts on copying, litigation displays, trial boards, etc. Call 817.870.0330.

Fort Worth JSB Co., Inc., offers a 10% discount to TCBA members on printed materials—business cards, letterhead, envelopes, business forms, brochures, fl yers, and more. For a quote, call 817.577.0572.

Fort Worth Zoo, discount tickets - $9.50 adult, $6.50 for child or senior. For tickets, contact [email protected] or 817.338.4092. If mailing or charging tickets, add 50 cents.

Sprint offers 15% off the monthly service. For info, contact [email protected] or 817.338.4092.

UPS - TCBA has signed an agreement with UPS for TCBA members to receive discounts on shipping. The discounts vary according to the type of shipment, but check out UPS for your needs. www.ups.com or 1.800.PICK.UPS.

For IT help:Juris Fabrilis-Cool Tools for Lawyers offers members discounted rates on web-based tools to help you manage your law practice. 817.481.1573 ext. 101.

For Shredding and Document Disposal:Magic Shred is a secure shredding business that shreds your docu-ments on-site. Magic Shred offers a 10% discount to TCBA members.

Expanco is N.A.I.D. AAA-Certifi ed document-destruction service of-fering 40% off to TCBA members. Call TCBA offi ce for details on both.

TCBA Member Benefi ts Vendor ListTCBA members may take advantage of discounts

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Please visit our website for a complete list of upcoming events.

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Lawyers on theMove & in the NewsLindsay P. Daniel has joined the Fort Worth offi ce of Na-man, Howell, Smith & Lee, PLLC as an Associate. She can be contacted at 817.509.2025, 817.509.2039 or [email protected].

Dena G. Weaver, formerly with the Jones, Day fi rm, and R. David Weaver, formerly with The Weaver Law Firm, P.C., has formed the Law Offi ces of Weaver & Weaver, PLLC. The fi rm is located at 1601 E. Lamar Blvd., Suite 102, Ar-lington, Texas 76011, and may be contacted at 817.460.5900. Dena’s email is dgweaver@arlingtonlawfi rm.com, and Da-vid’s email is rdweaver@arlingtonlawfi rm.com.

Shannon, Gracey, Ratliff & Miller, LLP is pleased to an-nounce that Judge D. Michael Lynn has just joined the fi rm’s Bankruptcy Group as a Senior Counsel. Judge Lynn recently retired after presiding over a U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Texas in Fort Worth for 14 years. He can be contacted at 817.877.8114 or [email protected].

Shannon, Gracey, Ratliff & Miller, LLP is pleased to an-nounce that Paul Lopez has joined the fi rm as a Bankruptcy Associate. Mr. Lopez clerked for Judge D. Michael Lynn pri-or to joining the Firm. He can be contacted at 817.877.8168 or [email protected]. ■

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Diversity Spotlight

February is National African-American History Month in the United States, when the contributions that African-Americans have made to American history in the strug-

gles for freedom and equality are celebrated. The origins of National African-American History Month began in 1915 when historian and author Dr. Carter G. Wood-son founded the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History, now known as the Association for the Study of Afri-can American Life and History (ASALH). Through this orga-nization, Dr. Woodson initiated the fi rst Negro History Week in February 1926. Dr. Woodson selected the week in February that included the birthdays of Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass, two key fi gures in African-American history. In 1975, President Ford issued a Message on the Obser-vance of Black History Week urging all Americans to “rec-ognize the important contribution made to our nation’s life and culture by black citizens.” In 1976, ASALH extended this commemoration of black history in the United States to Black History Month, also known as African-American History Month, and President Ford issued the fi rst Message on the Observance of Black History Month that year. In subsequent years, Presidents Carter and Reagan continued to issue Mes-sages honoring African-American History Month. In 1986, Congress passed Public Law 99-244 to designate February 1986 as “National Black (Afro-American) History Month.” This law noted that February 1, 1986, would “mark the beginning of the sixtieth annual public and private salute to Black History.” Since 1996, Presidents have issued annual proclamations for National African-American History Month. The Tarrant County legal community, along with other legal communities across the country, has had a long road to travel toward gaining diversity and inclusion. After the turn of the century, there were no black lawyers to represent black defendants. Likewise, all the police, judges, prosecutors, and juries were white. Like most of Texas, Fort Worth society was strictly segregated into separate and unequal communities, which resulted in the formation of associations, communi-ties, and businesses created by and for African-Americans. In 1954, there were four African-American male lawyers in the City of Fort Worth. One of the four, L. Clifford Davis, hung his shingle on what later became the fi rst African-Amer-

African-American History Monthican owned law fi rm in private practice in the area. In 1956, Davis fi led Jackson v. Rawdon in the U.S. District Court in Dallas, a suit that resulted in the desegregation of the Man-sfi eld Independent School District. In 1959, he fi led Flax v. Potts, another federal civil rights suit, which led to the deseg-regation of the Fort Worth Independent School District. From 1954 to 1976, the number of African-American lawyers prac-ticing in Fort Worth increased to twelve. It included John T. White, Jr.; Louis Sturns; Huey Mitchell; Wayne Salvant; Leon Haley; and others. During the 1950s and 60s, Davis was denied membership in the Tarrant County Bar due to his skin color. However, in the early 1970s he was invited to become a member of the Tarrant County Bar but declined. Instead, the African-Amer-ican lawyers formed their own association, the Fort Worth Black Bar Association (FWBBA) in 1977 with John T. White, Jr. as the fi rst president. The FWBBA became an affi liate of the National Bar Association. In 1990, the association’s name was changed to The Tarrant County Black Bar Association (TCBBA). And most recently, it was renamed the L. Clifford Davis Legal Association (LCDLA). Since 1981, LCDLA has held a scholarship-and-awards banquet to award scholar-ships to minority students seeking to pursue a law degree and to honor those individuals who have been selfl ess and devoted to community service. On February 16, 2016, LCDLA will host a Kick-off Event to celebrate the start of its fundrais-ing endeavors. The proceeds will be used toward the scholar-ships awarded at their September banquet. Another association, Black Women Lawyers Association (BWL) of Tarrant County, was founded in 1986 and in keep-ing with their tenet, “Champions of Justice Peace & Free-dom,” has awarded approximately $40,000 in scholarships. BWL has also served the community through various pro-grams such as Adopt-A-School, National Law Program, and their annual “Hotter than July” scholarship fundraiser. Although, February has been designated as National Af-rican-American History Month, diversity, equality, and inclu-sion of all should be celebrated, championed, and worked out 365 days a year. If you are interested in becoming a member of the Di-versity Committee, please contact Chair Angel Williams at [email protected] or at 817.680.8930. ■

Article Submitted by Katrina L. Lea, Contract Analyst – Law, BNSF Railway Company20 www.tarrantbar.org ■ February 2016

21 www.tarrantbar.org ■ February 201621 www.tarrantbar.org ■ February 2016

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BAR BULLETIN • February 2016Tarrant County Bar Association1315 Calhoun StreetFort Worth, Texas 76102-6504

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Tarrant County Bar Association February 2016 Bar Bulletin

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