President’s Column: 2020 The Year That Was

Before this year, several DBA Past-Presidents told me: “There is the year you plan for, and then the year you get—expect the unexpected!”  I could start and end my column with those statements, but this is my opportunity to thank all of you for making this an incredible year despite all of the trying circumstances. […]

President’s Column: It’s Time to Vote!

Since 2016, people have been talking about the 2020 general election as “the most important election of our lives.”  Well, it is almost here.  Even at the start of this year, no one would have dreamed this election would occur against the backdrop of a global pandemic and resulting chaos.  We have seen pitched battles […]

Presidents Column: After the Pandemic, What Comes Next?

  There will be life after the pandemic—I guarantee it!  But I don’t know when that will be or what it will look like. The pandemic has affected everyone.  No other event in my lifetime has changed the basic way that we live our lives on a day-to-day basis like the COVID pandemic.  Every time […]

Presidents Column: Unplugging – We All Need To Do It!

  This column was originally slated for the April edition of Headnotes. Then the pandemic hit.  Our mental health is under assault now more than ever with lawyers largely working from home and dealing not only with financial and job pressure, but also with educating kids, cooking, and cleaning. Even with all of these factors […]

Presidents Column: 100th Anniversary of the 19th Amendment and More

For almost two years, we have been planning the DBA’s celebration of the 100th anniversary of the ratification of the 19th Amendment, guaranteeing women the right to vote. We are excited to welcome Nina Totenberg as our speaker at noon on August 26, 2020! She will be interviewed by Judge Tonya Parker. Ms. Totenberg is […]

Presidents Column: Our Volunteers Make Us Strong

For a decade, DBA leaders counted on Karen McCloud. On April 9, we lost Karen after a lengthy illness. She will be dearly missed. The May edition of Headnotes has a wonderful article about Karen and her achievements. Karen served as President of the Dallas Women Lawyers Association, the Dallas Association of Young Lawyers, and […]

Presidents Column: Respecting Our Independent Judiciary and the Role of Lawyers

Judges form the third branch of government. The general public has a much poorer understanding of the judicial branch and what it does than the executive and legislative branches. Most people go their entire lives with only brief encounters with the judicial branch, mostly through municipal or family courts. Many of our fellow citizens are […]

Presidents Column: The DBA Has Your Back

As I write this column in early April, we have been “sheltering in place” and “social distancing” for more than three weeks—with at least four more to go.  These are unprecedented and difficult times. But we will get through them together. Our way of doing things always has involved lawyers coming to the Belo Mansion […]

A Crisis Can Bring Us Together

There is an old expression: May you be cursed to live in interesting times.  In my 63 years, I never have seen anything like the COVID-19 crisis.  Over the last two weeks we have seen not just daily but hourly changes in how we live.  When we decided to close the Belo on March 12, […]

President’s Column: Celebrating the Right to Vote

This year, the DBA is celebrating the right to vote with three programs and what we call the “Vote Project.” On February 27 Eric Foner—a Pulitzer Prize-winning historian and professor from Columbia University—will appear at the Belo Mansion to discuss the reconstruction amendments, including the 150th anniversary of the ratification of the 15th Amendment guaranteeing […]