Volume 4 - 2011

Sponsorships

Suhani Akhare is an associate in the Houston office and is a member of the firm’s litigation section. Suhani received her B.S., with honors, from The University of Texas at Austin and her J.D. from South Texas College of Law. While in law school, Suhani served as an intern for Judge Jeff Bohm of the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas and also co-authored an article with Judge Bohm published in the ABA Commercial and Litigation Journal entitled "Attorneys Who Mishandle Their Clients' Proofs of Claims Leave Themselves Open to Significant Blame."

Suhani was also on the Moot Court team at South Texas attending the 2010 Administrative Law Tournament in Austin and the 2011 Duberstein Bankruptcy Moot Court Tournament in New York City. Prior to going to law school, Suhani was in the commercial real estate business for seven years and also owned a women's apparel and accessories boutique in the Rice Village. Suhani is a member of the Indo-American Chamber of Commerce and is involved in their Young Women's Leadership Council. She is also involved in an organization called Pratham, USA which provides education for underprivileged children in India.

Lindsey Moorhead is an associate in the Houston office and a member of the firm's litigation section. Lindsey received her B.A., with special distinction, from the University of Oklahoma and her J.D., cum laude from South Texas College of Law.

During law school, Lindsey was Editor-in-Chief of the South Texas Law Review (2010-2011), Assistant Articles Editor/ Assistant Managing Editor (2009-2010), and a member of the Order of the Lytae.

Additionally, Lindsey was an intern for Judge Jennifer Elrod — United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, as well as Justice Michael Massengale — Texas First Court of Appeals. She also served as a law clerk for Judge Mark Davidson — 11th District Court.

Orlando Segura is an associate in the San Antonio office and is a member of the firm’s litigation section. Orlando received his A.B., with honors, from Harvard College and J.D. from Harvard Law School. During law school he was President of La Alianza, the Latino Law Students Association. Additionally, he served as a teaching fellow in the Government Department at Harvard College. Before joining the firm, Orlando worked as a business analyst at McKinsey and Company in Atlanta, GA, and throughout Western Europe. He also worked as a Senior Financial Analyst at Audax Group, a private equity firm based in Boston, MA.

Jesse S. Lotay is an associate in the San Antonio office where he is a member of the firm’s energy section. Jesse received his B.S. from Trinity University, J.D. from the University of Tulsa College of Law, where he served as Editor-in-Chief of the Tulsa Law Review, and LL.M. in oil and gas exploration and production matters from the University of Houston Law Center. He is a member of the Association of International Petroleum Negotiators and is admitted to the State Bars of Texas, Kansas, and Missouri.

Jackson Walker Continues to Feed the Pipeline - The Firm has joined the efforts of the ABA Section of Litigation’s Judicial Intern Opportunity Program (JIOP) to sponsor students who are members of racial and ethnic groups that are traditionally underrepresented in the profession. The JIOP program takes top-tier minority and financially disadvantaged law students and places them with leading judges in selected cities for summer internships. The program also provides opportunities to students with disabilities and students who identify themselves as LGBT.

JW continues support of the Dallas Bar Foundation’s Scholarship Dinner that benefits the Sarah T. Hughes Diversity Scholarships at SMU Law School. Dallas partner, Paul Watler coordinated the Firm’s sponsorship of the event which was held on Thursday, Oct. 27, 2011 at the Belo Pavilion. The full tuition scholarships are awarded to first year minority law students and are renewed for the second and third year under condition of satisfactory academic performance. Keynote remarks were given by editorial columnist David Brooks of The New York Times.

JW Staff Members support the Rock N Roll San Antonio Half Marathon, which benefitted the Susan G. Komen for the Cure charity which helps breast cancer research. The event was held on November 13, 2011. Pictured are Patricia Keen, Melissa Salinas, and Heather Scott who participated in the event.

JW has Holiday Gift and Clothing Drives to Help Underprivileged and Homeless.

For a number of years, JW Houston's participation in the Adopt-an-Angel annual holiday gift drive has been coordinated by Houston Associate Marisela Peña. The Adopt-an-Angel program arranges for needy children to receive holiday presents. This year, our attorneys and staff signed up to adopt more angels than ever - 76 total. Angels were children ranging from newborns to 15 years of age. Collected gifts were given to the Guadalupe Center, which provides basic needs assistance to individuals and families in crisis, for distribution to the angels.

Simultaneously, unwrapped toys were collected for the Toys-for-Tots organization by staff members Margaret Dewveall and Diana Simpson.

The HBA Campaign for the Homeless Drive was coordinated by Houston Associates Cynthia Lam and Kevin Page. The drive collected coats and warm clothing, as well as other gently used clothes. Donations were also accepted for women's suits and black handbags to give to the Dress for Success program. Cynthia and Kevin also took time out of their busy schedules to sort all of the clothing donations.

Many Jackson Walker attorneys and staff generously made monetary donations to all three charities.

Jackson Walker remains active in Minority Law Students Associations. The Firm has been a sponsor of the University of Houston's Black Law Students Association's Annual Scholarship Banquet for several years. Houston Associates, Chevazz Brown, Luke Gilman and Lindsey Moorhead attended this year's banquet, which was held on Thursday, November 17, 2011 at the Crowne Plaza Hotel, in downtown Houston. The Honorable Vanessa D. Gilmore, United States District Judge of the Southern District of Texas gave the keynote remarks.

Jackson Walker has strong presence in Diverse Bar Associations. The Firm continues its support for the Dallas Hispanic Bar Association. JW is an annual bronze sponsor of the DHBA. This year’s DHBA event recognized the efforts of individuals responsible for securing the establishment of Dallas’ public law school, the University of North Texas Dallas College of Law.

Jackson Walker sponsors the J. L. Turner Legal Association 2011 Scholarship Gala. The event was held on October 15, 2011, at the Sheraton Hotel in Dallas. In attendance were many members of the federal and state judiciary, state and locally elected officials, as well as members of the DBA (including Dallas partner Scott McElhaney). Dallas Associate, Alia Derrick, coordinated the firm’s sponsorship.

Houston Associate, Suhani Akhare joined the Indo-American Chamber of Commerce of Greater Houston.

Houston Associate, Marisela Pena joined the Houston Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.

Jackson Walker sponsors The Arab American Cultural and Community Center Annual Gala. The event was held on October 15, 2011. The ACC is a non-profit organization that serves the Arab American Community through cultural programs, outreach and social services, promoting Arab cultural and heritage, and fostering understanding of Arab culture in the Houston community.

Jackson Walker sponsors the Houston Spouses of Barristers Ball. The gala is an annual black tie event hosted by the Spouses of Houston Barristers (SHB) to raise money to fund scholarships for law students of diverse backgrounds attending one of the three area law schools. Members of SHB are spouses of prominent lawyers in and around the Houston area, and the mission of SHB generally is to support the Houston area legal community and promote a more diverse and inclusive legal profession. For more info visit: http://www.shbinc.org.

JW’s Annual Sponsorship of the India Association of Southeast Texas’ (IAST) India Fest was coordinated by Houston partner, Priya Coffey. The event was held on November 12th at the Beaumont Civic Center, in Beaumont, Texas. IndiaFest is IAST’s fundraiser event for various charitable activities. IAST is actively involved in March of Dimes, American Heart Association, and American Cancer Society. This year’s IndiaFest included dance and music programs, authentic Indian cuisine, and numerous cultural activities as well as opportunities for networking and listening to guest speakers.

Jackson Walker supports the Dallas Holocaust Museum’s Hope for Humanity Dinner. The Museum is dedicated to eliminating prejudice and hate through education. Dallas partner, Willie Hornberger is a member of the executive committee. This year’s honoree was Frank Risch, retired Treasurer of Exxon Mobil.

Jackson Walker Makes Donation to Capital Campaign of Resource Center Dallas. Resource Center Dallas is a nonprofit involved in HIV/AIDS prevention and care and, among other activities, provides diversity training to the Dallas Police Department and operates the Gay and Lesbian Community Center. The donation was made to help raise funds for the Buchmeyer conference room, in honor of the late Judge Buchmeyer, who served as Chief Judge of the Northern District of Texas and was a federal judge for 30 years. Judge Buchmeyer is noted for ruling that the Texas sodomy statute was unconstitutional.

Houston partner Randy Farber was recently elected to the Board of the National Association of Blind Lawyers. As a board member, Randy will work with other board members to promote the organization. The Board of the National Association of Blind Lawyers is dedicated to the discussion of legal matters and topics directly related to blind people and is a division of the National Federation of the Blind. To learn more, CLICK HERE.

The Firm’s Diversity Committee meets every quarter. Additionally, the Diversity Committee has six subcommittees that work on a variety of tasks. These teams spend many hours on the firm’s efforts.

For more information: www.jw.com/diversity

Diversity Committee Members:

• Melissa Bates • Ling Chwang • Alicia Duleba • Alesia Foster • Joel Heydenburk • Margaret Hopson • Suzan Kedron • Scott McElhaney • Lauren Mutti • Jorge Padilla • James Prappas

• Joshua Romero • Bruce Ruzinsky, Chair • Joan Sostek • Robert Soza • Michelle Steckel • Marcello Tamez • April Vasquez • Soraya Walden • Jerry Webberman • Leonard Woods

About JW Diversity

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