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50 Headnotes 1 (2025)

handle is hein.barjournals/hdba0050 and id is 1 raw text is: Dallas Bar Association January 2025 Volume 50 Number 1 Vicki Blanton: DBA's 116th President BY GRACEN DANIEL The Dallas Bar Association proudly welcomes its 2025 President, Vicki Blanton. Blanton is poised to lead the DBA as the first in-house counsel, sec- ond Black female, and third Black president in the DBA's 152-year history. Blanton's presidentialvision is summarized by her motto for this year: Simply the Best. Under Blanton's leadership, DBA members will benefit from her established professional and community leadership as Blanton looks to highlight the best of the DBA. Blanton's current role as Senior Legal Counsel for AT&T Inc. makes her the first in-house coun- sel to serve as DBA President. Blanton counsels primarily in AT&T's retirement benefit plans (approximately $90 billion in total assets), sever- ance plans, and ERISA litigation. Blanton earned a Bachelor of Journalism from the University of Texas at Austin (where she became a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.), a Juris Doctorate from Southern Methodist University Dedman School of Law, and a Certificate of Study at Georgetown University's Executive Development Program at the London School of Economics. A third-generation Dallasite and graduate of Skyline High School, Blanton cites her Daniel Webster Elementary School Principal, Joe R. Cobb, as a lifelong influence by his lessons instilled in her. The room that is never full is the room for improve- ment, she recalls Cobb telling an elementary-aged Blanton. She plans on continuing to apply this les- son to the DBA presidency through her inclusive leadership style. Blanton recounts that her interest in the DBA stemmed from the J.L. Turner Legal Association where Blanton became a member of the DBA Board of Directors, following in the footsteps of her mentor Rhonda Hunter, the first Black female DBA president, who Blanton describes as someone I could not do this without. Blanton was encour- aged to seek the DBA presidency by Barry Sorrels, Mark Sales, and Frank Stevenson, who Blanton says made her realize, Yeah, I can do that. For this realization, the DBA is in for a real treat with Vicki Blanton as its 116th President. Among Blanton's staunchest supporters is none other than Judge Irma Carrillo Ramirez, United States Circuit Judge for the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals. Vicki Blanton is, and always has been, the most fabulous woman I know, Judge Ramirez said about her law school classmate turned lifelong friend. She just excels in everything she does, and makes it seem effortless. When asked what she wished DBA members knew of Blanton, Judge Ramirez responded, How much Vicki cares about people and her community, andhow hard she works at everything she does. Vicki Blanton is ready to get to work for the DBA. Although it is common for DBA presidents to launch major new projects during their tenure, Blanton is excited to build on many existing projects with renewed focus. In her signature style, Blanton says she looks forward to putting her own little taste and flavor on existing DBA programs. The Dallas VickiBlanton Bar does so many things at such a level of excel- lence, Blanton said. I plan to build on the great- ness of what we have. Blanton describes her presi- dential initiatives by three guiding pillars. The Privilege Blanton's first pillar, The Privilege, is meant to share her experience as in-house counsel with current DBA members, largely comprised of litiga- tors who do not have the privilege of a client-side perspective. As in-house counsel, I get to see what happens with my legal advice and how it gets imple- mented, Blanton contrasts. Blanton believes one of the biggest challenges she faces is her desire to convert more in-house attorneys to active DBA membership and hopes that this pillar will bring more in-house attorneys to the DBA. I think she really brings a fresh perspective as in-house counsel, Judge Ramirez said. She is a visionary, long-range planner, and she has been assessing the DBA's needs for some time. Allyship for All Blanton's second pillar speaks to her passion for diversity and intersectionality through collabora- tion with the Allied Bars. What I see in Allyship for All, Blanton said, is in developing people so that everyone is at their best. If everyone is at their best ability, everyone should have the opportunity to engage. Through opportunities and allyship to posi- tion members to be their best, rising tides will lift all boats, Blanton said. With Allyship for All pro- gramming, Blanton plans to highlight her passions for arts and culture in unique and engaging ways for continued on page 14 Focus Intellectual Property/Science & Technology Law 1 Judge L. Clifford Davis to Receive 2025 MLK Justice Award BY JAMES A. DEETS The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King once famously said, Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. When he was young, the Honorable L. Clifford Davis aspired to be a railroad engineer- but at the time, African Americans were not allowed to serve in that position. Since he could not be a railroad engineer, Davis became a social engineer for justice. His life and legacy reflect the pursuit of justice for all that emulates those of Dr. King. For this reason, the Dallas Bar Association is proud to name Davis as this year's recipi- ent of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Justice Award. Davis was born in Wilton, Arkansas, on October 12, 1924. The youngest of seven children, he was raised on a farm amid the Great Depression. Racial discrimi- nation and segregation were the norm, and Davis was often pelted with rocks and ridiculed by white children on his way to school. While he wanted to fight, he instead developed a tolerance and determination that allowed him to sustain himself through difficult situations. Because educational opportuni- ties for Black students in his home- town were limited, his parents allowed him to move to Little Rock for high school, where he graduated from Dunbar High. Davis went on to attend Philander Smith College, graduating in 1945 with a business degree. He subsequently attended Howard University, receiving his law degree in 1949. Thereafter, Davis returned to Arkansas where he passed the Bar and was admitted to practice. Davis had a successful criminal defense and civil rights practice in Arkansas. In one matter involving a death penalty conviction against a Black man accused of raping a white woman, Davis argued appeals before the Arkansas Supreme Court and got the conviction reversed, not once, but twice. Davis also suc- cessfully sued to desegregate public schools in Bearden, Arkansas. In 1952, Davis moved to Waco, Texas, and worked at Paul Quinn College. He passed the Texas Bar and was admitted to practice on July 4, 1954, after which he moved to Fort Worth and opened the first Black law firm in Tarrant County. Thereafter, he collaborated with L. uIrTora uavis then-attorney Thurgood Marshall on the 1954 case that became Brown v. Board of Education, the landmark U.S. Supreme Court case holding that state laws establishing racial segregation in public schools are unconstitutional. Following Brown, Davis and Marshall again joined forces in 1955 and successfully sued to desegregate schools in Mansfield, Texas. The resulting integration prompted great resistance and vio- lence; the Texas Governor called in the Texas Rangers to protect three Black students who faced a mob of angry white protestors while trying to attend their school. Davis received many threats during this time. Being on a roll for justice, Davis filed another lawsuit in 1960 to elect school board trustees by dis- trict within Fort Worth ISD. In 1962, Davis and Attorney W.L. Durham filed a lawsuit to deseg- regate the Fort Worth ISD, a case that continued for more than 20 years. He also filed suit to integrate the faculties within the school dis- trict, and another to open wider employment opportunities for African Americans at General Dynamics. In 2002, the trustees of the Fort Worth ISD built a school in his honor, L. Clifford Davis Elementary. Despite his success as a civil rights litigator, Davis was denied membership in the Tarrant County Bar Association because of his race. Undeterred, Davis joined forces with a number of other Black Tarrant County lawyers and in 1977, organized the Fort Worth continued on page 26 Inside 6 Oncor Powers Pro Bono 1 2 IP Protection for Digital Art in the Age of NFTs 1 7 DBA Launches The 10 Minute Mind Program 20 An Overview of Artificial Intelligence Bias in Health Care 28 Meet Your Allied Bar Presidents for 2025 RENEW YOUR MEMBERSHIP DUES Don't risk being dropped from the DBA membership! Renew TODAY in order to continue receiving all your member benefits including FREE online CLE programs and Committee Communications. Look for an email reminder with links to renew your Dues online. Thank you for your support of the Dallas Bar Association!