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DBF Fellows Present 2010 Award to Hon. Douglas S. Lang

Elizabeth Philipp March 01, 2010

On Wednesday, March 31, 2010, the Fellows of the Dallas Bar Foundation (DBF) will honor Justice Douglas S. Lang, Fifth District Court of Appeals-Dallas, as the recipient of the 2010 Fellows Award at the 19th Annual Fellows Luncheon at the Pavilion at the Belo Mansion. The Fellows Award, the most prestigious honor of the DBF, is presented to a member of the Dallas Bar Association who has adhered to the highest principles and traditions of the legal profession and who is highly respected by those in the legal profession.

The DBF Fellows Committee noted the work Justice Lang has done in promoting professionalism and the mentoring of young lawyers. His work with the Transition to Law Practice program has placed the Dallas Bar Association in the national spotlight. The Dallas Bar is leading the way with the Texas State Bar’s statewide initiative as a result of Justice Lang’s leadership.

“I know of no lawyer who has done more to promote the ideals and values of the profession than Justice Lang,” said Herbert Hammond of Thompson Knight LLP. “Over the course of his career as a distinguished trial lawyer, pro bono advocate, Dallas Bar President, State Bar Director and Justice of the Fifth District Court of Appeals, he has consistently exemplified the highest values of the legal profession. As a leading author and speaker on the field of professionalism and as the founder, and driving force behind the Dallas Bar Association’s Transition to Law Practice mentoring program, he passes on to the next generation of lawyers the highest standards of integrity and honesty. This program, now in its third year, serves as an inspiration to bar associations across the country. Justice Lang’s highly regarded book Deeds, Not Words-Mentors as Guiding Lights of Integrity, is studied by law students in ethics courses across the state. But ultimately, Justice Lang’s deeds are exactly the shining light of integrity of which he so eloquently writes.

It comes as no surprise that Justice Lang feels so strongly about the importance of mentoring. He shares his own stories of having mentors in his book, Deeds, Not Words, and writes, “During my 35 years since I graduated from law school, my life has been immersed in the legal profession. Most of my friends have been lawyers. Lawyers have been my employers and partners. Most importantly, lawyers and judges have been mentors to me. For all of their guidance and mentoring, I am indebted.”

Justice Lang is a native of St. Louis, Missouri. He received his undergraduate degree in Business Administration from Drake University in 1969 and earned his juris doctorate from the University of Missouri-Columbia School of Law in 1972. Immediately after graduating from law school, his practice began as a briefing attorney at the Supreme Court of Missouri. Since October 2002, Justice Lang has served on the Fifth District Court of Appeals at Dallas. Prior to that, he concentrated in the area of complex business litigation as a trial partner at Gardere Wynne Sewell L.L.P. for 24 years.

Justice Lang has been active in community and bar association activities, having served as the President of the Dallas Association of Young Lawyers and the Dallas Bar Association. During his tenure as DBA President in 1991, he held the first Goals for Professionalism Conference. He currently serves as a member of the Board of Trustees of Drake University, the Board of Trustees of the American Inns of Court Foundation and the Dallas Bar Foundation.

In 1981, Justice Lang was named Outstanding Young Lawyer in Dallas. He was recognized by Legal Services of North Texas, Inc. (now Legal Aid of Northwest Texas, Inc.) in 1991 as the recipient of their Outstanding Service Award, and in 1999 the State Bar of Texas conferred upon him the President’s Citation for his service to the Bar. In 2007, Justice Lang was honored by the DBA with the Morris Harrell Professionalism Award. That same year, the Texas Bar Foundation selected Justice Lang as the recipient of the 2007 Lola Wright Foundation Award in recognition for outstanding public service in advancing and enhancing legal ethics in Texas. The Dallas Association of Young Lawyers recently honored Justice Lang as the recipient of their “Outstanding Mentor Award” for 2008.

Justice Lang and his wife of over 36 years, Martha, have three sons.

For information on the Annual Fellows Luncheon on March 31, please call the Dallas Bar Foundation at (214) 220-7487. The reception will be held at 11:30 a.m. with lunch to be served at noon.

Elizabeth Philipp is the Dallas Bar Foundation’s Executive Director. She can be reached at ephilipp@dallasbar.org.

DBA Board Elects Chair and Vice Chair

Staff Report February 01, 2010

The Dallas Bar Association Board of Directors elected Scott M. McElhaney as its 2010 Chair, and Brad C. Weber as Vice Chair, at its annual organizational meeting January 20.

Scott McElhaney is a partner with Jackson Walker L.L.P., and is board certified in Labor and Employment Law.

Mr. McElhaney has been active in the DBA for a number of years. Among other Committees, he has chaired the Judiciary Committee and Bench Bar Conference Committee. He is the chair of the 2009-2010 Campaign for Equal Access to Justice and serves on the DBA Community Service Fund Board of Directors. He is the Board Advisor for the Labor & Employment Law Section, Co-Board Advisor of the CLE Committee and is a past chair, and current Board Advisor, of the DBA Business Litigation Section. He is a graduate of Harvard Law School.

A graduate of the University of Michigan Law School, Brad C. Weber is a partner with Locke Lord Bissell & Liddell LLP. He is a co-leader of the Antitrust Litigation Practice group at the firm and is experienced in a variety of arbitration matters and commercial litigation in both state and federal courts.

Mr. Weber has served on a number of DBA committees and sections. He has been an active member of the Business Litigation Section and Antitrust Section, he is past co-chair of the Judiciary Committee, the Bench Bar Conference Committee and currently Chairs the Bylaws Committee, the Finance Committee and is Co-Chair of the Morris Harrell Professionalism Committee. Mr. Weber is a past president of the Dallas Association of Young Lawyers.

At the January meeting, the board also appointed U.S. District Judge Jane J. Boyle, to fill a one-year at-large judicial position. Judge Boyle is a former Co-Chair of the Bench Bar Conference Committee and currently serves as the Board Advisor for the Public Forum Committee and the Real Property Section. Judge Boyle is a graduate of the SMU Dedman School of Law.

Scott P. Stolley, a partner with Thompson & Knight, LLP was appointed by the board to fill a two-year at-large director position. Mr. Stolley is board certified in Civil Appellate Law.

A graduate of the University of Iowa College of Law, Mr. Stolley is a past Chair of the Appellate Law Section and serves as the Board Advisor for the Morris Harrell Professionalism Committee and Appellate Law Section.

These four board members will join President Ike Vanden Eykel; President-Elect Barry Sorrels; First Vice President Paul K. Stafford; Second Vice President Sally Crawford; Secretary-Treasurer Wesley K. Young; Christina Melton Crain, Immediate Past President; and Directors, Jerry C. Alexander, Wm. Frank Carroll, Leon Carter, Rob Crain, Jennifer Edgeworth, Laura Benitez Geisler, Michael K. Hurst, Michele Wong Krause, Hon. Marty Lowy, Jose Ortiz, Mary L. Scott, Hope Shimabuku, Diane Sumoski and Debra K. Thomas. ABA Delegates are Kim Askew and Hon. Doug Lang. State Bar Directors include Talmage Boston, Beverly Godbey, Tim Mountz, Rob Roby and Mark Sales.