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“Justice is Served” Up for Harriet O’Neill

Tomorrow night Texas Supreme Court Justice Harriet O’Neill (pictured) will be presented the “2009 Judge Barefoot Sanders Champion of Children Award” by Dallas CASA, which is celebrating its 30th year in operation. The annual “Justice is Served” dinner at the Belo Mansion recognizes those who have “significantly improved the lives of children in Dallas County.”

“This event is an opportunity to raise awareness about the work of Dallas CASA’s dedicated volunteer advocates and recognize the contributions of our judges and the legal community in helping abused and neglected children to find safe, permanent homes,” said event co-chair Kathleen M. LaValle, a partner with Jackson Walker L.L.P. Her co-chairs is Kurt Schwarz, another Jackson Walker partner.

Justice O’Neill, who started her judicial career in 1992 when she was elected to the 152nd District Court in Houston, was appointed to the 14th Court of Appeals by then-Governor George W. Bush in 1995. She won the seat in 1996 and then was elected to the Texas Supreme Court in 1998 and re-elected for a second term in 2004.

According to organizers, ”In 2007, she spearheaded the creation of the Permanent Judicial Commission for Children, Youth and Families, of which she is chair.  The Commission brings together child welfare system stakeholders to improve how courts handle child abuse cases and improve child welfare policies.  The emphasis reflects the vital role courts play for families and children removed from their homes for abuse or neglect. The Commission has become a national model for similar organizations working to improve the court system for children. It represents the judiciary’s most comprehensive effort to improve the lives–and life chances–of abused and neglected children.”

The award is named after the late Federal Court Judge Barefoot Sanders (pictured), who died in 2008. Trivia alert: Barefoot was the young U.S. Attorney who scrambled to find Federal District Judge Sarah T. Hughes to administer the oath of office  to Lyndon Johnson following the infamous John F. Kennedy assassination.

Major underwriters for the event are:

$25,000: The James & Angela Thompson Foundation/ORIX Foundation.

$5,000: Archon Group, L.P., AT&T, Dallas Bar Association—Business Litigation Section, Exxon Mobil Corporation, Gibbs & Bruns L.L.P., Sally and Forrest Hoglund, Jackson Walker L.L.P., Samara Kline and Andy McCarthy, Joseph and Jeanne Manogue, ORIX USA Corporation, Pioneer Natural Resources / Mark and Fran Berg, Frank and Helen Risch, Thompson & Knight LLP / Thompson & Knight Foundation, and Vinson & Elkins LLP.

$3,500: Haynes & Boone, LLP

 $2,500: Dallas Bar Association—Appellate Section, Melissa and David Finn, Fish & Richardson P.C., Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP, Madeleine Johnson of Southwest Airlines, Locke Lord Bissell & Liddell LLP, Lynn Tillotson Pinker & Cox LLP, Regina Montoya and Paul Coggins, Munsch Hardt Kopf & Harr, P.C., Steve and Eleanor Penrose, Todd Wagner Foundation, and Winstead PC.