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41 Headnotes 1 (2016)

handle is hein.barjournals/hdba0041 and id is 1 raw text is: Dallas Bar Association Jerry Alexander to be Inaugurated as DBA's 107th President Jerry C. Alexander, the president of Passman & Jones PC, will take the reins as the 107th President of the Dallas Bar Association on January 1, 2016. Mr. Alexander, a general busi- ness litigator for more than 40 years, has been active in the DBA since the early years of his career, and has steadily risen through the DBA's lead- ership ranks since he was elected to the DBA board in 2007. Recognizable for his tall frame, mustache, and twinkling blue eyes framed by a shock of white hair, Mr. Alexander has led the DBA's Finance Committee, Judi- ciary Committee, Senior Lawyers Committee and the Judicial Polls Study Committee. He led the DBA's Vision 2020 Com- mission, chaired Jerry C. Alexander the record-setting 2010 Campaign for Equal Access to Justice, and played a key role in draft- ing the Local Rules of Practice used in Dallas County's Civil District and County Courts at Law as the chair of the local rules subcommittee of the Judiciary Committee in the 1990s. Mr. Alexander plans to use his term as president to involve more people in the DBA's activities and committee work. Many DBA mem- bers may not know how great the benefits are from participating in the DBA's programs and committees, and how renewing and fulfilling those activities can be, he said. So many lawyers went to law school with the goal of helping others, and get a tan- gible feeling of accomplishment from participating in programs like the Dallas Volunteer Attorney Program or LegalLine, contributing to build a Habitat for Humanity house or mentoring high school students and young lawyers, he added. The Bar Association has so many programs that really reach out and help people, he said. In a speech nominating Mr. Alex- ander to be the DBA's next president, State Bar of Texas President Frank E. Stevenson-a former DBA presi- dent-called Mr. Alexander a bril- liant and indefatigable leader who has exercised a strong lifelong work ethic to benefit the Dallas legal com- munity through his service to the Bar. This commitment to hard work lies at Jerry's core, Mr. Stevenson said in his speech. It is who he is. In fact, it is who he has always been. Mr. Alexander's fate may have been sealed when his family moved in 1951 from Oak Cliff to University Park. The then- 5-year-old's new neighbors were Louise and Grier Raggio-the pio- neering family law- yers-who exposed Mr. Alexander to the world of law- yers, judges, and legal academics at gatherings in their home, and strongly encouraged him to become a lawyer. As a child, he had only a vague idea of their work, but the idea of becom- ing a lawyer stuck with him. Before he would become a court- house regular, Mr. Alexander built a resume with steady jobs starting at age 12: working at a watermelon stand on Hillcrest Road as the rind boy, delivering newspapers, mow- ing lawns, helping at the family farm in Ellis County, substitute teaching, bartending, construction work, oper- ating a ride at Six Flags Over Texas, and many more. After graduating from Highland Park High School in 1964, he stud- ied English and chemistry at South- ern Methodist University, where he was president of Phi Delta Theta fraternity. He worked as a chemist at an experimental farm run by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and worked as an aide for U.S. Represen- tative Earle Cabell before returning to SMU to study law. One of his earliest jobs paid big dividends when Mr. Alexander was a law student. Passman & Jones real estate lawyer Jim Carmichael's father owned the watermelon stand where Mr. Alexander had worked summers as a young teen, and recognized him when he was recruiting on campus at SMU. Mr. Alexander became one continued on page 10 Dr. Michael J. Sorrell to Receive 2016 MLK Justice Award I will need to hold my students close and tell them that I love them every day. But I struggle with telling them to have faith in a system that I know might very well betray them one day. I will wonder how to tutor them to find peace in places where there is none. And I will have no idea how to teach them to close their eyes and pray when I close my eyes and all I see is Eman- uel AME. Michael J. Sorrell, in the aftermath of the murder of nine parishioners attending a prayer ser- vice at Emanuel African Methodist Church in Charleston, South Caro- lina. On January 18, 2016, the Dallas Bar Association will honor Dr. Michael J. Sorrell, President of Paul Quinn Col- lege, as the 2016 recipient of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Justice Award. The annual award rec- ognizes attorneys who embody Dr Michal Sorrell the principles and values of Dr. King's life and legacy: justice, compassion, and service. Dr. Sorrell epitomizes these values. He says that he is motivated by his amazing wife and two wonderful children, and that every day he feels more blessed and inspired to honor them. Professionally, he is most proud of his contribu- tions to building a model for a truly great small urban college. His goal is to make a down pay- ment on perfect at Paul Quinn, a small liberal arts college in an under-resourced area of South Dallas. He says that something does not have to be big to be complex, challenging, or rewarding. This can work, he says. It is possible to take students from an under-resourced community and the challenges faced by those students, and teach them to change their communities via a quality education. Paul Quinn accepts both stu- dents that other schools aggressively recruit and those who have likely been overlooked. Dr. Sor- rell's method is to create points of personal con- nection and emphasize experiential learning. Each student is required to work 10-20 hours per week through Paul Quinn's Work Program. This allows them to receive two forms of education- academic and practical. Dr. Sorrell and the staff at the College have arranged for corporate spon- sors to make this possible in addition to provid- ing opportunities on campus. Dr. Sorrell also cares about his students on a truly personal level, and takes the time to know them. He has raised monies for eyeglasses and set up a travel fund. He acknowledges their strug- gles, but does not compromise his expectations. Dr. Sorrell has received awards and honors too numerous to list-from Washington Monthly's America's 10 Most Innovative College Presidents to Dallas Business Journal's Dallas' Forty under Forty and Minority Business Leaders Award. He has received both the President's and C.B. Bunk- ley Awards from the J.L. Turner Legal Association for his outstanding contributions to the Dallas legal community. Under his leadership, Paul Quinn Col- lege has also been awarded numerous honors and recognitions, and has undergone a radical trans- formation. Once a place of broken buildings, over- grown and dying vegetation, and unmet expec- tations, it is rapidly becoming a model for urban higher education. It is also a place of transforma- tion-partnering with PepsiCo to dig up the football field and create an organic farm in a food desert. Staff and student-employees, who also learn business and marketing skills, operate the US over Me Farm. At least 10 percent of the produce is donated to neighbor- hood families and food banks. The rest is sold to the Dallas Cowboys, grocers, and restaurants to main- tain the operations. Dr. Sorrell received his under- graduate degree at Oberlin Col- lege; his Ed.D. at the University of Pennsylvania; and his J.D. and M.A. from Duke. He received a Sloan Foundation Graduate Fellowship and was a Graduate Fellow at Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government. At every institute, Michael was a leader. He was a special assistant in President Clinton's Initiative on Race. He currently serves as a trustee or director for numerous entities including the College Board, Duke's Sanford School of Public Policy and .SMU's Tate Lecture Series. The Dallas Bar Association is honored to pres- ent Dr. Sorrell with this prestigious award for his service to so many organizations, Paul Quinn Col- lege, and the Dallas community. DBA President, Jerry Alexander, is proud on both a professional and personal level. I have known Dr. Michael Sor- rell over 15 years, and he is a most worthy recipient. Like Dr. King, he is a terrific motivator and educa- tor, and he has been a great, positive influence on many young people, including a young person very important to me-my son. Dr. Michael Sorrell is a testament of the truth of the axiom that history does not dictate destiny. The young people who society has dismissed are graduating from Paul Quinn and making valu- able contributions to the Dallas community and their families fueled by the vision and transfor- mative inspiration provided by Dr. Sorrell. Please join us in thanking and honoring Dr. Michael Sorrell at the Martin Luther King, Jr. Justice Award Luncheon at noon on Monday, January 18, 2016, at the Belo Mansion. Mem- bers of the DBA and community are invited to attend. To make reservations, contact Biri Avina at bavina@dallasbar.org. A plated lunch will be served at a cost of $14.95. HN Dawn Fowler is a past co-chair of the DBA Publications Committee, and is a solo practitioner specializing in family low. She can be reached at dawn@dawnfowlerlaw.com. 5 Access to Justice: Justice Hankinson Donates $25,000 to EAJ 8 DBA Athletic Director: Do More Now 1 4 Common Tax Issues in Representing Entertainers & Artists 1 7 U.S. Copyright Basics: Celebrating Creators

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