Press Release

Texas Lawyer Profiles Leslie Thorne and Emily Westridge Black, Finalists for the Publication's 2019 Texas Attorney of the Year Award

September 05, 2019

Texas Lawyer has selected Haynes and Boone, LLP Partners Leslie Thorne and Emily Westridge Black as finalists for the 2019 Attorney of the Year Award.

They were recognized for their successful, pro bono representation of a 29-year-old woman who fled Honduras with her 12-year-old daughter to escape government-sponsored violence.

Texas Lawyer said the following about the lawyers:

Using an unusual legal strategy, Haynes and Boone partners Leslie Thorne and Emily Westridge Black persuaded a Texas federal judge to issue an order delaying a Honduran woman’s deportation.

That strategy, and the resulting July 2018 order, has changed the fate of multiple asylum seekers.

To read the full article, click here.

The Attorney of the Year finalists will be honored at Texas Lawyer’s Professional Excellence Awards, held Sept. 18 at the Belo Mansion in Dallas.

“The entire firm is proud of Leslie and Emily’s precedent-setting work,” said Ben Mesches, chair of Haynes and Boone’s Litigation Department. “It underscores the firm’s commitment to the rule of law and due process and serves as a powerful example about how lawyers can and should help address the continuing crisis at the U.S. border.”

Media Contacts