Hankinson, a former Texas Supreme Court justice and founder of Hankinson LLP, will participate in the panel presentation, “How to Prevent a Runaway Arbitration,” during the American Bar Association Section of Litigation Annual CLE Conference on April 19 in Washington, D.C. The panel will offer practical solutions to help in-house and outside counsel ensure that arbitration remains a cost-effective and efficient alternative to
litigation.

Along with Ms. Hankinson, the panel will include Crowell & Moring LLP Partner Kathryn Kirmayer.  Patricia O’Prey, senior counsel – investigations at GE Capital Americas, will moderate the panel.

“Arbitration is an excellent dispute-resolution tool – when it is used properly,” Hankinson says. “As someone who knows the process, I know it’s my job to keep things on track and to be fair to all. That’s what we plan to discuss.”

In addition to her appellate work, Hankinson’s nationally prominent practice includes serving in arbitrator and mediator roles in disputes. She serves on the Board of Directors of the American Arbitration Association and is a member of the association’s national roster of neutrals. She also consults with trial lawyers with regard to trial strategy and appellate briefs, offering insight as to how appellate courts might view critical issues.

Hankinson is also a former justice on the Fifth District Court of Appeals in Dallas. She is Board Certified in Civil Appellate Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization and is a fellow of the American Academy of Appellate Lawyers.

Hankinson LLP, the preeminent civil appellate firm in the Southwest, provides clients with innovative legal insights and judicial perspective in all phases of litigation. The firm’s attorneys work with trial teams to develop strategies designed to put a case in the best position before, during, and after trial. Hankinson LLP represents national clients, regional companies, governmental bodies, and individuals with trial and appellate matters, and offers mediation and arbitration services as well. Learn more about the
firm at http://hankinsonlaw.com.

This is the seventh time that D Magazine has named Ms. Hankinson to its “Best Lawyers”  list. In 2010, the magazine also named her to its list of the best women lawyers in Dallas.

“I am again humbled to receive this honor in a city with so many great attorneys,” Ms. Hankinson says. “It’s an honor not only for me, but also for all of the attorneys at Hankinson LLP who work hard on a daily basis to make sure our clients receive the best appellate representation possible.”

To assemble the exclusive listing of Dallas’ top attorneys, the editors of D Magazine sought nominations from lawyers citywide. A blue-ribbon panel of lawyers met with magazine editors and approved the list, which covers 18 practice areas and will appear in the May 2012 issue of D Magazine.

In addition to her work as a trial and appellate lawyer, Ms. Hankinson served as a Justice
on the Fifth District Court of Appeals in Dallas and the Supreme Court of Texas. She is Board Certified in Civil Appellate Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization. She is a fellow of the American Academy of Appellate Lawyers and serves on the Board of Directors of the American Arbitration Association.

The recognition from D Magazine is just the latest in a long line of similar honors for Ms. Hankinson. In 2011, Texas Super Lawyers magazine named her to a list of the Top 10 attorneys in Texas. Her work also has been recognized by The Best Lawyers in America, Chambers USA, Texas Lawyer and the Dallas Business Journal, among others.

Hankinson LLP, the preeminent civil appellate firm in the Southwest, provides clients with innovative legal insights and judicial perspective in all phases of litigation. The firm’s attorneys work with trial teams to develop strategies designed to put a case in the best position before, during, and after trial. Hankinson LLP represents national clients, regional companies, governmental bodies, and individuals with trial and appellate matters, and offers mediation and arbitration services as well. Learn more about the firm at http://hankinsonlaw.com.

This marks the eighth time Mr. Clinton has earned selection to the Texas Rising Stars list. The 2012 edition appears in the April issue of Texas Monthly and Texas Rising Stars magazines. No more than 2.5 percent of all Texas attorneys are named to the list, which identifies the state’s up-and-coming lawyers through a peer-nomination process.

“We’re glad the publishers at Texas Rising Stars think as highly of Ryan as we do,” says Rick Thompson, managing partner for Dallas-based Hankinson LLP. “He has established a strong presence in both state and federal courts on behalf of our Austin office. We’re proud to say he’s our colleague.”

Mr. Clinton’s accolades and accomplishments are numerous.  He has successfully delivered well over a dozen oral arguments in Texas appellate courts, including four in the Texas Supreme Court.  As a former state assistant solicitor general, Mr. Clinton has earned a reputation for effectively handling impactful and high-profile cases.

Beyond his legal track record, Mr. Clinton is a strong advocate for animal welfare, receiving the Oakland, Calif.-based No Kill Advocacy Center’s Henry Bergh Leadership Award in 2009 based on his work to reform animal shelters locally and nationally. Mr. Clinton’s written commentaries have been published in newspapers across the country, and his work on behalf of companion animals has received national and international coverage.

Hankinson LLP, the preeminent civil appellate firm in the Southwest, provides clients with innovative legal insights and judicial perspective in all phases of litigation. The firm’s attorneys work with trial teams to develop strategies designed to put a case in the best position before, during, and after trial. Hankinson LLP represents national clients, regional companies, governmental bodies, and individuals with trial and appellate matters, and offers mediation and arbitration services as well. Learn more about the firm  at http://hankinsonlaw.com.

The American Academy of Appellate Lawyers was established in 1990 to advance the standards and practices of appellate advocacy and to acknowledge outstanding appellate lawyers. Membership is based on nominations by existing fellows as well as recommendations from judges and practitioners. The academy limits membership to no more than 500 people in the United States, and requires that nominees have spent at least 15 years in practice devoted substantially to appeals.

“I’m humbled by this honor and believe strongly in the academy’s mission,” says Ms. Hankinson.

In addition to appellate law, Ms. Hankinson’s practice includes substantial work in the area of alternative dispute resolution, including regular work as a mediator and arbitrator in cases involving a variety of complex legal issues.

Ms. Hankinson is a former Justice of the Supreme Court of Texas and the Fifth District Court of Appeals in Dallas.

In addition to this latest honor, Ms. Hankinson has earned multiple selections to the Texas Super Lawyers list published by Thomson Reuters legal division and Texas Monthly. In 2011, she was named one of the state’s Top 10 attorneys in the Texas Super Lawyers listing.  Additionally, her work has been repeatedly recognized by The Best Lawyers in America and Chambers USA. This fall, she also was named to the “Winning Women” list published by Texas Lawyer.

“We’re very proud that Deborah has earned this recognition,” says Hankinson LLP Managing Partner Rick Thompson. “The academy has formally stated what we’ve known all along: Deborah is a rare and talented appellate lawyer.”

Hankinson LLP, the preeminent civil appellate firm in the Southwest, provides clients with innovative legal insights and judicial perspective in all phases of litigation. The firm’s attorneys work with trial teams to develop strategies designed to put a case in the best position before, during, and after trial. Hankinson LLP represents national clients, regional companies, governmental bodies, and individuals with trial and appellate matters, and offers mediation and arbitration services as well. Learn more about the firm at http://hankinsonlaw.com.

The firm earned a Metropolitan Tier 1 ranking among Dallas appellate firms in the 2011 guide to the nation’s leading law firms.

To compile the “Best Law Firms” listing, researchers with U.S. News and Best Lawyers surveyed thousands of attorneys and law firm clients across the U.S. The results of the survey appear in the November 2011 Best Law Firms publication. The full listing also is available online at http://bestlawfirms.usnews.com/.

Last month, the firm went through a name change when attorney Jeff Levinger departed to form his own firm.

“This honor rightly belongs to everyone at the firm, all the attorneys and staff, who worked so hard on behalf of our clients over the last 12 months, including Jeff,” says Hankinson LLP founder Deborah Hankinson, who also has been selected by The Best Lawyers in America as one of the country’s top attorneys. In addition, Best Lawyers also recently named Ms. Hankinson Dallas Lawyer of the Year in Appellate Law.

To develop the Best Lawyers list, researchers review nearly 3 million confidential evaluations by other attorneys. The full listing is available at www.bestlawyers.com.

The “Best Law Firms” and Best Lawyers honors are just the latest for Deborah Hankinson and the firm. Earlier this year, she was listed among the state’s top lawyers in the annual Texas Super Lawyers publication, earning a spot among the state’s Top 10 lawyers overall. Her other 2011 honors include selection by Texas Lawyer newspaper for its “Winning Women” section, and by D Magazine to its list of Best Lawyers in Dallas. She also has been featured in Chambers USA’s listing of the country’s top lawyers and previously was profiled in the Dallas Business Journal as one of North Texas’ top business defenders.

Hankinson LLP, the preeminent civil appellate firm in the Southwest, provides clients with innovative legal insights and judicial perspective in all phases of litigation. The firm’s attorneys work with trial teams to develop strategies designed to put a case in the best position before, during, and after trial. Hankinson LLP represents national clients, regional companies, governmental bodies, and individuals with trial and appellate matters, and offers mediation and arbitration services as well.

Learn more about the firm at http://hankinsonlaw.com.

“Carl is an accomplished appellate lawyer with great experience at all levels of the appellate process,” says firm founder Deborah Hankinson.

Formerly an associate at Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP in its Supreme Court and Appellate Practice, Carl has worked on a number of high-profile cases before the United States Supreme Court and in multiple federal appellate courts across the country, as well as all levels of Texas appellate courts.  Among these cases is District of Columbia v. Heller, the landmark Supreme Court case that established the scope of the protections provided by the Second Amendment.  Mr. Cecere served on a team of distinguished lawyers representing the District in that case.

Outside the courtroom, Mr. Cecere has engaged in one-on-one debates with some of the nation’s leading policy experts on a wide range of legal issues, including debates with Dr. John Lott, author of “More Guns Less Crime,” Adam Winkler of the UCLA School of Law, Clark Neily of the Institute for Justice, and the Liberty Institute’s Hiram Sasser.

Mr. Cecere also frequently speaks and writes on issues of constitutional law and appellate advocacy.  He is a frequent contributor to SCOTUSblog, where he has written on a variety of issues before the Supreme Court such as restitution for victims of crime, “good time” sentence reductions for federal prisoners, and the validity, under the federal discrimination laws, of the use of performance exams in firefighter hiring.

Mr. Cecere earned his undergraduate degree from Dartmouth College and his law degree, cum laude, from Southern Methodist University’s Dedman School of Law, where he was on the Executive Board of the SMU Law Review and was elected to the Order of the Coif.  Carl then clerked with the Hon. Mary Lou Robinson of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas before joining Akin Gump.

Hankinson LLP, the preeminent civil appellate firm in the Southwest, provides clients with legal insight and a judicial perspective in all phases of litigation. The firm’s attorneys work with trial teams to develop strategies designed to put a case in the best position before, during and after trial. Hankinson LLP represents national clients, regional companies, governmental bodies and individuals with trial and appellate matters, and offers mediation and arbitration services as well.