


About
MISSION STATEMENT:To Empower, Impact and Influence by (i) achieving individual goals collectively and attaining group success through building mutually beneficial relationships between inside and outside counsel, facilitating career-development and advancement initiatives, and securing and sustaining relationships with career influencers; (ii) generating and facilitating opportunities for members to impact the profession and the community through board service, leadership programs, publishing, and speaking engagements; and (iii) influencing the legal profession through partnering with law firms, in-house legal departments, and other legal employers to increase and improve the recruitment, hiring, retention, and promotion of Black women and partnering with law schools to help Black women law students to be academically successful.
History/Origins
The Network of Empowered Women (NEW) Roundtable, Inc.is a nonprofit organization comprised of close to 100 Black women in-house and outside counsel attorneys in Dallas. The NEW Roundtable was founded in 2014 to drive the inclusion and advancement of Black women attorneys through targeted relationship-building, professional development initiatives, and mentoring. The organization began in 2014 when several University of Texas School of Law alumni– all black women – began meeting in casual settings to discuss the challenges in the legal field. Recognizing their power as a collective, this group grew to become a space of encouragement for women of color seeking to expand their careers and business development experience.



Over the past 5 years,
with the help of our members, Influencers, and mentors, our in-house members have provided our law firm members with business opportunities valued in the hundreds of thousands of dollars, collectively nominated and been nominated by one another for dozens of awards (and have won many of them), including D CEO Corporate Counsel Awards, D Magazine Best Lawyers under 40, Texas Lawbook Corporate Counsel Awards, and Texas Rising Stars, provided opportunities for our members to join Boards, including the Human Rights Initiative, AT&T Performing Arts Center, and Girls on the Run, participated in dozens of job interviews (and landed jobs) facilitated by our members, and most importantly, we have given back to the profession.
EVENTS
Empower Hours | Influencer Events | Professional Development | Business Development
Marketing | Technology | Communications | Strategic Partnerships

Chalon Clark
Partner, Husch Blackwell, LLP

Chalon Clark
Partner, Husch Blackwell, LLP

Robin Gant
Partner, Mayer LLP

Robin Gant
Partner, Mayer LLP
Robin is a Partner on the Defense Litigation team at Mayer LLP, a full-service law firm with offices in Dallas, Houston and New Mexico. Robin defends many national retailers in a variety of litigation matters including tort litigation, construction defects, employee injury/nonsubscriber claims, real estate disputes, personal injury claims and complex commercial claims. Robin is also a board member of the firm's Diversity and Inclusion Committee. Robin is the firm's first African-American partner. Robin is a graduate of Spelman College and Hostra University School of Law. She is licensed to practice in New York and Texas.
Why did you join NEW? I joined NEW because I wanted to be a part of a group of revolutionary and forward thinking women who are intentional about making a difference in the legal community for minority women attorneys. Additionally, my core values relating to diversity and inclusion are squarely in line with the mission and purpose of NEW. I am proud to be member of this group of professional and accomplished women who consistently demonstrate the best of the legal profession.
Chasity Henry
Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary, CECO Environmental Corporation

Chasity Henry
Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary, CECO Environmental Corporation
Chasity Henry is Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary of CECO Environmental Corporation, a global leader in air quality and fluid handling serving the energy, industrial and other niche markets. CECO helps companies grow their business with safe, clean and more efficient solutions that help protect our shared environment. As a key member of CECO’s senior leadership team, Chasity leads the legal department and helps drive the formulation and execution of the company’s corporate strategy. Chasity is a 2006 graduate of The University of Texas School of Law.
Why did you join NEW? Chasity is a zealous advocate for diversity and inclusion, particularly in the legal profession. To that end, Chasity is the founder and President of The NEW Roundtable, Inc., a nonprofit organization that drives the inclusion and advancement of African-American women attorneys through targeted relationship-building, professional development initiatives, and mentoring. The group is currently comprised of nearly 90 African-American women practicing in Dallas in-house, at law firms, in academia and in government. Chasity also serves on the Advisory Board of The Diverse Attorney Pipeline Program (DAPP) and helped launch the DAPP Direct job placement program in 2018. The program seeks to connect law firms and corporations with talented, client-ready women of color who have excelled during their first year of law school.
Whitney Lewis
Chief Compliance Officer & Deputy GC, Tiedeman Advisors

Whitney Lewis
Chief Compliance Officer & Deputy GC, Tiedeman Advisors
Whitney has a wealth of experience as counsel in the financial services industry translating corporate priorities and objectives into results. She leverages rigorous analytical skills and legal acumen to remain ahead of the curve in the ever-changing field of alternative investments. Outside the office, Whitney employs a combination of direct-service work and dialogue creation with an eye toward achieving equal access to education, empowering young women, and tackling other issues that stem from the intersection of race, class, and gender.
Why did you join NEW? Participating in NEW was and is an opportunity to be intentional about both taking ownership of my own career and improving the legal profession. NEW is an organization that is grounded in actually doing the work and is relentless in its pursuit of excellence. There is something truly special about being able to advance individually and collectively in a community that harnesses such passion, champions its members, and celebrates black womanhood.
Crystal Mitchell
Senior Counsel, CHRISTUS Health

Crystal Mitchell
Senior Counsel, CHRISTUS Health

Courtney Barksdale Perez
Partner, Carter Arnett PLLC

Courtney Barksdale Perez
Partner, Carter Arnett PLLC
Courtney Barksdale Perez is a partner at Carter Arnett. Courtney has a vast array of civil litigation experience having tried cases to jury in state and federal court. She has represented plaintiffs and defendants in employment-related claims, civil disputes involving allegations of fraud, negligence, breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty, breach of covenants not to compete, tortious interference with contracts, civil conspiracy, antitrust and in intellectual property disputes alleging misappropriation of trade secrets, trademark infringement, and patent infringement. She is Board Certified in Labor & Employment Law.
Why did you join NEW? We created NEW to control our own individual and collective destinies. We understood if that if we wanted success for ourselves, it would take everyone at the table to make that happen.
LaToyia Pierce
VP Legal Affairs & General Counsel, FirstService Residential, Inc.

LaToyia Pierce
VP Legal Affairs & General Counsel, FirstService Residential, Inc.
LaToyia Watkins Pierce is currently the Vice President, Legal Affairs & General Counsel with FirstService Residential, Inc. LaToyia is responsible for overseeing and developing processes and strategy for all matters effecting the company throughout the United States and Canada. Prior to joining FirstService Residential, LaToyia retained and managed outside counsel to defend professionals who are sued in courts, before regulatory bodies, and in arbitrations across the country. LaToyia holds a J.D. from Southern Methodist University Dedman School of Law in Dallas, Texas, an M.B.A. from the University of Texas at Dallas in Richardson, Texas, and a B.S. in Economics from Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas.
Why did you join NEW? I joined NEW because of its intentional mission to empower, influence and impact the legal profession who looked like me. NEW provides a necessary support system aimed at promoting and empowering and influcing women in the legal profession who look like me.
Amy Stewart
Founding Partner, Stewart Law Group PLLC

Amy Stewart
Founding Partner, Stewart Law Group PLLC

Kandace Walter
Managing Attorney, Walter Legal PLLC

Kandace Walter
Managing Attorney, Walter Legal PLLC
Kandace provides legal guidance to her business and intellectual property clients. She handles many facets of intellectual property, including patent prosecution, trademark registration, opposition, cancellation proceedings and appeals before the USPTO, TTAB and PTAB as well as various transactional matters. She also serves as the Director of the Small Business Trademark Clinic at Southern Methodist University School of Law. She is licensed in Texas and before the US Patent & Trademark Office. She is a native Texan and a proud graduate of The University of Texas School of Law (J.D., 2004) and Florida A &M University (B.S. Chemistry, 2001).
Why did you join NEW? I joined NRT because of the commitment to our mission and motto. The time for complaining on the sideline is over. It's time to play ball and bring our own seats to the table. We have created new opportunities for women lawyers to support, empower, influence and impact each other's careers and the legal field as a whole.
Amanda Williams
Associate, Greenberg Traurig, LLP

Amanda Williams
Associate, Greenberg Traurig, LLP
Amanda Williams is Board Certified in Labor and Employment Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization and represents corporations and other personnel in all phases of employment-related litigation, including claims of race, disability, gender, and age discrimination, sexual harassment, retaliation, wage and hour disputes, workers’ compensation, family medical leave policies, and in litigation involving business torts, trade secrets, non-competes, and non-solicitation and employment agreements. In addition, she routinely counsels clients on day-to-day employment-related matters, including disciplinary actions, accommodations, hiring, and firing employees and conducts internal investigations, reviews and prepares client-specific policies and procedures, and provides training for employers.
Why did you join NEW? If I could think of one word that describes NRT, it would be “genuine.” What I love about our organization (and I think sets us apart from other legal organizations) is that there is a genuine desire to see our fellow members succeed at the highest level. The legal profession historically promotes a competitive atmosphere and pits lawyers against one another (especially lawyers of color), but our organization is built on helping Black, female attorneys elevate their professional careers and achievements. If one of us is winning, then there is a genuine feeling amongst the organization that we are all winning!Board of Directors
Since its inception, NEW has facilitated job placements, professional awards, board placements, business referrals, speaking engagements, and publishing opportunities for its members, representing over 30 law firms and 40 in-house legal departments in the DFW Metroplex.
Empower. Impact. Influence.
