Empower Impact and Influence

Chalon N. Clark is a Partner at Husch Blackwell, LLP and focuses her practice on business and financial litigation, as well as labor and employment matters. Chalon serves on the Board of Directors for KERA, National Public Radio. She also serves on the Executive Committee of the Dallas Federal Bar Association. Chalon’s recognitions include, the Dallas Business Journal Minority Business Leader, D Magazine Best Lawyers and Best Lawyers Under 40, Who’s Who in Black Dallas, National Diversity Counsel Top 50 Women Lawyers and Top 50 Multicultural Lawyers in Dallas, The Network Journal Forty Under 40, and Texas Super Lawyer and Rising Star. "NEW is unabashedly inward focused and women helping to promote each other."

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 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 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 Moore-Mitchell serves as a System Director, Associate Counsel at CHRISTUS Health, a not-for-profit health system made up of more than 600 healthcare facilities, including long-term care facilities, community hospitals, walk-in clinics and health ministries. At CHRISTUS, Crystal works in a variety of areas from hospital vendor agreements, federal and state regulatory matters, and hospital compliance. Prior to joining CHRISTUS, Crystal worked at Methodist Health System, where she served as an Assistant Vice President-Associate In House Counsel/Privacy Officer. While at Methodist, in addition to advising senior leadership on a variety of healthcare regulatory matters, she also managed the health system’s privacy program. Crystal was recently recognized by the National Diversity Council as a 2019 Top Women in Legal, for her work with the Dallas Association of Young Lawyers – Lawyers Promoting Diversity Committee, where she introduced several new programs focused on addressing the needs of minority law students. Crystal has also served on the DAPP Direct Program Steering Committee, since its inception. Finally, in 2016 Crystal was named as DCEO’s magazine In-House Counsel of the Year- Diversity Champion. Crystal is a graduate of Florida A&M University, where she earned a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration and a Master of Business Administration, and The University of Texas School of Law. In her spare time Crystal loves spending time with her husband Ryan, and their son Michael.

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 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 is the woman you want on your team. She’s intuitive, strategic, and relentless. What sets Amy apart from other attorneys are the skills she garnered from her experiences in the athletic world. Winning is in her blood – she played college basketball at Wake Forest and coached Division I basketball at her alma mater and Tulane University before shifting her focus to wins in the courtroom. Amy’s unique background helps her bring a dignified and measured aggressiveness and competitive nature to her legal practice. Based on her experience building winning teams, Amy has an innate ability to connect with clients. By listening to her clients, Amy identifies and understands the critical success factors before developing a game plan—what does a “win” look like for this legal dispute. Amy never gives up on meeting her client’s objectives and uses her intellect and intuition to alter the game plan when issues arise. Business clients want Amy leading and representing their interests as their outside legal counsel. Opposing counsel respects her legal acumen and her tenaciousness. Amy has expertise in resolving contract disputes, business torts, investigations, products liability, ERISA, employment, and labor matters. In addition to her civil trial experience representing companies on the Fortune 100 list to startups, Amy is a certified Title IX Investigator by the Association of Title IX Administrators and a certified Arbitrator with the AAA, presiding over commercial, construction, and employment matters. Amy is also certified as a FINRA arbitrator and was inducted into the International Institute for Conflict Prevention and Resolution Panel of Distinguished Neutrals.

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 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!

Tamera is Vice President/Associate General Counsel at AT&T, a modern media and telecommunications company. In her role, Tamera leads a team of attorney who provide legal support for the Chief Diversity Officer, Human Resources and Asset Protection. In addition, she leads the Legal Operations organization. Tamera received both her undergraduate and law degree from the University of Michigan.

Why did you join NEW? I originally joined NEW because I was new to Dallas and wanted to connect with black women attorneys. However, it quickly became clear that NEW really "walked the walk" of its mission to empower, impact, and influence, more so than any other organization in any city that I have previously lived in (Atlanta, Los Angeles). I have made meaningful connections - both in and outside of the group - due to the relationships I have formed.

Keitha is Vice President of Employment and Litigation at CHRISTUS Health, a health care system with over 45,000 employees and operations in the U.S., Mexico, Colombia and Chile. In her role, she is the organization’s subject matter expert and trusted advisor on all labor and employment law matters. In her previous legal career, Keitha worked in “Big Law” and served as the general counsel of a national aviation servicing company. Keitha is an honors graduate of the University of Houston and Howard University School of Law.

Why did you join NEW? NEW is intentional in creating direct pathways for the inclusion and advancement of Black women lawyers, an endeavor that aligns with my personal values. The efforts of NEW not only empower its members, but also directly impact and influence the legal professional for the betterment of all. Meaningful diversity and inclusion is no longer a "nice to have" but rather, is a "must have", and NEW is at the forefront of that endeavor.