The Texas Bar Foundation has selected Haynes Boone Partner Lynne Liberato as the 2019 winner of the Gregory S. Coleman Outstanding Appellate Lawyer Award, which each year celebrates one distinguished appellate lawyer who has an outstanding appellate practice and also demonstrates a commitment to mentoring young attorneys and to providing legal services to the underserved.
“Lynne exemplifies the professional and personal attributes that are celebrated by this prestigious award,” said Haynes Boone Managing Partner Tim Powers. “I am also proud that she is the third Haynes Boone appellate lawyer to win the Gregory Coleman Award in the last five years. It is a testament to the strength and stature of our Appellate Practice Group.”
The Texas Bar Foundation selected Haynes Boone Partner Nina Cortell for the award in 2016 and Counsel Mike Hatchell in 2015.
In recommending Liberato for the Coleman Award, former award winner Bracewell LLP Partner Warren Harris cited her successful handling of multi-million dollar appeals for many high-profile clients; her contributions to the legal industry as a frequent speaker and writer on legal topics and as the former president of the State Bar of Texas and Houston Bar Association; and her dedication to civic and charitable causes, including her longstanding service to the United Way of Greater Houston and her representation of pro bono clients.
“Of the many things she does, I am particularly proud of how she represents the legal profession to the broader community,” Harris wrote in a letter to the Bar Foundation. “While she accomplished much for the lawyers of Texas as a bar leader, she is well-known in the broader business community for her unflinching commitment, hard work and good judgment.”
Liberato has led teams in some of the most significant appeals and trials in Texas. She is the co-author with U.S. District Judge David Hittner of "Summary Judgments in Texas," often called the "bible" of summary judgments. The eighth edition of the article, which has appeared in five law reviews since 1989, will be published in March in the South Texas Law Review.
A member of the United Way of Greater Houston Executive Committee, Liberato has chaired the organization’s Hurricane Recovery Task Force four times since Tropical Storm Allison devastated southeast Texas in 2001 and was the first practicing lawyer to chair the United Way’s community campaign. In 2018, Texas First Lady Cecilia Abbott awarded Liberato a Certificate of Appreciation for her ongoing role in disaster recovery. Also last year, the Women and the Law Section of the State Bar of Texas named Liberato the winner of the Louise B. Raggio Award, which recognizes an attorney who has actively addressed the needs and issues of women in the legal profession and the community.
Liberato will receive the Gregory Coleman Award in a ceremony on June 14.
Described as “a superbly talented appellate bench” (Chambers USA 2018, Chambers and Partners), Haynes Boone’s nationally recognized Appellate Practice Group has earned esteem through decades of dedication to clients. Haynes Boone has one of the largest full-time appellate teams of any national law firm, with lawyers based in Texas, Colorado, California and New York.