Mary Alice McLarty, TTLA fellowship member, is the principal “Of Counsel” with Sommerman & Quesada, L.L.P., in Dallas, Texas. She received her J.D. from Texas Tech University of Law in 1983, where she was a member of the Board of Barristers and dean of Delta Thelta Phi legal fraternity. She is licensed in Texas and in the District of Columbia. She was the 1991 recipient of the George Woods NAACP Civil Rights Award, given in recognition of her pro bono work on a desegregation case. Ms. McLarty was appointed by the Texas Supreme Court to the Texas Board of Disciplinary Appeals,

the appellate arm of lawyer grievance process, serving from 1991 to 1994. She has published the following legal articles: "Rekindling the Atticus Finch Flame," published Winter edition, 2005, in The Warrior, Journal of the Trial Lawyers College; Classic Opening Statements in the Auto Case: Anticipating the Defense of Whiplash and Rising Insurance Rates, published September 2002 in The Warrior, Journal of the Trial Lawyers College, Weaving a Site on the Web, published in September 1988 in Trial Journal of the Association of Trial Lawyers of America, Vol. 34, No. 9: P. 50-51; Secrets of a Successful Small Office Practice, published in April, 1998 in Trial Journal of the Association of Trial Lawyers of America, Vol. 34, No: 4, P.82-85; Practical Ideas for Handling Child Witnesses, published in January/February, 1996 in the Trial Diplomacy Journal, Vol. 19, 5-10; Legal Malpractice: Problems in Proving Breach of Duty and Causation,: published in Butterworth’s Personal Injury Reporter, Vol. 9., No. 5, 1992 and the Texas Trial Lawyer’s Forum Magazine, Vol. 26, No. 2, 1992. Ms. McLarty is past president of the Dallas Trial Lawyers Association and of the South Plains Trial Lawyers. She is on the board of the Texas Trial Lawyers Association (TTLA) and the American Association for Justice [AAJ] (formerly ATLA), and has served on the Executive Committee of both those organizations. She is past Chair of the Women’s Caucus and current chair of the Election Committee and State Affairs Committee of AAJ. She is a current member of Dallas Trial Lawyers Association, AAJ and ABOTA. Ms. McLarty is a frequent speaker for AAJ and TTLA. She has also spoken to the trail lawyer associations in Alabama, Arkansas, Kansas, Louisiana, Missouri, Montana, Mississippi, Florida and Wyoming. She has been named to the Million Dollar Advocates Forum. Recently, she received the Distinguished Service Award from AAJ and was the 2008 recipient of the Louise B. Raggio Award by the Dallas Women Lawyers Association for her significant contribution, given the advancement of women in the legal profession.