Month: May 2023

Hartline Barger Achieves Mansfield Certification

Posted on May 23, 2023 by - News

Dallas, TX, May 23, 2023 — Hartline Barger LLP is proud to announce that we have achieved Mansfield Certification! The Mansfield Certification, facilitated by Diversity Lab, recognizes the structural changes and actions we have taken over 18-months to diversify leadership in our firm by broadening the slate of talent considered for internal leadership roles and increasing transparency with written and accessible advancement processes and role descriptions.

Why This Matters

The goal of Mansfield is to increase and sustain diversity in law firm leadership through a science-driven method that embeds accountability, transparency, and knowledge sharing into our talent practices. We know that with diverse leadership comes more inclusive and equitable decisions that reflect the needs of our diverse workforce for the benefit of our talent and clients.

What We Do in Practice

What does this mean in practice at our firm? Whenever our leaders make a decision about who to appoint or elect to leadership roles such as Management Committee or Partner Nominating Committee, we proactively consider a broad slate of talent including lawyers who are historically underrepresented in law. The same inclusive decision-making takes place when we build client pitch teams and nominate lawyers for Chambers awards. And, as part of Mansfield, we also work hard to ensure that our processes for advancement and the job expectations/qualifications for leaders at the firm are transparent. The Mansfield framework helps us ensure that we approach succession planning for the next generation of leaders in an inclusive, structured, and intentional manner consistently across offices and practice groups.

Proof That It’s Working

As illustrated in this recent American Lawyer article, an extensive analysis by two data science professors shows Mansfield is succeeding at its intended purpose to diversify leadership at firms that stay committed long-term. We, too, have seen and experienced positive progress at our firm.

Hartline Barger is pleased to have reached this significant milestone and we will continue to build teams that reflect the diversity of our clients and communities while providing innovative counsel and exceptional service.

Hartline Barger LLP Secured a Victory in a Two-Week Wrongful Death Trial and Co-Defendant Ordered to Pay $860 Million

Posted on May 3, 2023 by - News, Verdicts

Dallas, TX, April 26, 2023 — Hartline Barger LLP secured a trial victory in Dallas County after attorneys Darrell Barger and Anna Dodds successfully defended their client—Bigge Crane and Rigging Co.—in a two-week wrongful death trial.  The case arose from a June 2019 incident when severe weather in Dallas caused a crane to collapse on an apartment building, resulting in one death and injuries to several others.  During the trial, Barger and Dodds established that the crane operator provided by Bigge was working as a borrowed employee of the co-defendant Greystar Development and Construction LLC, and the accident was not caused by anything their client did.  Greystar denied that the crane operator was its borrowed employee and contended that it was not responsible at all for the incident that occurred on its worksite.  Plaintiffs argued that the crane operator was negligent for failing to weathervane the crane before the storm, which would have allowed it to swing with the wind.  Instead, the greater than 70 mph winds caused the crane to collapse and kill their 29-year-old daughter.  After two weeks of testimony, the jury ultimately agreed with Bigge and cleared it of any wrongdoing.  Co-defendant Greystar was found 100% responsible and was ordered to pay $860 million.