Kay E. Goggin's Attorney Profile

Although not a popular thing to say in Texas: I was born and raised in Oklahoma. I still have connections there but I have lived and worked in Dallas, Texas long enough to consider myself a Texan.

I was born in 1957 in Enid, Oklahoma where I graduated from high school in 1975. I was active in speech, debate and drama societies as well as the usual teenage activities of church and friends.

My family has a long tradition of attending Oklahoma State University (for my parents it was called Oklahoma A&M) and I was no exception. I graduated in 1979 with a bachelor of science degree from the School of Journalism where I majored in public relations which was a blend of the full range of journalism and advertising with business and marketing classes. I was selected for the honorary Mortar Board Society; I was an active member of Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority; and I participated in the Student Government Association.

I worked for five years for the Stillwater NewsPress starting as a reporter and ending as the editor in the "family" section which included consumer news as well as food, nutrition, fashion, arts and entertainment and religion. Stillwater, Oklahoma is not just a college town. I was fortunate to be active in many civic organizations including the First United Methodist Church, board of directors of Big Brothers & Sisters, board of directors of the hospice organization, and on the founding board of The Christmas Store, a combined effort of all agencies and organizations to provide assistance with dignity for the less fortunate during the holidays.

A myth from my college days was that if you didn't go straight on to law school or graduate school, instead entering the workforce, you would never go back to school. I was just stubborn enough to want to disprove that theory. I loved my job at the newspaper and my life in the community but was ready to go back to school. I was accepted into several law schools and chose Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas where I entered law school in the fall of 1985.

Law school in many ways was similar to my old job: you had to be there every day and read a lot. School loans, part-time jobs and living with family and friends supported me for the three years of law school, including the semester I did a full-time internship at the Texas Supreme Court in Austin.

I graduated in 1988 and passed the bar in November of that year. I had already been hired by a small (by Dallas standards) personal injury plaintiff's law firm. I learned workers' compensation and personal injury litigation. I started the Social Security disability section before I left in 1993. I went to work for another personal injury plaintiff's law firm where I got more trial experience. In 1995 I passed the exam to become board certified in Personal Injury Trial Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization. In 2004, I was in the first group to take the exam in the new specialty area, Workers' Compensation Law. I am now board certified by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization in this small, but specialized, area of the law.

January 1, 1996 is a red-letter day for me. I opened my own law firm that day. I wanted to have a broader practice than just personal injury. And I wanted to have more direct contact with my clients. I still represent people injured as a result of someone else's negligence, and I still handle workers' compensation and car accident claims but I also handle a variety of family law matters such as divorce and child support and custody modifications. I prepare wills, mostly for small estates. I have some business clients. I represent people on a variety of legal needs. If I can't help them, I often refer them to someone who can. For example, I don't handle criminal matters or complex estate planning.

A few years later, I formed a small side-line business called G Publications! And have developed andr sold a litigation guide as well as inventory booklets for general use. www.gpublications.com

For a time, my law office was in North Dallas and then in Richardson, Texas (a suburb on the north side of Dallas). In March of 2000, I moved into the McKool Building, a few miles north of downtown Dallas on Central Expressway/Interstate Highway 75. Over the years I've hired several dedicated hard-working staff. Currently, Brooks Meador is my legal assistant/office manager and Cindy Carrasco-Valencia is my paralegal.

My sister works for the Richardson Independent School District and so I often give a fee discount to employees from this school district.

Professionally, I have a Martindale-Hubbell AV rating since 2008 (peer-review rating – an indication of an exemplary reputation and well-established practice)

• Served on the board of directors of the Dallas Trial Lawyers Association (1998 - 2000);
• was treasurer of the Texas Workers' Compensation Claimant's Lawyers Association (1998 - 1999); founding member of Texas Workers Advocates (2011;
• am member of the Dallas Bar Association, American Trial Lawyers Association, and State of Texas Bar Association where I belong to a variety of sections including family law and tort litigation. I am past president of the small firm/solo practice section of the Dallas Bar Association and have volunteered for the e-mentoring program with a high school student;
• completed training in both family and civil collaborative law;
• served on the board of directors for the Dallas Women Lawyers Association a number of years (1993-1998 and 2011-2012) and one year on the board of directors of the Texas Women Lawyers Association;
• am a founding member of the Dallas Association of Social Security Claimant's Attorneys;
• served on board of directors of a political action committee, Citizens For A Fair Judiciary (2000);
• served on a 2001 Dallas County Stakeholders Committee for Civil Courthouse Renovation;
• served on Advisory Commissions for the Texas Board of Legal Specialization;
• and I regularly speak on legal topics for Continuing Legal Education programs.