austinbar.org MAY 2024 | VOLUME 33, NUMBER 4
Austin Bar Recognizes Award Winners
Manuel Escobar
T
he Austin Bar Association has announced the 2024 winners of the Joseph C. Parker Jr. Diversity Award, the Regina Rogoff Award, the Professionalism Award, and the Larry F. York Mentoring Award. The winner of the Joseph C. Parker Jr. Diversity Award is Manuel Escobar, partner at McGinnis Lochridge. The winner of the Professionalism Award is V. Blayre Pena. The winner of the Larry F. York Mentoring Award is Judge Jan Soifer. The winner of the Regina Rogoff Award is Raymond Winter, inspector general for Texas Health and Human Services.
V. Blayre Pena
Judge Jan Soifer
Raymond Winter
Joseph C. Parker Jr. Diversity Award: Manuel Escobar The Joseph C. Parker Jr. Diversity Award is named in honor of Joseph C. Parker Jr., the first African American president of the Austin Bar Association. Blazing the trail for minority lawyers who followed in his footsteps, Parker has spent his life and work championing the equal, ethical, and fair treatment of all people, and raising awareness of the need to diversify our community. The award is presented to a firm or an individual who has led the way in bringing diversity to Austin’s legal community and who exemplifies all that Parker stands for. Manuel Escobar counsels private companies and individuals
across multiple industries, working closely on transactional matters with business owners and senior management. He assists clients with business formation and ownership from entity selection to dissolution, as well in as a broad range of other transactional matters for both for-profit and nonprofit entities, including ownership structure, drafting formation and operating documents, and advising on corporate governance. Escobar has helped a variety of businesses and individuals form, wind down, and buy and sell businesses across Texas. Escobar’s securities law practice includes working with private placement transactions involving small- and medium-sized companies, including review and qualification for state and federal securities exemptions as well as drafting offering memorandums and related subscription documents. Escobar has also assisted clients with numerous real estate transactions. His experience includes drafting contracts, deeds, deed covenants and restrictions, and easement agreements as well as reviewing
and negotiating small and large commercial leases. Escobar has worked with clients ranging from individual entrepreneurs and small business owners to oil and gas companies and operators, groundwater producers, cooperative associations, hospitals and healthcare providers, real estate developers, property managers, landlords, restaurant owners, doctors, veterinarians, beverage manufacturers, and more. Escobar counsels private companies and individuals across multiple industries, working closely on transactional matters with business owners and senior management. He assists clients with business formation and ownership from entity selection to dissolution, as well in as a broad range of other transactional matters for both for-profit and nonprofit entities, including ownership structure, drafting formation and operating documents, and advising on corporate governance. Escobar has helped a variety of businesses and individuals continued on page 34