The Franklin Jones Best CLE Article Award

2018 Recipients – Matthew Kolodoski and Eliot Shavin

For 2018, the award goes to Matthew Kolodoski and Eliot Shavin for their article, Private Prisons: Constitutional Litigation Against Non-State Defendants.

Matthew Kolodoski is a litigation attorney with the Dallas office of Thompson, Coe, Cousins & Irons, LLP, a national litigation defense firm, where he focuses his practice on the defense of insurance carriers in coverage disputes, bad faith and extra-contractual liabilities litigation, and other insurance-related matters. He also devotes a portion of his practice to advising clients on complex coverage issues.

Matthew received his law degree from Southern Methodist University Dedman School of Law and his undergraduate degree from the University of Houston. After law school, he clerked for the Honorable Irma C. Ramirez with the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas, Dallas Division.

Matthew is a member of the Board of Directors of the State Bar of Texas and a past-Chair of the Civil Liberties & Civil Rights Section of the State Bar of Texas. He is also a Fellow of the Texas Bar Foundation and active in the Dallas Bar Association, Dallas Association of Young Lawyers, and DAYL Foundation. Matthew is a frequent speaker and author on litigation and constitutional law topics. Matthew is also an active member of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra’s Vivaldi Patron Circle.

Eliot Shavin has been at SMU Dedman School of Law since 1997. He is Board Certified in Consumer and Commercial Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization. After receiving his JD, he worked for law firms in both Houston and Dallas. He was an Assistant Attorney General in the Consumer Protection Division of Texas Attorney General’s Office from 1985-1987. He was a member of the Board for the American Civil Liberties Union from 1996-1997; President of the American Civil Liberties Union of Texas from 1995-1998; member of the Board for the Housing Crisis Center from 2002-2003 and 2005-2008; served as Chair of the Consumer Law Section Council (2003-2004) and as Chair of the Individual Rights and Responsibilities Section Council (2013-2014) for the State Bar of Texas.

EDUCATION
J.D., Harvard Law School, 1980
Ph.D. program in philosophy, University of Texas at Austin, 1976-77
B.A. in philosophy and music, Haverford College, 1975

PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES
Private litigation practice focused on civil rights, employment, consumer and commercial cases, 1987-present
Assistant Attorney General, Consumer Protection Division, Office of the Texas Attorney General, 1985-1987
Associate, Haynes and Boone, Dallas, Texas, 1984-1985
Associate, Butler & Binion, Houston, Texas, 1980-1984
Chair, Individual Rights and Responsibilities Section Council, State Bar of Texas, 2013-2014
Chair, Consumer Law Section Council, State Bar of Texas, 2003-2004
Member of the Board, Housing Crisis Center, 2002-2003 and 2005-2008
President, American Civil Liberties Union of Texas, 1995-1998
Member of the Board, American Civil Liberties Union, 1996-1997
Frequent speaker at Texas Bar CLE seminars on consumer, constitutional and civil rights topics

ACADEMIC APPOINTMENTS, CERTIFICATIONS AND PUBLICATIONS
Clinical Professor and Assistant Director, Dedman School of Law Civil Clinic
Southern Methodist University, 2017 – present
Adjunct – Clinical Professor of Law, Dedman School of Law Civil Clinic, Southern Methodist University, 1997-2017
Board-certified in Consumer and Commercial Law, Texas Board of Legal Specialization (1993-present)
Co-author, “Sovereign Immunity for Nuisance and Takings Claims in Texas After City of Dallas v. Jennings,” 58 SMU L.Rev. 195 (2005)
2016 Wiseman Award recipient for outstanding contributions to civil rights and liberties (awarded by the State Bar IRR section)

2017

Hon. Mike Engelhart, Houston
Sarah Kathryn Foster, Houston
Procedure for Enforcing Foreign State, Federal and Foreign Country Judgments in Texas

2016

Shelly L. Skeen, Dallas
State of Rights Post – Obergefell

2015

Justice Jane Bland, Houston
Laura Prather, Austin
Bullies Beware: Bullies Beware: Safeguarding Constitutional Rights through Anti-SLAPP in Texas

2014

Clyde J. “Jay” Jackson, III, Houston
Texas Supreme Court Update

2009

Richard R. Orsinger, San Antonio
Practicing Family Law In a Depressed Economy Part I: Your Law Practice and
Your Clients – Part II: The Economy

2002

Steve Akers, Dallas
Trustee Selection; Retaining Strings Without Getting Strung-Up

1998

Eric E. Sigsbey, Midland

1997

David H. Pace, Dallas

1996

David B. Young, Austin

1995

Kathryn Hinkel, Dallas

1994

Scott Rothenberg

1993

Walter P. Wolfram, Amarillo