Bell Nunnally Senior Associate Troy “T.J.” Hales has been selected to the 2024 “Fellows Program” class and Associate Kimberly A. Cruz was selected to the “Pathfinder Program” for the Leadership Council on Legal Diversity (LCLD) – an organization comprised of more than 400 corporate chief legal officers and law firm managing partners dedicated to building a more open and diverse legal profession. 2024 marks the seventh year of Bell Nunnally involvement in LCLD leadership classes.
“We are honored that T.J. and Kim will be representing Bell Nunnally as members of the 2024 LCLD leadership programs. This underscores our firm’s active engagement in advancing diversity and inclusion within the legal industry,” said Christopher Trowbridge, managing partner of Bell Nunnally. “We take great pride in our LCLD membership, as the organization serves as a key platform in fostering diversity and inclusion in the legal industry.”
Hales has substantial experience advocating for clients in state and federal courts at all stages of litigation, including on appeal. He frequently advises clients in matters involving regulatory, construction and real estate issues, including landlord-tenant disputes, lien and bond claims, and contract claims. In addition to having handled creditors’ rights issues in both bankruptcy and post-judgment contexts, Hales advises companies in various aspects of labor and employment law. He has represented employers in issues involving discrimination, harassment, arbitration agreements, class-action waivers, employee privacy and biometrics compliance. Hales is a member of the Austin LGBT Chamber of Commerce and the Dallas Association of Young Lawyers (DAYL) among other professional activities. He is a graduate of SMU’s Dedman School of Law (J.D., cum laude, 2016) and Baylor University (B.B.A., with distinction, 2013.)
Cruz regularly works with clients engaged in mergers and acquisitions, including crafting purchase and sale agreements and conducting due diligence reviews. She also handles loan agreement drafting, guaranty document creation and title reviews. In commercial real estate, she assists with lease negotiations, drafting and review, as well as notices of default, consents to assignments and sublease transactions. Active in her communities, Cruz is a member of Commercial Real Estate Women’s (CREW) Dallas Chapter and C3 Latino Young Professionals (C3LYP). Fluent in Spanish, she is a graduate of St. Mary’s University School of Law (J.D., 2022) and St. Mary’s (B.A., 2016).