by Jorge Gomez • 2 minutes
Congratulations to First Liberty’s Vice President of Legal Services and Senior Counsel David Hacker on receiving the Patrick Wiseman Award for Civil Rights.
Presented by the Civil Liberties & Civil Rights Section of the State Bar of Texas, the award recognizes a Texas attorney for his or her outstanding contributions to the civil rights and liberties of the people of the Lone Star State. The award presentation will take place in May.
Award recipients are chosen based on their expertise and contributions to civil rights and civil liberties law. They are also selected based on their reputation for professionalism and ethics within the legal community, authorship of scholarly works and presentations, significant participation in the State Bar of Texas, the Civil Liberties & Civil Rights Section, local bar associations and other legal organizations.
“We congratulate David on this prestigious and well-deserved accomplishment,” said Jeff Mateer, First Liberty’s Chief Operating/Legal Officer. “David is an exceptional attorney with decades of experience in public service and private practice. He exemplifies the highest level of excellence in the legal profession. Throughout his career, David has shown a steadfast commitment to protecting religious freedom and the civil rights of all Americans. First Liberty is honored to have him on our team.”
As Vice President of Legal Services, David manages and directs First Liberty’s litigation, communications, external relations, client outreach, and legal support teams.
Prior to joining First Liberty, David served in various appointed positions in the Executive Administration of the Office of the Texas Attorney General, including as Associate Deputy Attorney General for Civil Litigation, managing over 600 lawyers and staff in 12 practice groups working on more than 35,000 cases. He also served as Special Counsel to the Attorney General and First Assistant Attorney General.
As Special Counsel for Civil Litigation, he handled the State’s highest profile cases and multistate litigation on topics as diverse as federal administrative law, separation of powers, Indian law, immigration law, nuclear waste policy, property rights, collective bargaining, education law, corporate governance, and healthcare regulation.
David served for more than a decade with our friends at Alliance Defending Freedom litigating civil rights cases across the country, including matters on First Amendment, due process, equal protection, and Title IX issues in higher education. He began his career in the litigation department of a major Chicago law firm.
Outside his litigation practice, David teaches continuing legal education courses and speaks on religious freedom and free speech topics at universities, law schools, and academic conferences. The Texas Supreme Court has twice appointed David to serve as a member of the Professional Ethics Committee of the State Bar of Texas in 2021 and 2024.
David joins a list of accomplished honorees, which include federal judges and some of the country’s foremost litigators, public defenders and legal practitioners. Notable past recipients include longtime First Liberty volunteer attorney Allyson Ho, partner at Gibson Dunn and one of America’s most respected appellate lawyers.
On behalf of everyone at First Liberty and our countless supporters nationwide, we say: Congratulations, David!
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