As an appellate specialist, Diana has extensive experience throughout the country in appeals and original proceedings in a variety of courts including the Supreme Court of Texas, all Texas courts of appeals, and other state appellate courts around the nation. She has also presented appeals before the Fifth, Eighth, Tenth and Federal Circuit Courts of Appeals of the United States, and the United States Supreme Court. Diana is Board Certified in Civil Appellate Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization, and has handled over three hundred appellate proceedings, including presenting about 50 oral arguments and preparing nearly twice that number for oral argument presented by other members of the Cooper & Scully appellate team.

While Diana’s appellate practice encompasses many areas of the law, her primary emphasis is in professional medical liability. Diana’s outstanding results and hard work has earned her national recognition by fellow practitioners, litigators, and industry professional liability carriers. She is frequently requested to assist with catastrophic personal injury and tort litigation to evaluate potential appeals and original proceedings and to assist with all aspects of pretrial development, trial, and post-trial preservation of issues for review in the event of an adverse outcome.

Diana also provides support to various industry and professional organizations and prepares amicus briefs addressing important legal issues before the Supreme Court of Texas, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, and the United States Supreme Court. Diana consults with and provides assistance in developing strategies for addressing important legal issues arising within the State.

Over nearly 25 years of appellate practice, Diana has been part of the Cooper & Scully appellate team responsible for changing the landscape of Texas civil law, including requiring trial courts to state its reasons for granting a new trial and to allow such orders to be reviewed by mandamus, and confirming the scope of spoliation as a sanction rather than cause of action.1 Diana has worked to shape the evolution of Texas law in interpreting the meaning and scope of various provisions of House Bill 4 through appeals to the Supreme Court of Texas.2 She also has assisted in reversing or modifying nearly $50 million in judgments against physicians and health care providers.3

Diana considers it one of her most significant honors to have been part of the pro bono team who served tirelessly for seven years to obtain DNA testing to exonerate Michael Morton, an innocent man who served nearly 25 years in prison. The Third Court of Appeals finally allowed DNA testing on a bloody bandana in In re Morton, 326 S.W.3d 634 (Tex. App.—Austin 2010). That testing resulted in Michael’s freedom and a landmark change in Texas law to require prosecutors to provide defense counsel with free access to investigative information.

Diana graduated from University of Houston-Clear Lake, magna cum laude, in 1992. After earning her juris doctor from the Southern Methodist University School of Law, cum laude, Diana served as Briefing Attorney to the Hon. James A. Baker and the Hon. Deborah G. Hankinson, Justices, Dallas Court of Appeals, 1995-1996.

Diana is a sought-after and frequent author and speaker addressing complex legal issues for corporate, professional organizations and individual clients, trade associations, industry groups, lawyers, and national professional liability carriers.

Diana’s outstanding work has earned her national recognition, having been named in the Super Lawyers Corporate Counsel for Appellate Law, as well as Texas Monthly's Texas Lawyers Rising Star and Super Lawyer, and D Magazine’s Best Lawyers in Dallas. She has appeared as a guest speaker on Sky Radio Network’s America’s Most Influential Women.

When she’s away from the law, Diana enjoys spending time with her “grands” and family, cooking, traveling and hiking in the mountains, and reading.