Rambo Justice

Are bad-boy lawyers Bill Brewer and John Bickel building a bridge to Dallas' minority communities, or trying to sell them one?

Comments (0) By Mark Donald Thursday, Mar 19 1998

That Bickel and Brewer can deliver minority voters to a particular candidate because of the Harden case seems downright speculative, and yet, in the mind of Bill Brewer, doctor of his own spin, this may not be too far-fetched. "For the first time in all the years I have been doing this [practicing law]," Brewer says, "elected officials are asking us, 'Who should I meet with in Oak Cliff? Who should I talk to in South Dallas?' That is huge in my mind."

And if current demographic trends in Dallas County hold true, if the minority population becomes the majority population within the next several years, few will be better positioned politically than Bickel and Brewer. Already a proven friend to high-profile African-Americans, the pair has, post-Harden, begun repairing its image with Hispanics. Despite the LULAC complaint, Bill Brewer says unabashedly, the Storefront now plans on assisting Latinos with their legal problems. "John and I have already had meetings with people in the Hispanic Chamber...We are talking to them about class actions, representing people in the Hispanic community against various economic practices of certain corporations."

Call it cultivating relationships or just business as usual--it's just one more way "the most aggressive, high-powered law firm in the world" is trying to make a difference. Whatever that difference may be.