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Profile Dallas Lawyer
The Honorable Tonya Parker
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Judge Presiding, 116th Judicial District Court Dallas County, Texas
The Hon. Tonya Parker is Judge of the 116th Judicial District Court, a position she has held since 2011. Elected by her judicial colleagues, she has twice served as the Presiding Judge for the Dallas County Civil District Courts. Judge Parker has also served as the president of the Texas Association of District Judges. She is an Executive Board member for SMU Dedman School of Law and is a member of the American Law Institute where she serves as an Adviser to the ALI’s Restatement of the Law Third, Torts: Remedies project. Judge Parker is consistently recognized for her performance and temperament on the bench. In the Dallas Bar Association Judicial Evaluation Polls for 2019, 2017, 2015 and 2013, her overall approval ratings exceed 92% and are among the highest ratings of the judges evaluated in the polls. Judge Parker is also a 2021 graduate of Stagen’s Social Change Leadership Program. She serves with distinction, and is recognized at the local, state, and national levels for her contributions. In 2021, the Women’s Commercial and Business Advocate Committee of the American Bar Association Business Law Section recognized Judge Parker with its annual award for her service and commitment to women in our profession. The Dallas Bar Association awarded Judge Parker the 2021 Martin Luther King, Jr. Justice Award in recognition of the barriers she has broken in the legal community and her commitment to the principal of equal justice under the law. Additionally, Judge Parker is the 2021 recipient of the Luminary Award from the Diversity and Flexibility Alliance. For the second time in the last five years, the State Bar of Texas African American Lawyers’ Section awarded
her its DISTINGUISHED JURIST AWARD Dallas Chapter of the American Board of Trial Advocates. While in private practice she earned the esteem of her peers. She was recognized as one of the top lawyers in Texas by being voted a SUPER LAWYERS RISING STAR three years in a row from 2006 to 2008, and again for a fourth time in 2010 just before she was elected to office. Also, in 2010, she received OUT-
STANDING MENTOR AWARDS from both the J.L. Turner Legal Association and the Dallas Association of at its 2019 Annual Meeting in Young Lawyers. acknowledgment of the leadership A few years prior, the Dallas role Judge Parker plays in spearhead- Association of Young Lawyers aling the Implicit Bias Project in the Dal- so named Judge Parker OUTSTANDlas Civil District Courts. In 2018, the ING YOUNG LAWYER OF DALLAS. Dallas NAACP awarded her the The Dallas Bar Association recogPRESIDENT’S AWARD FOR LEGAL nized her with its OUTSTANDING EXCELLENCE. MINORITY ATTORNEY AWARD and In 2017 she won four pres- an AWARD OF EXCELLENCE. tigious awards: the STONEWALL While in private practice she AWARD from the American Bar earned the esteem of her peers. She Association’s Sexual Orientation was recognized as one of the top and Gender Identity Commis- lawyers in Texas by being voted a sion, the DISTINGUISHED ALUMNI SUPER LAWYERS RISING STAR three AWARD FOR JUDICIAL SERVICE from SMU Dedman School of Law, the MAURA WOMEN HELPyears in a row from 2006 to 2008, and again for a fourth time in 2010 just before she was elected to office. Also, in 2010, she received OUTING WOMEN AWARD from the STANDING MENTOR AWARDS from Dallas Women’s Foundation, and the TRAILBLAZER AWARD from IGNITE. Judge Parker has also
been named TRIAL JUDGE OF THE YEAR by the Dallas Chapter of the American Board of Trial Advocates Orientation and Gender Identity Commission, the DISTINGUISHED
both the J.L. Turner Legal Association and the Dallas Association of Young Lawyers. A few years prior, the Dallas Association of Young Lawyers also named Judge Parker OUTSTANDING YOUNG LAWYER OF DALLAS. The Dallas Bar Association recognized her with its OUTSTANDING MINORITY ATTORNEY AWARD and an AWARD OF EXCELLENCE.
EN HELPING WOMEN AWARD from the Dallas Women’s Foundation, and the TRAILBLAZER AWARD from IGNITE.
Judge Parker is also a former
AMERICAN MARSHALL FELLOW, in which capacity she traveled throughout Europe for a period in 2005 to promote transatlantic relations and learn about the social, political, and economic systems of various European countries.
ARE YOU
ON MORTGAGE PAYMENTS?
Help! I Am Behind on My Mortgage!
Many people have found themselves in a scary situation where they are behind on their mortgage payments. You are not alone. When you get behind, you may not know what to do or who to turn to. For this reason, we hav developed this step-by-step guide to give you the knowledge you need to move forward confidently.
Step One: Evaluate Your Financial Situation
When you are behind on your mortgage, it is important to take a moment to analyze your financial situation. You should consider why you were unable to make the payments you missed. Was there an unanticipated expense that occurred in the past few months? Has there been a change in your household’s income? Can you catch up on your past due amounts? Will you be able to make your future mortgage payments as they become due? These are some questions to think about. If you are able to bring your loan current, you should do so right away. If you are unable to bring your account current, you need to go to Step Two.
Step Two: If you want to keep your home, apply for a loss mitigation option.
Once you have evaluated your financial situation, you should contact your bank immediately. A representative from your bank should be able to provide you with the options they have available to address the problems you are facing with your mortgage. Depending on your situation, some of the following options or combination of options may be available from your bank: Loan Modification: A loan modification is a long-term solution to meeting your financial needs. A loan modification will modify your current mortgage by reducing y o u r m o n t h l y p a y m e n t s through a change in your interest rate and/or extending the term of your loan. Forbearance: A forbearance agreement is a short term s o l u t i o n t o b r i n g y o u r mortgage account current. A forbearance agreement is an agreement between you and your lender to reduce or s u s p e n d y o u r m o n t h l y payments for a set amount of time. The lender will agree to delay foreclosure proceedings during this time, but you will eventually have to catch back up on the payments. Reinstatement: A reinstatement is a way for you to pay the past due balance of your mortgage and bring your account current. Once your mortgage account is reinstated and the past due balances are paid, you will continue your regular monthly mortgage payments. Repayment Plan: A repayment plan is a way for you to spread the amount you owe over a period of time. In a repayment plan, you pay your monthly mortgage payment in addition to the monthly past due amount under your plan. If you apply for a loan modification or another loss mitigation option and it was approved, great! You can get back on track.
