It is said that the most priceless asset an attorney can possess is experience. Diane Walker brings more than two decades of civil litigation experience to Staubus and Randall. Prior to joining the firm to focus primarily on probate and fiduciary litigation, she successfully represented both plaintiffs and defendants, representing business and corporate entities as well as individuals. She is proud to have been able to use her advocacy skills to obtain favorable results for her clients both at the trial court level and before the Courts of appeals and Texas Supreme Court. In the course of her career, Diane has either tried or settled a large number of substantial and complex cases involving wrongful death, catastrophic personal injury, medical malpractice, and a wide range of business torts and commercial and contract disputes. With her broad trial experience in both the state and federal courts and her exceptional writing ability, Diane has a talent for assessing what tactical steps are needed to move a case forward and also for determining when a case should be settled rather than tried.
Since joining Staubus and Randall to work in the firm’s litigation section, Diane has utilized her broad trial and appellate experience in representing the firm’s clients, leveraging her skills, creativity, and aggressive representation to produce results for Staubus and Randall clients. Diane also understands the importance of exploring settlements of each client’s dispute. “While every trial lawyer loves the courtroom, many times the client’s best interests are to settle and resolve cases at the earliest possible juncture, It is the rare client who loves the courtroom as much as we do.”
In the area of estate litigation, Diane has successfully prosecuted and defended will contests including complex multi-million dollar estates, as well as more moderate estates. In addition to will contests, Diane has handled related estate issues such as wrongful death claims, marital property claims, and the probate of foreign wills.
Diane has also pursued a variety of cases involving fiduciary litigation and trusts. “A trustee must put the beneficiary’s interests first, which seems like a simple principle, but there are so many lawsuits growing out of that basic duty.” Diane has defended corporate bank trustees and individual trustees against beneficiary claims, and has also represented numerous beneficiaries in asserting their rights to full information and for damages based on a trustee’s breach of fiduciary duty. Diane has g-guardianship trial experience, vigorously represents individuals in fighting off family members’ efforts to place them under a guardianship, as well as assisting families obtain a legal guardianship to protect a loved one from elder abuse, neglect or financial exploitation. “Many elderly people need help; the question is when do they need a legal guardianship?” These cases are very emotional, and often hotly contested, requiring strategic thinking and calm experience to bring about a successful result.
Diane prides herself in thinking of creative and innovative ways to pursue her client’s legal rights, but it is her attention to detail that sets her legal practice apart. “I tend to be a perfectionist and work toward the goal of always giving the court well-written, well-reasoned legal documents. I was a writer before I was a lawyer, and that never changes. Also, I never show up at a hearing without having tried to prepare every single detail that I think will be needed to give my client the best possible chance at a positive outcome.”
In addition to working hard in her legal practice, Diane is an avid fan of the local area sports teams, enjoys international travel, and is an active member of St. Andrew United Methodist Church in Plano, Texas.
