Lisa Mares Email & Phone Number

Dallas, Texas, United States

Lisa provides legal advice and counsel to the city council, city manager's office, and department staff. She supervises and trains a team of 6-8 attorneys, 4-5 paralegals, and support staff; develops processes, procedures, checklists, and form contracts; negotiates and drafts agreements and security instruments for tax increment, tax abatement, grants, and loans in connection with economic development, affordable housing, and homeless supportive housing projects; reviews, interprets, and advises on state and federal law in connection with municipal bond issuance, elections, and permissible expenditures; negotiates goods and services agreements and advises on compliance with procurement requirements; and drafts and negotiates grant, loan and subrecipient agreements for homeless, community development, small business, and community art programs; draft and negotiate subrecipient agreements advise on eligible uses of grant funds (e.g., CARES, ARPA, HOME, and CDBG). Lisa also reviews and interprets state and federal grant management standards; advises on program development for the Office of Economic Development, the Department of Housing and Neighborhood Revitalization, the Office of Homeless Solutions, Small Business Center, and other City departments; advises boards, commissions, and local government corporations on parliamentary, open meetings, and open records; analyzes and advises on pre-litigation contract claims and disputes and draft default and termination notices; and researches and drafts legal opinions, resolutions, memoranda, and correspondence concerning the city charter and local, state, and federal laws.

Dallas, Texas, United States

Lisa supervised and trained the open records team by developing processes, procedures, and form letters for open records. She negotiated and drafted agreements and security instruments (e.g., promissory notes, deeds of trusts, and/or deed restrictions) for tax increment, tax abatement, grants, and loans in connection with economic development, affordable housing, and homeless supportive housing projects. She negotiated goods and services agreements and advised on compliance with procurement requirements, drafted and negotiated grant, loan and subrecipient agreements for homeless, community development, small business, and community art programs; drafted and negotiated subrecipient agreements, advised on eligible uses of grant funds (e.g., CARES, ARPA, HOME, and CDBG); reviewed and interpreted state and federal grant management standards; and advised on program development for the Office of Economic Development, the Department of Housing and Neighborhood Revitalization, the Office of Homeless Solutions, Small Business Center, and other departments. She advised city officials, boards, commissions, and local government corporations on governance, parliamentary, open meetings, and open records matters; analyzed and advised on pre-litigation contract disputes and drafted default and termination notices; and researched and drafted legal opinions, resolutions, memoranda, and correspondence concerning the city charter and local, state, and federal laws.

Dallas/Fort Worth Area

Lisa advocated for small businesses, startups, and entrepreneurs. She worked with small and growing businesses to avoid legal pitfalls, start their business on the right foot, or get it back on track. Lisa assisted with formation, contracts, intellectual property, employment separation agreements, and workplace training; advised on compliance, managed customer complaints; and responded to enforcement matters. Lisa also assisted non-profits with formation, governance, contracts, intellectual property matters, and leases.

Fort Worth, Texas, United States

Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex

Lisa helped clients to mitigate risk while protecting and advancing the client’s goals. Lisa’s collaborated with clients to identify key objectives and develop a successful game plan. Lisa provided clients with strategic legal guidance on formation, corporate governance, transactional, business operations, employment, administrative, regulatory, and government relations.

Dallas/Fort Worth Area

FirstCash, Inc. is an international publicly traded corporation that operates over 1,100 retail and consumer lending locations in the United States, Mexico, Guatemala, and El Salvador. FirstCash provides consumers with instant access to capital through non-recourse, deferred deposit and installment loans, as well as offers retail-quality merchandise.Lisa provided practical and strategic legal counsel on compliance, commercial contracts, business operations, marketing, government relations, and general corporate matters in connection with the company's domestic stores. As assistant general counsel, Lisa drafted corporate policies and procedures, collaborates with the Compliance department and Business operations on product development, advises Business operations on legal and regulatory matters, and reviewed corporate communications and field training materials.Lisa assisted with contract review and negotiation in conjunction with relevant departments. Lisa supported compliance by assisting to investigate and respond to consumer complaints and responding to inquiries from local, state and federal regulatory agencies. Lisa also reviewed advertisements and marketing materials to comply with notice and disclosure requirements, protect intellectual property, and minimize risk.Lisa also managed the day-to-day aspects of the company's government relations program by reviewing and summarizing legislation, drafting amendments, reviewing proposed administrative regulations, and responding to rule-making requests for comment.

Dallas/Fort Worth Area

Lisa represented municipalities by providing advice on regulatory matters, administrative law, criminal law, litigation, open government, and election law. Lisa advised employers regarding disciplinary matters to reduce litigation risk, assisted with pre-litigation employment disputes, drafted and negotiated agreements, and represented employers during hearings before state agencies. She also defended pre-trial and trial motions and briefs in connection with criminal litigation and defended pre-trial discovery motions and advised on complying with subpoenas and interrogatories in connection with civil litigation. Lisa developed and implemented trial strategy in connection with criminal, code compliance, and substandard building matters, as well as negotiated plea agreements with criminal defendants. Lisa developed and implemented responses to open records compliance investigations, environmental regulatory compliance investigations, and investigations initiated by licensing agencies, such as the Department of State Health Service and the Department of Licensing and Regulation. She also advised clients on information security, data privacy, health information privacy, records retention, and open government regulations. Lisa's experience with transactional matters includes drafting and reviewing contracts, lease agreements, encroachment agreements, ordinances, and inter-local agreements. Lisa also has extensive experience conducting continuing education seminars on data privacy and security, open records, subpoenas, election law updates, and legislative updates. Lisa has also authored and co-authored continuing legal education papers on data privacy and security, substandard buildings, Texas Ethics Commission proceedings, and conflicts of interest.

Fort Worth, Texas

As an associate, Lisa represented municipalities and other public entities. She advised clients in several areas of municipal law, including administrative law, regulatory compliance, environmental law, open government, election law, and condemnations.Lisa conducted workplace investigations and drafted reports of findings and recommendations, represent employer at termination appeal hearings, and trained and advised on preventing harassment and discrimination claims. Lisa conducted contested water rate hearings and advised on customer privacy rights to prevent regulatory enforcement actions. She also assisted with appealing a non-party status ruling in connection with an environmental permits proceeding. Lisa assisted with preparing for and conducting depositions, developing trial strategy, and direct and cross-examination in connection with condemnation hearings and state district court litigation. She developed and implemented the response to enforcement actions by state and federal regulatory agencies in connection with health information breaches and environmental enforcement actions and advised on compliance with state mental health, state behavioral health, state utility, and federal aviation regulations.Lisa drafted health information privacy and security policies and procedures to comply with health information privacy and utility customer information privacy regulations, and investigated and developed response to customer complaints.Lisa also assisted clients with election law issues, including drafting election orders, notices and pre-clearance submissions to the U.S. Department of Justice, and conducting seminars on election law updates.

Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina Area

As Assistant Special Counsel, Lisa analyzed policies regarding emergency preparedness of schools, assisted in management of statewide campus safety project, and conducted research on open meetings and public records law. Lisa also provided legal advice regarding North Carolina's Meth Lab Prevention Act and federal legislation, such as the National Instant Criminal Background Check System amendments. She has assisted in drafting legislation, compiled report of findings and recommendations for school and campus safety reports, and drafted policy and legal memoranda. As Assistant Special Counsel, Lisa met with key stakeholders regarding policy initiatives, represented Special Counsel and the North Carolina Attorney General on task forces, as well as managed legal interns.

Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina Area

Lisa prepared a model Code of Ethics for State agency board, drafted legislation regarding special elections, researched the taxability of election poll workers, and drafted pre-clearance requests. She also compiled the administrative record regarding provisional ballots in preparation for trial, researched the constitutionality of placing limits on contributions to political action committees and compiled an election law update for continuing legal education courses.

Charlotte, North Carolina

As an intern with the Charlotte City Attorney's office, Lisa drafted appellate briefs defending the City of Charlotte against allegations of discrimination, hostile work environment, disparate treatment, failure to promote, and retaliation. These claims and issues were decided favorably for the City in Belton v. City of Charlotte. She also researched municipal antitrust liability and summarized Department of Labor opinion letters.

Washington D.C.

Lisa researched potential judicial nominees and drafted report of findings and recommendations to MALDEF Board, monitored federal legislation, attended congressional committee hearings and briefed staff. She also prepared public comments regarding changes to General Services Administration regulations.

Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina Area

As a policy intern, Lisa researched and co-authored a policy report assessing the state’s juvenile justice system and developed policy to decrease the overrepresentation of minorities throughout the juvenile justice system. The thoroughness and clarity of report resulted in the implementation of recommendations by a State agency board.

Austin, Texas

Lisa attended seminars on election law and candidate requirements, as well as recruited, trained and supervised interns and developed seminar on political careers. She also maintained daily clippings and fulfilled constituent and press requests and updated local events calendar on State party website and managed volunteer database.

Austin, Texas

Lisa drafted bill analysis on legislation referred to Committee on Criminal Jurisprudence, maintained hearing requests and bill tracking chart for 390 bills referred to committee, and coordinated public hearings for 205 bills considered by Committee.

Pasadena, California

As assistant campaign manager, Lisa researched issue briefs and position papers and drafted responses for candidate surveys, as well as recruited and supervised phone bank and Get Out the Vote volunteers.

Austin, Texas

As Assistant Elections Coordinator, Lisa recruited, trained, scheduled and supervised poll workers, and developed sample ballots, flyers and poll worker training manuals.

Jd

Mpp

Bachelor Of Arts

Education record

Education record