A graduate of University of Texas at Austin, with honors, Barkley went on to Texas Tech University School of Law, in Lubbock, Texas, where he earned his Juris Doctor degree. Since then, he has practiced law in Dallas and Collin Counties.

Professional Activities

Board of Directors, Arthritis Foundation, North Texas Chapter (2008-2010)

Member, Dallas Bar Association Committees: Community Involvement, Legal Referral Services (Chair, 2011-2012), and Pro Bono Activities (Co-Chair, 2009-2010)

Mentor, Transition to Law Practice Project, Dallas Bar Association

Mentor and Continuing Legal Education Instructor, Dallas Volunteer Attorney Program

Member, Advisory Committee, Volunteer Guardianship Program of Senior Citizens of Greater Dallas

Past Chair, Probate, Trusts and Estates Section, Dallas Bar Association (1997-1998) Past Chair, Solo and Small Firm Section, Dallas Bar Association (1991)

Honors

First recipient of the Dallas Bar Association’s Probate, Trusts & Estates Section Honorable Nikki DeShazo Pro Bono Award (2010) for enhancing human dignity by delivering or improving Pro Bono legal services.

Presidential Citation awarded by Dallas Bar Association President Christina Melton Crain for work as Co-Chair of the Pro Bono Activities Committee during 2009 Pro Bono Week (2009)

Greg Sampson is Board Certified in Estate Planning and Probate Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization, and focuses his practice in the areas of estate planning, asset protection planning, trusts, executive compensation, and non-profit entities. Greg has extensive experience in counseling clients on wealth transfers, including estate and gift tax planning, charitable planning, retirement planning, estate and trust management, family asset management, fiduciary duties and business succession planning. He also provides guidance regarding the operation, management, and taxation of tax-exempt organizations, including assisting clients with the establishment of public charities, private foundations, and supporting organizations. 

Greg has written and conducted seminars on various estate planning topics, including the impact of the minimum distribution rules on estate planning with retirement benefits, asset protection planning, fiduciary duties, Texas' Prudent Investor Act and Principal and Income Act, advanced directives and end-of-life decision making, the impact of TRA 2010 on estate planning and charitable giving, and the formation and operation of tax-exempt organizations.

Brenda Hull Thompson is the Presiding Judge of The Probate Court of Dallas County, Texas. She was elected in 2010 after more than twenty years of service in Texas to the community in civil practice and in mediation.  Judge Thompson is the Local Administrative Judge for the Dallas County Probate Courts and she is the Presiding Judge for the Dallas County Probate Courts. She is the first elected African American Statutory Probate Judge in the State of Texas.  

Judge Thompson received her J.D. degree from Georgetown University Law School, Washington, D.C., a M.A. degree from Boston University, and a B.S. degree from the University of Maryland. She has attended the Harvard University Negotiation Program. She is a member of the Dallas Bar Association and is licensed to practice law in Texas state courts, in the U. S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas, Supreme Court of Pennsylvania (inactive), and the District of Columbia Court of Appeals (inactive).  

She is a co-author on the last six editions of O'Connor's Texas Estates Code Plus and Texas Probate code dating back to 2012. She is a member of the Executive Committee of the National College of Probate Judges and has served as Co-Course Director and Co-Curriculum Chair for the National College of Probate Judges national meetings in spring 2017 and fall 2016, respectively. She is a member of the Texas Bar Foundation. Judge Thompson is the recipient of the Merrill Hartman Judicial Pro Bono Service Award presented by the Dallas Volunteer Attorney Program of the Dallas Bar Association. 

Prior to becoming a judge, her civil practice focused on estate administration, guardianship administration and family law. In addition, she has been an adjunct professor at Texas Wesleyan School of Law, teaching mediation and arbitration. Prior to moving to Texas, she was a senior Staff attorney in the Office of the General Counsel for the Federal Trade Commission in Washington, D.C. She has made numerous presentations to national, state and local bar association sections and community groups and she has received numerous awards for her pro bono and public service activities pertaining to elderly and/or disabled persons, low income persons and children.