DeMetris Sampson

Lawyer DeMetris Sampson was born on July 30, 1955 in Tyler, Texas. Sampson earned her B.B.A. degree from the University of Texas at Austin in 1977. She earned her J. D. degree from the University of Texas School of Law in 1980, and her L. L. M. in Taxation degree from Southern Methodist University Dedman School of Law in 1986.

Sampson began her legal career at the City Attorney's Office in San Antonio, Texas in 1980. She then worked as Chief Counsel for the Texas House of Representatives Judicial Affairs Committee in 1981. She then worked in private practice in Dallas, and later joined the Dallas County District Attorney's Office in 1984, and left in 1985 for private practice. In 1987, she joined the law firm of Heard Goggan Blair & Williams, which was also known in Dallas as Blair Goggan Sampson & Meeks. She became the first African American female to be named a partner in a majority firm in Dallas in February 1989, and she became managing partner of the Dallas office. She served on the Linebarger Goggan Blair & Sampson, LLP management committee and as a chairperson of the management committee from 2006-2008.

She also served as an advisor to Ron Kirk, who was the first African-American mayor of Dallas from 1995 until 2002. Sampson retired from Linebarger Goggan Blair & Sampson, LLP in 2014.

In 1990, Sampson was named an Outstanding Young Texas Ex by the University of Texas. She also received distinguished honors from the university in 2008 and in 2012 was awarded the Legacy of Service Foundation Award by Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. (Omicron Mu Omega Chapter) at its 25th Image Award celebration. At her retirement in 2014, Sampson was honored by Congresswoman Eddie Bernice Johnson of Texas on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives for her distinguished career.

During her career, Sampson served as a member of the Ex-Students Black Alumni Task Force, a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., and as board chair of the Zan Wesley Holmes, Jr. Community Outreach Center. She also served as president of the J. L. Turner Legal Association and as president of the Dallas Association of Black Women Attorneys. In 1991, she was named to the East Texas State University Board of Regents.

DeMetris Sampson was interviewed by The HistoryMakers on September 16, 2017.