Bonnie C. Barksdale
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Bonnie C. Barksdale

I like my work, but I love the resulting relationships—in some cases even spanning multiple generations. One family has been a firm client for 50 years, and I have personally been working with them on real estate matters for 30. That really means something to me.

Bonnie is an experienced real estate attorney who focuses on purchase and sale transactions and related matters such as entity formation and environmental issues—often in the context of close family businesses and family investment groups. Clients include corporate entities (from small businesses to the Fortune 500), individuals, and religious and other nonprofit groups. Bonnie also has significant experience handling mortgage company lending work and has cultivated decades-long relationships in this space as well. Whatever the deal, clients trust her judgment and count on her to get it done.

Bonnie routinely assists real estate lenders throughout the financing process—including drafting and negotiating loan documents and handling often complex title issues, security perfection and loan workouts. She has additional experience in default and foreclosure work for institutional lenders; in aiding lenders post-foreclosure; and in representing both buyers and sellers in the acquisition of distressed properties, including note purchases and foreclosures associated with such purchases.

Commercial and residential developers turn to Bonnie for help in forming homeowners’ and property owners’ associations, during the development stage. This typically involves drafting and advising upon covenants and restrictions, and advising association boards on issues related to corporate governance and statutory compliance.

One thing that sets Bonnie’s practice apart is her masters’ degree in clinical social work. The skills that I learned while working as a social worker,” she explains, “help me to empathize and personally relate, perhaps taking some of the stress off a client’s plate and to providing reassurance, when and to the extent necessary.” Bonnie is also passionate about pro bono work, assisting treasured clients that include animal rescues, churches and even a monastery of cloistered nuns.

Areas of Focus

Education

Education

  • Southern Methodist University, Dedman School of Law (J.D., 1992)
    • Order of the Coif
    • Phi Delta Phi
    • Citation Editor, Journal of Air Law and Commerce, 1991-1992
  • University of Texas at Austin (M.S.S.W., 1989)
  • University of Maryland (B.S., 1986)

Admissions

Bar Admissions
  • Texas, 1992

Leadership

  • American Bar Association, State Bar of Texas, Dallas Bar Association, and Dallas Association of Young Lawyers, Member.
  • Crowley Education Foundation, President.
  • Advisory Board for Lawyers Against Domestic Violence of Legal Services of North Texas, Co-Chairperson, 1993-1995
  • Kid Net Foundation Board of Directors, Former Member.

Speeches/Publications

  • Presenter, The Role of Education Foundations in Texas Public Schools (October 2019).
  • Author, No Longer “Business As Usual” For Texas Property Owner Associations, Carrington Coleman Capital Newsletter (Summer 2013).
  • Author, Texas Homestead Exemptions, Carrington Coleman Capital Newsletter (Spring 2013).
  • Author, New Minerals Coverage Available in Texas Title Insurance Policies, Carrington Coleman Capital Newsletter (Fall 2009).
  • Author, Post-Foreclosure Deficiency Suits Against Borrowers and Guarantors, Carrington Coleman Capital Newsletter (Summer 2009).

Outside of Work

I have a large pollinator garden, which includes several fountains, that I am actively learning how to cultivate. Milkweed is a basic planting for monarchs, but I am always researching and experimenting with other flowers, including herbs such as mint that will attract a wide range butterflies, birds and bees. I also am a big dog person and spend lots of time with my labs and goldens—and my grown kids’ dogs as well, which always mysteriously seem to get left at my house for babysitting (and I don’t mind a bit).