|
Nikki DeShazo has served as judge of the Probate Court of Dallas County since 1983. .
Nikki grew up in Stilwell, OK, where she was the valedictorian of her senior class in 1962. She received her B.S., Nursing from Northwestern State College, Natchitoches, La., in 1966 and her law degree from Southern Methodist University in 1976.
In addition to her duties as Judge of the Dallas County Probate Court, Nikki was elected by her fellow judges as the Presiding Statutory Probate Judge of Texas from 1993-1997. She was President of the National College of Probate Judges in 1999. As a member of the Commission on National Probate Court Standards and the Advisory Committee on Interstate Guardianships, she helped formulate aspirational goals and best practices for Probate Courts across the nation. She served 3 years on the ABA Commission on Legal Problems of the Elderly. She also participated in the Wingspan Conference on Guardianships in 2002 and was on the Wingspan Implementation Committee in 2004.
In 2005, Nikki was the first Judge to be chosen to serve as the Chair of the Real Estate, Probate and Trust Law Section of the State Bar of Texas. She had previously served as Chair of the Women and the Law Section in 1986. She is a Life Fellow of the Texas Bar Foundation.
In March, 2006, Judge DeShazo was elected an Honorary Fellow of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel (ACTEC) . Sandra Day O’Connor is the only other living honorary fellow.
A long time member of the Dallas Bar Association, she serves on the Board of Directors this year. She also serves on the Executive Board of SMU Dedman School of Law. Nikki was president of Executive Women of Dallas in 1992 and a member of the Leadership Dallas Class of 1991. She was named a Distinguished Alumna of her high school and an Honorary Alumna of the University of North Texas.
Nikki co-authors the Texas Practice Guide for Probate, a three-volume work, published by West Group.
Nikki lives in Dallas, with her husband Edward V. Smith III. She is the mother of three productive adults and grandmother of four beautiful children. Her hobbies include reading, especially books written by Ed, travel and running. She is particularly proud of placing second in her age group when she ran the 2005 Freescale Austin Half Marathon. |