Parker J. Cragg
My goal is to ensure our pro bono work reflects the same excellence and dedication we bring to all our clients. I love celebrating the victories we achieve for people whose stories might otherwise go unheard. As V&E’s firmwide Pro Bono Counsel, Parker Cragg facilitates and celebrates the firm’s commitment to providing high-quality legal work for individuals in need.
Parker brings extensive pro bono experience to this role. During his time as an associate in V&E’s Appellate practice group, he served as lead or co-lead counsel on two Fifth Circuit asylum appeals and a Bivens appeal on behalf of a former federal prisoner. He played a leading role in drafting an amicus brief in the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals regarding the availability of pretrial writs of habeas corpus for individuals raising constitutional challenges. He also led extensive efforts to secure humanitarian parole for Afghan refugees following the fall of Kabul. In recognition of his efforts to obtain asylum for a client fleeing persecution in Cameroon, Parker was recognized as a Pro Bono Awardee by American Gateways in 2021.
Parker is an experienced appellate litigator who has represented both plaintiffs and defendants in high-stakes appeals in federal and state courts. He also developed meaningful trial experience through years of advising trial teams and drafting dispositive motions. He was honored to serve as a judicial law clerk to Judge George C. Hanks, Jr. in the Southern District of Texas from 2022–2023.
Parker’s commitment to community service was forged by his parents, who dedicated their careers to youth ministry and public education. After college, he joined Teach for America and spent five years teaching high school English in Houston ISD. He then spent five years as the director of Three Oaks Academy, a recovery high school serving students who struggled with substance use disorders. These experiences of serving vulnerable populations continues to inspire his commitment to pro bono work today.
Experience Highlights
(5th Cir.) – Obtained a settlement to reopen and dismiss removal proceedings for an asylum-seeker who was persecuted by cartel members in Mexico
(5th Cir). – Obtained remand to the Board of Immigration Appeals from the denial of asylum for an Anglophone Cameroonian who was detained and beaten by Cameroonian authorities for participation in a protest for Anglophone rights
(U.S.); (5th Cir.) – Drafted appellate briefs on behalf of federal prisoner pursuing a Bivens claim involving prison officials’ retaliation for the exercise of his First Amendment rights
(4th Cir.) – Drafted amicus brief supporting a claim for greater press access to executions in Virginia
(9th Cir.) – Assisted with briefing in appeal concerning federal sentencing law, which resulted in favorable 10-to-1 opinion holding that District Courts must orally pronounce the “standard conditions” of supervised release at sentencing, overruling prior Circuit precedent to the contrary, and vacating our client’s sentence in pertinent part
(Tex.) – Led a team of associates in drafting an amicus brief regarding the availability of pretrial writs for habeas corpus for detainees asserting constitutional challenges to arrests pursuant to Operation Lone Star
Credentials
- Stanford Law School, J.D. 2019 (Articles Editor, Stanford Law Review; Articles Editor, Stanford Journal for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties)
- Stanford University, M.Ed., 2019
- The University of Texas at Austin, B.A. English with high honors, 2005 (Phi Beta Kappa)
- Judicial clerk to the Honorable George Hanks, U.S. District Judge for the Southern District of Texas, 2022–2023
- Director, Three Oaks Academy (Houston), 2011–2016
- English Teacher, Teach For America / Chavez High School (Houston), 2005–2011
- American Gateways, Pro Bono Awardee, 2021
- Chavez High School Teacher of the Year, 2008–2009
- Houston Independent School District Outstanding Young Educator, 2008–2009
- Texas
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit
- U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas
- Deals & CasesMay 5, 2022
- Seeing and Serving Students with Substance Use Disorders Through Disability Law, 96 S. Cal. L. Rev. 355 (2022)