Doris Helene White ’74 to be honored for legal career

A retired Assistant Attorney General for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Doris litigated civil actions before state and federal juries, defended hundreds of public agencies and their employees while assigned to the Government Bureau’s Trial Division. She earned the 2013 Attorney General Scott Harshbarger Award for Excellence in Trial Advocacy as acknowledgement of her reputation as a fearless, skilled advocate in the courtroom. Doris delivered presentations for the National Association of Attorneys General Training and Research Institute in Washington, D.C., coordinated office-wide legal training sessions and supervised the internship program for both her bureau and division.

A 1978 graduate of Central State University in Ohio (B.A. English Literature), Doris earned her Juris Doctorate from Boston University (1982) and is licensed in both Massachusetts and Texas. She currently serves on SABLA’s Board of Directors and co-chairs its Outreach Committee. Her article recounting the segregated history of Black lawyers in the city was featured in the May-June issue of San Antonio Lawyer, San Antonio Bar Association’s publication.

Doris is the spouse of Steven Soares, a jazz musician and retired teacher. Daughter Dr. Leigh Soares is an Assistant Professor at Mississippi State University and son Steven Soares is a fitness trainer in Boston. The sixth-generation Texan returned to San Antonio in 2014 after a thirty-year hiatus in New England. She is delighted to be home again and has enjoyed reconnecting with the people and places of her youth.