D. Diane Dillard

Ms. D. Diane Dillard is an attorney and professional third-party mediator who recently retired. Before becoming a solo practitioner, Ms. Dillard worked at Vinson & Elkins and later founded the Dillard & Ray Law Firm, the first women-owned law firm in Houston. During her career, she authored and presented over 100 papers on various legal topics at legal education programs across the country. She was also one of the first women to be elected to the American College of Real Estate Attorneys and the second woman to chair the then-5,000-member Real Estate Probate and Trust Law Section of the Texas State Bar. She was board certified in commercial real estate and later served on the Texas Board of Legal Specialization. She also served as an adjunct professor at South Texas College of Law and the University of Texas at Brownsville.

Ms. Dillard received both of her degrees (BA ’76, JD ’79) from Baylor University. In addition to her legal career, Ms. Dillard was president of the Baylor University Alumni Association. She also served on and chaired the Texas Board of Motor Vehicles, which governs the new and used car industry in Texas.

In 1998, she was presented with the Houston Chronicle’s Top 10 Businesswomen award. In 2015, she became the first woman to receive the Distinguished Real Estate Lawyer Lifetime Achievement Award, the highest honor given by the Real Estate Probate Trust Law Section of the State Bar of Texas.

Ms. Dillard is married to Judge Andrew S. Hanen (JD ’78). They are active members of South Main Baptist Church and have one daughter, Kelly Hanen, who is also an attorney in Houston.