Meet and Greet Tuesday, February 6th, from 5-7pm. Public invited to attend come and go event.
Residents are New Waverly are invited to swing by Honey’s Coffee and Biscuits Tuesday and meet District Attorney Candidate Will Durham. Current District Attorney David Weeks is not running for re-election and two candidates have signed up to fill the position.
Local trial attorney Will Durham is running as a Republican candidate for Walker County District Attorney in the primary election on March 6, 2018. Durham and his family moved to Huntsville when he was an infant and Will attended public schools, graduating from Huntsville High School with honors in 1985. “This is such a close knit community that I grew up in, and I have been privileged to be able to come home and raise my own family here as well. We enjoy living in Walker County, and regularly support and attend sporting events, academic school functions, band, and charitable gatherings in our community. I wouldn’t want to live anywhere else,” said Durham.
Durham graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with a B.B.A. in Business Management in 1989 and from St. Mary’s University School of Law in San Antonio in 1992. While in law school, Will was involved in the juvenile justice clinic where he learned and practiced in the San Antonio juvenile law courts. Current District Attorney, David Weeks, hired Will out of law school as the misdemeanor and juvenile prosecutor, where he worked in the Walker County Court at Law trying all types of misdemeanor and DWI cases. Will was also instrumental in starting the juvenile justice system in Walker County where he worked with the juvenile probation office. “We worked hard to get the juvenile justice system established in Walker County,” Durham said. “It involved a great deal of time and preparation, but was rewarding work. Those were really good times.”
Durham was later promoted to felony prosecutor where he handled various types of felony cases in the district courts, including trying a capital murder trial with Weeks. When the opportunity arose to work in a private law practice, Will went into business with attorney, Mance Michael Park, and they have been law partners in a successful trial practice, Park & Durham, Attorneys at Law, in Huntsville for many years. Will handles a large docket of cases while also managing much of the business and personnel matters for the law firm. “Will is a bright and energetic lawyer, and while I hate to see this successful partnership come to an end, I know that he is passionate about this opportunity and this community. He will make a great DA,” said Mike Park, who is serving as the campaign treasurer for Will’s campaign.
Durham said, “I enjoyed the work and the challenges of being a prosecutor and always thought about going back into prosecution one day if the timing was right. And the timing is right for me now. I’ve had many friends in law enforcement and local citizens encouraging me to run for DA. There are many similarities in what I have done in my trial practice and in being a prosecutor. We represent the victims in our cases now and usually that means that our clients were badly injured or killed. We regularly work with local law enforcement officers and expert witnesses in the areas of accident reconstruction, toxicology, trucking violations, traffic law infractions, engineering, medical science, and economic losses. We are the lawyers who are filing and pursuing justice on behalf of our clients just as the district attorney does on behalf of the citizens of Walker County for the victims of crime. I have always been the lawyer who is filing the case and pursuing justice for my clients or victims. Being a prosecutor is in my blood and this will be a great way to serve our community.”
Durham is Board Certified in personal injury trial law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization and has been re-certified several times. He was inducted into the American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA) in 2011. Will was named a “Rising Star” by Texas Monthly Magazine in 2004 and 2005 after a polling of Texas Super Lawyers, recognizing up-and-coming lawyers who are 40 or younger. He served for 6 years as a member of the District 3B Grievance Committee for the State Bar of Texas which evaluates ethical complaints against attorneys, and was elected the Committee Chair for a 3 year term. Will has served as secretary and then vice-president of the Walker County Bar Association. In January of 2014, Will attended mediation training at U.T. Law School and is now a certified mediator. He has taught Legal Environment class at Sam Houston State University as an adjunct professor in the College of Business for over 15 years where all types of legal issues are covered including areas of criminal and civil law.
Locally, Durham has served the community as a baseball coach with the Huntsville Boys Baseball Association. He was elected and served as a director, then as Chairman of the Board of the Huntsville Walker County Chamber of Commerce, and has been awarded a Key Member Award. Will is also a member of the Huntsville Rotary Club and is an ordained elder in the First Presbyterian Church of Huntsville. He is married to Kathy Durham, who has been a licensed clinical social worker for Bayes Achievement Center in Huntsville for over 10 years. They enjoy living in Elkins Lake where Will worked as a cart boy for the golf course and grew up playing golf at Elkins Lake as a teenager. Will and Kathy have two children who attend Huntsville public schools with a 7th grader at Mance Park Middle School and a senior at Huntsville High School.
Durham further stated, “If the citizens of Walker County decide to elect me as their next district attorney, our office will be tough on crime, compassionate to the victims, well-prepared for trials, and consistent in our dealings with defense attorneys. I will be respectful, encouraging, and available to our law enforcement officers who put themselves on the line every day for our safety. These officers are so important to our community. A good relationship between the DA’s office and law enforcement is essential. I am a local guy with deep roots, family, and many old and new friends here in Walker County. I am excited and motivated about the opportunity to run as a Republican for Walker County District Attorney and would be honored to serve the citizens as their next District Attorney. I respectfully ask for your vote.”
The New Waverly Meet and Greet (come and go) Reception at Honey’s Coffee and Biscuits will take place on Tuesday, February 6, 2018 from 5 – 7pm. The public is invited to attend and there will be refreshments served.
New Waverly 