�鶹ֱ��

�鶹ֱ�� & Lardner LLP’s 2025 Martin Luther King Jr. Oratory Competition garnered significant media attention this year as students’ messages of leadership, unity, and civic responsibility especially resonated as the day celebrating Dr. King’s legacy coincided with the U.S. Presidential Inauguration.

The annual competition, held in Chicago, Dallas, and Houston, invites fourth- and fifth-grade students to present original three- to five-minute speeches addressing a topic tied to the civil rights leader’s legacy. This year’s topic was: “What would Dr. King tell us about our responsibility as citizens and leaders in America today?”

Following his 29th year serving as chair and emcee of the Houston competition, �鶹ֱ�� partner Claude Treece recounted his passion for the event and recalled watching Dr. King speak on television during the height of the civil rights movement in The Texas Lawyer article, “.”

“For me, this was really less about a passion for speech contests, or debates,” Treece said. “It was really more of a passion about King and the civil rights movement.”

Additional media coverage of the 2025 competition is available below.

Chicago:

• interview with winner Harmony Daniels and �鶹ֱ��’s Chicago managing partner Frank Pasquesi – FOX 32 Good Day Chicago
• , interview with winner Harmony Daniels and �鶹ֱ��’s Chicago managing partner Frank Pasquesi – WGN-TV
• , on site-interviews with top three finalists and �鶹ֱ��’s Chicago managing partner Frank Pasquesi – NBC 5
• – Chicago Tribune

Dallas:

• , on-site interview with winner Deon Harris and �鶹ֱ��’s Dallas managing partner Michael Newman
• , on-site interview with winner Deon Harris and �鶹ֱ��’s Dallas managing partner Michael Newman
•  – Dallas Morning News 
•  – Dallas Morning News  
• – Dallas Advocate
• – FOX4 Good Day
• , interview with winner Deon Harris and �鶹ֱ��’s Dallas managing partner Michael Newman
• – WFAA Dallas
• – Dallas ISD News Hub
• – CBS News Texas

Houston:

• – CW Ch. 39
  • with winner Montoia Murray and �鶹ֱ�� partner Claude Treece
• – Houston Public Media
• – CityCast/Hey Houston daily newsletter
• – Houston Landing
• – HISD News Now  
• KRIV/Fox Ch. 26
  • with Montoia Murray and �鶹ֱ�� partner Claude Treece, Montoia Murray’s
  • Second-place winner and
  • of the competition
• – Houston Chronicle
• – KHOU/CBS Ch. 11

Additional Regional Coverage:

National: