Slates Harwell

EDUCATION

B.A., Austin College (2000)

J.D., St. Mary’s University School of Law (2006)

Giselle Gafford

Of Counsel

Giselle Gafford is Of Counsel with Slates Harwell Campbell, delivering comprehensive transactional counsel to both the commercial and residential construction industries. Giselle provides specialized operational and risk-management guidance to volume homebuilders, advising on critical business operations from contract review and administration to long-term risk management. She drafts a wide variety of custom contract packages and optimizes client business workflows by implementing efficient organizational processes and operational procedures.

Complementing her residential practice, Giselle has a wide variety of experience in commercial construction law. She drafts and negotiates complex contracts across a diverse spectrum of construction projects, advising owners, general contractors, and design professionals. Recognizing the digital vulnerabilities construction industry clients face today, Giselle also protects online presence and brand identity, routinely navigating domain name disputes, including UDRP claims, to secure digital assets and combat online trademark infringement.

Giselle practiced with the construction industry team of an Am Law 200 firm before becoming a founding attorney with Slates Harwell Campbell. In addition to her legal career, Giselle is an entrepreneur who successfully owned and operated a fitness business for several years.

PUBLICATIONS AND SPEECHES

Author and Presenter, Best Practices for Client Retention, National Fitness Brand Convention (2021)

Speaker and Author, Standards of Completion, The University of Texas Construction Law Conference (2011)

Author, Strengthening Mortgage Lending Discrimination Safeguards: The Requisite Need for Modernizing the Community Reinvestment Act, 7 Scholar 220

PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS AND COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT

American Bar Association

State Bar of Texas, Construction Law Section

Dallas Bar Association, Construction Law Section

Attorneys Serving the Community (ASC)

Graduate, North Texas Business Council for the Arts, Leadership Institute; Development Committee Chair