DEREK MERGELE-RUST
ATTORNEY AND COUNSELOR AT LAW
Derek Mergele-Rust is a Founding Partner at DebnamRust, P.C., where he practices estate planning, probate, and child welfare law.
Derek’s child welfare practice is built around protecting the constitutional rights of parents and children in Child Protective Services (CPS) cases. He has been appointed to represent children and parents in CPS cases in Dallas County for the last nine years.
Derek is a teacher at heart. Most recently, he was an Adjunct Professor at the Texas Tech School of Law where he taught Gender, Sexuality, and the Law, and Depositions from 2022 to 2025. He also gives numerous presentations each month in the community on the importance of estate planning and probate related topics.
Derek is also published on whether the disposition of embryos are subject to contracts under Texas Law in the Estate Planning and Community Property Law Journal at Texas Tech University School of Law.
When Derek is not practicing law, he serves as the Treasurer for the Dallas Women Lawyers Foundation and serves on the Dallas Leadership Council for Lambda Legal, an LGBTQ+ non-profit legal advocacy organization.
For those of you who are able to make it in person, we will have McAlister's boxed lunches ordered and delivered for a $15.00 fee. The cut off to order your meal will be Tuesday, November 17, 2026, at 12:00 p.m.
McAlister’s Box Lunches Options:
Classic:
Turkey
Ham
Roast Beef
Club:
McAlisters
Turkey Club Croissant
Wraps:
Turkey Bacon Ranch
Southwest chicken
Club
The Veggie Box
Salads:
Savannah Chopped Salad
Pecanberry Salad
Southwest Chicken & Avocado Salad
Please enter your selection when you register under the "Lunch" tab.
This meeting will be held In Person and Via Zoom on Thursday, November 19, 2026
