Mr. Perry Cockerell – Legal Counsel/Past President
Perry Cockerell currently serves as Legal Counsel and Director of the Lone Star Chapter of the NDIA. From April 2006 – April 2009 he served as President of the Lone Star Chapter. During his term the council achieved Model Chapter Status and grew from 609 to 1,157 members. The council held local events, created a website, hosted speakers from the Pentagon, and sponsored events with the Dallas – Fort Worth World Affairs Council. The council contributed scholarship funds to selected ROTC candidates from Texas Christian University, University of North Texas, and University of Texas at Arlington. The council increased its scholarship funding for ROTC candidates to other colleges and contributed to other charitable causes.
He is a trial and appellate attorney and partner with the firm of Adkerson, Hauder & Bezney, P.C. in Dallas. He practices commercial, bankruptcy and real estate litigation and has an active appellate practice, having handled many cases in the courts of appeals in Texas, Texas Supreme Court and the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans. He is board certified in civil trial law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization.
He served as an Adjunct professor at Texas Wesleyan University School of Law from 1998 – 2000 where he taught Texas Pre-Trial Procedure and Texas Trials and Appeals. He is a 1980 graduate of Texas Tech School of Law and a 1978 graduate of Texas Wesleyan University.
He is a retired Navy Commander with the United States Navy Reserve. During his career he served on active duty during three conflicts: Operation Desert Storm (1990-1991) at the Fleet Intelligence Center, Pearl Harbor Hawaii; Operation Enduring Freedom (2001 – 2003) at the United States Southern Command, Miami, Florida and NAS Fort Worth JRB; and Operation Iraqi Freedom (2007 – 2008) where he served in Baghdad, Iraq at the Law and Order Task Force and the Joint Inter-Agency Task Force Iraq. He was awarded the Bronze Star for his service in Iraq.
Honors:
West Texas Legal Services – Outstanding Attorney 1990
West Texas Legal Services – Practitioner of the Year 1986