Kristin M. (Hecker) Gilligan -

Kristin M. (Hecker) Gilligan

Associate

Biography

Kristin M. (Hecker) Gilligan joined McCathern in 2019 and focuses her practice on Business & Commercial Litigation, Commercial Trucking, ERISA & Non-Subscription, Insurance Litigation, and Personal Injury matters. Kristin leverages her extensive study of these fields while a student and law clerk to bolster her work as a dependable counsel for her clients. Additionally, Kristin was a participant of the Dallas Association of Young Lawyers (DAYL) 2020 Leadership Class, an annual program that helps young attorneys expand their involvement in the region’s business and non-profit landscape.

In recognition of her work, Kristin was named to the prestigious Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch list in 2024, 2025, and 2026 for Workers’ Compensation Law – Employers and in 2026 for Commercial Litigation. She was also recognized in 2025 in D Magazine’s Best Lawyers Under 40 and as a Texas Rising Star by Super Lawyers. In recognition of her pro bono services to low income Texas citizens in 2023, she was named a member of The Pro Bono College of the State Bar of Texas in 2024.

Kristin started law school at DePaul University before transferring to SMU in Dallas, where she earned her J.D. in 2019. At SMU, she was a member of the International Law Review Association and wrote her law review note on Bitcoin in the European Union. While Kristin was earning her J.D., she was a judicial intern for Justice Paul W. Green at the Supreme Court of Texas. There she conducted extensive research into the cases up for Conference, provided detailed recommendations to Justices regarding petitions for review, and wrote case summaries for granted petitions and published opinions.

Prior to law school Kristin attended DePaul University, where she earned Bachelor Science degrees in Finance and a Bachelor of Science degree in Economics and was the only female recipient of the Brian Campbell Finance Endowment at the Driehaus College of Business. She also served on the executive board of Chi Omega sorority, where she began her ongoing philanthropic work with the Make-A-Wish Foundation. Kristin currently serves as an Advisor to SMU’s Chi Omega chapter.

When not practicing law Kristin enjoys Pilates, traveling with her Irish-born husband, spending time with her fur babies (Rizzo, Hunter, Murphy, Cricket, and Cory), and riding horses at Hillcrest Farm in Argyle, Texas where she is a competitive hunter/jumper equestrian.

Publications

“How Can the United States Learn from Foreign Countries’ Transport and Use of Renewable Power?”, One J – The Oil and Gas, Natural Resources and Energy Journal, The University of Oklahoma College of Law (May 2021)

Awards and Associations

Location

Dallas (MAin)

3710 Rawlins Street
Suite 1600
Dallas, TX 75219

PRACTICE AREAS

EDUCATION

Juris Doctor (2019)

Bachelor of Science

(Finance and Economics) (2016)

PROSPER ISD PARENTS QUESTION DISTRICT RESPONSE TO BUS DRIVER ACCUSED OF SEXUALLY ASSAULTING STUDENTS

December 15, 2025

Author: Rebecca Lopez with WFAA Watch the interview here. PROSPER, Texas — Parents of two young girls who say they were repeatedly sexually assaulted by a Prosper ISD school bus driver are speaking out about what they describe as serious failures by the district — including delayed notification to families and promised safety changes they say were never fully implemented. The parents asked that they not be identified to protect their children, who were just elementary school age at the time of the abuse. In a lawsuit filed in 2023, the girls — identified only as Jane Doe 1 and Jane Doe 2 — allege former bus driver Frank Paniagua assaulted them repeatedly during the 2021–2022 school year. According to the lawsuit, Paniagua would wait until other students exited the bus, then assault the girls, sometimes holding one child back so he could take her to the rear of the bus. Attorneys say the abuse occurred over several months and was captured on bus surveillance video. How the abuse was discovered The girls’ mother said the abuse came to light after their grandmother noticed troubling comments about gift cards offered by the bus driver. When the mother later questioned the girls again, they disclosed what had been happening. Prosper ISD police reviewed surveillance video from the bus in May 2022. Paniagua was arrested two days later and charged with aggravated sexual assault of a child, continuous sexual abuse of a child under 14, and indecency with a child. Paniagua later died after jumping from the second floor of the Collin County Jail while awaiting trial. Concerns about delayed notifications Attorneys for the family say more than 100 days passed after Paniagua’s arrest before Prosper ISD publicly acknowledged the allegations — a delay parents say may have prevented other potential victims from being identified. At a packed school board meeting, Prosper ISD parent Morgan Grahovec, a child psychologist whose daughter attended the same school as the victims, told trustees that delays in notifying parents can have serious consequences. “Children who are victims of abuse need to be identified and interviewed as soon as possible because memory fades over time,” Grahovec said. “The longer you wait, it’s harder to get a child to report abuse accurately.” Parents at those meetings called for Superintendent Holly Ferguson’s resignation, arguing district leaders should have acted sooner and communicated more transparently. Ferguson did not step down, instead promising changes to safety protocols. District response and former statement In an earlier written statement to WFAA, Prosper ISD said it took appropriate action once allegations surfaced: “We are horrified that an employee violated the trust of our families and students, as Prosper ISD’s foremost priority is to protect our students’ safety and well-being at all times. We strongly condemn the actions of any adult who would cause mental or physical harm to a child, and we do not tolerate such behavior.” The district has declined additional comment, citing pending litigation. Disputed claims about safety changes Prosper ISD previously told parents it would implement additional safeguards, including increased supervision during bus drop-offs, a volunteer “bus buddy” program, and improved monitoring of bus surveillance video. But the parents and their attorneys say those changes were not consistently put in place. Attorney Levi McCathern says the district does not regularly review bus surveillance footage — even though video captured the alleged abuse in this case. “You would think the first thing you would do after this happens is change your monitoring program,” McCathern said. “They don’t monitor them at all.” McCathern and co-counsel Kristin Hecker say the lawsuit is aimed at forcing policy changes rather than seeking financial gain. Questions about oversight and leadership The case has also raised broader concerns about district leadership and oversight. Prosper ISD’s school board president later resigned in an unrelated child abuse case, further shaking confidence among some parents. Families have also questioned the independence of the district’s internal review, noting that the law firm hired to investigate the district’s response is also defending Prosper ISD in the lawsuit. “All we want is an independent investigation,” McCathern said. Parents push for accountability and change The parents say their children remain enrolled in Prosper ISD, but they continue to press for reforms they believe could prevent similar abuse. “We want justice for our kids,” the girls’ mother said. “But we also want changes to happen at the district so that this doesn’t happen to other children.”