Baker Botts Associate & Spouse Die in Fire Trying to Save Their Son, 4

When a fire broke out in their Dallas home early yesterday, Romina Lorena Mulloy and Michael Levine rushed upstairs to save their 4-year-old son.

But the couple was trapped by smoke and flames and all three died together in the fire, reports the Dallas Morning News.

Mulloy, 35, had been an associate at Baker Botts since 2002 and was highly regarded both there and in the community groups to which she devoted herself.

"We're in shock. It's overwhelming grief," partner Jim Prince tells the newspaper. "There was no problem that she could not solve."

Those who knew her described the native Argentine as a wonderful person who devoted herself to her family and used her Spanish-speaking skills to encourage students at the elementary school at which she regularly volunteered. She was a graduate of Vanderbilt University Law School.

Her 47-year-old husband ran a commercial debt collection agency at home to spend more time with their son, Ariel, who also often accompanied his mother to her law office.

The couple had been planning to celebrate the boy's 5th birthday with a party later this month.

The cause of the fire, which began in a first-floor study, hasn't yet been determined.