Joe Ramirez passed away on July 24, 2026. An attorney and retired U.S. Air Force colonel, Ramirez held senior legal leadership roles at Southwestern Bell, Western Electric, and AT&T, eventually becoming vice president and chief labor counsel. A double Longhorn, he and his wife supported scholarships for students in the Rio Grande Valley.
Sheree Lynn Rabe passed away on July 24, 2026. She practiced law in Texas for 33 years.
David Vollmer has joined Snell & Wilmer’s Reno-Tahoe office as an associate in the firm’s Real Estate Practice Group. His practice focuses on real estate transactions, including development, construction, leasing and financing matters.
Brock Jones passed away on July 25, 2026. He served as judge of Texas’ 112th Judicial District for 24 years and later worked as a visiting senior judge and mediator across West Texas.
Sam Waldon will be leaving his position as principal deputy director of the SEC’s Division of Enforcement on July 31, closing out more than 14 years of service at the agency. Waldon’s departure caps a career that saw him twice step into the top enforcement job on an acting basis, in both 2025 and 2026.
Patricia Rigney of the Rigney Law Firm has been elected to membership in the Fellows of the Texas Bar Foundation. Fellows are selected for their outstanding professional achievements and their demonstrated commitment to the improvement of the justice system throughout the state of Texas.
David Allan Eldridge passed away on July 15, 2026. A U.S. Army veteran, Eldridge practiced law for over 50 years, specializing in wills, trusts, and probate. A third-generation lawyer, he worked at two other firms before forming Holman, Robertson, and Eldridge.
Lourdes ‘Lulu’ Ortiz has been named to 2026 “Lawdragon 500 X – The Next Generation” legal guide. Ortiz is an associate attorney at Cleveland Kristin Austin and has served as an adjunct professor at Texas Law.
Abbey Garber has been elected chair of the Taxation Section of the State Bar of Texas for 2026-27. Garber is a partner at Holland & Knight in Dallas where he focuses his practice on tax litigation and providing advice on applying tax laws to individuals, estates, corporations and partnerships.
William Hagans has been elected a member of the prestigious American Board of Trial Advocates. ABOTA is a national, invitation-only organization of seasoned trial lawyers and judges committed to protecting the right to a civil jury trial and upholding the highest standards of civility, integrity, and professionalism. He is an attorney at the Hagans law firm in Houston.
Jared Vitemb has joined Ruiz Foods as senior vice president and general counsel. He will lead the company’s legal function and advise its CEO, board of directors, and executive leadership team. Vitemb previously was VP, general counsel, chief compliance officer and corporate secretary at Farmer Brothers Co.
Gilbert “Buddy” Low passed away on July 14, 2026. A nationally recognized trial lawyer, he practiced with Orgain Bell & Tucker for more then 50 years and received numerous honors throughout his career. Low served for many years on both the Texas Supreme Court Advisory Committee and the Supreme Court Professional Ethics Committee.
Mark Eisenbraun has joined Jones Walker as a partner in the firm’s Corporate Practice Group in Houston, where he focuses on corporate, securities and transactional matters. Before joining Jones Walker, Eisenbraun co-founded Walker Eisenbraun.
Douglas Duane Behrendt passed away on July 10, 2026. A U.S. Army veteran, Behrendt started his career as an assistant criminal district attorney in Brazoria County, Texas. He went on to practice law in Austin, San Marcos and Lockhart from 1979 until he retired in 2013.
Aaron Reitz has been sworn in as the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Texas, where he serves as the chief federal law enforcement officer for the district. Previously he was in private practice with Hance Scarborough after serving as head of the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Policy.
Lorena Trujillo has been promoted to senior vice president and general counsel at Everstory Partners, where she leads the company’s legal, compliance, risk management, and corporate governance functions. Everstory Partners is one of the nation’s largest providers of cemetery, funeral, and cremation services. Trujillo has been with the company since 2019.
William Willard “Bill” Gibson passed away on June 1, 2026. After starting his career at an Amarillo law firm, Gibson returned to Texas Law and was on the faculty for 33 years, also serving as associate dean for administration and academic affairs. In the early 1970s, he spent two years as an attorney advisor to the Federal Power Commission in Washington, D.C.
Ajay Thomas has been selected to serve as the next chair-elect of Southwestern University Board of Trustees. He currently is the senior managing director and national head of public finance at FHN Financial.
A portrait of Chief U.S. District Judge Alia Moses was ceremoniously unveiled June 26 at the U.S. courthouse in San Antonio, the headquarters of the federal judiciary’s Western District of Texas. Moses was the first woman appointed to a district bench in the Western District of Texas in 2002, then became the district’s first female chief judge in 2022.
William “Bill” Archer passed away on July 4, 2026. Archer served Texas in Congress for 30 years, chaired the influential House Ways and Means Committee, helped negotiate the 1997 balanced federal budget, and later founded the Archer Center in Washington D.C.
Amy Davis has been promoted to senior vice president and general counsel at Randolph Brooks Federal Credit Union. Davis has 16 years of legal experience including a decade at RBFCU, where she has helped the credit union navigate increasingly complex issues and transactions including risk mitigation, regulatory compliance, mergers, among others.
William C. Bednar Jr. passed away on June 6, 2026. A U.S. Marine veteran who served in Vietnam, Bednar had a distinguished career in education law—first as general counsel of the Texas Education Agency and then in private practive— and also served as president of the National Organization on Legal Problems of Education.
William E. Routt III has joined national law firm, Bass, Berry & Sims, as a senior litigation attorney in the firm’s newly launched Chicago office. Routt has 20 years of litigation experience focusing on contract disputes and business torts across a wide variety of industries including finance, healthcare, manufacturing, real estate, insurance, and entertainment.
Marlen Whitley has been named director of operations and partner-in-charge of Townsend & Lockett’s newly opened Houston office. Whitley brings more than 20 years of experience practicing law in the Houston market, advising clients across the energy, private equity, infrastructure and business sectors.
Cynthia Dunn Raibourn has joined Carrington, Coleman, Sloman and Blumenthal in Dallas as a partner in the firm’s Family Law section. She is board certified in Family Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization, and has over three decades of experience as a family law specialist.
Max Sherman’s third book and first novel, “A Testament to Wind and Stone,” has been published. Sherman is professor emeritus and former dean of the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas at Austin, served as president of West Texas State University, and was a Texas state senator.
Mark Taylor, a director in the Austin office of Kane Russell Coleman Logan, has been recognized in the Chambers USA 2026 Guide: Texas for bankruptcy/restructuring.
Stephanie E. Kaiser, a director in the Dallas office of Kane Russell Coleman Logan, has been recognized in the Chambers USA 2026 Guide: Texas in the area of general commercial litigation.
Daniel Ortman passed away on May 5, 2026. Ortman held many significant legal and engineering-related roles where he worked for companies such as Saudi Aramco, Samsung, and Hyundai. At the end of his career he served as an adjunct professor at Texas Law.
Robert Griffin has been promoted to partner in the Investment Management Group at Skadden’s office in Abu Dahbi. Griffin has a depth of experience in international fund structuring, fund management, regulatory compliance, and private placements.
Curtis Kantor passed away on June 12, 2026. He practiced law for 35 years, including more than 20 as a managing attorney for TeleCheck in Houston.
Steven Pfister passed away on June 7, 2026. Pfister worked for various companies throughout his career—mostly in the field of real estate development—including many years as a commercial broker with Real-Tec in Ft. Collins, Colorado.
Bill Nelson was promoted to partner in Latham & Watkins’ capital markets and public company representation practices in Houston. He represents corporate and institutional clients in complex capital markets transactions and corporate governance matters.
Lisa S. Blatt has been named to Forbes’ “America’s Top Women Lawyers“ list for appellate law. Blatt serves in Williams & Connolly’s supreme court and appellate practice in Washington, D.C.
Lisa Tsai has been named to Forbes’ “America’s Top Women Lawyers“ list for litigation. She is the managing partner and co-founder of Reid Collins & Tsai in Austin.
Sarah Stasny has been named to Forbes’ “America’s Top Women Lawyers“ list for Investment Funds & Asset Management. Stasny is the head of Proskauer’s Private Equity Transactions Group in New York.
Jessica Dean has been named to Forbes’ “America’s Top Women Lawyers“ list for litigation. Dean is a founding partner at Dean Omar Branham Shirley in Dallas.
Kim Bueno has been named to Forbes’ “America’s Top Women Lawyers“ list for litigation. Bueno is a litigation partner at Kirkland & Ellis in Austin.
Robert Levy has announced his retirement after 17 years with Exxon Mobil Corporation, most recently as executive counsel responsible for issues and advocacy. In July he will join the U.S. Department of Justice’s Environment and Natural Resources Division as senior counsel at Main Justice in Washington, D.C.
Tom Wright, founding partner of Wright Close Barger & Guzman in in Houston, has been recognized by Chambers USA 2026 Guide for appellate litigation. The firm also received an elevated ranking in the publication.
Mary McKerall was honored with the Tiffany Star Award by the Houston Association of Women Attorneys at the organization’s 50th Anniversary celebration, in recognition of her role as a founding member. She serves as senior assistant city attorney for the City of Houston and previously served as a Harris County assistant attorney for 29 years.
Thomas Vance McMahan passed away on June 6, 2026. Recognized as one of Texas’ leading oil and gas and commercial real estate attorneys, McMahan spent more than four decades at Vinson & Elkins in Houston. He was on multiple professional and civic boards in the Houston area and also served on the University of Texas Chancellor’s Council Executive Committee.
Brian Haley has been appointed to the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board by Governor Greg Abbott. Haley is the co-founder and partner of CB Capital in Austin.
Jack Hicks has joined the advisory board at the Elon University School of Law.
Hilda Galvan has joined the board of trustees of the Southwestern Medical Foundation. She currently serves as president of the Center for Women in Law and vice chair of the University of Texas Law Foundation, and serves on the boards of the United Way of Metropolitan Dallas, Broadway Dallas, Cristo Rey Dallas College Prep, and the SMU Lyle School of Engineering Executive Board.
Walter “Casey” Berger has joined Latham & Watkins in the firm’s Houston office as a partner in its securities and M&A litigation practice.
Luke Ledbetter has been appointed to the Finance Commission of Texas by Gov. Greg Abbott. He is the CEO of the Kestrel Group, and previously served as executive vice president and chief underwriting officer at State National Companies.
Olive Smith joined Baker Sterchi Cowden & Rice as an associate in the firm’s Portland office. Before this, she was an assistant to the Texas attorney general.
William “Bill” Kemp passed away on June 2, 2026. A U.S. Navy lieutenant commander and Korean War veteran, William practiced law for over 60 years. He co-founded and chaired the Austin Bar Association’s Lawyer Referral Service and drafted and championed the legislation that established state licensure for home health agencies in Texas.
Ernesto Alvarez, a trial lawyer at Zehl & Associates in Houston, has been named to the 2026 Lawdragon 500 X The Next Generation list.