Sullivan Hill Rez & Engel is pleased to announce that Shareholder Chris Hawkins has been selected as a 2021 Super Lawyer. Hawkins has been selected to the Super Lawyers list in the area of Bankruptcy. He is a current member of the firm’s Executive Committee and practices in the Insolvency and Commercial Bankruptcy, Business Transactions, and Commercial and Business Litigation practice groups.
Sullivan Hill Rez & Engel is pleased to announce that Shareholder Jim Hill has been selected as a 2021 Super Lawyer. Hill has been selected to the Super Lawyers list for the last fifteen years in the areas of Bankruptcy, Business Litigation, and Creditor Debtor Rights. A founding member of the firm, a member of the Executive Committee and chair of the Insolvency and Commercial Bankruptcy practice group, Hill practices primarily in the areas of bankruptcy, insolvency and commercial law.
Brad Caldwell has been named one of the country’s top trial lawyers in the Titans of the Plaintiffs Bar series from the national legal publication Law360. Caldwell is the only attorney in Texas to earn two selections in the exclusive listing after previously being recognized in 2019. He is one of only 11 lawyers nationwide to be named in the 2021 Titans of the Plaintiffs Bar series.
Gillis Edward Reavis, age 62, passed away on Feb. 2, 2019. He was a successful trial attorney in Texas, eventually starting his own firm with law school friends. He chose to practice part-time when he was offered an adjunct position with the University of Texas School of Law to teach Texas Civil Procedure and Products Liability. In 1995 he joined the national law firm Morrison and Foerster, LLP. He then co-founded two boutique environmental law firms and later joined Foster Pepper LLP. Reavis was most proud of his successful litigation protecting the Olympic National Park Wilderness Area as a pro-bono project.
Michella Gibbs joined Shook, Hardy & Bacon as a new associate. Gibbs participates in all aspects of litigation, with key areas of focus in product liability. She also has experience handling labor and employment disputes. She issues reports to clients assessing factual, legal and procedural aspects of cases, including liability analysis, litigation strategy and settlement evaluation for purposes of early dispute resolutions.
Douglas McNiel joined Shook, Hardy & Bacon as a new associate in the Product Liability Group. He has experience in drafting motions, document review, preparing witnesses for trial and managing discovery for product liability and mass tort matters. Douglas also wrote a report on Texas cannabis laws and public policy.
Jason Villalba has started a 501(c)(3) foundation, Texas Hispanic Policy Foundation (TXHPF.org) along with a new podcast, “Our Story,” which is dedicated to the voices of Texas Hispanics. Its mission is to explore the personal and intimate stories of Texas Latinos to dispel misconceptions about Texas Hispanics. Villalba is an attorney with the firm Foley and Lardner LLP in his native Dallas, Texas, and a Republican former member of the Texas House of Representatives for District 114 in Dallas County.
Roy Quillin Minton passed away at the age of 89 in Austin, TX on March 25, 2021. Minton began his career in the Travis County District Attorney’s office and in 1963 opened a law firm with Perry Jones – which later became Minton, Burton, Foster and Collins. Although the firms’ primary passion and notoriety drew upon criminal cases, Minton and the firm later became well known for their representation of many high-profile and complex civil litigation matters. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made in Minton’s name to the Save Our Springs Alliance.
William Jeffrey Demarest passed away at the age of 74 on March 24, 2021, after a long battle with numerous illnesses. Demarest obtained his undergraduate degree from The University of Texas at El Paso, and his law degree from Texas Law. Although he had his law degree he didn’t limit himself to the practice of law, instead he led a rather eclectic life, as the owner/operator of Wee Tam Head Shop, world traveler, survivor of a small plane crash in the hill country of Texas, avid canoer, and spent his final work years as a CNC computerized punch press programmer and operator in Providence, Rhode Island.
Emily Martha Calhoun passed away peacefully in her Boulder, CO home on March 27, 2021. She began her law career as a civil rights lawyer for the Southern Regional Office of the American Civil Liberties Union in Atlanta, GA. However, Calhoun’s major impact in law was as a teacher and mentor to hundreds of students in the classroom as an Assistant Professor of Law at the University of Georgia Law School (5 years) and as an Associate Professor (11 years) and Professor of Law (24 years) at the University of Colorado Law School. While at the University of Colorado, she took leave from the Law School for three years to serve the university as an Associate Vice President for Human Resources.
Winstead PC attorney Steffen Sowell wrote an essay in honor of Black History Month that was recently published in Texas Lawyer. In the essay, Sowell discusses the societal contributions of African American poet Amanda Gorman, as well as how lawyers can move the needle on racial equity.
Parth S. Gejji, an associate with Beck Redden, has been recognized as a 2021 Texas Rising Star by Thomson Reuters Super Lawyers.
Jacqueline M. Furlow, an associate with Beck Redden, has been recognized as a 2021 Texas Rising Star by Thomson Reuters Super Lawyers.
Theodora Lee, a Shareholder at Littler’s San Francisco office, has been named to the National Black Lawyers (NBL) top list. Lee is a skilled litigator with extensive courtroom experience in all state and federal courts in California and employment-related regulatory agencies. As a recognized subject matter authority, Lee has been published in numerous publications and is a sought-after speaker presenting on a wide variety of employment topics.
Jeptha P. “Jep” Hill, Jr., age 78, passed peacefully in Austin, Texas, with family at his side on Jan. 10, after a long, progressive battle with corticobasal degeneration. CBD is a rare, prime-of-life brain disease with no known cause or cure, and it was Jep’s wish that his brain be donated to the Mayo Clinic Brain Trust for research. He practiced law with Kleberg, Dyer, Redford & Weil Heron then with Burchette, Ruckert & Rothwell before starting Austin Linux Group in the ’90s. Hill was also a contributing editor of the Texas Natural Resources Reporter.
Jim Hill, of Sullivan Hill, has been recognized by San Diego Magazine as a 2021 Top Lawyer in San Diego in the field of Bankruptcy. A founding member of the firm, chair of its Insolvency and Commercial Bankruptcy practice group, and member of its Executive Committee, Hill practices primarily in the areas of bankruptcy, insolvency and commercial law. The list reflects those local attorneys who have been recognized by Martindale-Hubbell as 2021 AV® Preeminent™ Peer Review Rated attorneys.
Dana Davis Paul, of Paul Law Firm in Rogers, AR, has been selected to Mid-South Super Lawyers by Super Lawyers as a top attorney in the Mid-South, specializing in real estate law.
Robert E. Icenhauer-Ramirez graduated from Texas A&M University and then from Texas Law at at age 23. He practiced law for 40 years, first in Port Arthur, Texas, and later as an attorney for the City of Austin. He supported Texas Law’s Dean’s Scholarship Excellence Fund. Icenhauer-Ramirez eventually pursued his dream of becoming a historian, receiving his doctorate degree in history in 2014 from UT Austin. He published a book in 2019, Treason on Trial: The United States v. Jefferson Davis, through LSU press. His greatest aspiration came true when he was able to teach history at UT. Memorial donations may be made to the Dr. Robert Icenhauer-Ramirez Memorial Endowment in the Department of History at the UT Austin.
Jason E. Boatright has joined Duane Morris LLP as special counsel in the firm’s Trial Practice Group in its Dallas office. Boatright has held senior legal positions in state government in both Dallas and Austin. He is a former justice of the Texas Fifth District Court of Appeals, the appellate court that reviews trial court decisions in Collin, Dallas, Grayson, Hunt, Kaufman and Rockwall counties.
Bill Swart joined Munsch Hardt Kopf & Harr, P.C. as Shareholder in the firm’s Dallas office on March 1. Swart regularly represents clients in sale transactions, expansion strategies and recapitalizations. He has also gained experience with private equity structures and practices, managing expectations among buyers, sellers, lenders, management and other parties associated with complex transactions.
Julie Offerman was recently elevated to income shareholder at Chamberlain Hrdlicka. Named among the Up-and-Coming 50: 2020 Texas Women Rising Stars, Offerman is an experienced litigation attorney in Chamberlain’s Houston Labor & Employment practice. She has been named to Texas Super Lawyers in 2020 after being named Texas Rising Star in 2014, 2015, 2017, 2018, and 2019. She has also been named among Houstonia Magazine Top Lawyers in 2019 and 2020.
A. Robert Fischer passed away on Feb. 13, 2021, after fighting a long battle with cancer. He worked for Mobil Oil and then Day, Berry & Howard (now Day Pitney) in New York and Connecticut before joining Jackson Lewis, a nationwide workplace law firm, in 1993. Fischer practiced in Jackson Lewis’ Stamford, Connecticut office before returning to Austin in 2011 to help open the Jackson Lewis Austin office. He served on the boards of the ZACH Theatre, where he was general counsel for five years, the National Domestic Violence Hotline, and the UTEP Alumni Association, among others. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Central Texas Food Bank, American Cancer Society, the ZACH Theatre, or the National Domestic Violence Hotline.
Jamie Clayton Boyd passed away at the age of 91 on the Feb. 5, 2021. During his legal career he served as Assistant City attorney, City of Austin, Assistant County Attorney of El Paso County. Boyd was elected State District Attorney for the 13th District of Texas. In 1997, he was appointed United States District Attorney for the Western District of Texas by President Jimmy Carter. Boyd also served two terms as United States Magistrate for the Western District of Texas.
Bruce Dixie Smith passed away peacefully in Houston, Texas on Feb. 21, 2021. Smith was a double Longhorn, having earned his undergraduate and law degree from the University of Texas in Austin. He joined the firm of Fulbright and Jaworski out of law school and was made partner in 1975. He was proud to be the first Fulbright attorney to win a case in front of the United States Supreme Court in 1974. Smith retired from the firm in 1997. Donations in Dixie’s memory may be made to any animal or homeless shelter, Meals on Wheels, Houston Food Bank or the charity of your choice.
Camille Milner was recently named the 2020 Gay G. Cox Recipient for Excellence in Collaborative Law. The award was announced at the Collaborative Law Conference in Austin and is normally presented at the State Bar’s Annual Advanced Family Law Seminar in August each year. Milner was given the award for her leadership role in Collaborative Divorce Texas and for her commitment to growing the collaborative movement.
Christopher D. Kratovil was promoted to National Recruiting Partner at Dykema, a leading national law firm. This follows a five-year stint as Managing Member of Dykema’s Dallas office where Kratovil helped to develop the office through laterals of top legal talent. In his practice, Kratovil remains in Dallas as a member of the firm’s Litigation Department, focusing on appellate matters. Kratovil has made a name for himself as one of the “Top 100 Lawyers in Texas”.
Charles Rutherford Meeker III passed away at the age of 78 on Feb. 18, 2021. After graduating from Texas Law, Meeker moved to Los Angeles to clerk for Judge Walter Ely. He joined O’Melveny & Myers and rose to partner working in the business and later the entertainment divisions. In the 1980s, he co-founded Feldman/Meeker Entertainment and produced major motion pictures for nearly a decade. He returned to entertainment law as a partner at White & Case, where he successfully represented Credit Lyonnais in their effort to regain control of Metro Goldwyn Mayer. Meeker then served as MGM’s President from 1991-93, overseeing MGM’s transition to stable financial footing.
James F. “Jim” Rogers, an advocate for the city of Dallas who contributed countless hours to local organizations, died on Feb. 15, after battling cancer. He was 73.
Rogers was a graduate of Baylor University and Texas Law. He worked as a CPA before founding Ameripro Industries and was known as an ardent and inspirational activist. He ran for Dallas City Council for the District 14 seat in 2013.
Larry E. McCarver died on Feb. 6, 2021, at his home in Newport, Rhode Island, surrounded by his family. McCarver grew up in Corsicana, Texas, and kept in close touch with high school friends throughout his life. A double Longhorn, he earned a BA in History and a JD at Texas Law. He earned his MBA from Thunderbird School of Global Management in Arizona and eventually moved his family to Newport where he made career in international sales for 45 years with TACO Comfort Solutions. The family asks you to celebrate Larry’s life by loving your family with all your heart, making friends and family laugh; sneaking treats to your dog; and being patient, kind, and loving.
Peter Michael Lowry died on Jan. 31, 2021 in Austin, TX. He is survived by his beloved wife, Mary Markley Lowry. A double-Longhorn, he earned his bachelor’s degree in 1964 and his JD in 1968. Pete served as a briefing attorney for the Supreme Court of Texas and then practiced law for nine years with the Austin firm McGinnis, Lochridge and Kilgore. In 1977 he was appointed by Gov. Dolph Briscoe as judge of the 261st District Court of Travis County and was re-elected to five four-year terms. Lowry served as a Local Administrative Judge for seven years. After retiring from the bench, he practiced dispute resolution in the firm of Meyers, Lowry and Coates.
Mary Louise Porter Bailey died of ALS on Feb. 11, 2021 at home with her devoted family by her side. Bailey grew up in Buda, Texas, attended Duke University and then graduated from The University of Texas School of Law. She then moved to Houston in 1979 to practice law and was named partner at her firm. After moving back to Austin, in 2004 she assumed the role of Director of Alumni Relations at St. Stephen’s Episcopal School and retired in 2017. Bailey is survived by her husband of 39 years, Scott Field Bailey, Jr.
Cecil Augustus “C.A.” Edwards, Jr. was born in Phoenix, Arizona 89 years ago and died Feb. 3, 2021. He graduated from the United States Naval Academy at Annapolis, Maryland and was commissioned into the United States Marine Corps to serve abroad, flying fighter jets from aircraft carriers. After leaving the service Edwards earned his JD from the University of Texas School of Law, at which point he returned to Phoenix for good. He practiced law in Arizona for over 50 years, primarily representing injured workers with claims before the Industrial Commission.
Joy M. Thomas, passed away in Oct. 22, 2020. Although she never married or had children, she spent her life as a civil servant both in her career practicing Disability and Family Law and as an advisor for her sorority. Girls Inc. of Tarrant County established the Joy Thomas Memorial Scholarship Fund to honor a bright and compassionate leader in the Fort Worth community.
BakerHostetler has elected Thomas A. Donaho to the partnership, effective Jan. 1, 2021. His practice in Houston will focus on complex commercial and business litigation. He has experience representing clients in a wide range of contract matters, business torts and real estate disputes. Donaho earned his J.D. from The University of Texas School of Law and his A.B. from Duke University. He was previously an associate at the firm and is a member of the Litigation Practice Group.
Scott Keller co-founded a new national boutique law firm, Lehotsky Keller LLP, with an initial office in Washington, D.C. The firm will help clients litigate cases challenging government regulations, handle complex civil cases throughout the country, and analyze and address cutting-edge legal issues. Before founding Lehotsky Keller LLP, Keller headed Baker Botts LLP’s Supreme Court Practice. He has also served as the Solicitor General of Texas, the State’s chief appellate litigator.
The San Antonio Bar Foundation (SABF) is pleased to announce the appointment of Dennis J. Windscheffel, of Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer & Feld, LLP, to the SABF Fellows Program newly-elected 2021 class.
The San Antonio Bar Foundation (SABF) is pleased to announce the appointment of Erica E. Valladares, of Langley & Banack, Inc., to the SABF Fellows Program newly-elected 2021 class.
The San Antonio Bar Foundation (SABF) is pleased to announce the appointment of Michael J. Ritter, of the Fourth Court of Appeals, to the SABF Fellows Program newly-elected 2021 class.
The San Antonio Bar Foundation (SABF) is pleased to announce the appointment of George Luis Salinas Jr., from the Law Offices of George Salinas, PLLC, to the SABF Fellows Program newly-elected 2021 class.
Robert Hamilton Walls, Sr., died peacefully surrounded by family on Jan. 21, 2021, at the age of 89. Upon discharge from the Army, Walls became an Assistant Attorney General in the Texas Attorney General’s office in Austin. He continued his legal career at Barrow, Bland & Rehmet and then moved to Vinson & Elkins, where he developed an expertise in Oil and Gas Law. Walls eventually went to work with his good friend Wayne Dotson at Foreman & Dyess, and ultimately retired from Jackson & Walker after 51 years of practicing law. The family requests with gratitude that memorial contributions be directed toward The Robert H. and Anita H. Walls Endowed Presidential Scholarship in Law at Texas Law (http://links.utexas.edu/cvahngj).
The San Antonio Bar Foundation (SABF) is pleased to announce the appointment of Carol Bertsch, from The Law Offices of Carol Bertsch, P.C., to the SABF Fellows Program newly-elected 2021 class.
The San Antonio Bar Foundation (SABF) is pleased to announce the appointment of the Honorable Richard B. Farrer, a United State Magistrate Judge, to the SABF Fellows Program newly-elected 2021 class.
The San Antonio Bar Foundation (SABF) is pleased to announce the appointment of William B. Kingman, from the Law Offices of William B. Kingman, P.C., to the SABF Fellows Program newly-elected 2021 class.
Robert Edwin Edwards passed away peacefully on Jan. 18, 2021. Edwards started his legal career with Lone Star Gas Company in Dallas, Texas, and ended his career over 30 decades working with the Army and Air Force Exchange Service in Dallas. While with the AAFES, he created and directed their Worker Compensation Division for many years until his retirement in 2005. Edwards was a dedicated member and Master Mason of the Grand Lodge of Texas, Hillcrest No. 1318 for over 50 years, volunteering many hours at Scottish Rite Hospital. Memorials may be sent to The Boys and Girls Club of Falls County.
James Bailey Howard passed away peacefully at the age of 79 on Jan. 9, 2021. He served in the Army as a First Lieutenant and was subsequently deployed to South Korea for one year. After receiving his law degree from Texas Law in 1968, Howard went to work as a tax attorney for Coopers & Lybrand. By 1974, he had moved to Austin and spent the majority of his adult career as the chief financial officer of a restaurant chain. Memorial contributions may be made to a church or organization of choice.
Charles Nathan Curry passed away on Jan.21, 2021, surrounded by his loving family. He began his career at Shannon, Gracey, Ratliff, & Miller in Fort Worth, TX where he became a partner and practiced for 50 years. He was a member of the State Bar of Texas and served as both Chair and Vice-Chair of the Real Estate, Probate and Trust Section’s Financial Institutions Committee. He was a Life Fellow and served on the Legal Forms Committee and the Business Law section of the State Bar of Texas. Curry was also a founding member of the Texas Association of Bank Counsel and served two terms as Director. He was a member of the the U.S. Court of Appeals Northern District of Texas. Curry was Of Counsel for Bonds Ellis Eppich Schafer Jones law firm.
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court has named attorney Barbara E. Griffin the new chair of the Pennsylvania Lawyers Fund for Client Security Board. She is the first woman and the first African-American to be named to the position. Griffin is the Director of the Allegheny County Bar Foundation’s Pro Bono Center, where she creates, manages, and supports legal services programs that provide volunteer attorneys to low-income persons facing legal issues that threaten basic human needs.
Earle Plain Martin III passed away at the age of 65 on Dec. 31, 2020, after battling complications from COVID-19. He graduated from Texas Law in 1980 and joined Vinson & Elkins as a lawyer in the Business, Real Estate and Energy group, led by the late Rush Record. After three years at Vinson & Elkins, Martin chose to move away from practicing law and started his own private air charter, laying the foundation for a three-decades-long career.
Lary D. Garrett was named Mentor of the Year for 2020 by the West Virginia State Bar, selected by the Young Lawyer Section of the State Bar. Previously, he was named the Lawyer Citizen of the Year in 2001 by the West Virginia Bar Foundation in recognition of his public service activities and accomplishments. Lary has practiced for 43 years with his wife, Karen Kunz Garrett ’78 (also a Texas Law alumn), as the firm Garrett & Garrett in the Mountain State.
Felix Johnathan Burton, Jr., passed away on Jan. 21, 2021, from health complications while battling cancer. Burton graduated from Texas Law in 1965 and held memberships in the Texas Bar Association and the CPA Society. He had a multi-faceted and successful career in the banking and manufacturing industries, while starting an accounting firm early in his career. Burton semi-retired from his Houston company, Champion Hi-Tech, in 2011, to enjoy his home on acreage in Chappell Hill.