Class Notes

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.

Brent Howard passed away on May 25, 2026. Brent dedicated 45 years to the practice of law and was selected for membership in the American Board of Trial Advocates, where he served as president of the East Texas Chapter.

Irina B. Plumlee, a shareholder with Munsch Hardt Kopf & Harr, P.C. in Dallas, has been named to D Magazine’s “Best Lawyers in Dallas 2026” list for immigration law.

David Coligado, a shareholder and chief executive officer with Munsch Hardt Kopf & Harr, P.C. in Dallas, has been named to D Magazine’s “Best Lawyers in Dallas 2026” list for real estate law and D CEO’s 2026 “Dallas 500 List”.

Frederick W. “Rick” Addison, III, a shareholder with Munsch Hardt Kopf & Harr, P.C. in Dallas, has been named to D Magazine’s “Best Lawyers in Dallas 2026” list for environmental law.

Angela A. Hunt, a shareholder with Munsch Hardt Kopf & Harr, P.C. in Dallas, has been named to D Magazine’s “Best Lawyers in Dallas 2026” list for land use/zoning law.

Elena Thompson,  an associate with Miller Nash in Seattle, has been appointed as co-chair of the Legal Foundation of Washington’s 2026 Associates Campaign for Equal Justice (CEJ). For the past three years, Elena has helped spearhead Miller Nash’s internal CEJ fundraising efforts.

Scott A. Keller, former Texas solicitor general, will join Chevron as general counsel before ascending to chief legal officer when the current position holder steps down in mid-2027. Keller, a leading appellate and constitutional lawyer, is cofounder of Lehotsky Keller Cohn LLP.

Nicole Edgeworth, pen name Natalia Loya, recently published her debut novel, “The Laboratory Assistant,” with Apprentice House Press. In addition to being an author, she is an assistant attorney general in the Texas Attorney General’s Office.

Allison K. Perry has joined Bracewell LLP’s tax department as a partner in their Houston office. A double Longhorn, she returns to Bracewell after serving as the U.S. lead employment tax counsel for Shell, where she advised on a wide range of employment tax, employee benefits and executive compensation matters.

Marissa Marquez has been selected as the 2026 recipient of the Senior Counsel of the Year for a Nonprofit or Governmental Agency presented by the Association of Corporate Counsel Houston Chapter and The Texas Lawbook. She currently is the labor and employment counsel at Houston Methodist Hospital.

Richard Don Coan passed away on May 15, 2026. A U.S. Army veteran who served  during the Cold War and later in the Active Reserves, Coan practiced law for 50 years in Stephenville, Texas, and also was president of the Tarleton State University Foundation Board.

Brian D. Miller has been confirmed by the United States Senate as the U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Pennsylvania. He was originally appointed to the position by the United States attorney general, then by the District Court pending the confirmation. Miller has held multiple government posts, including his most recent as special inspector general for pandemic recovery.

Carson Young has joined the Houston office of Latham & Watkins LLP as a partner in the Complex Commercial Litigation Practice. He previously served as a partner at Kirkland & Ellis LLP.

James Perry “J.P.” Bryan Jr. has been selected by Governor Greg Abbott to serve on the Texas Bicentennial Commission. The founder and CEO of Torch Energy Advisors, Inc., he currently serves as executive director of the Texas State Historical Association and chairman of Lone Star Coastal Alliance.

Peter Idziak has been promoted to principal at Polunsky Beitel Green in the Dallas office as the transactional residential mortgage lending law firm marks its 50th anniversary. Idziak has been with PBG for nearly seven years, building a practice focused on regulatory compliance and consumer financial law, providing guidance on complex matters to lenders across the country.

Dani Sanchez, senior assistant general counsel over litigation and employment at Academy Sports + Outdoors, has been named the 2026 Outstanding Mentor of the Year by the Houston Young Lawyers Association.

Katherine Spry has been selected as a fellow for the Immigrant Justice Corps’ 2026 class. She will serve for two years as a staff attorney at The Bronx Defenders, representing low-income immigrants in complex immigration cases, including removal defense.