Class Notes

Sam W. Lane Jr. passed away March 22, 2025. A proud double-Longhorn who served in the United States Army, Lane Jr. spent his career working at the private law practice he established in Dallas.

Olney Gray Wallis of Llano, Texas, passed away on November 18, 2024. A double Longhorn and Air Force veteran, Wallis served in the U.S. Air Force Judge Advocate General’s Corps, was an assistant U.S. attorney in Houston, and then practiced law as a federal criminal trial attorney for over 54 years. He received the Air Force Commendation Medal and was recognized by the U.S. Department of Justice for his outstanding performance.

David J. Beck, founding partner of Beck Redden, has been named the recipient of the prestigious 2025 Leon Jaworski Award for Community Service by the Houston Bar Association Auxiliary. This distinguished honor recognizes attorneys who exemplify a lifetime commitment to civic engagement, public service, and professional excellence.

David J. Beck, founding partner of Beck Redden LLP, has been named one of Benchmark Litigation’s Top 100 Trial Lawyers in the United States for 2025.  Previously he was named a 2024 Texas Super Lawyer in business litigation and a 2025 Lawdragon 500 Leading Litigator in America. Beck also was honored in the 2025 Best Lawyers in America in six different categories and named to the 2024 Lawdragon 500 Leading Global Litigators list.

Peter Winstead passed away on August 7, 2024. He was a founding shareholder of Winstead PC and a  prominent civic leader.  He was appointed by Gov. George Bush to be the first chair of the Texas Turnpike Authority and chaired the boards of several organizations including the Austin Chamber and the United Way.

David J. Beck was honored in the Chambers USA 2024 Guide in the practice areas of Litigation: Trial Lawyers and Litigation: General Commercial and named a 2024 Lawdragon 500 Leading Plaintiff Financial Lawyer. Beck is a trial lawyer and founding partner at Beck Redden LLP. Beck is a trial lawyer and founding partner at Beck Redden LLP and is a fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers.

Mike Cotten passed away on May 25, 2024. Cotten played varsity football for the University of Texas before serving in the US Marine Corps and building a successful 42-year career in the practice of law with Clark, Thomas Law Firm.

C. Albert Tatum passed away Feb. 6, 2024. After serving at Locke, Purnell, Boren, Laney and Neely law firm, Tatum became an investor in shopping centers and later a financial adviser.

Dick DeGuerin has been named one of the Best Criminal Defense Lawyers in Houston,2023. DeGuerin has been practicing criminal defense for the past five decades and represented many high profile clients as his firm handles state and federal cases from trial through the appellate process.

David J. Beck earned the Top 100 Trial Lawyers, National Practice Area Star, and Litigation Star Awards in Benchmark Litigation 2024. Beck is a trial lawyer and founding partner at Beck Redden LLP and is a fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers.

Larry Fallek has been named the 2023 Man of the Year by the McAllen Chamber of Commerce. A double Longhorn, Fallek currently serves as the chairman of Castle Hospitality.

David J. Beck was named a 2024 Lawdragon 500 Leading Litigator in America. Beck is a trial lawyer and founding partner at Beck Redden LLP and is a fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers. He also was named in Thomson Reuters Texas Super Lawyers 2023.

William Albert Thau Jr. passed away on August 26, 2023. Thau was head of the 50-lawyer Real Estate Section of Jenkins, Anson, Spradley and Gilchrist for 25 years.

David J. Beck has been included in the 2024 edition of Best Lawyers in America. A trial lawyer and founding partner at Beck Redden LLP, Beck is being recognized for his work in Bet-the-Company Litigation, Commercial Litigation, Legal Malpractice Law – Defendants, Antitrust Litigation, Environmental Litigation, Intellectual Property Litigation, Patent Litigation, and Natural Resources Law.

David J. Beck has been named to the 2023 Lawdragon 500 Leading Global Litigators list. Beck is a trial lawyer and founding partner at Beck Redden LLP and is a fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers.

James Rhodes has been appointed by the president of the New York City Bar Association to a panel of senior attorneys that hears disputes. Rhodes is a full-time independent arbitrator and mediator and has been arbitrating commercial and investment disputes since 1980.

Jake Bleveans has been selected for a Lifetime Achievement Award from Marquis Who’s Who. In a career that spanned three decades within the public and private sectors, Bleveans’ positions included counsel at Arthur Anderson, partner at Mayer Brown, senior vice president and deputy general counsel of Continental Illinois National Bank and Trust, and trial and appellate attorney for the Civil Rights Division of the United States Department of Justice. He also served in the JAG Corps of the U.S. Navy.

Terrence Ponsford passed away on Feb. 3, 2023. After graduating from Texas Law, Ponsford joined the U.S. Marine Corps as a lawyer during the Vietnam War, then later moved to the San Francisco Bay Area to practice business law.

David J. Beck, founder of Beck Redden, was presented with the E. Ernest Goldstein Award from the Texas International Law Journal (TILJ). This marks just the second time in the publication’s history the award has been given to a TILJ alumnus who has made a lasting impact on the journal or as a member of the Texas or international legal community.

Timothy Lynn Brown passed away on Dec. 30, 2022. Brown served as head of the Environmental Division of the Texas Attorney General’s Office before entering private practice in 1982, where he remained active in the practice of water law until 2019.

Scherry Ann Perkins Braziel passed away on Feb. 20, 2023. At the time Braziel was enrolled at Texas Law, she was one of just four women at the school. She went on to become the first female attorney in Titus County after founding Perkins & Perkins Law Firm with her father.

John Hale passed away on Jan. 9, 2023. Hale served as a briefing attorney for the Supreme Court of Texas under Justice Joe Greenhill, and later held partnerships at Foreman & Dyess and Norton & Blair.

Lt. Col. Cecil Roy Morrow, Jr. passed away on Nov. 23, 2022. Morrow had a distinguished military career of 21 years before opening his own law firm specializing in international law.

David Beck has received numerous awards by Benchmark Litigation for 2023, including Top 100 Trial Lawyer, National Practice Area Star, and Local Litigation Star. He also was recognized as a 2022 Texas Super Lawyer for business litigation and in the inaugural guide of the Lawdragon 500 Leading Litigators in America. Beck is a founding partner of Beck Redden in Houston.

Bob Slagle passed away on June 13, 2022. Slagle was a former Democratic National Committee member, delegate, and state party chairman who worked for the Lyndon B. Johnson administration in 1963. He was a general practice attorney in Sherman for more than 50 years.

Donald Lawrence Davis, 82, passed away peacefully on Dec. 8, 2021 in Austin, Texas. After college, he declined an offer to try out for the Baltimore Colts, and instead earned a JD at Texas Law. He clerked for Justice Mead Griffith at the Texas Supreme Court before joining the firm of Byrd, Davis, Eisenberg and Clark in 1966. He stayed with the firm for the duration of his 53 year legal career. At the age of 28, he argued the landmark case of Powell v. Texas in the United States Supreme Court. At that time, he was the youngest attorney to have appeared and argued a case before the Supreme Court.

William “Bill” Cook Fielder passed away Nov. 4, 2021 at age 83. Fielder was active in the Civil Rights movement as a student and then practiced law for over 50 years, helping many people in Austin and Lockhart. Passionate about helping people that were vulnerable and under-resourced, he worked in criminal law, juvenile law, probate, guardianship, and estate law.

Pike Powers passed away after a battle with Parkinson’s disease. Powell served as a member of the Texas House of Representatives in the ’70s, representing Jefferson County. He then went on to serve as chief of staff to Texas Gov. Mark White in the ’80s. He was considered a trailblazer for Austin’s tech scene. Powers’ impact on Austin’s economy stemmed from his law career that had him structuring mega deals as he executed economic development in Austin as a Fulbright & Jaworski lawyer (now Norton Rose Fulbright US LLP).

David Beck has been recognized in 2021 Texas Super Lawyers among the Top 100 Texas and Top 100 Houston rankings. This annual award listing is based on peer recognition and professional achievements and published by Thomson Reuters. Of those nominated, only five percent of the total lawyers in the state are selected for inclusion. Beck is a partner with Beck Redden LLP.

David J. Beck has been recognized in the 2022 The Best Lawyers in America ranking of the nation’s top legal talent. He is a partner with Beck Redden who specializes in Bet-the-Company Litigation, Commercial Litigation, Legal Malpractice Law, Antitrust Litigation, Environmental Litigation, Intellectual Property Litigation, Patent Litigation, and Natural Resources Law.

Rodney Jack Sheppard, 83, died peacefully at home surrounded by family, August 1, 2021, in Austin. A graduate of Texas Law, he served in the Army JAG Corps before entering private practice. He briefly served as general counsel to Armadillo World Headquarters.

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.

Texas Super Lawyers has again recognized Beck Redden LLP in its 2020 annual award listing, featuring 16 lawyers with four included in the Tops of Texas rankings. Beck Redden lawyers highlighted in the Tops of Texas rankings includes David J. Beck, who specialized in business litigation and is recognized in Top 100 Texas and Top 100 Houston.

Benchmark Litigation 2021 has recognized David J. Beck in its 2021 ranking of the nation’s top litigation talent. Beck has been recognized in Top 100 Trial Lawyers, and is considered to be a “National Practice Area Star” and “Local Litigation Star”, recommended consistently as a reputable and effective litigator by clients and peers.

David Beck was recognized in the 2021 Best Lawyers in America. He specializes in: Bet-the-Company Litigation, Commercial Litigation, Legal Malpractice Law – Defendants, Litigation – Antitrust, Litigation – Environmental, Litigation – Intellectual Property, Litigation – Patent, Natural Resources Law.

Beck Redden LLP is pleased to announce that David J. Beck has been appointed by Governor Greg Abbott to chair the newly formed Texas Commission on Judicial Selection. The 15-member Commission is comprised of four State Senators, four members of the Texas House of Representatives, two former Chief Justices of the Texas Supreme Court, and others. It is charged with evaluating the merits of alternative methods of judicial selection, and to produce findings and recommendations for reform to the Legislature by December 31, 2020.

Marc Grossberg, who has practiced law in Houston for more than fifty years, will release his book, “The Best People: A Tale of Trials and Errors,” in October. His debut novel offers a glimpse into the world of Houston lawyering.

University of Texas School of Law Alumnus Emerson “Buddy” Banack Jr. has been recognized by Texas Lawyer for his significant contributions to the legal profession. Banack, co-founder and shareholder of Langley & Banack, one of San Antonio’s largest and locally owned law firms, was awarded Lifetime Achievement. Banack, a distinguished trial lawyer, graduated from the University of Texas School of Law in 1965.

David J. Beck was recognized in the annual Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business 2016 directory. In addition to being recognized at the state-level for Litigation: Energy and Natural Resources and Litigation: General Commercial, Beck was recognized at the national level for Litigation: Trial Lawyers.

Chambers USA is carefully researched and widely considered to be the most reputable law firm directory in the world.