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.
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.
Charles W. Cappel passed away on Thanksgiving Day, Nov. 27, 2025. He began his career practicing admiralty law with the firm of Lillick McHose and, after 15 years, chose to become president of a small family oil company.
Jiles David Richeson passed away on Nov. 20, 2025. After starting his career in Washington, D.C., as legal counsel for Congressman Jake Pickle, Richeson moved to Fort Pierce, Florida, where he established a successful law practice in the field of labor and employment law.
Theodore Thomas Hollen III passed away on Oct. 13, 2025. He began his career at Pearson & Pearson in El Paso, Texas, before launching his independent law practice in Austin, Ted Hollen Attorney at Law. He retired in May of 2025.
Parks Harding Stearns Jr. passed away on Sept. 11, 2025. He served in the FBI as a legal liaison for over 30 years before joining Unitrin and Kemper Insurance Investigation at the end of his distinguished career.
Bennett “Ben” Wilson Cervin passed away on September 1, 2025. Cervin retired as a colonel in the U.S. Air Force and also served in the Texas Air National Guard. An expert in labor and employment law, he was a senior partner, then of counsel, at Thompson & Knight.
Michael Joseph Whitten passed away on July 26, 2025. Whitten was a respected Denton attorney, earning recognition for his trial skill, mediation work, and dedication to pro bono service, while remaining deeply devoted to his family and community.
Peter Williamson, shareholder in Chamberlain Hrdlicka’s immigration practice in Houston, was ranked by Chambers & Partners, the leading independent professional legal research company, among top immigration attorneys in Texas as a senior statesman. He has been ranked by Chambers for 19 consecutive years.
H. Lee Godfrey passed away on June 2, 2025. One of the top trial lawyers in the world and recipient of many honors and awards, Godfrey’s highly distinguished legal career began after serving in the Air Force. He was a partner at Wood Campbell Moody & Gibbs, then joined his old friend Steve Susman in 1982 to found the firm that would become Susman Godfrey. Godfrey was nominated by former President Clinton as the U.S. ambassador to Brazil.
James Stripling passed away Jan. 23, 2025. Stripling served six years in the Army JAG Corps, becoming a captain. After returning home, he joined Decker Jones Law Firm, working there as a tax and estate attorney for the next 50 years.
John L. Adams has been recognized with the University of Texas Presidential Citation Award for his dedication and support of the University. Adams is the former chairman and CEO of Chase Bank of Texas and former vice chairman of Trinity Industries, Inc. He is a supporter of the McCombs Scholars Program at UT’s McCombs School of Business, has chaired UT’s Development Board, and serves on the What Starts Here Campaign steering committee.
Mack Ray Hernandez passed away in late August of 2024 after more than 20 years of battling metastatic breast cancer. A double Longhorn, he had his own practice—the Hernandez Law Firm in Austin—where he specialized in wills, probate, and real estate.
Bert Massey passed away Nov. 13, 2024. Massey served as mayor of Brownwood, Texas, for 26 years and previously was a partner in the law firm of Massey, Shaw, and West.
Samuel Sipes passed away on April 14, 2024. A U.S. Army veteran, Sipes was a practicing attorney in El Paso, focusing on bankruptcy, business law and commercial law.
Judge Harriet Mitchell Murphy has passed away. A friend of Martin Luther King, Jr., and Justice Thurgood Marshall, Murphy was considered a legend by many for her trailblazing activism and her role as the first African-American woman permanently appointed to a judgeship in Texas. The family asks that, in lieu of flowers, gifts be made to the Judge Harriet Murphy Memorial Scholarship in Law.
Donald Frank “Don” Schofield passed away on Dec. 2, 2023. A veteran of the U.S. Army, Schofield served as a city judge for Amarillo and practiced law in the Panhandle of Texas until retirement.
David Hall passed away on Oct. 11, 2023. A double Longhorn, Hall was an acclaimed social warrior, serving his home state as director of Texas Rio Grande Legal Aid (TRLA) for nearly 40 years.
Ed Auler passed away on Oct. 14, 2023. After law school, Auler clerked for Judge Joe Greenhill at the Texas Supreme Court before joining the Austin firm of Kendall, Randall, Finch and Osborne. Auler’s career shifted when he and his wife founded Fall Creek Vineyards in the Hill Country region.
Orie Theodore Dinkins Jr. passed away August 26, 2023. Dinkins specialized in probate litigation and co-founded the law firm of Dinkins, Kelly, Lenox & Lamb before opening his own law practice in Brenham, Texas.
Frank Ryon Monroe passed away on May 8, 2023. Monroe spent two decades with Sheinfeld, Maley and Kay as a bankruptcy attorney and managing partner, then was appointed as United States Bankruptcy Judge for the Western District of Texas, and serving 20 years in Austin in that role.
Lee Yeakel has joined King & Spalding’s trials and global disputes practice group as senior counsel. Yeakel recently retired from the federal judiciary after serving for 20 years as a United States District Judge for the Western District of Texas.
Richard G. Shook passed away on Feb. 11, 2023. Shook was an attorney for Prudential Insurance Company of America until he retired after 30 years of service.
Alexander Bell passed away on Feb. 2, 2023. Bell was a professor at the University of Virginia Law School for eight years and a civil trial lawyer at Bell and Schneider for nearly 50 years.
Leonard Schwartz passed away on Oct. 13, 2022. Schwartz was a double Longhorn, having earned both his bachelor’s degree in business and his law degree from UT. As a lawyer, he specialized in the areas of school law, employment, civil rights, and litigation.
William David Roberts passed away on Sept. 28, 2022. Upon graduation from Texas Law, Roberts served in the United States Army, obtaining the rank of captain. Roberts went on practice law in the Golden Crescent region for 50 years, and also served in leadership roles for multiple professional and community organizations.
Peter D. Williamson, a shareholder at Chamberlain Hrdlicka’s Houston office, was ranked in the 2019 Chambers USA Guide as a top-tier attorney in Immigration (Senior Statesman) in Texas.
Rod Koenig is currently serving as President of UT Midshipmans Foundation, serving as President of Monument Hill Chapter of Sons of the Republic of Texas, and serving as President of Black Jack Cemetery Association in Fayette County. He is active as a Trustee on Jackson Foundation, Williams Foundation, Gray Foundation, Orton Foundation and serves on a number of other Boards.
The Real Estate, Probate and Trust Law Section of the State Bar has selected Jim Aycock as the 2017 Recipient of the Distinguished Texas Probate and Trust Attorney Lifetime Achievement Award.