Class Notes

Carlos Eduardo Cárdenas of the Law Office of Carlos Eduardo Cardenas, P.C., has been elected 2024-2025 chair of the Texas Bar Foundation Board of Trustees. Cárdenas also received the Reynaldo G. Garza Lifetime Achievement Award from the Hispanic Issues Section of the State Bar of Texas in recognition of his “long commitment and made great achievements in addressing concerns and issues affecting the Hispanic community.” In addition, Cárdenas has been elected 2024-2025 chair of the Texas Bar Foundation Board of Trustees.

Robert L. Tobey has been appointed to the Board of Legal Aid of Northwest Texas and elected to the Texas Bar College Board of Directors. Tobey is a shareholder at Johnston Tobey Baruch.

John Davis “JD” Head Jr. passed away Dec. 11, 2023. Head served as a director of the Legal Division and general counsel of the Texas Environmental Regulatory Agency before becoming a senior partner at Fritz, Byrne, Head & Gilstrap, PLLC.

Fidel Rodriguez, Jr. has been recognized as one of Texas’ top trial lawyers in the 2023 Texas Super Lawyers Top 10 list. Rodriguez has practiced personal injury and product liabilities law for more than 30 years.

Neal Manne has been named “Lawyer of the Year” in Litigation-Antitrust in Houston by The Best Lawyers in America. A double Longhorn, Manne is a partner and trial lawyer at Susman Godfrey, LLP. He has received this honor for Houston in a major practice area on five other occasions.

Judy Kostura has been named a Best Personal Injury Lawyer in Austin by Forbes Advisor. She founded Kostura & Putnam, P.C. and specializes in representing victims of negligence. Kostura was recognized as a Champion of Justice in 2019 by Texas Watch.

Fidel Rodriguez Jr. has been named one of the Best Personal Injury Lawyers in San Antonio by Forbes Advisor. Rodriguez has been serving victims of personal injury and wrongful death for more than 30 years, with his firm Rodriguez Trial Law.

William Rollin “Billy” Wepfer passed away on Dec. 12, 2022. Wepfer practiced law in the Rio Grande Valley for 40 years between 1980 to 2020.

Steven Douglass Arnold passed away on Dec. 8, 2022. Arnold worked with the Hinkle Law Firm for more than 30 years, where he became the head attorney practicing utility law. He then served as a senior judge in the State Office of Administrative Appeals before retiring in 2019.

Robert Tobey has earned recognition on the 2022 list of Texas Super Lawyers for his professional liability work on behalf of plaintiffs. He is a partner and shareholder at Johnston Tobey Baruch.

Kenneth Miles passed away on April 12, 2022. Miles graduated from Texas Law in 1980 and served for 20 years in the United States Military. He also worked as an attorney, specializing in real estate and banking.

Henry Franklin Harren passed away March 31, 2022. A double Longhorn, Harren earned both his bachelor’s and J.D. degree from the University. After starting his law career in El Paso, Harren practiced in Austin for the rest of his career.  He fought for affordable housing in Austin and authored “All the Dirt,” a newsletter about the intersection of real estate and politics in Austin. Harren was the co-founder of Evolve Austin Partners and served on the Board of Directors for multiple organizations.

Vicky Johnson of the 1st Judicial District of Nebraska announced that she is retiring at the end of January 2022. Johnson has served on the bench for 17 years and as the presiding judge for the Southeast Nebraska Adult Drug Court since 2007.

Robert Tobey was elected to the Board of Directors of the State Bar of Texas and was also elected to the Council of the National Conference of Bar Presidents.

Neal Manne received American Bar Association’s national Pro Bono Publico Award – the highest public service recognition by the country’s largest legal organization. Earlier this year, Manne received the John Minor Wisdom Public Service and Professionalism Award, which the ABA’s Litigation Section gives each year to one lawyer who has made outstanding contributions to help the disadvantaged and disenfranchised. He is the only person ever to receive both awards in the same year.

Carlos Eduardo Cárdenas, of the Law Office of Carlos Eduardo Cárdenas, P.C. in El Paso, has been elected 2021-2022 Fellows Chair of the Texas Bar Foundation.  Cárdenas’ law practice focuses on personal injury and commercial litigation, and in administrative law proceedings

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.

All of the attorneys at Dallas law firm Johnston Tobey Baruch have been named to the list of Texas Super Lawyers for 2020, including Robert Tobey. Robert Tobey is a trial lawyer who currently serves as president of the Dallas Bar Association.

Julian T. Lopez is a personal injury attorney who practices at the Villarreal & Begum Law Firm and helps injured clients throughout Texas. He is a graduate of the Class of 1980 and worked as a prosecutor before becoming a plaintiff’s attorney. He is a member of several local law associations, including the State Bar of Texas, San Antonio Trial Lawyers, and the Texas Bar College.

Julian loves one-on-one interactions with his clients and helping them recover the maximum compensation.

The Dallas Bar Association recently elected its incoming Board. Robert Tobey, of Johnston Tobey Baruch, P.C., will lead the association in 2020. He was sworn in as the 111th President of the DBA January 11, 2020. Mr. Tobey began his service on the DBA Board of Directors in 2012. He was later elected Chair of the Board in 2016.

Robert L. Tobey has been elected President of the Dallas Bar Association, a professional, voluntary organization of more than 11,000 Dallas-area attorneys.

James P. Hill, was named by his peers for inclusion in the 26th Edition of Best Lawyers in America®. Hill is a founding member of Sullivan Hill, member of its Executive Committee and chair of the firm’s Insolvency and Commercial Bankruptcy practice group. He is recognized in the fields of Bankruptcy and Creditor Debtor Rights/Insolvency and Reorganization Law.

Carlos Eduardo Cardenas (J.D. 1980) has been elected as Fellows Secretary to the Board of Trustees of the Texas Bar Foundation. Carlos took office June 14, 2019.

Founded in 1965 by attorneys determined to assist the public and improve the profession of law, the Texas Bar Foundation has maintained its mission of using the financial contributions of its membership to enhance the rule of law and the system of justice in Texas.

Attorney Jay Jackson of the Houston personal injury law firm of Abraham, Watkins, Nichols, Sorrels, Agosto & Aziz has been selected to the Texas Super Lawyers list for 2018. This marks Mr. Jackson’s seventh consecutive year of inclusion on this list which is published annually in the Texas Monthly and Texas Super Lawyers magazines. Only the top five percent of attorneys practicing in Texas are recognized each year and selection is based on peer nominations and evaluations and research.

Joe Hardt is CEO and owner of Presco Polymers LP, a vertically integrated manufacturer of safety marking products and custom engineered films in Sherman, Texas. Previously, he was an attorney at the Dallas law firm, Munsch Hardt Kopf & Harr PC and CEO of AMX Corp.

Attorney Jay Jackson of Abraham, Watkins, Nichols, Sorrels, Agosto & Aziz has been named to the Texas Super Lawyers list for 2017. This marks Mr. Jackson’s sixth consecutive year of selection to the Super Lawyers list.

Carlos Eduardo Cardenas ’80 is serving as the 2017-2018 Chair of the Litigation Section of the State Bar of Texas.

Jay Jackson, an Associate at Abraham, Watkins, Nichols, Sorrels, Agosto & Friend, has been selected to the Texas Super Lawyers list for 2016, which marks his fifth consecutive year to be recognized on the list.

Attorney Jay Jackson, of the law firm of Abraham, Watkins, Nichols, Sorrels, Agosto & Friend, has been named to the 2015 designation of the Nation’s Top One Percent by the National Association of Distinguished Counsel (NADC). The mission of the NADC is to recognize attorneys who exemplify and elevate the standards of the bar and provide a benchmark of accomplishment for other lawyers.