Class Notes

David Wayne Wilson passed away January 6, 2025. A double Longhorn, Wilson earned his law degree in 1989.

Alistair B. Dawson, a partner at Beck Redden, has been included by Benchmark Litigation in its 2025 ranking of the nation’s top litigation talent. Previously he was named a 2024 Texas Super Lawyer in business litigation and a 2025 Lawdragon 500 Leading Litigator in America for the practice areas of commercial litigation, class action, and energy. Dawson also was honored in 2025 The Best Lawyers in America for commercial litigation and litigation–antitrust.

Chris Riley passed away on July 28, 2024. Riley served on the Austin City Council and was regarded as a champion of the City of Austin’s urbanist movement.

Alistair Dawson has been honored in the Chambers USA 2024 Guide in the practice area of Litigation: General Commercial and named a 2024 Lawdragon 500 Leading Plaintiff Financial Lawyer. He also was appointed to Texas’ Supreme Court Advisory Committee.  A partner at Beck Redden, Dawson serves on the American College of Trial Lawyers and the American Board of Trial Advocates, and is a commissioner on the Texas Equal Access to Justice Commission.

Hon. John G. Browning, former justice on Texas’ Fifth Court of Appeals and now Distinguished Jurist in Residence at Faulkner University’s Thomas Goode Jones School of Law, will receive the Texas Bar College’s Franklin B. Jones Outstanding CLE Article Award for 2023. Browning’s article, “ Let’s Chat About Chat GPT,” examined the ethics of using generative AI. The award will be presented at the College’s annual Summer School in July 2024.

Lisa Blatt is the first woman to argue 50 cases at the U.S. Supreme Court, and she has a 41-5 win-loss record with four pending cases this term. Bloomberg Law points out her casual candor, direct argument style, and high energy as characteristics contributing to her success.

Robert Soza has been named in Lawdragon’s 2024 list of top 500 leading litigators in America for his product liability practice and has been ranked in the 2023 Chambers USA Guide for his general commercial litigation practice. Soza is a partner at Jackson Walker with a wide range of experience representing both plaintiffs and defendants at trial and on appeal in many types of disputes.

Byron L. LeFlore Jr. has been selected as a Foundation Fellow by the San Antonio Bar Foundation. LeFlore is a partner at Pulman, Cappuccio & Pullen LLP and has more than 30 years of practice in corporate law and business litigation.

Cynthia Graham has been appointed as a member of the Supreme Court Advisory Committee for the Supreme Court of Texas. Graham opened her own law office in 1994 and has been serving the Panhandle community for the last 30 years.

Hon. John Browning has been appointed to serve as a member of the Supreme Court Advisory Committee for the Supreme Court of Texas. Justice Browning has served on the Fifth District Court of Appeals since 2020.

Doug Sigel passed away in October 2023. Sigel was a partner and practice group leader for the Ryan Law Firm’s Sales & Use and Income Tax team based in Austin.

Alistair B. Dawson earned the Litigation Star Award in Benchmark Litigation 2024. Dawson is a partner at the Houston office of Beck Redden LLP.

Kimberly S. Winick has been elected as president of the board of directors of the Pasadena Symphony and POPS. Winick specializes in commercial finance law and serves as a mediator for local bankruptcy courts.

Alistair B. Dawson has been named a 2024 Lawdragon 500 Leading Litigator in America. An attorney at Beck Redden, Dawson serves as a fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers and the American Board of Trial Advocates and a commissioner on the Texas Equal Access to Justice Commission. He also was named in Thomson Reuters Texas Super Lawyers 2023.

Jim Bettis has been included in the 2024 edition of Best Lawyers in America for his work in insurance law. Bettis is a shareholder at Munsch Hardt and maintains an active complex commercial litigation practice with an emphasis on contract disputes, personal injury defense and insurance coverage matters.

Alistair B. Dawson has been included in the 2024 edition of Best Lawyers in America for his work in Commercial Litigation and Antitrust Litigation. An attorney at Beck Redden, Dawson serves as a fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers and the American Board of Trial Advocates and a commissioner on the Texas Equal Access to Justice Commission.

Stacey Jernigan’s legal thriller “Hedging Death” is featured in an article about a hedge-fund manager who is citing evidence from the novel to bolster his recusal request. Jernigan presides over the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Texas and has served as a federal bankruptcy judge since 2006.

Eric Nichols has been appointed as chair of the Texas Board of Criminal Justice. Nichols is a partner at Butler Snow LLP and previously served as an assistant U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Texas and as deputy attorney general for criminal justice in the Office of the Texas Attorney General.

Alistair B. Dawson has been honored with the Judge Sam Williams Award by the State Bar of Texas Local Bar Services Committee. An attorney at Beck Redden, Dawson serves as a fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers and the American Board of Trial Advocates and a commissioner on the Texas Equal Access to Justice Commission.

Gregory Clark has joined Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP as a senior attorney in the firm’s Construction Practice Group. Clark, a member of Construction Law Section of the Texas Bar Association, focuses on business and residential commercial construction matters.

Versel (Wall) Rush was awarded the 2023 Rutland Excellence in Advocacy Award by the Texas State Bar Child Protection Law Section “in recognition of her outstanding legal advocacy and service on behalf of children and families.” This is the highest award given by the section to an attorney. Rush is a regional attorney with the Child Protective Services based out of Montague County.

Jennifer Haltom Doan has been named one of the Best Personal Injury Attorneys in Dallas by Forbes Advisor. Doan founded the firm Haltom & Doan, representing Fortune 100 companies and individuals in personal injury, product liability, intellectual property and business and commercial law.

Cindi Graham has been named chair of the Texas Board of Legal Specialization Board. In 1994, Graham opened her own law firm and in 2002 became board certified in family law.

W. Glenn Opel has been elected president for the American College of Bond Counsel after previously serving on the organization’s Board of Directors and as its treasurer.  Opel is co-chair of Bracewell’s public finance practice and a partner in the ’Austin office. He focuses his practice on public finance, infrastructure and transportation development, and public/private partnerships.

Alistair Dawson has been recognized as a 2022 Texas Super Lawyer, a Local Litigation Star by Benchmark Litigation for 2023, and in the inaugural guide of the Lawdragon 500 Leading Litigators in America. Dawson is a partner at the Houston office of Beck Redden.

Jim Reeder has been selected to receive the  Laura Lee Blanton Community Spirit Award from Houston Hospice in recognition of decades-long dedication and commitment to the organization, with co-recipient Eric Nevil. Reeder is a partner at Jones Day, where he focuses on complex commercial litigation and antitrust.

John A. Bonnet III has been named a partner at Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP. Bonnet specializes in M&A transactions, debt and equity financings, investment funds, general business transactions, contracts, corporate governance, and other business law matters. While at Texas Law, he was associate editor of the Texas Law Review.

Alistair Dawson has been elected 2022–2023 Chair of the Texas Bar Foundation Board of Trustees. Dawson has been a partner at Beck Redden LLP for nearly 30 years, where he specializes in commercial litigation.

John G. Browning received the Luther (Luke) H. Soules III Award for Outstanding Service to the Practice Award, presented by the State Bar of Texas Litigation Section to recognize an attorney “who embodies excellence in the practice of law and exemplary service to the State Bar.” Browning is a partner at Spencer Fane in Plano; he also served as an appellate justice on the 5th District Court of Appeals in Dallas.

Francisco Solis has been named interim president at San Antonio College. Solis previously served as the college’s Dean of Performance Excellence since 2016, and professor of mortuary science from 1999 to 2016.

John Aloysius Cogan has been promoted to professor of law and received tenure at the University of Connecticut School of Law. Cogan teaches courses surrounding health law and health insurance.

Alistair B. Dawson, a partner at Beck Redden LLP, was inducted as a fellow into the American College of Trial Lawyers at its spring meeting.  Dawson, who specializes in commercial litigation, was editor of the Texas Law Review and a member of the Chancellor’s Society while at Texas Law.

David Calvillo has been promoted to equity shareholder in the Houston-based law firm of Chamberlain Hrdlicka. Calvillo practices in a wide variety of areas, including breach of contract, commercial liability, shareholder rights, professional malpractice, and intellectual property. He currently serves on the State Bar of Texas Board of Directors.

Brad Sklencar has been selected to be a Foundation Fellow by the San Antonio Bar Foundation. Sklencar is a partner at the San Antonio offices of insurance defense firm Resnick & Louis, P.C.

Alistair Dawson has been recognized in 2021 Texas Super Lawyers among the Top 100 Houston ranking . 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. Dawson is a partner with Beck Redden LLP.

Alistair Dawson 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 Commercial Litigation and Antitrust Litigation.

Hon. Patrick Keel of Austin has been elected Fellows Secretary to the Board of Trustees of the Texas Bar Foundation. Keel took office June 18, 2021. Keel, a former state district judge, is a full-time mediator and arbitrator. He is also an adjunct professor in the trial advocacy program at Texas Law and a member of the Professional Ethics Committee for the State Bar of Texas. After law school, Keel practiced commercial litigation for 13 years with Baker Botts LLP, where he was a partner in the firm’s trial department and hiring partner for the firm’s Austin office.

Stephen Best has been named the “Best of the Best” in White Collar Crime in both the 2021 USA and Global Expert Guides. Best is a Brown Rudnick Partner, Chair of the Firm’s White Collar Defense & Government Investigations Practice Group, and a former state and federal prosecutor.

John Langmore recently published two books of photography. “Open Range” (Twin Palms Publishers) captures the life of modern working cowboys on some of the nation’s largest ranches. “Fault Lines” (Trinity University Press) documents the rapidly gentrifying neighborhoods of old East Austin. John also co-directed and just released “Cowboys”, a feature-length documentary film also depicting the lives of contemporary working cowboys. “Cowboys” won the Audience Award at the Austin Film Festival.

Munsch Hardt Kopf & Harr, P.C. announced that 15 of its attorneys have been recognized on the 2020 Texas Super Lawyers® list, including James M. Bettis, Jr., recognized for his expertise in personal injury defense.

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 Alistair B. Dawson, who is specialized in business litigation and recognized in Top 100 Texas and Top 100 Houston.

Benchmark Litigation 2021 has recognized Alistair B. Dawson in its 2021 ranking of the nation’s top litigation talent. Dawson is considered to be a “Local Litigation Star”, recommended consistently as a reputable and effective litigator by clients and peers.

Justice John Browning was appointed to the Fifth District Court of Appeals by Governor Greg Abbott on Aug. 24, 2020. Before joining the Court, he was a trial and appellate lawyer for 31 years as a partner with large national law firms and his own small law firm.

James M. Bettis Jr. was recently named to the 27th edition of The Best Lawyers in America.

Frederick D. Junkin made the “Lawyer of the Year” list in the 2021 edition of The Best Lawyers in America.

Alistair B. Dawson was named in the 2021 Best Lawyers in America. He specializes in Commercial Litigation.

Penny Reid – General Counsel and Partner in Sidley Austin’s Dallas office – has been selected as the Dallas Association of Young Lawyers’ (DAYL) 2019-2020 Outstanding Mentor Award Recipient.

Baker Botts Energy Litigation Partner, Bill Kroger has been awarded the Anti-Defamation League’s 2020 Karen Susman Jurisprudence Award for his exceptional work serving the communities of Houston, Texas.

David N. Calvillo, board certified civil trial lawyer, certified public accountant, and certified valuation analyst with national law firm Chamberlain Hrdlicka, has recently earned an Executive L.L.M. (Master of Laws) in Tax Law degree from Georgetown University Law Center. Calvillo has also been elected to be an income shareholder in recognition of his contributions to the firm during its annual meeting on February 8 in Houston, TX.

Longtime Baker Botts Attorney Bill Kroger will receive the Anti-Defamation League’s Karen H. Susman Jurisprudence Award February 19, 2020, at the Hilton Americas Houston. The award is presented every year to an outstanding member of the legal community who exhibits an exceptional commitment to equality, justice, fairness and community services. It is named for the late ADL Board Chair Karen H. Susman, in memory of her deep commitment to fighting hatred and doing good work.