Scott Cole, a veteran trial lawyer and patent litigator, has joined Reichman Jorgensen Lehman & Feldberg as managing partner of its Austin office. Cole has three decades of experience in commercial and intellectual property disputes with past leadership roles at top firms including Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan and McKool Smith.
Edward Snyder has been appointed to the San Antonio Bar Foundation Fellows Program newly elected class of 2025, in recognition of his professional achievement, exemplary reputation, and commitment to the legal community. Snyder heads his own San Antonio-based firm, specializing primarily in business law.
Mary Kipp was named to the transition team for Washington’s governor-elect Bob Ferguson as an advisor. Kipp serves as president and CEO of Puget Sound Energy since 2020 and previously was CEO of El Paso Electric.
John Adcock, of counsel at Beck Redden in Houston, was named a 2024 Texas Super Lawyer in appellate law.
Warigia Bowman has been named the new director of the Natural Resources and Environmental Law program at the University of New Mexico School of Law. Bowman is a nationally known expert in in water, natural resources, energy, public policy and regulatory issues.
James “Jim” Darby Walker passed away on August 2, 2024. After graduating from Texas Law, he founded his company, Counselors Mortgage, where he worked for over three decades.
Cori Loomis has joined the healthcare group at McAfee & Taft, where she will represent and counsel hospitals and health systems, physicians and medical practices, and other healthcare providers. Before taking on this role, Loomis served as the compliance officer and HIPAA privacy official for the University of Oklahoma and as the general counsel for the Oklahoma State Medical Association.
Susan Salch married Ty Sanders on March 23, 2024, in Austin. Texas Law alumna Edythe Payan was a bridesmaid, and many other alumni were in attendance, including Elizabeth Pearsall Lippincott, Cindy Olson Bourland, John Gillard, David McDowell, Jackie Lain Nussbaum, Katie Carmona, Tim Tyler, Bill Hopkins, Leslie Strauch, Greg Shields, Tiffany Roper and Mike Marcin. Salch has been a managing partner at Cantilo & Bennett, LLP since 2018.
Timothy Tyler has joined Norton Rose Fulbright as counsel in its Houston office. Tyler practices international commercial arbitration, investor-state arbitration under treaties and state contracts, and associated U.S. litigation. He also is an adjunct professor at Texas Law, teaching courses in international arbitration.
Carolyn Roch has joined Kean Miller’s Houston office as a partner, practicing with the labor and employment law, casualty litigation, and commercial litigation groups. She is a seasoned litigator who focuses on complex commercial litigation. Roch previously was a prosecutor with the Harris County District Attorney’s Office.
Yolanda Harris Sayre has been appointed as a circuit judge in the 5th Subcircuit of Cook County, Illinois. Sayre spent more than 20 years as an attorney for the Chicago Police Department and most recently served as legal counsel for the Illinois State Police.
Diana Lynn Holt passed away on Dec. 18, 2023. Holt had an accomplished 30-year career representing indigent death-sentenced inmates, resulting in recognition by national and local media outlets.
David Tamisiea has been named executive director of the North Dakota Catholic Conference. Tamisiea is the dean of the School of Arts & Sciences and associate professor in Theology at the University of Mary in Bismarck, N.D.
Warigia M. Bowman’s first book, “Digital Development in East Africa: The Distribution, Diffusion, and Governance of Information Technology,” has been published by Palgrave McMillan. Bowman, an associate professor at the University of Tulsa College of Law, also has received significant press attention for her work on aquifer depletion including mention in the New York Times, CNN International, PBS, and Democracy Now.
John Adcock, of counsel at Beck Redden’s Houston office, was named in Thomson Reuters Texas Super Lawyers 2023. Adcock has been a member of the firm’s appellate section since its inception and his practice focuses on complex civil matters.
Ned Sherman has been included in Variety magazine’s list of 2023’s Top In-House Entertainment Attorneys. Sherman is the chief business affairs and legal officer at Skybound Entertainment, where he has spearheaded M&A activities and global expansion.
Jean Pierre Boyea has been included in the 2024 edition of Best Lawyers in America for his work in Real Estate Law. Boyea is a partner at Bell Nunnally, where he specializes in real estate law and commercial finance.
Ruby Bolton of Bolton Law Firm has been named a “Lawyer of Distinction” for her work in family law. Bolton has been a family law attorney in The Woodlands, Texas, for more than 20 years.
Vanessa Griffith has been named general counsel of Vinson & Elkins after serving as deputy general counsel at the firm. Griffith, who has been a partner there for almost 20 years, specializes in high-level employment law and workplace issues.
John Wander has joined Talen Energy as general counsel where he leads the company’s legal, regulatory and external affairs functions, oversees corporate governance, and serves as the primary point of contact for its Board of Directors. Wander previously was a partner and general counsel at Vinson & Elkins.
Scott A. Marks has joined Duane Morris LLP as a partner in the firm’s Real Estate Practice Group in its Austin office.
Ryan Holcomb has been elected to serve a three-year term on Bracewell’s Management Committee. Holcomb is a partner that represents clients in a wide variety of transactions in the electric power, and midstream and downstream oil and gas industries.
Robert Crain has been named one of the Best Personal Injury Attorneys in Dallas by Forbes Advisor. Crain runs his own firm, Crain Brogdon LLP, working on behalf of injured clients.
Miguel Hernandez Romo Valencia presented a guest lecture at Texas Law on litigation and dispute resolution in Mexico. Romo is a trilingual litigation attorney with a specialization in civil, commercial, professional responsibility, family litigation, medical malpractice and insurance sectors.
David Genender has joined McDermott Will & Emery LLP as a partner. Genender has represented both plaintiffs and defendants in arbitrations at the state and federal levels, in industries varying from energy, technology, private equity and real estate.
Susan Chase has joined the University of Michigan School of Law as a visiting clinical assistant professor in the Community Enterprise Clinic. In addition to teaching, she will work with student-led teams to assist small businesses and nonprofit organizations in southeastern Michigan.
John Kinchen has been named a litigation partner at Smyser Kaplan & Veselka LLP, where he will serve in white collar defense and government investigations practice. Kinchen was previously a partner at Hughes Arrell Kinchen LLP, and also served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney.
Ken Parker has rejoined Haynes and Boone, LLP as a partner in the firm’s Intellectual Property Litigation Practice Group. His work spans across industries, including life sciences, software, electronics and semiconductors, and consumer products.
John Bakht has joined the corporate, M&A and securities team in the Houston office of Norton Rose Fulbright as a partner. Bakht has 25 years of experience working in commercial, transactional, compliance, operational, and governmental matters.
Ned Sherman was named on Variety’s 2021 Dealmakers Impact Report among professionals who led major game-changing deals impacting the entertainment landscape. This is the second time Sherman was featured on this prestigious list. In his profile, Variety described Sherman as the “premium advisor” for companies and talent in the quickly evolving esports industry. Sherman is a partner at Manatt, Phelps & Phillips LLP and leader of the firm’s Digital & Technology Transactions practice.
Danette Dee Alvarado Broome, age 51, passed away on June 29, 2020. The double Longhorn was a highly respected criminal and family law attorney and a passionate advocate for abused children, practiced in both the public and private sector. In 2003, Alvarado opened the Law Office of Danette D. Alvarado, specializing in criminal, juvenile, family law and child protective services cases. In 2003, Danette was admitted into the Texas Board of Legal Specialization in Criminal Law.
Judge Rhonda Wills is the star of a new court reality show, “Relative Justice with Judge Rhonda Wills.” Wills currently practices law in Los Angeles and is also licensed to practice in Texas and New York. She previously appeared on WeTV’s “Sisters in Law” and also has appeared as a legal contributor for such outlets as CNN. The show will focus on conflicts between family members.
Jackie Johnson has joined Constangy, Brooks, Smith and Prophete, LLP as a partner in the firm’s Dallas office, and will serve as co-chair of the Trade Secrets & Unfair Competition Practice Group. An exceptional litigator, Johnson is nationally recognized for her experience in issues including restrictive covenant agreements, trade secret theft, breach of contract, duty of loyalty, and tortious interference with contract disputes.
Paul Anton Schweizer passed away on June 14, 2021. After graduating from law school, Schweizer joined a well-established firm before becoming a self-employed attorney. Although he had a long list of accomplishments and accolades, he felt the most important job he ever had was being a husband and dad.
Carmel Martin has been selected by President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris to serve as deputy director of the Domestic Policy Council for Economic Mobility for the White House. Martin worked as a senior policy advisor for the Biden campaign and previously served as the assistant secretary for policy and budget at the U.S. Department of Education during the Obama-Biden administration.
Nathan B. Schattman died Dec. 28, 2020, of a heart attack. Even before he was born, Schattman was in the courtroom, his family said. He was the son of Judge Michael D. Schattman and Mary Ellen Brannigan Schattman, and during his mother’s pregnancy, Mary Ellen was fired from her job for simply being pregnant. He was part of the Schattman in Schattman v Texas Employment Commission case, when his parents sued for the right to work while pregnant. The case was handled by a then-new ACLU lawyer named Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Schattman followed in his father’s footsteps, graduating The University of Texas Law School in 1994 and serving as an attorney at Brown, Proctor & Howell LLP.
Debra Yaniko Rogers Dupont passed away on May 9, 2017, at her home in Aledo. Her legal career began with the Supreme Court of Texas, Austin as a Judicial Intern and as an Associate for Loe, Warren, Rosenfield, Kaitcher & Hibbs in Fort Worth. Rogers then worked as Assistant District Attorney for Tarrant County Criminal District Attorney’s Office; Volunteer Attorney for Immigration Services for the Catholic Charities Diocese of Fort Worth; Adjunct Professor in Business Law at Weatherford College, Rogers LLP in Weatherford; and her own private practice as Attorney at Law in Aledo. Rogers was awarded the Eldon B. Mahon Inn of Court.
Gregory Sapire ’94 has co-founded Soltero Sapire Murrell PLLC after roughly 20 years with K&L Gates LLP as a partner in the trial practice section. He continues to practice complex commercial litigation, with a focus on commercial and construction issues including breach of contract and fiduciary obligations, securities fraud, noncompetition obligations, warranty disputes, trade secret misappropriation, unfair competition, products liability, and professional negligence.
James A. Martinez rejoined the El Paso law firm Mounce, Green, Myers, Safi, Paxson & Galatzan, P.C., as a shareholder.
Warigia M. Bowman, a 1994 honors graduate of the University of Texas School of Law, is currently an Assistant Professor at the University of Tulsa College of Law. She teaches water law, natural resources law, energy regulation, and administrative law at the University of Tulsa College of Law. Her article “Dustbowl Waters: Doctrinal and Legislative Solutions to Save the Ogallala Aquifer before both Time and Water Run Out,” will appear in 91 U. Colorado Law Review, 4 (2019)
Kirk Tucker has joined the Houston office of Jackson Walker as a partner. His Corporate & Securities practice focuses on oil & gas and infrastructure investment matters.
Ned Sherman has been appointed Leader of the newly minted Digital & Technology Transactions Unit at Manatt, Phelps & Phillips LLP. Sherman is a partner at the firm as well as director of Manatt Digital & Technology Consulting, the firm’s management consulting division. He is also manager of Manatt Venture Fund, the firm’s venture capital arm. Sherman joined the firm in 2017.
On February 1, 2018, Ed Mchorse joined McGinnis Lochridge—a legal fixture in Austin for 90 years—as Partner. McGinnis Lochridge has a strong presence in Austin and Houston, providing legal counsel on business and financial matters, and advocating for clients before administrative agencies, at the state capitol, and in courthouses across Texas and throughout the Southwest.
Karin and Adam Zaner (both from the class of 1994) have formed Zaner Law PC, with offices in Dallas and Austin. Karin has recently joined the Advisory Council for UT’s College of Liberal Arts, and Adam proudly serves on the Advisory Council for UT’s Harry Ransom Center.
Rob Crain, a partner at Crain Lewis Brogdon LLP, was recently inaugurated as the 108th President of the Dallas Bar Association. Mr. Crain was elected Chair of the Board of Directors in 2013. He has served as Chair of numerous DBA Committees including the Public Forum Committee and Bench Bar Conference Committee. In addition, he was Co-Chair of the 2011-2012 Campaign for Equal Access to Justice, which funds the Dallas Volunteer Attorney Program to provide free legal assistance to over 4,000 low-income families with civil legal needs each year.
Chief Judge Carl E. Stewart of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals presented the new Barbara Jordan American Inn of Court with its Charter at the Federal Courthouse in Austin on April 14. Accepting the Charter from Chief Judge Stewart were Frank A. King (BA ’78, JD ’95), Assistant Attorney General, co-founder and President of the Barbara Jordan Inn of Court; Presiding Judge of the Austin Municipal Court Sherry Statman, President-elect of the Jordan Inn of Court; Treasurer and co-founder, JoAnn Dalrymple (BA ’91, JD ’94)(in absentia); Texas Supreme Court Justice Jeff Boyd, Counselor of Jordan Inn of Court; and Administrator, Allison Cunningham (BA ‘11, JD ‘15).