Class Notes

Stephanie E. Kaiser, a director in the Dallas office of Kane Russell Coleman Logan, has been recognized in the Chambers USA 2026 Guide: Texas in the area of general commercial litigation.

Laurie Higginbotham celebrated her 25th wedding anniversary with Jamal Alsaffar in May. Higginbotham and her husband are partners at National Trial Law in Austin, representing victims of catastrophic injury, medical malpractice, and gun violence nationwide.

Stephanie Kaiser, a director in the Dallas office of Kane Russell Coleman Logan, has been recognized by the 2025 Chambers USA Guide for her work in business commercial litigation. She has been consistently ranked for this practice area since 2022.

Chris Thiele has joined Baker Botts as a partner in the Litigation practice within its Environmental, Safety, and Incident Response section. Thiele, who has more than 25 years of environmental law experience, previously the senior vice resident and legal counsel for an independent midstream energy infrastructure development company.

Stephanie E. Kaiser has joined Kane Russell Coleman Logan as a director in the firm’s Dallas office. She is a member of the Financial Services Practice Group and the Business and Corporate Transactional Practice Group.

Andy Cooper has been named a partner with the Dallas-based firm Chamblee Ryan PC. Having joined the firm in 2014, his practice focuses on a variety of subject matters, including the defense of personal injury, insurance coverage, commercial, trucking, premises liability, environmental and toxic tort claims, indemnity, and trade practice cases in federal, Texas, and Louisiana courts.

Jacqueline Watson was elected second vice president of the American Immigration Lawyers Association for the 2024-25 term.  As a former AILA Texas chapter chair and elected director of the AILA National Board of Directors, Watson specializes in citizenship and naturalization, family-based immigration, defense from removal, asylum, federal court litigation, and other complex immigration matters.

Kari Potts has been named chief legal officer and compliance Officer at Earth Holdings, LLC, a Brigham family company. Potts was previously vice president, general counsel, secretary and compliance officer at Brigham Minerals, Inc., prior to its merger with Sitio Royalties Corp. in December 2022. She is re-joining some of the executive team members with whom she previously served.

Rachael M. Rolon is one of the co-founders of Lawgical Workspace, a co-working space for legal professionals, located in The Woodlands, Texas. An experienced attorney at Rolon Law Firm, she specializes in representing corporations, small businesses, and individuals.

Scott D. Simmons has passed away. Simmons was an assistant attorney general, and later, senior counsel for the State of Texas.

Shawn Raymond has received the Anti-Defamation League’s Karen H. Susman Jurisprudence Award, an annual award presented by ADL Southwest that honors an outstanding member of the legal community who exhibits a commitment to equality, justice, fairness and community service. Raymond is a partner at trial law firm Susan Godfrey.

Jason Pratt has been promoted to partner at Shearman & Sterling’s New York office. Pratt is a member of the firm’s Global Environmental practice and focuses on the impact of environmental and climate change laws and regulations on commercial transactions.

For the second consecutive year, Jonathan E. Lass was named the recipient of the 2022-2023 Adjunct Professor of the Year Award by the Student Bar Association of the University of Texas School of Law.

Julie Hardin has joined Reed Smith LLP’s senior management team as managing partner, Americas. Hardin, who focuses on the energy and life science sectors, is one of the founding members of Reed Smith’s Houston office and has served on the Executive Committee since 2016.

David Park has joined Credit Union National Association as the senior director of advocacy and counsel. Park previously served as the senior policy and compliance officer at Navy Federal Credit Union and has more than a decade of experience in legal analysis and regulatory compliance.

Jeffrey Edwards has been named a Best Personal Injury Lawyer in Austin by Forbes Advisor. He is the founder of Edwards Law, where he is known for his work in medical malpractice, civil rights, and personal injury.

Ben Lane has been appointed to the Bipartisan Elections Task Force in Arizona, where he will make recommendations to strengthen state election laws, policies and procedures. Lane currently serves as Scottsdale city clerk, a role he has held since 2021.

Robert Hilton has been added as a partner at Barnes & Thornburg’s Dallas office and Intellectual Property Department. He will focus his practice on building and managing large and high-stakes patent portfolios for business from small startups to Fortune 500 companies.

Jeffrey S. Edwards has been named one of the Best Personal Injury Lawyers in San Antonio by Forbes Advisor. Edwards, who is the founder of Edwards Law, is well known for his work in medical malpractice, civil rights and securities fraud, among other areas.

Mark Flores, an attorney in the Dallas office of Littler, has been elevated to shareholder. Flores has served as lead counsel at the hearing, trial and appellate levels on a wide range of complex matters, representing clients in both federal and state courts.

Rachel Bergstrom Morgan has been named executive vice president and general counsel of Nexstar Media Group, Inc. She will be responsible for the long-term legal strategy and day-to-day management of Nexstar’s legal affairs, as well as those of its affiliated companies.

Judge Gregg Costa will join Gibson Dunn & Crutcher LLP in Houston as co-chair of its global trial practice group. Costa previously spent eight years as a judge in the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals.

Steve Peterson has co-founded a new Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton LLP office in Houston. Peterson is a member of the firm’s Corporate and Securities practice group. He previously worked at Locke Lord LLP .

Stefan Smith has been named a partner at BakerHostetler, where he specializes in helping employees navigate benefits and executive compensation matters. Previously, Smith was a partner at Locke Lord.

Rachel Morgan has been appointed executive vice president and general counsel of Nexstar Media Group. She will be responsible for the long-term legal strategy and day-to-day management of Nexstar’s legal affairs, as well as those of its affiliated companies.

Robert “Bobby” Voigt has joined the Austin office of Shackelford, Bowen, McKinley, and Norton, LLP as a patent and trademark partner. Voigt primarily focuses on acquisition, licensing, and transfer of intellectual property rights.

Inga Cotton has been selected as a Foundation Fellow by the San Antonio Bar Foundation. Cotton is the founder and executive director of nonprofit San Antonio Charter Moms.

Judge Gregg Costa has announced that he will resign in August 2022 as jurist in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. His departure will create a vacancy for a new appointment for President Biden. Costa previously served as a judge on the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas, as an assistant U.S. attorney, and as an associate for Weil, Gotshal & Manges in Houston.

Samer Zabaneh has joined the new Austin office of Latham & Watkins LLP in the Emerging Companies Practice and will serve as the Office Managing Partner. He joins from DLA Piper and advises public and emerging private companies and their venture capital and private equity investors through their life cycles, from formation to liquidity.

The Honorable Dimple Malhotra was elected to the Travis County Judiciary as the first and only judge of Asian-Indian descent as well as first elected Asian-American woman in the history of the county. Malhotra presides over County Court 4, which specializes in domestic violence cases.

On January 1, 2020, Tom Selby was elected as one of the six members of Williams & Connolly’s Executive Committee.

Scott Tuthill has joined the Dallas office of Jackson Walker as a partner in the firm’s real estate practice group. His practice includes commercial real estate transactions, particularly those involving the acquisition, financing, development, management, leasing, and disposition of office, industrial, multifamily, and retail development projects.

Michelman & Robinson, LLP (“M&R”) is pleased to announce that David Johnson has joined the firm as a partner. With the hiring of Mr. Johnson, who is based out of M&R’s San Francisco office, the firm adds to its already robust healthcare practice. Mr. Johnson is a seasoned healthcare attorney who primarily represents healthcare plans and providers across a broad range of litigation, transactional and regulatory matters.