Class Notes

Jamie Hall, Land Use and Environmental Attorney and President of the Laurel Canyon Association in Los Angeles, spearheaded an effort to acquire 17 acreas of open space in the Hollywood Hills to preserve as wildlife habitat. The “Let’s Buy a Mountain” project was a collaboration between the Laurel Canyon Association, Citizens for Los Angeles Wildlife and the Mountains Recreation and Conservation Authority. Over $1.6 million was raised to acquire the parcel. Donors included Don Henley.

Kruger Carson PLLC attorney, Smita Bhakta, has been accepted into the 2018 Class of Leadership San Antonio, a highly selective annual program, launched in 1975, which helps to train the city’s next generation of leaders. The 2018 Class (Class 43) will be remarkable because it will integrate San Antonio’s tricentennial into the program.

High-profile Dallas trial lawyer Chris Hamilton and attorney Paul Wingo have teamed up to form Hamilton Wingo, LLP, to represent individuals and companies in high-stakes litigation. The two lawyers’ commitment to fight for justice and their shared passion for helping people in tough legal disputes sparked their decision to establish a new law firm together. The firm’s clients include companies in all types of business disputes and individuals seriously injured through corporate negligence.

Scot Clinton has joined Wilson Cribbs + Goren, PC as a senior attorney in its Real Estate Litigation practice. An experienced trial lawyer, Clinton will focus his practice on real property and real estate, including lien, contract and warranty issues, as well as construction and general business litigation.

Kennon L. Wooten has been elected to the American Law Institute. As an attorney at Scott Douglass McConnico, she represents individuals and entities involved in complex commercial litigation, general civil litigation, and civil appeals. At the trial level, she represents both plaintiffs and defendants. To the appeals, she brings experience and expertise that she gained as the rules attorney and as a law clerk to former Chief Justice Wallace B. Jefferson of the Supreme Court of Texas.

Beck Redden Partner, Connie Pfeiffer, led the charge to overturn a Fifth Circuit decision affecting millions of Texas homeowners in May. The Fifth Circuit had decided that homeowners with constitutionally defective liens on their homestead must file suits to set the lien aside within four years of originating a home equity loan. This meant that lenders could foreclose on a home when they had not complied with all of the Constitution’s consumer protection requirements to make a valid lien. Pfeiffer co-authored the briefs and presented the oral arguments in front of the Texas Supreme Court and the Fifth Circuit’s decision was overturned.

Jackson Walker congratulates Shannon Zmud Teicher for her selection to the “Texas Super Lawyers – Rising Stars” list by Thomson Reuters. Each year, no more than 2.5 percent of the lawyers in the state are selected to receive this honor. The annual selections are made using a multiphase process that includes a statewide survey of lawyers, an independent research evaluation of candidates, and peer reviews by practice area. The result is a credible, comprehensive, and diverse listing of exceptional attorneys. The list will be published in the April 2016 issue of Texas Monthly.

Thompson & Knight LLP is pleased to announce Melissa M. Davis has joined the Firm’s Austin office as Counsel in the Trial Practice Group.