Ashley Morgan has been appointed to the Texas Water Development Board by Governor Greg Abbott. She is an attorney at Erben & Yarbrough and previously worked for the Office of the Governor, the Office of the Attorney General, the Railroad Commission of Texas, and the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality.
Adam Zerbinopoulos has been promoted to principal deputy assistant secretary at the Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration for the U.S. Department of State. He previously served as the acting assistant secretary for the Bureau.
Ashley Morgan, an attorney and lobbyist at Erben & Yarbrough in Austin, received the 2025 Lumberjack Pride Award by Stephen F. Austin University. This award honors alumni who demonstrate Lumberjack pride and spirit.
Charles Lee has been appointed senior advisor in the Office of Chair Paul Atkins for the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. He previously served in the same role under Acting Chair Mark T. Uyeda.
Charles Lee has been appointed senior advisor to acting chairman Mark T. Uyeda at the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Marissa Marquez has been inducted into the Texas Lyceum, a nonpartisan group of community leaders that explores and addresses issues facing Texans. Marquez currently is the manager, labor and employment legal counsel for Houston Methodist Hospital.
Leisa Talbert Peschel has been named in Lawdragon’s 2024 list of top 500 leading litigators in America. Peschel was awarded for her IP litigation practice, where she leverages her scientific background to gain an understanding of a client’s technology to better position her client throughout a case.
Neill Fuquay has joined Jackson Walker’s Corporate & Securities practice group in the firm’s Dallas office. Fuquay, who has been named in Texas Super Lawyer since 2020, focuses his practice on commercial real estate and corporate transactions.
Manuel Mungia has joined Norton Rose Fulbright’s global insurance practice as a partner. Mungia worked at the firm as an associate previously in his career, specializing in advising domestic and foreign insurers in complex coverage matters.
Leisa Talbert Peschel has been honored in Lawdragon’s 2024 list of the 500 leading litigators in America. Peschel specializes in IP litigation at Jackson Walker.
Joshua J. Bruckerhoff has been named to the 2023 Lawdragon 500 X – The Next Generation guide. Bruckerhoff is a partner at Reid Collins & Tsai and focuses his practice on financial litigation.
Marissa Marquez was promoted to labor & employment counsel at Houston Methodist Hospital.
JR Lanis has joined BakerHostetler as a partner at the firm’s Los Angeles office. With his specialization in mergers and acquisitions and securities, Lanis’ clients include publicly traded and privately held companies and investors in a variety of industries.
Aron Potash ’07 has been elected as partner at Latham & Watkins LLP. Potash focuses on environmental law with an emphasis on air quality and climate change issues.
Gardner Pate has been named as Texas Governor Greg Abbott’s chief of staff. Pate previously was the deputy chief of staff before becoming Governor Abbott’s re-election campaign chairman.
Ronnie Dabbasi has joined Holland & Knight as a partner in the firm’s transactional and regulatory team. Dabbasi previously served as counsel with Eversheds for nearly five years. He is a double Longhorn, having also earned his bachelor’s degree from UT.
Marissa Marquez was promoted to human resources manager of system compliance and immigration at Houston Methodist Hospital.
David Tobin has joined McDermott Will & Emery LLP as a new partner in the intellectual property practice group. Tobin was previously special counsel at Baker Botts, where he focused on patent post-grant trial and patent litigation.
Andrew Newman has joined the Dallas office of Polsinelli PLC’s commercial litigation practice as a shareholder, where he will work in the areas of business litigation, real estate litigation, and class action defense. While at Texas Law, he served as an associate editor of the Texas Law Review.
Kevin Robnett has been appointed to the Texas Mutual Insurance Company Board of Directors by Governor Abbott. A Navy veteran and double Longhorn, Robnett is the co-founder and co-CEO of Lithos, a critical materials exploration and production company.
Jonathan Curth has been named executive vice president, general counsel and corporate secretary of W&T Offshore. Curth has served as an attorney in international law and general counsel at multiple companies in the oil and gas industry, where he has specialized in acquisitions, capital markets, and corporate transactions.
Kayla Dreyer has been elected chair of the Colorado Bar Association Litigation Section’s Executive Council. Dreyer has been actively involved with the Litigation Section for six years, previously serving in chair-elect, treasurer and secretary roles. Dreyer is a shareholder at Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck’s Denver office.
Kayla Dreyer has been named a shareholder in Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck LLP ’s litigation department. Dreyer’s prior practice experience focused on trade secrets, noncompete, nonsolicit, employee mobility disputes, and traditional labor and employment areas.
Seth Isgur has joined the Houston office of McGinnis Lochridge as a partner. Previously, Isgur was a partner in the Energy Litigation Group at Norton Rose Fulbright. Prior to his legal career, Seth was a certified public accountant.
Carlos Romo has taken over as President of the Colorado Hispanic Bar Association. He plans to build on CHBA’s pro bono efforts and expand its formal mentorship program. Romo is a Director of law firm Williams Weese Pepple & Ferguson’s Natural Resources and Environmental Practice Areas. He has been recognized as a top lawyer by 5280 Magazine, Best Lawyers, and Superlawyers.
Danielle Fink Kruger is the Jewish Herald-Voice’s new food writer. Kruger is a native Houstonian whose birth, Jewish day school years, Bat Mitzvah and wedding all have been documented in the JHV. Kruger previously practiced law and worked in other roles in the legal industry for 13 years until she decided to leave the industry in January 2020.
Poonam Kumar, a partner in DLA Piper’s Minneapolis office, has been elected treasurer of Minnesota Women Lawyers (MWL), an association of more than 1,200 attorneys, judges, law students and legal employers in Minnesota. Poonam will also serve on the organization’s 2021-2022 Board of Directors.
John Kaercher has joined Kirkland & Ellis LLP as a partner in the Corporate Practice Group to help launch its Austin office. Kaercher counsels clients on complex transactions, including domestic and cross-border mergers and acquisitions, divestitures, SPACs, private equity and public and private securities offerings, with a particular focus on the technology, media, telecommunications and energy sectors.
Scott Keller co-founded a new national boutique law firm, Lehotsky Keller LLP, with an initial office in Washington, D.C. The firm will help clients litigate cases challenging government regulations, handle complex civil cases throughout the country, and analyze and address cutting-edge legal issues. Before founding Lehotsky Keller LLP, Keller headed Baker Botts LLP’s Supreme Court Practice. He has also served as the Solicitor General of Texas, the State’s chief appellate litigator.
Allen Matkins, a California-based full-service real estate and business law firm, announced that Brian Michel has been elected to the firm partnership, effective July 1, 2020. Michel, a 2007 graduate of The University of Texas School of Law, helps businesses grow and stay protected through his work on real estate transactional matters, particularly related to office, retail, and industry leasing, representing both landlords and tenants, and property acquisitions and dispositions.
Ms. Marissa Marquez with Legacy Community Health has been elected to membership in the Fellows of the Texas Bar Foundation. Fellows of the Foundation are selected for their outstanding professional achievements and their demonstrated commitment to the improvement of the justice system throughout the state of Texas. Election is a mark of distinction and recognition of Ms. Marquez’s contributions to the legal profession.
Minton, Bassett, Flores & Carsey, P.C. (formerly Minton, Burton, Bassett & Collins) is proud to announce that Rick R. Flores has been elected Name Partner. Rick joined the 56-year-old Austin office in 2011 and practices criminal defense and family law.
Pillsbury has named Amanda G. Halter managing partner of the firm’s 20-lawyer Houston office. Halter, who joined the firm in 2013, is the first woman to lead the 16-year-old office.
Brian Scrivani will be a partner in the corporate department. A member of the mergers & acquisitions group, Mr. Scrivani advises a diverse range of public and private clients on acquisitions, sales and divestitures, leveraged buyouts, mergers-of-equals and private equity transactions. He also advises boards and special committees on corporate governance and fiduciary matters. Mr. Scrivani earned his J.D., with distinction, from The University of Texas School of Law, and his B.A., with distinction, from the University of Virginia.
Andrew F. Newman has joined the law firm Clark Hill Strasburger as a member of its Litigation Practice in Dallas. Newman handles complex contract and business tort issues and has significant experience representing technology providers in software development and licensing disputes. He also has a strong background in alternative dispute resolution. Previously Newman served as a law clerk for the Honorable A. Joe Fish of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas.
Judge Aurora Martinez Jones ’07 has been elected to the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges (NCJFCJ) Board of Directors. Currently, her judicial position is dedicated to the child welfare dockets in Travis County including the specialty Family Drug Treatment Court. She is the chair-elect for the Texas Children’s Justice Act Task Force, the past president of the Austin Black Lawyers Association and the former chair of the Austin Court Appointed Family Advocates (CAFA). She is also a Texas Bar Foundation Fellow and a member of the Robert W. Calvert American Inn of Court.
Kirkland & Ellis LLP recently announced that it is expanding with the opening of an office in Dallas. Thomas Laughlin, one of Dallas’ top transactional lawyers, will join the new office as partner. Mr. Laughlin focuses on private equity investments, energy transactions and M&A.
Katie Coleman has been recognized as one of Texas Lawyer’s 2018 Lawyers on the Rise. The award recognizes 23 lawyers under the age of 40 who have made their mark on the legal profession in the Lone Star State. She is a Partner in Thompson & Knight LLP’s Austin office, where she practices regulatory and administrative law with a focus on state and federal energy regulations, energy markets, energy litigation and appeals, and government affairs.
Ryan Gorsche, class of 2007 and member of the Order of the Coif, has been named 2018 Texas Rising Star by Super Lawyers. Texas Rising Stars is an annual list of exceptional lawyers in the state who have attained a high degree of peer recognition and professional achievement, and who are either 40 years old or younger or have been practicing for 10 years or less.
Seyferth Blumenthal & Harris LLP is pleased to announce that attorney Daniel O. Ramón has been promoted to partner, effective Jan. 1.
“Danny joined our firm as a transplant from Austin, Texas, in 2016, and we have been excited to have him in Kansas City ever since,” said Kim Jones, Seyferth Blumenthal & Harris managing partner. “In that short time, he has quickly established deep roots not only in our law firm and with our clients but also in the Kansas City community.”
Ryan Gorsche was elected by international law firm Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP as a new Counsel in the Firm’s Corporate Department.
Vinson & Elkins has promoted Marisa Secco to partner effective Jan. 1, 2018. Secco represents individuals and entities in commercial disputes, tax controversies, restructuring litigation and civil appeals. She served as Rules Attorney for the Supreme Court of Texas from 2011-2013, giving her a unique understanding of Texas procedure, and was named in 2014 as one of 20 “Winning Women” by Texas Lawyer.
Amanda has been promoted to partner at Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman. She helps manage and resolve environmental exposures for companies, and is integral to our crisis management team. She negotiates with federal and state agencies on environmental cleanup and natural resource damages liabilities, and performs due diligence on environmental compliance for transactions. She has helped expand services to firm clients, and is helping pursue business around offshore decommissioning liabilities.
David Conrad, a principal in Fish & Richardson’s Dallas office, has been named a “Lawyer on the Rise” by Texas Lawyer. The award honors Texas’ most promising lawyers under the age of 40 who have wielded influence and are excelling in their practice areas in the Lone Star State. An intellectual property litigator, Conrad, who has in-depth knowledge of computers, software and engineering, represents clients in matters relating to business litigation, patent litigation and trade secret litigation.
Pillsbury lawyer Amanda Halter has been elected to membership in the Fellows of the Texas Bar Foundation. Fellows of the Foundation are selected for their outstanding professional achievements and their demonstrated commitment to the improvement of the justice system throughout the state of Texas. According to the foundation, Halter’s election is a mark of distinction and a recognition of her contributions to the legal profession. Halter, a counsel in Pillsbury’s Environmental & Natural Resources practice, helps companies resolve environmental liabilities and manage financial and reputational losses associated with a crisis. She is based in Houston.
Ryan Gorsche has been named a Texas Rising Star for 2017 by Super Lawyers. Texas Rising Stars is an annual list of exceptional lawyers in the state who have attained a high degree of peer recognition and professional achievement, and who are either 40 years old or younger or have been practicing for 10 years or less. This distinction is given to only two percent of young attorneys in Texas.
Mark Dundon has been named a Texas Rising Star for 2017 by Super Lawyers. Texas Rising Stars is an annual list of exceptional lawyers in the state who have attained a high degree of peer recognition and professional achievement, and who are either 40 years old or younger or have been practicing for 10 years or less. This distinction is given to only two percent of young attorneys in Texas.
Jackson Walker congratulates Brad Nitschke for his 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.
Jonathan Pelayo was elected to the partnership of Locke Lord in Houston, Texas, in January 2016. Jonathan serves in the commercial disputes practice group with a focus on construction and oil & gas litigation.
The law firm of Thompson & Knight LLP congratulates Katie Coleman for inclusion in Texas Rising Stars® 2016 by Thomson Reuters. The list will be published in the April 2016 issue of Texas Monthly.