Class Notes

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Class of 2013

Parth S. Gejji

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Parth Gejji, an associate at Beck Redden in Houston, has been elected to the partnership effective Jan. 1, 2025. A double Longhorn, Gejji was included in the 2024 edition of Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch for his work in appellate practice.

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Photograph of Alexander Hughes.

Alexander Hughes

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Alexander Hughes passed away Sept. 14, 2024. Hughes clerked for the Honorable Gregg Costa following law school and most recently served as Chief Legal Officer at Sandclock.

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Jackie M. Furlow

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Jackie M. Furlow, partner at Beck Redden LLP, has been named a 2025 Lawdragon 500 Leading Litigator in America in the practice area of Commercial Litigation. She previously was honored in the fifth edition of Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch in America for Commercial Litigation and Energy Law and was recognized as a 2024 Texas Rising Star by Thomson Reuters Super Lawyers. Furlow also has was recognized by Lawdragon in 2024.

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Parth S. Gejji

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Parth S. Gejji was honored in the fifth edition of Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch in America for Appellate Practice. Gejji, an associate at Beck Redden in Houston, also was recognized in the 2024 Lawdragon 500 X–The Next Generation in Appellate.

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Jim Weiss

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Jim Weiss has been named co-managing partner of Reynolds Frizzell, a boutique trial law firm in Houston. A third-generation Texas lawyer, Weiss represents individual and corporate clients at the trial and appellate levels in disputes across various subject matters, including oil and gas, partnership, real estate, and intellectual property.

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Parth Gejji headshot

Parth Gejji

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Parth Gejji has been elected as Fourth Year Representative to the Houston Bar Association (HBA) Appellate Practice Section. Gejji is an associate at Beck Redden LLP and focuses his practice on civil appeals and complex commercial litigation. He also was recognized as a 2024 Texas Rising Star by Thomson Reuters Super Lawyers.

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Colin Watterson

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Colin Watterson has been named to Super Lawyers’ 2024 list of Texas Rising Stars, an honor that represents the 2.5 percent of top young lawyers in the state. Watterson, is partner at Hicks Thomas LLP, handling energy, real estate and technology cases. He was named a Rising Star for a second year for business litigation representing both plaintiffs and defendants.

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Amanda Thomson

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Amanda Thomson has been named partner at Arnold & Porter. Brown is a member of the firm’s complex litigation practice, specializing in representing clients in health care and aviation industries.

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Headshot of Maryssa Simpson.

Maryssa Simpson

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Maryssa Simpson has been named a Rising Star by Texas Lawyer. Simpson is a trial lawyer at the Simpson Tuegel Law Firm and focuses her practice on personal injury, sexual assault, and sexual harassment cases.

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Ralph C. Mayrell

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Ralph C. Mayrell has been promoted to special counsel in Kramer Levin’s litigation practice. Mayrell specializes in complex commercial litigation and appeals across a variety of industries.

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Brittany Castillo

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Brittany Castillo has been appointed to serve on FEMA’s National Advisory Council. Castillo currently is CEO of AshBritt, a government solutions provider specializing in emergency management, logistics, and disaster response.

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Austin B. Light

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Austin B. Light has been recognized in Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch in America, for the second consecutive year.  Light specializes in advising clients on a variety of compensation-related plans and employee-related aspects of public and private transactions.

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Jackie Furlow

Jacqueline M. Furlow

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Jackie M. Furlow was named a 2024 Lawdragon 500 Leading Litigator in America. Furlow is a partner at Beck Redden LLP, where she focuses her practice on commercial, employment, and energy litigation.

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Portrait of Parth Gejji

Parth S. Gejji

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Parth S. Gejji was named in the 2024 edition of Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch for his work in Appellate Practice. A double Longhorn, Gejii is an associate in Beck Redden LLP’s appellate section and provides appellate assistance at the trial court level.

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Portrait of Jacqueline Furlow

Jacqueline M. Furlow

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Jackie Furlow was named in the 2024 edition of Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch for her work in Commercial Litigation and Energy Law. Furlow is a partner at Beck Redden LLP and was previously named to the Lawdragon 500 X – The Next Generation list.

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Photograph of Nick Buratto.

Nick Buratto

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Nick Buratto passed away August 3, 2023. Buratto’s legal career spanned the 13th, 2nd and 5th Texas Courts of Appeals in Corpus Christi, Fort Worth, and Dallas.

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Colin Watterson

Colin Watterson

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Colin Watterson has been selected for inclusion in the Benchmark Litigation 40 & Under listing. Watterson is a partner at Hicks Thomas and was previously recognized by “The Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch” for his experience in commercial litigation.

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Jeb Golinkin

Jeb Golinkin

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Jeb Golinkin has been named to the 2023 Lawdragon 500 X – The Next Generation guide. Golinkin is a trial associate at Jordan Lynch & Cancienne and focuses his practice on commercial litigation.

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Jackie Furlow

Jackie Furlow

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Jackie Furlow has been named to the 2023 Lawdragon 500 X – The Next Generation guide. Furlow is a partner at Beck Redden and focuses her practice on commercial, employment, and energy litigation.

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Ryan Ellis

Ryan Ellis

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Ryan Ellis has been named to the 2023 Lawdragon 500 X – The Next Generation guide. Ellis is an attorney at the Lanier Law Firm and focuses his practice on commercial litigation.

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Nishi Kothari

Nishi Kothari

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Nishi Kothari has been named to the 2023 Lawdragon 500 X – The Next Generation guide. Kothari is a partner at Brasher Law Firm and focuses her practice on bad faith insurance claims and commercial personal injury matters.

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A photo of John Eichelberger, III.

John H. Eichelberger III

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John H. Eichelberger, III has been appointed to the Texas Appraiser Licensing and Certification Board. He is a partner at Schwartz, Page & Harding, LLP and serves on the Board of Directors of Urban Reform.

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Parth Gejji

Parth Gejji

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Parth Gejji has been recognized as a 2023 Texas Rising Star by Thomson Reuters Super Lawyers. Gejji specializes in appellate matters at Beck Redden, focusing on civil appeals and complex civil ligation.

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Jacqueline Furlow

Jacqueline Furlow

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Jacqueline Furlow has been recognized as a 2023 Texas Rising Star by Thomson Reuters Super Lawyers. Furlow is a partner at Beck Redden, specializing in commercial litigation, employment litigation, energy litigation and professional liability.

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Lauren Fitte

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Lauren Fitte has been promoted to partner at Giordani Baker Grossman & Ripp LLP, a boutique estate planning firm in Austin. Lauren specializes in domestic and international estate, trust, and business planning and the associated federal income, estate, and gift tax implications applicable to multi-jurisdictional clients.

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Michelle Gomez

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Michelle Gomez has been promoted to partner at Baker Hostetler LLP in Denver. A double Longhorn, Gomez specializes in privacy and data security class action defense and complex business disputes.

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Nikki Hill

Nikki Hill

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Nikki Hill has been promoted to partner with McCall Parkhurst & Horton. Hill has experience serving as disclosure counsel to special districts and governmental entities throughout Texas, and also working with public finance transactions.

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Grant Schmidt

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For the fourth consecutive year, trial lawyer Grant Schmidt has been named to D Magazine’s list of the “Best Lawyers Under 40” published in the January. Mr. Schmidt is the managing partner of the Dallas office of Hilgers Graben, a growing national firm.

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Monica Gaudioso

Monica Gaudioso

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Monica Gaudioso has been promoted to partner at Carrington Coleman. Gaudioso is a commercial litigator representing financial services, technology, blockchain and cryptocurrency clients in state and federal courts.

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Colin Watterson

Colin Watterson

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Colin Watterson has been promoted to partner at Hicks Thomas. An accomplished trial lawyer with broad ranges of commercial experience, Watterson previously was recognized by “The Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch.”

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Stephen Yeh

Stephen Yeh

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Stephen Yeh has been promoted to counsel at Mayer Brown, in the firm’s Los Angeles office. Yeh works in the Banking & Finance Global Leveraged Finance and Global Projects groups, specializing on clean and renewable energy litigation.

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Ha-Vi Nguyen

Ha-Vi Nguyen

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Ha-Vi Nguyen was elected to serve on the Dallas Association of Young Lawyers (DAYL) Board of Directors. Nguyen is a senior associate at Frost Brown Todd and is also the co-chair of the Lawyers Promoting Diversity Committee of DAYL.

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Thomas Verity

Thomas Verity

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Thomas Verity has been promoted to counsel at Latham & Watkins. Verity is a member of the Mergers & Acquisitions Practice and Corporate Department, where he advises multinational corporations, private equity sponsors, and financial advisors on M&A and corporate finance transactions.

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Jonathan Sarna

Jonathan Sarna

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Jonathan Sarna has been promoted to partner at Latham & Watkins. Sarna is a member of the Capital Markets Practice and Corporate Department, where he represents issuers and underwriters in capital markets transactions, with a focus on the life sciences and real estate investment trust (REIT) sectors.

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Max Raskin

Max Raskin

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Max Raskin has been promoted to partner at Latham & Watkins. Raskin is a member of the Executive Compensation, Employment & Benefits Practice and Tax Department, where he specializes in private equity and other corporate transactions.

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Portrait of Jacqueline Furlow

Jackie M. Furlow

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Jackie Furlow has been recognized in the inaugural guide of the Lawdragon 500 Leading Litigators in America in the area of Commercial Litigation. She is a partner at Beck Redden.

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Brittney Perkins Castillo

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Brittany Castillo, CEO of emergency management and logistics contractor AshBritt, is featured in Forbes Magazine.

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Grant Schmidt

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Grant Schmidt has become the first managing partner of the Dallas office of Hilgers Graben PLLC. Previously he was a partner in the Dallas office of Winston & Strawn.

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Evan McCurdy

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Evan McCurdy has joined the Dallas office of Winstead PC’s real estate development and investments practice group as a shareholder.

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Alex Toney

Alex Toney

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Alex Toney has joined Bain & Company as counsel for employment law, managing employment litigation and counseling Bain on emerging issues in employment law. Toney was previously an associate at McGuireWoods LLP, where he represented employers and business owners on employment law matters.

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Jacqueline Furlow

Jackie Furlow

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Jackie Furlow was awarded with the Texas’ Outstanding Young Litigator Award at the State Bar of Texas annual meeting. Furlow is a partner at Beck Redden LLP, where she represents clients in matters including business disputes, professional malpractice, products liability and more.

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Andrew Hettinger

Andrew Hettinger

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Andrew Hettinger has been named a 2022 Flinn-Brown Fellow by The Arizona Center for Civic Leadership at the Flinn Foundation. This award goes to emerging civic leaders and recognized experts with diverse perspectives, unique experiences, and dedication to their respective communities. Hettinger currently serves as a magistrate for the City of Page, Arizona Magistrate Court.

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Lynn Abell

Lynn Abell

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Lynn Abell has joined the Houston office of Gibson, Dunn, and Crutcher LLP as counsel. She will serve as a member of the Private Equity Practice Group.

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Ryan J. Meyer

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Ryan J. Meyer has been recognized as a 2022 Texas Rising Star by Super Lawyers. Meyer is a litigation partner at Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP, where he defends companies and executives in government investigations, civil enforcement actions and criminal proceedings typically involving allegations of securities fraud and health care fraud.

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Parth Gejji

Parth S. Gejji

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Parth Gejji has been recognized as a Texas Rising Star in Super Lawyers. Gejji is an associate in the appellate section for Beck Redden LLP, focusing on civil appeals and complex civil litigation.

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Jacqueline Furlow

Jacqueline Furlow

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Jacqueline Furlow has been named a 2022 Texas Rising Star by Super Lawyers. Furlow is a partner in the Houston office of Beck Redden LLP and specializes in business litigation.

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Nishi Kothari

Nishi Kothari

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Nishi Kothari has been added to the 2022 list of Texas Rising Stars, a listing by compiled by Super Lawyers, that  recognizes the top 2.5% of young lawyers in Texas.  Kothari is a partner at the Brasher Law Firm in Beaumont.

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Whitney Beckworth

Whitney Beckworth

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Whitney Beckworth has been elected as Partner at Kelly, Hart, and Hallman, LLP. Beckworth focuses on civil litigation and was named a Super Lawyers Rising Star for business litigation in 2022 and Best Lawyer/One to Watch in DFW for 2022 by US News & World Report for appellate practice.

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Hannah Watkins

Hannah M. Watkins

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Hannah Watkins has been elected as Partner at Kelly, Hart, and Hallman, LLP. Watkins specializes in real estate law and was named a Texas Super Lawyers Rising Star in 2022.

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Jim Weiss

Jim Weiss

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Jim Weiss has been promoted to partner at litigation firm Reynolds Frizzell, LLP. A third generation lawyer, Weiss clerked for two years for The Hon. Sam Sparks on the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas.

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