Christina Hightower has joined Kelley Drye & Warren LLP as a partner and will be based in Austin. Her practice focuses on major energy, data center, power generation, and infrastructure projects as she counsels owners and developers on project development, EPC and procurement strategy, risk allocation, and project execution.
Aaron Reitz has been sworn in as the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Texas, where he serves as the chief federal law enforcement officer for the district. Previously he was in private practice with Hance Scarborough after serving as head of the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Policy.
Carson Young has joined the Houston office of Latham & Watkins LLP as a partner in the Complex Commercial Litigation Practice. He previously served as a partner at Kirkland & Ellis LLP.
Dustin Fillmore has been named a shareholder and director at McDonald Sanders in Fort Worth. His practice focuses on business transactions with an emphasis on real estate, energy, and finance. Fillmore has experience in both litigation and transactional matters and continues to support clients across a wide range of industries.
Tyson Ehlinger has joined Jackson Walker’s Austin office as partner, specializing in wealth preservation strategies and estate planning. He previously served as a tax attorney for Timothy J. Ehlinger.
Katy Zendeh has been elected to member of the firm Caplin & Drysdale in Washington, D.C. effective Oct. 1, 2025. She practices in the Bankruptcy and Complex Litigation practice groups.
Taylor Raymond has joined Norton Rose Fulbright as senior counsel in the firm’s Austin and Dallas offices. She previously worked as a senior associate at Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP.
Patrick Flueckiger has joined Decker Jones in Fort Worth as of counsel, focusing on oil and gas law. He previously ran his own private oil and gas law practice.
Aaron Reitz has been confirmed as the new Assistant U.S. Attorney General for the Office of Legal Policy. In this role, he will oversee the administration’s selection of federal judges and help coordinate legal strategies on cultural issues. Reitz previously served as chief of staff to U.S. Senator Ted Cruz and held a position in the Texas Attorney General’s Office.
Harris Well has been elected to partner at Reynolds Frizzell in Houston. A trial attorney with the firm since 2017, Harris is a master of deep and diligent research who finds unique ways to resolve legal issues for his business litigation clients in the energy, real estate, and financial industries.
Aaron Reitz, who serves as the chief of staff for Senator Ted Cruz, was nominated by Donald Trump to serve as the head of the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Policy.
Katy Zendeh was promoted to of counsel in the bankruptcy and litigation practice groups at Caplin & Drysdale in Washington, D.C. on Jan. 1, 2025. Zendeh’s practice centers around complex commercial litigation, with an emphasis on bankruptcy litigation.
Morgan Lawson has joined Hall Estill as an associate at its Oklahoma City office. Lawson’s practice includes civil rights, corporate, business, employment litigation, Native American law, products liability and real estate.
Aaron Reitz has been named Chief of Staff for U.S. Senator Ted Cruz. In addition to his experience in private practice, Reitz has been the as Deputy Attorney General for Legal Strategy for the State of Texas since fall 2020.
Brian Watson has joined Bethune, Dye and Enright PLLC as an associate attorney. Watson is currently the mayor of Beeville and has spent the last three years as a felony prosecutor for the 156th Judicial District Attorney’s Office.
Hannah Roblyer has joined the Houston office of appellate firm Alexander Dubose and Jefferson LLP. Roblyer will collaborate with trial teams pre- and post-verdict and continue her state and federal appellate practice.
Ard Ardalan has opened Ardalan Law Firm PLLC focusing on personal injury cases in Austin, Texas.
Allison Skees has recently joined Bourland, Wall & Wenzel in Fortworth, Texas as an associate attorney. Skees has experience in general civil litigation and her practice focuses primarily on fiduciary litigation and guardianships.
Charles Stam is now a trial attorney at Zehl & Associates PC. He represents plaintiffs, mainly individuals who have been seriously injured or killed in oilfield, 18-wheeler, maritime, plant and refinery, and other catastrophic accidents.
Winstead PC attorney Steffen Sowell wrote an essay in honor of Black History Month that was recently published in Texas Lawyer. In the essay, Sowell discusses the societal contributions of African American poet Amanda Gorman, as well as how lawyers can move the needle on racial equity.
Chamberlain Hrdlicka recently elevated Justice David M. Medina to equity shareholder during the firm’s annual meeting on February 8. Justice Medina holds a LL.M. in Global Energy, International Arbitration, and Environmental Law from The University of Texas School of Law’s LL.M. Program – one of the top LL.M. programs for energy law in the world
Caplin & Drysdale is pleased to announce that Katy Cox has joined the firm as an Associate in the Complex Litigation and Bankruptcy practice groups. Ms. Cox represents both individual and corporate clients in state and federal matters across the country. Her practice centers around complex commercial litigation, with an emphasis on bankruptcy litigation. In particular, she works to protect the rights and interests of creditors, tort claimants, and official creditors’ committees in mass tort b
Josh Ling recently joined the Houston office of Chamberlain Hrdlicka as an associate in the tax practice. He is an associate in the Tax Planning & Business Transactions group. Prior to joining Chamberlain Hrdlicka, Josh worked in Grant Thornton’s M&A Tax practice, where he focused on tax planning for businesses throughout various stages of the transaction life cycle.
Preston Moore, a Dallas-based associate in the Corporate Department of international law firm Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP, has received the Outstanding In-House Attorney Award from the Dallas Volunteer Attorney Program (DVAP). The award recognizes Moore’s exceptional pro bono work on behalf of DVAP and his outstanding efforts in the justice system. Earlier this year, Moore was announced as Weil’s 12th Lend-a-Lawyer and spent two months working full-time on-site at DVAP.
Lightfoot, Franklin & White LLC is proud to welcome Charles Stam, who joins the firm’s Houston office as an associate. Stam maintains a general litigation practice focusing on commercial litigation, corporate recoveries, product liability and catastrophic injury. He graduated cum laude from the University of Texas School of Law and joined the firm after completing a one-year clerkship with a federal district judge.
Matt Sheehan has joined Reynolds Frizzell LLP as a litigation associate in Houston. A trial attorney, his practice focuses on complex litigation for clients in the energy, real estate, and financial industries.