William G. Hagans has been elected 2025-2026 fellows chair of the Texas Bar Foundation after many years of co-chairing the Houston nominating committee. He also will continue to serve of the foundation’s board of trustees. Hagans is an attorney at the Hagans law firm in Houston.
Marilyn Jean Kretsinger passed away June 24, 2025. After earning her J.D. from Texas Law, Kretsinger went on to serve for 25 years as associate general counsel at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C., where she worked as a copyright attorney.
Elliot Branson passed away on June 1, 2025. Throughout his legal career, he worked in the Texas Attorney General’s Office, Mexican American Legal Aid and Defense, Texas Rural Legal Aid, and ultimately in private practice, representing injured patients in medical malpractice cases.
Thomas Verity has joined Norton Rose Fulbright as a corporate, M&A, and securities partner in Houston. Verity will support the firm’s energy practice by advising on cross-border mergers and acquisitions, corporate finance transactions, and general corporate and securities matters for clients in the energy and infrastructure sectors.
Lyrissa Lidsky has won the 2025 Harry W. Stonecipher Award for Distinguished Research on Media Law and Policy Law presented by the policy division of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication. A member of the Bech-Loughlin First Amendment Center’s board of advisors, Lidsky was honored for an article she co-authored, “First Amendment Disequilibrium,” which is published in the Virginia Law Review.
Joseph Royce passed away on April 25, 2025. Over his 57-year legal career specializing in trust and estate work, he served on various bar associations, was listed among “The Best Lawyers in America” in two different categories, and ultimately retired from Gray Reed in 2023.
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.
Erleigh Wiley has been reappointed by Governor Abbott to the Crime Victims’ Institute Advisory Council. She serves as the criminal district attorney of Kaufman County, an executive board member of the Texas District & County Attorneys Association, and a member of the Kaufman County Juvenile Board.
E. William “Bill” Barnett passed away on June 15, 2025. He served as managing partner and senior counsel at Baker Botts LLP until his retirement, in addition to holding various chairman and director positions throughout his distinguished career in commercial litigation and antitrust law.
Carlos J. Contreras III has been named chair of the Community Advisory Council for the Federal Reserve System Board of Governors. He currently serves as the president and CEO of Goodwill Industries of San Antonio.
Manuel Escobar was recognized with the Chair’s Award by the state bar’s Hispanic lawyers section for his continued dedication and service. Escobar is a partner at McGinnis Lochridge in Austin.
Jack O’Neill been recognized in the newly released 2025 Chambers USA guide for his commercial litigation expertise in Houston in energy, contract and business matters. As lead trial counsel, the partner at Pierce & O’Neill has handled some of Texas’ most closely watched cases, including numerous multimillion- and billion-dollar energy and commercial disputes.
Jesse Pierce been recognized in the newly released 2025 Chambers USA guide with a national Band 1 ranking for oil and gas litigation, and additional honors for his commercial litigation work in Houston. The 2025 edition marks his 17th consecutive year recognized by Chambers, placing the Pierce & O’Neill partner and co-founder among the most consistently honored trial lawyers in the field.
Robert Newey passed away on June 6, 2025. He began his career in the legal department of Texaco before becoming a partner at various law firms, establishing his own private practice in Houston, and serving as an associate judge for multiple family judicial district courts in Harris County until his retirement.
Matthew Richardson has joined the Los Angeles office of Ogletree Deakins as an associate. Richardson, who specializes in employment law and is known for his dedication and zealous advocacy on behalf of employers, has expertise in wage and hour disputes, employment discrimination, wrongful termination, and workplace harassment.
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.
Mark Taylor, a director in the Austin office of Kane Russell Coleman Logan, has been recognized by the 2025 Chambers USA Guide for his work in bankruptcy and restructuring. He has been consistently ranked for this practice area since 2019.
Siddartha Rao has joined New York litigation boutique Hoguet Newman Regal & Kenney in New York City as a partner. Rao brings to HNRK nearly two decades of experience in securities, intellectual property, and other disputes in federal, state, and appellate courts as well as arbitration forums.
Kourtney Mueller Merrill has joined Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton as a partner in Washington, D.C. Merrill, who has extensive experience in the biotechnology, pharmaceutical, medical device and broader technology sectors, will work with the firm’s intellectual property practice group and life sciences industry team. She was previously a partner at Perkins Coie.
Peter Williamson, shareholder in Chamberlain Hrdlicka’s immigration practice in Houston, was ranked by Chambers & Partners, the leading independent professional legal research company, among top immigration attorneys in Texas as a senior statesman. He has been ranked by Chambers for 19 consecutive years.
Larry Campagna has been named one of the top tax fraud and tax controversy attorneys in Texas by Chambers & Partners, the leading independent professional legal research company. He has been included in this ranking for 18 consecutive years. Campagna is managing shareholder of Chamberlain Hrdlicka in Houston.
H. Lee Godfrey passed away on June 2, 2025. One of the top trial lawyers in the world and recipient of many honors and awards, Godfrey’s highly distinguished legal career began after serving in the Air Force. He was a partner at Wood Campbell Moody & Gibbs, then joined his old friend Steve Susman in 1982 to found the firm that would become Susman Godfrey. Godfrey was nominated by former President Clinton as the U.S. ambassador to Brazil.
Bailey Watkins has joined Yetter Coleman in Houston as a senior counsel in the Intellectual Property litigation group. She was previously in-house counsel with Dell Technologies. Bailey’s practice includes representing clients in patent, trade secret, and technology-related disputes in federal courts, the International Trade Commission, and the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
Henry Radoff has written a book titled “Solo 50,” which tells the story of his own life and 50 years of solo practice. In addition to his legal career in Houston, Radoff, a double Longhorn, has published five other books ranging from novels to true stories.
Paul Dean is the new vice president of NTI’s (Nuclear Threat Initiative) global nuclear policy program. In this role, he leads the organization’s efforts to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons, reduce the risk of nuclear use, and ultimately end the existential threat of nuclear war.
Charles Rufus Ramsay Jr. passed away on May 26, 2025. He was first elected to public office in 1963 as county attorney and was appointed as the first judge of the newly created county court at law in 1978. In 1981, he was elected to the 22nd Judicial District Court, where he served for 31 years.
Keith Stanton Richey passed away on May 20, 2025. After starting his career at the law firm Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher in Houston, Richey became an international tax attorney at Exxon, then Mobil. He continued his career as an international tax counsel for firms including Citibank, Xerox, ITT, and Xylem.
Charles Henry “Hank” Still passed away on May 2, 2025. He had a distinguished career as a corporate lawyer at Fulbright & Jaworski (now Norton Rose Fulbright), where he was a partner from 1975 until his retirement in 2007. Still, who later returned to the firm as of counsel, was known as an expert in corporate governance, authoring a widely consulted treatise on that topic published by Fulbright.
Richard Williams has been appointed by U.S. Attorney Ryan Ellison as chief of the criminal division in the Las Cruces Branch Office for the District of New Mexico. He previously served in supervising roles such as deputy branch chief and section supervisor after joining the office in 2001.
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.
Mandy McCary of McCary & McCary in Marble Falls, Texas, was elected into the Fellows of the Texas Bar Foundation, which recognizes excellence in the law profession. McCary is a successful general practitioner focusing on elder law, a leader in the local bar association, and contributor of many pro bono hours.
Mark Hanna passed away on May 23, 2025. After serving in the U.S. Army as an airborne combat medic, he had a career as a respected attorney and successful lobbyist supporting the professional practices of thousands of Texas licensees, their patients, and clients.
Francisco Solis has been named president of San Antonio College. He has more than 25 years of service to San Antonio College throughout his career including being the college’s interim president since March 2024.
Katherine Reilly has been appointed acting inspector general of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. She has served in the SEC’s Office of Inspector General since 2020.
Larry Campagna was named to the inaugural Lawdragon 500 Leading Global Tax Lawyers guide, recognizing accomplished advisors in tax law. Campagna is managing shareholder at Chamberlain Hrdlicka, where he focuses on matters of business litigation, white-collar criminal defense, and particularly in federal, state and local tax controversies.
Mark Nawfal has joined GableGotwals’ Houston office as of counsel, where his practice will focus on mergers and acquisitions, taxation, and energy law. Nawfal has more than 15 years of international legal experience advising multinational companies, private equity funds, and partnerships on a wide range of corporate and transactional matters.
James Alton Bruen passed away on April 7, 2025. He began his law practice specializing in defending objectors to the Vietnam War before establishing the firm Bruen, Kaufman & Hatfield and later joining a group of attorneys at a successful practice to help small businesses thrive and grow.
Joseph Putnam passed away on May 8, 2025. After practicing law in Mesquite for a year, he moved to Irving, Texas, where he began a 57-year career in law and politics, serving as mayor for two terms and as a member of the city council for part of every decade from the 1970s through the 2010s.
James Peter Klapps passed away on May 2, 2025. He began as a trial attorney in the Department of Justice Civil Division before transitioning to private practice, where he spent the remainder of his 50-year legal career.
George Lee has joined Ferguson Braswell Fraser Kubasta’s Plano, Texas, office. He previously worked for Carrington Coleman Sloman & Blumenthal as a securities and capital markets lawyer.
Nate Stark passed away on April 23, 2025. In his 40-plus-year career, Stark served as a Travis County prosecutor for several years before launching his successful solo career as a criminal defense lawyer.
Frankie Shulkin was promoted to partner at Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld in Dallas, starting Jan. 1, 2025. Shulkin represents private equity and debt funds, as well as private and public companies, in a wide range of transactional special situations.
Daniel E. Mangis has been promoted to chargé d’affaires at the U.S. Embassy in Cyprus. He was previously the chargé d’affaires ad interim during the temporary absence of Ambassador Julie S. Davis.
Leyna Williams is the newest Texas underwriting counsel at First National Title Insurance Company, based in Plano, Texas. She previously worked as an escrow officer, CE instructor, and in-house counsel for a title agency in Houston.
Leslie Hagin has founded Lawyers Assisting Lawyers, a 501c3 public charity to educate, destigmatize and provide free, confidential and independent peer support counseling to lawyers, law students, and judges facing substance use and other mental health challenges. Previously she was a federal law clerk, partner in private practice, and served as a counsel to the U.S. House Judiciary Committee. Hagin also is a Washington state certified peer counselor.
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.
Frederic Allen Bittner died on May 8, 2025. After completing eight years of active duty with the Air Force, Bittner begin his legal career and practiced law with the law firm that became Baker & Botts for 21 years. A double Longhorn, Bittner retired from his law practice in 1985, then engaged in financial and real estate investment activities.
The Hon. Steven Dankof, a judge with the Montgomery County (Ohio) Common Pleas Court, has published “Extreme Cruelty: The Complicity of Judges in the Shame of Wrongful Convictions.” The book posits the notion that trial judges are the single greatest cause of wrongful convictions, sounding a clarion call for judges to take a penetrating look at their work and breathe life into their Constitutional oaths.
Josh Pollick has been appointed co-lead of the Orrick’s Tech & Innovation sector after serving in that role for the company’s Technology Companies Group. A founding member and former leader of the firm’s Santa Monica office, he represents high-growth tech companies, VC firms and strategic investors and has been widely recognized as one of the leading VC and emerging companies lawyers in the United States.
Ernest John Flowers passed away on April 30, 2025. Throughout his distinguished legal career, he served as an assistant attorney general for the State of Texas, a bankruptcy judge for the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas, practiced law alongside his father, and later retired after several years at the firm he founded.