Class Notes

James J. Neel passed away on August 8, 2024. Neel focused his legal career on helping people of lesser means navigate their legal issues,  partnered with friend and fellow attorney David Horton.

Kimberly Pack Wilson has been elected to the State Bar of Texas Family Law Section Council. A partner at Fraser, Wilson & Bryan, P.C. in Stephenville, Texas, Wilson previously served as state bar director for District 14 from 2020-2023.

Taylor LeMay was elected as an ICC Young Arbitration and ADR Forum Representative for North America for the 2024-2026 mandate. LeMay is a senior associate in the International Arbitration group at Norton Rose Fulbright’s Houston office.

Drew Baldinger has joined King & Spalding’s Houston office as a partner in its Corporate Practice group and Energy Industry team. Baldinger specializes in energy transactions and has experience representing clients in M&A and joint venture transactions.

Marc Taubenfeld has joined Munsch Hardt Kopf & Harr, P.C. as a shareholder in the firm’s Bankruptcy, Restructuring + Insolvency section in Dallas. Taubenfeld has extensive experience representing both debtors and creditors in business bankruptcy matters as well as creditors and creditor groups in consumer cases.

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.

Husch Blackwell Partner Michael Raupp is a finalist for the Young Lawyer of the Year—Litigation award, which will be presented Nov. 13 at The American Lawyer’s Industry Awards in New York City.

Ronald R. Scott passed away on August 18, 2024. Scott was a partner at Bracewell, leading significant litigation matters such as the firm’s representation of school districts as plaintiffs in asbestos remediation cases and helping open the firm’s New York office.

George J. Hittner has been appointed executive vice president, general counsel and corporate secretary at W&T Offshore, Inc., an independent oil and natural gas producer. Hittner, whose legal career in the public and private sector spans over 20 years, will join the executive team in propelling W&T’s strategic goals.

Wallace B. Jefferson, former chief justice of the Supreme Court of Texas, is being honored for his legacy as the state’s first African American justice and chief justice.  An official portrait of Jefferson will be unveiled in the Supreme Court courtroom, celebrating his achievements and commitment to the principles of fairness and equality.

Andrea Fair has been selected as a finalist by the Texas Legal Awards for Intellectual Property Attorney of the Year. Fair is a partner at Ward, Smith & Hill, PLLC and has earned multiple recognitions from The Best Lawyers in America: Ones to Watch and Texas Super Lawyers.

Mary Kate Raffetto, a partner at Beck Redden LLP, has been recognized by Law.com and Texas Lawyer as an On the Rise winner in the 2024 Texas Legal Awards. Raffetto also was honored in the fifth edition of Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch in America for Appellate Practice and Commercial Litigation. She has been recognized on Lawdragon’s 500 X–The Next Generation for Appellate and Commercial Litigation and 500 Leading Plaintiff Financial Lawyer lists and as a 2024 Texas Rising Star by Thomson Reuters Super Lawyers.

Zoe Dobkin has joined Texas Legal Services Center as an Equal Justice Works Fellow. While at Texas Law, Dobkin was vice president of communications for If/When/How: Lawyering for Reproductive Justice; a student attorney in the Transnational Worker Rights, Civil Rights, Housing Policy, and Housing clinics; and a Pro Bono Scholar for the Richard and Ginni Mithoff Pro Bono Program Expunction Project.

Warigia Bowman has been named the new director of the Natural Resources and Environmental Law program at the University of New Mexico School of Law. Bowman is a nationally known expert in in water, natural resources, energy, public policy and regulatory issues.

Dennis McClendon passed away on August 8, 2024. McClendon, whose interests and talents were varied and broad, had a lifelong love for the city of Chicago, history, and travel. A well-respected cartographer and designer, he established his own company, Chicago CartoGraphics. McClendon also lectured on a variety of topics and ran the website “Chicago In Maps,” a trusted resource for historic map collections.

The Hon. Xavier Rodriguez, former Texas Supreme Court justice and now United States district judge for the Western District of Texas, will be honored by the San Antonio ISD Foundation at the 13th Annual Inspire Awards in October 2024.

Nicholas Bruno, an associate at Beck Redden in Houston, was honored in the fifth edition of Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch in America for Appellate Practice and Commercial Litigation. Bruno previously was recognized in the 2024 Lawdragon 500 X–The Next Generation for Appellate.

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.

Garrett Brawley was honored in the fifth edition of Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch in America for Commercial Litigation, Litigation–Antitrust, and Litigation–Trusts and Estates. He also was recognized in the 2024 Lawdragon 500 X–The Next Generation for Commercial Litigation. Brawley is an associate at Beck Redden in Houston.

Joe W. Redden, Jr. was named a 2025 “Lawyer of the Year” in the specialty area of Personal Injury Litigation – Defendants by The Best Lawyers in America. Redden, founding partner emeritus of Beck Redden LLP, enjoyed a 48-year career as a trial lawyer before retiring in January 2024.

E. David Coligado has been elcected to be the next chief executive officer (CEO) of Munsch Hardt Kopf & Harr, P.C., effective Jan. 1, 2025. Colgado joined Munsch Hardt as an associate in 2000, and has consistently increased his responsibilities and leadership roles, most recently serving as Real Estate Section head, a member of the firm’s Operations Committee and Opinion Letter Committee.

Ben F. Vaughan III passed away on August 11, 2024. Vaughn was a partner at Graves Dougherty Hearon & Moody for 56 years. At Texas Law he served as an associate editor of the Texas Law Review and graduated Order of the Coif.

John William Stayton Jr. passed away on August 10, 2024. He was a partner with McGinnis Lochridge in Austin and devoted Texas Longhorn fan.

Nour Haikal, an associate at Bracewell, was featured in the August 13 “Volunteer Spotlight” by the Houston Volunteer Lawyers, the pro bono legal aid arm of the Houston Bar Association. Haikal was recognized for her role in a pro bono tax case involving a young immigrant mother. Haikal’s background includes serving as an ESL tutor to the adult refugee community in Houston and as an HVL law clerk.

Philip I. Danze has joined Hallett & Perrin in Dallas as a shareholder. Danze has a broad base of experience in complex real estate and corporate transactions, representing clients in connection with the acquisition, development, leasing, finance, and sale of a variety of large real estate projects.

J. Cullen Aderhold has joined Dallas’ Hallett & Perrin as a shareholder. Aderhold has extensive experience representing domestic and foreign clients in a wide variety of commercial real estate, corporate, partnership, and other business transactions.

Ralph Huston passed away on August 1, 2024. Although the ability to help people with his law degree was important to him, his true passion was music.

Allison Dickson Baker, a lawyer, lobbyist, and longtime philanthropist, passed away on August 8, 2024. A double Longhorn, she worked as an environmental lawyer at Vinson and Elkins in Houston, before dedicating herself to raising her family, as well as philanthropic and civic pursuits. She founded the nonprofit Cattlemen Care in 2007.

Robert “Bob” Scheske, a lieutenant colonel with the U.S. Air Force, passed away on August 11, 2024.  He was the longest-serving county attorney for Gonzales County (1981-2008). Scheske was recognized with the David B. Walshak Lifetime Achievement Award in 2023 for his lifelong service and contributions by the Gonzales Chamber of Commerce.

Sol Villasana is a 2024 recipient of the Stan Golden Men of Action Award from the Southwest Jewish Congress. He is of counsel to White & Wiggins, LLP in Dallas.

Jack Brandon passed away on July 20, 2024. Brandon served two years with the Judge Advocate General’s Corps of the U.S. Army in Okinawa, Japan.  He then became an oil and gas attorney with the law departments of Getty Oil Company and then Kerr-McGee Corporation, serving both in executive leadership positions.

Michael Markley passed away on July 27, 2024.  After graduating from Texas Law, he practiced entertainment law in Austin and Los Angeles for many years. Markley created an antique import business dedicated to Gothic Revival furniture and ceramics from France.

Russell Barron passed away on August 7, 2024.  After graduating from Texas Law, Barron moved to Quantico, Virginia, to serve in the FBI for three years. He then relocated to McAllen, where he practiced law as a senior member of the Barron, Orendain, Malany, Flanagan, and Dominguez Law Firm.

Peter Winstead passed away on August 7, 2024. He was a founding shareholder of Winstead PC and a  prominent civic leader.  He was appointed by Gov. George Bush to be the first chair of the Texas Turnpike Authority and chaired the boards of several organizations including the Austin Chamber and the United Way.

James “Jim” Darby Walker passed away on August 2, 2024. After graduating from Texas Law, he founded his company, Counselors Mortgage, where he worked for over three decades.

Cameron McBride has joined Davis Hartman Wright LLP as a partner in the firm’s civil litigation, internal investigations, and white-collar criminal defense and government investigations practice groups. McBride is based in Charlottesville, Virginia.

Scott White, a senior vice president in the Global Commercial Bank at Bank of America in Los Angeles, was selected to join the board of trustees at Pasadena Ronald McDonald House. He also represents B of A’s Pacific Southwest Region on the Sustainability Council within the Global Commercial Bank.

Nicole S. LeFave has been selected to to lead Littler’s SOAR Program. The program supports newly hired associates who have joined established affinity groups to find their footing and excel professionally. LeFave is a liaison for the firm’s Women’s Leadership Initiative, an active member of Littler’s Ohana affinity group, a founding member of the League of Lady Lawyers, and a pro bono liaison.

Jennifer Parker Ainsworth has been inducted as a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers. A shareholder in the Tyler, Texas firm of Wilson, Robertson & VanDeventer, Ainsworth represents clients in commercial and intellectual property litigation.

Caroline Brown Benediktson passed away on July 20, 2024. After graduating from Texas Law, she practiced law in Los Angeles and Houston before settling in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Over her career, she was a partner at a law firm, led the legal teams at private and public corporations, and worked for the City Attorney’s Office in Tulsa.

Ralph Molina was appointed deputy first assistant to Attorney General Ken Paxton. Molina most recently served as deputy attorney general for legal strategy, managing the Legal Strategy and Special Litigation divisions.

Sarah Keyton has been appointed to the position of interim commissioner by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board. Previously she Keyton served as associate vice chancellor for state relations at the Texas Tech University System.

Nick Pesina was honored as a 2024 Outstanding Texas Ex by the Texas Exes Tyler-Smith County Chapter. Pesina’s firm specializes in personal injury law, family law, and business law, serving clients throughout the East Texas area.

Chris Riley passed away on July 28, 2024. Riley served on the Austin City Council and was regarded as a champion of the City of Austin’s urbanist movement.

Marion Stanton “Bob” Roberts passed away on July 20, 2024. Roberts led a long legal career in Texas before retiring to devote his time to friends, family, and his church.

Brandon Butera passed away on July 22, 2024. Butera worked as an attorney for Bracewell LLP while pursuing his love for writing, authoring several books and screenplays.

Travis Phillips passed away on July 21, 2024. Phillips worked in civil litigation and was involved in the Austin legal community for many years. He also served on both the Rollingwood Planning Commission and as mayor of Rollingwood.

Madison Young Moore, an associate at Beck Redden LLP in Houston, has been named to the Institute for Energy Law’s 7th Leadership Class. The program is primarily for energy professionals who have been practicing in the energy field between three and 12 years.

Wade Smith passed away on July 14, 2024. A double Longhorn, Smith spent his legal career with Touchstone Bernays, including time as managing partner. He also served on the Highland Park Town Council and as the mayor of Highland Park from 1992 to 1996.

Ken Burch passed away on July 11, 2024. Burch served the Houston community as a personal injury attorney for more than 50 years.