Class Notes

Chris Dodson has joined White & Case LLP as a partner. Dodson has a diversity of experiences in business disputes and environmental matters, and is an experienced first-chair litigator.

Andrew Zeve has joined White & Case’s global commercial practice and energy group as a partner. Zeve was previously at Bracewell LLP for more than 19 years as co-chair of Bracewell’s energy litigation group.

David Woodcock has joined Gibson Dunn as a partner and co-chair of Gibson Dunn’s securities enforcement practice group. Woodcock joins with both government and in-house counsel experience as former Assistant General Counsel at ExxonMobil.

Kevin S. Little has joined FordHarrison LLP as counsel at the firm’s recently opened Houston office. Little was a former staff attorney under Justice Charles A. Spain in the Texas Court of Appeals for the Fourteenth District and previously was an associate at Littler Mendelson.

Harry Whittington passed away on Feb. 4, 2023. Whittington was an attorney and served on several government committees and commissions, such as the Texas Corrections Board, where he was instrumental in bringing reforms to the treatment of prisoners.

Alexander Bell passed away on Feb. 2, 2023. Bell was a professor at the University of Virginia Law School for eight years and a civil trial lawyer at Bell and Schneider for nearly 50 years.

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.

Michael Slack has been named one of the Best Personal Injury Lawyers in San Antonio by Forbes Advisor. A former NASA aerospace engineer, Slack focuses on aviation accidents and is recognized as a national expert and advocate for improved aviation safety. He is managing partner and a co-founder of Slack Davis Senger.

Fidel Rodriguez Jr. has been named one of the Best Personal Injury Lawyers in San Antonio by Forbes Advisor. Rodriguez has been serving victims of personal injury and wrongful death for more than 30 years, with his firm Rodriguez Trial Law.

Carl H. Green has been named one of the Best Personal Injury Lawyers in San Antonio by Forbes Advisor. Green, whose legal career spans more than four decades, has experience in multiple areas of legal practice at Mounce, Green, Myers, Safi, Paxson & Galatzan, P.C.

Jeffrey S. Edwards has been named one of the Best Personal Injury Lawyers in San Antonio by Forbes Advisor. Edwards, who is the founder of Edwards Law, is well known for his work in medical malpractice, civil rights and securities fraud, among other areas.

Eugene “Chip” Brees has been named one of the Best Personal Injury Lawyers in San Antonio by Forbes Advisor. After a successful career as a defense attorney, Brees transferred to the plaintiffs’ side in 2002, focusing on medical malpractice and representing injured persons and their families with the firm National Trial Law.

Robert Alden has been named one of the Best Personal Injury Lawyers in San Antonio by Forbes Advisor. A double Longhorn, Alden focuses his practice at Byrd Davis Alden & Henrichson, LLP on motor vehicle, premise liability and medical malpractice.

Chris Paliare will be honored with the Award of Distinction by the Toronto Lawyers Association on March 2, 2023. Paliare has appeared before every level of trial and appellate court in the Province of Ontario and the Supreme Court of Canada, earning him recognition as one of the top litigators in the country.

The Honorable Robert Dale Jones passed away on Jan. 7, 2023. Jones, a double Longhorn, led a successful judicial career that included serving as a judge advocate general in the Marine Reserves and a senior district judge.

James Perkins and his wife Margaret have been awarded the 2023 Texas Higher Education Distinguished Service Award. They were nominated for their establishment of the James I Perkins Family Foundation, which embodies the Perkins’ ongoing support for higher education. He has been president of Citizens 1st Bank since 1971.

Nicole LeFave, an attorney in the Austin office of Littler, has been elevated to shareholder. LeFave concentrates her practice on the Fair Labor Standards Act, as well as wage and hour class and collective action defense. She advises and defends employers on wage and hour, discrimination, retaliation, harassment, and corporate whistleblower matters.

Brittany Dadon has become a partner at Stahl, Davies, Sewell, Chavarria & Friend. She specializes in real estate, regulatory, and permitting aspects of utility scale wind, solar, and battery storage projects in Texas. While at the firm, Dadon has worked on wind, solar, battery storage, and natural gas energy projects at various stages.

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.

Anjana Patel has been appointed to the Board of Trustees for Springpoint senior living communities. Patel is an attorney at Epstein Becker Green with two decades of experience advising individuals and businesses on healthcare transactions and health regulatory compliance issues.

Boone Slusher passed away on Jan. 13, 2023. Slusher had a lengthy legal career, as a partner in the firm Wilkins & Slusher for 20 years, then practicing with his son Chan in the firm Slusher & Associates for 24 years.

George P. Bush has joined Michael Best & Friedrich LLP as a partner and Michael Best Strategies LLC as a principal. The former Texas Land Commissioner, Bush will lead efforts to bolster Michael Best’s corporate, litigation and consulting practices.

Martin Luff has joined Wilson Sonsini as a partner in the London office. Luff was previously of counsel at Vinson & Elkins for the past seven years, where he specialized in dealing with the employment aspects of business transactions.

Toni Brown has joined Greenberg Taurig LLP as of counsel. Brown comes as a former senior director of supply chain at Inspire Brands, owner of several national restaurant chains.

Brooke Lierman has been sworn in as Maryland’s comptroller, becoming the first woman to be independently elected to any state government office in Maryland. Lierman previously was a civil and disability attorney in Baltimore.

Mark Jones has rejoined Norton Rose Fulbright as a partner in the firm’s corporate, mergers, and acquisitions and securities practice. Jones started his legal career at Norton Rose nearly 40 years ago, leaving to serve at BakerHostetler for seven years.

Jon Hyland honored by the “Best Lawyers in America” publication for 2023 for his work in intellectual property litigation. Hyland is a partner in the Hilgers Graben PLLC Dallas office.

John Hale passed away on Jan. 9, 2023. Hale served as a briefing attorney for the Supreme Court of Texas under Justice Joe Greenhill, and later held partnerships at Foreman & Dyess and Norton & Blair.

Harry W. Hugly passed away on Jan. 11, 2023. After graduating Texas Law, Hugly served as a special agent with the Army Counter Intelligence Corps until beginning a career in the oil and gas industry.

James Hal Byrd passed away on Dec. 27, 2022. A double Longhorn, Byrd served as general counsel at Century Development before moving on to start his own law firm, practicing law in Houston for many years until his retirement.

Kamron Massumi has joined the law firm of Baker Donelson as of counsel in the Firm’s Real Estate Group in Atlanta. He focuses his practice on the leasing, development, acquisition, disposition, and management of retail and mixed-use real estate developments across the U.S.

Isaac V. Sulemana has been appointed city attorney for the city of La Joya, Texas. Sulemana previously has served as chief of staff at the Hidalgo County Judge’s office, assistant district attorney at the Hidalgo County Criminal, and managing vice president/general counsel at the La Joya Area Federal Credit Union.

Stephen Fernelius has joined Bradley Arant Bouly Cummings LLP as a partner specializing in energy litigation. Fernelius comes from Fernelius Mace PLLC, a small firm he founded and led for 13 years.

Josh Reyna has been named chief of staff for Texas State Senator César Blanco. Reyna previously served as legislative director for the vice chairman of the Senate Finance Committee and has worked on Sen. Blanco’s staff since 2016.

Edward Burbach has been promoted to managing partner of Foley & Lardner LLP. Burbach currently serves as chair of of the firm’s government solutions practice group, co-chair of the state attorney’s general practice team, and corporate law chair for the Austin location.

Charles Taylor Ashworth passed away on Dec. 20, 2022. Ashworth’s legal career spanned four decades, progressing from civil litigation to  oil and gas, then corporate bankruptcy.

William G. Hagans of Hagans Montgomery Hagans, has become board certified by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization in the area of Personal Injury Trial Law.

Orlando “Jay” Juarez has been promoted to partner with McCall Parkhurst & Horton. Juarez serves exclusively as bond counsel, disclosure counsel, underwriters’ counsel, and trustee’s counsel on debt financing by public entities.

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.

Linda Turley has been named one of the Best Personal Injury Attorneys in Dallas by Forbes Advisor. Turley has nearly 40 years of experience pursuing product liability, medical malpractice, and many other types of negligence claims. She is an attorney at the Turley Law Firm in Dallas.

Russell Budd was named one of the Best Personal Injury Attorneys in Dallas by Forbes Advisor. Budd’s practice areas include pharmaceutical litigation, consumer protection, and environmental law. The Budd Innocence Center at Texas Law is named in honor of Budd and his wife, Dorothy.

John Elliott has been reappointed to the Teacher Retirement System of Texas Board of Trustees by Governor Abbott. Elliott is a double Longhorn, having also earned his bachelor’s degree from UT. His firm, Elliott Stratmann, specializes in commercial real estate.

James Leech has been selected as managing attorney at Cesar Ornelas, a San Antonio-based injury law firm. Leech has  experience as a trial lawyer in state and federal courts and has represented clients ranging from small businesses to large companies.

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.

William Rollin “Billy” Wepfer passed away on Dec. 12, 2022. Wepfer practiced law in the Rio Grande Valley for 40 years between 1980 to 2020.

Ryan Holcomb has been elected to serve a three-year term on Bracewell’s Management Committee. Holcomb is a partner that represents clients in a wide variety of transactions in the electric power, and midstream and downstream oil and gas industries.

Stephen Crain has been elected to serve a three-year term on Bracewell’s Management Committee. Crain, who has chaired Bracewell’s litigation section since 2014, will be serving a fourth term on the committee. Based in Houston, he has led the growth of Bracewell’s national and international trial practice.

Oliver Luck has been named executive director of the ASUN-WAC Football Conference, a new NCAA Division I conference starting play in 2023. Luck’s career has included many leadership roles in professional and intercollegiate athletics, including serving as the athletic director at West Virginia University and CEO/commissioner of the former XFL. Luck, who was a successful collegiate quarterback at WVU, went on to play for the Houston Oilers.

Jimmy Don Blair passed away on Jan. 3, 2023. In his legal career, Blair served 40 years as an expert in contract negotiation, litigation policies, legislative initiatives, computer capabilities, among other areas.

Anthony Baca has appointed to serve as a La Plata County Court judge in Durango, Colo., area. Baca has served as a judge of Dolores County and a district court magistrate.