Camille Milner was recently named the 2020 Gay G. Cox Recipient for Excellence in Collaborative Law. The award was announced at the Collaborative Law Conference in Austin and is normally presented at the State Bar’s Annual Advanced Family Law Seminar in August each year. Milner was given the award for her leadership role in Collaborative Divorce Texas and for her commitment to growing the collaborative movement.
Christopher D. Kratovil was promoted to National Recruiting Partner at Dykema, a leading national law firm. This follows a five-year stint as Managing Member of Dykema’s Dallas office where Kratovil helped to develop the office through laterals of top legal talent. In his practice, Kratovil remains in Dallas as a member of the firm’s Litigation Department, focusing on appellate matters. Kratovil has made a name for himself as one of the “Top 100 Lawyers in Texas”.
Charles Rutherford Meeker III passed away at the age of 78 on Feb. 18, 2021. After graduating from Texas Law, Meeker moved to Los Angeles to clerk for Judge Walter Ely. He joined O’Melveny & Myers and rose to partner working in the business and later the entertainment divisions. In the 1980s, he co-founded Feldman/Meeker Entertainment and produced major motion pictures for nearly a decade. He returned to entertainment law as a partner at White & Case, where he successfully represented Credit Lyonnais in their effort to regain control of Metro Goldwyn Mayer. Meeker then served as MGM’s President from 1991-93, overseeing MGM’s transition to stable financial footing.
James F. “Jim” Rogers, an advocate for the city of Dallas who contributed countless hours to local organizations, died on Feb. 15, after battling cancer. He was 73.
Rogers was a graduate of Baylor University and Texas Law. He worked as a CPA before founding Ameripro Industries and was known as an ardent and inspirational activist. He ran for Dallas City Council for the District 14 seat in 2013.
Larry E. McCarver died on Feb. 6, 2021, at his home in Newport, Rhode Island, surrounded by his family. McCarver grew up in Corsicana, Texas, and kept in close touch with high school friends throughout his life. A double Longhorn, he earned a BA in History and a JD at Texas Law. He earned his MBA from Thunderbird School of Global Management in Arizona and eventually moved his family to Newport where he made career in international sales for 45 years with TACO Comfort Solutions. The family asks you to celebrate Larry’s life by loving your family with all your heart, making friends and family laugh; sneaking treats to your dog; and being patient, kind, and loving.
Peter Michael Lowry died on Jan. 31, 2021 in Austin, TX. He is survived by his beloved wife, Mary Markley Lowry. A double-Longhorn, he earned his bachelor’s degree in 1964 and his JD in 1968. Pete served as a briefing attorney for the Supreme Court of Texas and then practiced law for nine years with the Austin firm McGinnis, Lochridge and Kilgore. In 1977 he was appointed by Gov. Dolph Briscoe as judge of the 261st District Court of Travis County and was re-elected to five four-year terms. Lowry served as a Local Administrative Judge for seven years. After retiring from the bench, he practiced dispute resolution in the firm of Meyers, Lowry and Coates.
Mary Louise Porter Bailey died of ALS on Feb. 11, 2021 at home with her devoted family by her side. Bailey grew up in Buda, Texas, attended Duke University and then graduated from The University of Texas School of Law. She then moved to Houston in 1979 to practice law and was named partner at her firm. After moving back to Austin, in 2004 she assumed the role of Director of Alumni Relations at St. Stephen’s Episcopal School and retired in 2017. Bailey is survived by her husband of 39 years, Scott Field Bailey, Jr.
Cecil Augustus “C.A.” Edwards, Jr. was born in Phoenix, Arizona 89 years ago and died Feb. 3, 2021. He graduated from the United States Naval Academy at Annapolis, Maryland and was commissioned into the United States Marine Corps to serve abroad, flying fighter jets from aircraft carriers. After leaving the service Edwards earned his JD from the University of Texas School of Law, at which point he returned to Phoenix for good. He practiced law in Arizona for over 50 years, primarily representing injured workers with claims before the Industrial Commission.
Joy M. Thomas, passed away in Oct. 22, 2020. Although she never married or had children, she spent her life as a civil servant both in her career practicing Disability and Family Law and as an advisor for her sorority. Girls Inc. of Tarrant County established the Joy Thomas Memorial Scholarship Fund to honor a bright and compassionate leader in the Fort Worth community.
BakerHostetler has elected Thomas A. Donaho to the partnership, effective Jan. 1, 2021. His practice in Houston will focus on complex commercial and business litigation. He has experience representing clients in a wide range of contract matters, business torts and real estate disputes. Donaho earned his J.D. from The University of Texas School of Law and his A.B. from Duke University. He was previously an associate at the firm and is a member of the Litigation Practice Group.
Scott Keller co-founded a new national boutique law firm, Lehotsky Keller LLP, with an initial office in Washington, D.C. The firm will help clients litigate cases challenging government regulations, handle complex civil cases throughout the country, and analyze and address cutting-edge legal issues. Before founding Lehotsky Keller LLP, Keller headed Baker Botts LLP’s Supreme Court Practice. He has also served as the Solicitor General of Texas, the State’s chief appellate litigator.
The San Antonio Bar Foundation (SABF) is pleased to announce the appointment of Dennis J. Windscheffel, of Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer & Feld, LLP, to the SABF Fellows Program newly-elected 2021 class.
The San Antonio Bar Foundation (SABF) is pleased to announce the appointment of Erica E. Valladares, of Langley & Banack, Inc., to the SABF Fellows Program newly-elected 2021 class.
The San Antonio Bar Foundation (SABF) is pleased to announce the appointment of Michael J. Ritter, of the Fourth Court of Appeals, to the SABF Fellows Program newly-elected 2021 class.
The San Antonio Bar Foundation (SABF) is pleased to announce the appointment of George Luis Salinas Jr., from the Law Offices of George Salinas, PLLC, to the SABF Fellows Program newly-elected 2021 class.
Robert Hamilton Walls, Sr., died peacefully surrounded by family on Jan. 21, 2021, at the age of 89. Upon discharge from the Army, Walls became an Assistant Attorney General in the Texas Attorney General’s office in Austin. He continued his legal career at Barrow, Bland & Rehmet and then moved to Vinson & Elkins, where he developed an expertise in Oil and Gas Law. Walls eventually went to work with his good friend Wayne Dotson at Foreman & Dyess, and ultimately retired from Jackson & Walker after 51 years of practicing law. The family requests with gratitude that memorial contributions be directed toward The Robert H. and Anita H. Walls Endowed Presidential Scholarship in Law at Texas Law (http://links.utexas.edu/cvahngj).
The San Antonio Bar Foundation (SABF) is pleased to announce the appointment of Carol Bertsch, from The Law Offices of Carol Bertsch, P.C., to the SABF Fellows Program newly-elected 2021 class.
The San Antonio Bar Foundation (SABF) is pleased to announce the appointment of the Honorable Richard B. Farrer, a United State Magistrate Judge, to the SABF Fellows Program newly-elected 2021 class.
The San Antonio Bar Foundation (SABF) is pleased to announce the appointment of William B. Kingman, from the Law Offices of William B. Kingman, P.C., to the SABF Fellows Program newly-elected 2021 class.
Robert Edwin Edwards passed away peacefully on Jan. 18, 2021. Edwards started his legal career with Lone Star Gas Company in Dallas, Texas, and ended his career over 30 decades working with the Army and Air Force Exchange Service in Dallas. While with the AAFES, he created and directed their Worker Compensation Division for many years until his retirement in 2005. Edwards was a dedicated member and Master Mason of the Grand Lodge of Texas, Hillcrest No. 1318 for over 50 years, volunteering many hours at Scottish Rite Hospital. Memorials may be sent to The Boys and Girls Club of Falls County.
James Bailey Howard passed away peacefully at the age of 79 on Jan. 9, 2021. He served in the Army as a First Lieutenant and was subsequently deployed to South Korea for one year. After receiving his law degree from Texas Law in 1968, Howard went to work as a tax attorney for Coopers & Lybrand. By 1974, he had moved to Austin and spent the majority of his adult career as the chief financial officer of a restaurant chain. Memorial contributions may be made to a church or organization of choice.
Charles Nathan Curry passed away on Jan.21, 2021, surrounded by his loving family. He began his career at Shannon, Gracey, Ratliff, & Miller in Fort Worth, TX where he became a partner and practiced for 50 years. He was a member of the State Bar of Texas and served as both Chair and Vice-Chair of the Real Estate, Probate and Trust Section’s Financial Institutions Committee. He was a Life Fellow and served on the Legal Forms Committee and the Business Law section of the State Bar of Texas. Curry was also a founding member of the Texas Association of Bank Counsel and served two terms as Director. He was a member of the the U.S. Court of Appeals Northern District of Texas. Curry was Of Counsel for Bonds Ellis Eppich Schafer Jones law firm.
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court has named attorney Barbara E. Griffin the new chair of the Pennsylvania Lawyers Fund for Client Security Board. She is the first woman and the first African-American to be named to the position. Griffin is the Director of the Allegheny County Bar Foundation’s Pro Bono Center, where she creates, manages, and supports legal services programs that provide volunteer attorneys to low-income persons facing legal issues that threaten basic human needs.
Earle Plain Martin III passed away at the age of 65 on Dec. 31, 2020, after battling complications from COVID-19. He graduated from Texas Law in 1980 and joined Vinson & Elkins as a lawyer in the Business, Real Estate and Energy group, led by the late Rush Record. After three years at Vinson & Elkins, Martin chose to move away from practicing law and started his own private air charter, laying the foundation for a three-decades-long career.
Lary D. Garrett was named Mentor of the Year for 2020 by the West Virginia State Bar, selected by the Young Lawyer Section of the State Bar. Previously, he was named the Lawyer Citizen of the Year in 2001 by the West Virginia Bar Foundation in recognition of his public service activities and accomplishments. Lary has practiced for 43 years with his wife, Karen Kunz Garrett ’78 (also a Texas Law alumn), as the firm Garrett & Garrett in the Mountain State.
Felix Johnathan Burton, Jr., passed away on Jan. 21, 2021, from health complications while battling cancer. Burton graduated from Texas Law in 1965 and held memberships in the Texas Bar Association and the CPA Society. He had a multi-faceted and successful career in the banking and manufacturing industries, while starting an accounting firm early in his career. Burton semi-retired from his Houston company, Champion Hi-Tech, in 2011, to enjoy his home on acreage in Chappell Hill.
Frank Madison Gilstrap passed away on Jan. 17, 2021 in Austin, TX, at the age of 78. During a career spanning more than 40 years, Gilstrap handled over 200 appeals and argued cases before the United States Supreme Court, the Texas Supreme Court, five Federal Circuit Courts of Appeal, and 12 Texas Courts of Appeal. He enjoyed his work immensely and filed his last appellate brief days before his death.
James Steele Moore passed away on Jan. 12, 2021. He was elected to the Texas Legislature in 1954 and served in such capacity until his term expired in 1958. Moore then moved to Lubbock, TX, to join the law firm of Clifford, Blanchard and Summers where he practiced law for approximately 10 years. In 1962, with a group of other businessmen and farmers, Moore founded the Wolfforth State Bank, now known as The American Bank of Commerce. He served as Chairman of the board of the bank since its organization and remained active throughout his career. Moore’s other banking activities include co-ownership of the First National Bank of Tahoka from 1964 to 1974.
Edmund Richardson Yates passed away at 93 in Dallas, TX. Yates served in an Army before going to law school. In 1951, he earned a law degree from The University of Texas Law School and relocated to Dallas to practice law. In 1953, he joined Jack Brady and Ed Drake to form Brady, Drake and Yates Law Firm. Yates was a longtime member of First Baptist in Dallas, serving as a deacon. Ed practiced law until 1962, when he made the decision to join his in-law’s family restaurant, Highland Park Cafeteria.
James Augustus Gray, 96, of Caldwell, TX, passed away peacefully on Dec. 17, 2020. Gray was a lifelong member of the Texas Exes and was a licensed attorney and a member of the State Bar of Texas for 65 years. He maintained a general law practice in Burleson County for 63 years, representing many clients. Gray also served as the County Attorney for Burleson County for 30 years and the City Attorney of Caldwell for 60 years. He served as the president of the Caldwell Recreational Association for 15 years. Gray was also the charter director and secretary of the Burleson County Industrial Foundation, charter director of the Thomas L. Goodnight Memorial Hospital Corporation, and director of the First State Bank of Caldwell.
Patrick Alton Hudson, 87, of Dallas, TX, passed away on Nov. 28, 2020, after battling with Alzheimer’s and the coronavirus. After graduating from Texas Law in 1967, Hudson served as Director of the Dallas Legal Aid Society. He served as Council for the Environmental Protection Agency and Principle Regional Council for Health and Human Services. Hudson built a very successful 20-year private practice and retired at 75.
Virginia Gross passed away on Dec. 9, 2020, in Shawnee, KS, at the age of 56. She spent much of her career at Polsinelli in Kansas City as an attorney and partner. Specializing in tax-exempt organizations law and nonprofit governance, Gross was a frequent speaker on nonprofit law topics around the country and has written many publications on tax-exempt law topics. Gross was listed in Best Lawyers in America® for Nonprofit Organizations/Charities Law for 2008-2021 and was named the 2017 Non-Profit/Charities “Lawyer of the Year” for Kansas City. She also provided extensive pro bono legal services to many.
John Harmon Bennett, Jr., 73, died peacefully on Dec. 27, 2020, after an 18-month battle with ALS. He earned his B.A. from The University of Texas in 1969, and in 1972, graduated top of his class from Texas Law where he served on Law Review. After law school, Harmon took up a job at Fulbright and Jaworski. He then helped found a law firm, and over time it evolved into other firms. He rounded his career out as a solo practitioner, concentrating on general civil litigation and international business transactions and, for 37 years, Harmon was an involved member of the International Lawyers Group (ILG) where he served as secretary and then president. He was widely known for being a creative attorney who was sought after as a mentor.
Carmel Martin has been selected by President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris to serve as deputy director of the Domestic Policy Council for Economic Mobility for the White House. Martin worked as a senior policy advisor for the Biden campaign and previously served as the assistant secretary for policy and budget at the U.S. Department of Education during the Obama-Biden administration.
Michael Blake is happy to announce the 17th anniversary of his Intellectual Property Law Practice in Milford, Connecticut. Blake is licensed before the United States Patent and Trademark Office, the Connecticut Bar, the State Bar of California (inactive), the United States District Court (USDC) District of Connecticut, and the USDC Central District of California (inactive). Before opening his own firm, Blake was an attorney at the patent law firm Cantor Colburn in Connecticut. Prior to that he was an attorney with Sierra Patent Group in Nevada.
Basil A. Umari has joined leading national law firm Dykema as senior counsel in the firm’s Bankruptcy Practice Group in Texas. Umari offers representation in corporate bankruptcy matters.
Ann Gill Howard was elected in November 2020 as Travis County Commissioner for Precinct Three. She is a Dean’s Distinguished Graduate from the College of Liberal Arts (BA, Sociology, 1985), a Texas Exes Life Member and a Friar, Dean’s Distinguished Graduate for Service from the Law School (JD, 1988), and a Barbara Jordan Fellow for the LBJ School (MPA, 1988).
McGinnis Lochridge is pleased to welcome Daniel C. Clemons as Of Counsel in the firm’s Corporate and Tax practice group in Austin. He brings a remarkable mix of financial and legal experience to his new role, having previously served as outside counsel, in-house counsel, head of legal operations, and as a revenue analyst. Clemons will focus his practice on outside general counsel representation, mergers and acquisitions, debt and equity financing, and other commercial transactions.
Claire Rosston has been elected to the Holland & Hart’s partnership, effective Jan. 1, 2021 in the firm’s Boise office. Rosston represents buyers and sellers in asset and equity acquisitions, with significant experience in the animal healthcare industry. She also assists clients with corporate governance, operational contracts, as well as business formation, restructuring, and disputes.
Nathan B. Schattman died Dec. 28, 2020, of a heart attack. Even before he was born, Schattman was in the courtroom, his family said. He was the son of Judge Michael D. Schattman and Mary Ellen Brannigan Schattman, and during his mother’s pregnancy, Mary Ellen was fired from her job for simply being pregnant. He was part of the Schattman in Schattman v Texas Employment Commission case, when his parents sued for the right to work while pregnant. The case was handled by a then-new ACLU lawyer named Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Schattman followed in his father’s footsteps, graduating The University of Texas Law School in 1994 and serving as an attorney at Brown, Proctor & Howell LLP.
John Timberman “Tim” Carssow, died at home in North Carolina of pancreatic cancer on Dec. 12, 2020. Carssow graduated from Trinity University in San Antonio in 1967 and The University of Texas School of Law in 1970, where he was Project Editor of the Texas Law Review. He spent his entire 36-year legal career with the Atlanta law firm Kilpatrick, Townsend & Stockton. During his tenure as Managing Partner (1996-2001) Carssow led the firm (then known as Kilpatrick and Cody) in its 1997 merger with the North Carolina firm of Petree, Stockton & Robinson.
Oscar Alaniz Palacios, 75, died in December 2020 at his home in San Juan, TX, after a long battle with cancer. He was a proud Longhorn, graduating from the University of Texas at Austin with an BS in Political Science in 1969 and the University of Texas School of Law, receiving his JD in 1971. Palacios inspired generations in his family as a lifelong Longhorn fan and a Texas Ex. Oscar began his law career in 1972 with the F.B. Godinez law firm in Lubbock, Texas. He then founded his own law firm in 1974 in Pharr, TX, practicing law for 48 years.
Carl Olaf Bue, Jr., a retired judge of the U.S. District Court in Houston, died peacefully on Dec. 24, 2020. He was 98. Born in Chicago, Illinois, Bue received a Bachelor of Philosophy degree from Northwestern University in 1951 and a Bachelor of Laws from the University of Texas School of Law in 1954. He served in the US Army Adjutant General’s Department in WWII. In 1970, Pres. Richard Nixon appointed Carl Bue a US District Judge for the Southern District of Texas, where he served for 17 years before retiring in 1987. The family requests with gratitude that memorial gifts be directed to the Judge Carl O. Bue, Jr. Endowed Presidential Scholarship in Law at The University of Texas School of Law: https://tinyurl.com/utlaw-carlbue
The law firm of Abraham, Watkins, Nichols, Sorrels, Agosto, Aziz & Stogner is proud to announce that Edward Festeryga has joined the firm as an Associate. His current legal practice focuses on a wide range of personal injury matters, including catastrophic injuries, commercial motor vehicle accidents, workplace injuries, plant and refinery explosions, and wrongful death.
Rosebud Nau was promoted to partnership of the law firm Haynes and Boone, LLP effective Jan. 1, 2021. Nau is a member of the Capital Markets/Securities Practice Group in Haynes and Boone’s Dallas office.
Kellie Bobo was promoted to partnership of the law firm Haynes and Boone, LLP effective Jan. 1, 2021. Bobo is a member of both the Investment Funds and M&A Practice Groups in Haynes and Boone’s Austin office.
Zachariah T. Evans has been named partner at the law firm of McGinnis Lochridge. Based in the Austin, TX, office, Evans focuses his practice on water and wastewater utilities and also represents local government entities. He advises water districts, water supply corporations and municipalities on virtually all matters regulated by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality and the Public Utility Commission of Texas. Evans also provides counsel on matters involving open government, personnel issues, procurement, annexations, licensing and regulation of public rights-of-way, and ordinance drafting.
Diana Perez Gomez, shareholder in the Labor & Employment practice in the Houston office of the national law firm Chamberlain Hrdlicka, has been selected to the Texas Super Lawyers 2020 TopWomen list.
Bollier Ciccone LLP is happy to announce attorney Elizabeth J. Ayala has joined our growing family law practice. Elizabeth is an exceptional family law attorney, specializing in complex custody cases, protective orders, and cases involving mental health experts. She is a skilled litigator and experienced client advocate involved in all aspects of client cases. Elizabeth works exclusively for the firm’s Family Law section.
John Langmore recently published two books of photography. “Open Range” (Twin Palms Publishers) captures the life of modern working cowboys on some of the nation’s largest ranches. “Fault Lines” (Trinity University Press) documents the rapidly gentrifying neighborhoods of old East Austin. John also co-directed and just released “Cowboys”, a feature-length documentary film also depicting the lives of contemporary working cowboys. “Cowboys” won the Audience Award at the Austin Film Festival.