Jim Branton passed away peacefully at home on July 19, 2021. After graduating from law school, he served as a captain in the U.S. Air Force where he was a judge advocate, then later went on to a career in private law practice. He co-founded the law firm of Branton, Hall, Rodriguez, Cruz, where he focused on personal injury litigation. He served as president of the State Bar of Texas from 1994 to 1995.
William J. Gibbons passed away on July 1, 2021 in San Antonio at the age of 90. He flew 58 combat missions in Korea, flew 206 combat missions in Vietnam, having an illustrious career in the Air Force. Upon his retirement from the Air Force, William fulfilled a lifelong dream of becoming an attorney. He embarked on a second career in the field of criminal prosecution, with several years of service as a Justice of the Peace in Caldwell County.
Danielle Fink Kruger is the Jewish Herald-Voice’s new food writer. Kruger is a native Houstonian whose birth, Jewish day school years, Bat Mitzvah and wedding all have been documented in the JHV. Kruger previously practiced law and worked in other roles in the legal industry for 13 years until she decided to leave the industry in January 2020.
Jonathan B. Bush has been promoted to Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary at ModivCare. Bush has over two decades of in-house and law firm experience. Previously, he was Vice President, Corporate Development and Deputy General Counsel at BioScrip, Inc.
Grant O’Hickey joined Gunster in Jacksonville, FL, where his practice focuses on commercial litigation and e-discovery.
Texas Law Professor Randall H. Erben has been elected Vice-Chair of the Texas Ethics Commission.
Eva Janice “Jan” Summer passed away on June 25, 2021. As a founding member of the Center for Women in Law, Jan played an important role in providing scholarships for aspiring young women law students. Jan was also the founding director of The Center for Public Policy Dispute Resolution at The University of Texas School of Law.
Sylvia Kerrigan has been elected vice-chair of Southwestern University’s Board of Trustees and will assume her new duties on July 1, 2022. Kerrigan has served on the board since 2015 and chairs the academic affairs committee. She is the executive director of the Kay Bailey Hutchison Center for Energy, Law and Business at The University of Texas at Austin. Kerrigan also currently serves on the board of directors for Team Industrial Services, where she chairs the corporate governance and nominating committee and sits on the audit committee.
James Crain passed away on July 1, 2021. Crain began his professional career as a Partner at Jenkens & Gilchrist Law Firm, where he headed the Energy Section. Starting in 1989, he served as President of Marsh Operating Company. In 1997 he became a general partner of Valmora Partners LP and later joined Yorktown Partners. Crain also served on the Board of Directors for many public energy companies, including Enlink Midstream, Approach Resources, Crusader Energy Group and others. Crain earned his Bachelor’s, Master’s, and Juris Doctorate degrees at UT Austin. He was an editor of the Texas Law Review and graduated Order of the Coif.
Joseph Pool passed away on June 29, 2021. He studied economics at Stanford University, earned his law degree from Texas Law and returned to Amarillo to begin his law practice. He served as trustee of the estate of his grandfather, J.T Sneed, Jr. Pool is descended from a long line of cattle ranchers and held that passion as well.
Kara L. Karcher has joined Bourland, Wall & Wenzel as associate attorney in Fort Worth, Texas. Her practice focuses on commercial relate estate and general business transactions, including the acquisition, financing, development, leasing and disposition of commercial real estate.
Poonam Kumar, a partner in DLA Piper’s Minneapolis office, has been elected treasurer of Minnesota Women Lawyers (MWL), an association of more than 1,200 attorneys, judges, law students and legal employers in Minnesota. Poonam will also serve on the organization’s 2021-2022 Board of Directors.
Pamelya Herndon has been appointed by the Bernalillo County Commission to District 28 in the New Mexico House of Representatives. She will serve this position until January of 2023. Before her appointment, Herndon served as the president and CEO of KWH Law Center for Social Justice and Change and the CEO of The Women’s Center for Social Justice and Change. She also worked with the Southwest Women’s Law Center, Herndon Legal Services, and the State of New Mexico.
Shane Pennington recently joined top-ranked national cannabis law firm Vicente Sederberg LLP as counsel in the firm’s New York office. He was also just elected to the board of directors for the International Cannabis Bar Association. Pennington, who focuses on federal appeals and regulatory issues, is co-counsel on several high-profile cases against the DEA regarding cannabis research, hemp, and psychedelics.
Justice John Sharp Anderson died on June 22, 2021 in Houston. Anderson served in the 71st Brigade (Airborne), Texas National Guard and in the U.S. Army Reserve. Following Law School, he worked as an attorney in the energy business until 1989, where he left to join Anderson, Brown and Jones where he practiced law with his father, representing both plaintiffs and defendants. He later ran successfully for a position on the Fourteenth Court of Appeals and was sworn in on January 1, 1995, where he served for 17 years.
Hon. Patrick Keel of Austin has been elected Fellows Secretary to the Board of Trustees of the Texas Bar Foundation. Keel took office June 18, 2021. Keel, a former state district judge, is a full-time mediator and arbitrator. He is also an adjunct professor in the trial advocacy program at Texas Law and a member of the Professional Ethics Committee for the State Bar of Texas. After law school, Keel practiced commercial litigation for 13 years with Baker Botts LLP, where he was a partner in the firm’s trial department and hiring partner for the firm’s Austin office.
Harry Swearingen passed away peacefully on June 14, 2021. Harry attended Texas Law and earned the highest score on that year’s bar exam. After law school, he returned to San Antonio and joined the law firm of Brewer, Matthews, Nowlin, and Macfarlane, which, through various mergers over the years, eventually became Cox & Smith (now Dykema). He spent his entire career at the same firm – more than 60 years. Swearingen also served in leadership positions with many local not-for-profits.
Barry Abrams, who serves as chair of Blank Rome’s Pro Bono Committee, was named Pro Bono Attorney of the Year by Houston Volunteer Lawyers, a nonprofit service of the Houston Bar Association. Abrams has received this honor on behalf of his tremendous pro bono work.
Dr. Susan Bohn, superintendent of Aledo ISD, has been named the Region 11 Superintendent of the Year for 2021. The Superintendent of the Year Award honors outstanding Texas administrators for achievement and excellence in public school administration.
Jaime Garcia was promoted to Partner of J. Cruz & Associates, LLC in Laredo, Texas. Garcia will continue to serve public and private clients in the areas of general civil litigation, education law, employment law, and public finance.
Carlos Eduardo Cárdenas, of the Law Office of Carlos Eduardo Cárdenas, P.C. in El Paso, has been elected 2021-2022 Fellows Chair of the Texas Bar Foundation. Cárdenas’ law practice focuses on personal injury and commercial litigation, and in administrative law proceedings
Cynthia Dooley has joined Dallas’ Brousseau Naftis & Massingill. Her practice focuses on wills, trusts, estates and probate issues. Dooley earned her undergraduate degree from Rice in 1986 and her J.D. from The University of Texas School of Law in 1992.
Jason Marlin has joined the Dallas trial firm of Bailey Brauer PLLC as a partner. Marlin is a corporate litigator and experienced trial lawyer who represents companies on complex commercial disputes involving shareholder derivative actions, real estate disputes, financial services litigation, catastrophic personal injury cases, and energy-related lawsuits.
James D. Hornfischer died June 2, 2021 at age 55 after a lengthy illness. He was an Austin writer, naval historian, book editor, and literary agent. The author of several books focusing on the U.S. Navy, Hornfischer recently had been honored with the Navy Distinguished Public Service Award for four books: The Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors: The Extraordinary World War II Story of the U.S. Navy’s Finest Hour; Ship of Ghosts: The Story of the USS Houston, FDR’s Legendary Lost Cruiser, and the Epic Saga of Her Survivors; Neptune’s Inferno: The U.S. Navy at Guadalcanal; and The Fleet at Flood Tide: America at Total War in the Pacific, 1944-1945. After earning his MBA and JD at UT Austin, he founded Hornfischer Literary Management.
Bud Martin passed away on June 6, 2021, in Midland, Texas. He began his law career with the Hinkle Law Firm in Roswell, NM, in 1967. After becoming Partner, he moved to Midland office and served as Managing Partner for many years. Martin was past president of the Midland County Bar Association, former Chairman of the Midland City Planning and Zoning Commission, and served as Local Director of The University of Texas Law School Alumni Association.
Paul Anton Schweizer passed away on June 14, 2021. After graduating from law school, Schweizer joined a well-established firm before becoming a self-employed attorney. Although he had a long list of accomplishments and accolades, he felt the most important job he ever had was being a husband and dad.
Milton Jesse Flick, 77, died on June 15, 2021 in Houston, Texas. He was a practicing attorney in Houston for over 50 years. Flick had a wide range of interests including sailing (earning the dubious nickname of Captain Bligh); country & western dancing; photography; genealogy; traveling the back roads and was a history buff.
David G. Webster was promoted to Partner at Bell Nunnally & Martin LLP in Dallas. He is a member of the firm’s Litigation, Creditors’ Rights, Health Care and White Collar Criminal and Regulatory Defense practice areas. Prior to joining Bell Nunnally, he served as an active-duty Judge Advocate General (JAG) for the U.S. Army, where he represented military forces. Most recently, Webster served as a U.S. Army Officer with the Texas Army National Guard JAG Corps, assigned as trial counsel for the 56th Infantry Brigade Combat Team.
Josiah Daniel has published “What I Said Was ‘Here Is Where I Cash In'”: the Instrumental Role of Congressman Hatton Sumners in the Resolution of the 1937 Court-Packing Crisis, 54 John Marshall Law Review 379 (June 11, 2021). Daniel continues archival work for his biography of Congressman Sumners, who chaired the House Judiciary Committee 1931-1947, overlapping the tenure of President Franklin D. Roosevelt.
Tom Landry, Jr. was named a co-grand marshal of the 37th annual NASCAR All-Star Race at Texas Motor Speedway held during on June 13. The 2021 NASCAR All-Star Race will be held for the first time at the speedway, which is celebrating its 25th Season of Speed. Landry, Jr. currently serves as President and a Director of Dallas-based Landry Investment Group, Inc.
Reid Phillips, managing partner at Brooks Pierce in North Carolina, was recognized for Litigation: General Commercial in the 2021 edition of Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business. The listing of the leading lawyers and law firms in the country is published annually by Chambers and Partners.
Andrea Meza has joined the Board of Directors at Mabel Center for Immigrant Justice. Meza is the Director of Family Detention Services at RAICES, which offers free universal representation to families held in ICE custody at the Karnes family prison in Karnes City, Texas.
Robert Lee Smith died peacefully on May 29, 2021. He attended the University of Texas at Austin and served in the Army before receiving his J.D. from Texas Law. After practicing law for 50 years, he retired in 2018 and was known to many as the Prince of Real Estate.
Steve Eargle has been elected as Chairman of the Board for The National Bank of Texas, based in Fort Worth. Elected to the Board of Directors in 2017, he currently serves on the Executive, Strategic Planning, Property and Director’s Loan Committees. Eargle is a Co-founder and Partner of Fort Worth Royalty Company.
Stephanie Collett Sparks has joined the firm Vedder Price as a Shareholder in its Litigation practice area in the Dallas office. Her practice focuses on complex commercial litigation, health care, and energy transactional and regulatory matters. Prior to this position, Sparks spent a 15-year career with Jackson Walker.
Jennifer Librach Nall has joined DLA Piper as a partner in the firm’s Patent Litigation practice, based in Austin, Texas.
Spencer Bartlett, of Jefferson City, Mo., was appointed to the Administrative Hearing Commission. Bartlett joined the Missouri Department of Revenue as Deputy General Counsel in 2017 and was promoted to General Counsel in 2019. Prior to joining the Department of Revenue, he served as an assistant Prosecuting Attorney for the Boone County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office.
Kristan K. Wheeler has been appointed to Colorado’s Jefferson County Court in the 1st Judicial District, effective July 1, 2021. Wheeler is currently a district and county court magistrate in the 17th Judicial District, a position she has held since 2019. Her docket consists of both criminal and civil matters.
James Edward “Jimmy” Brill died on May 27, 2021. Brill was sworn in as a lawyer in December 1957, and practiced law, primarily as a solo, for over 60 years until his retirement in 2019. The State Bar of Texas awarded him the Presidents’ Award as “the outstanding lawyer in Texas” and he also received two lifetime achievement awards from the American Bar Association.
Michael Paul Lewis, age 42, passed away May 28, 2021. He practiced law in Kansas City, Missouri, and in Washington, D.C. He loved guitar, the blues, music in general, and his family. He delighted in finding the perfect analogy and could always be counted on to help anyone in need.
Daniel “Dan” Charles Miller passed away in Dripping Springs on May 18, 2021. He is a double Longhorn, Early on, Miller worked at at the Texas General Land Office, first managing the Oil & Gas Section of the Legal Division and later as the Deputy Land Commissioner. In 1989, he entered private practice with the law firm McElroy & Sullivan, and he worked as a partner with the firm for over 30 years.
Julie Gremillion has been appointed as General Counsel for GoExpedi. She will be responsible for leading all aspects of GoExpedi’s legal strategy, managing compliance and risk throughout the organization; working closely with senior leadership and the Board of Directors as a strategic advisor on legal and business matters affecting the company; and providing legal support for transactional matters, strategic opportunities and day-to-day operations.
Darren Walker has been elected as a member of The American Philosophical Society (APS), founded by Benjamin Franklin in 1743. He is among 33 leaders in the sciences, humanities, and business fields to be elected to the APS this year. Walker is president of the Ford Foundation, an international grant-making philanthropy with the mission of advancing human welfare.
John Helms has been selected to Super Lawyers, as part of its top tier of attorneys in the White Collar and General Litigation practice areas. Helms is a Dallas criminal defense attorney who specializes in both trials and appeals. He is a former federal prosecutor for the Northern District of Texas.
Stanley David Rosenberg died at the age of 89 on May 21, 2021. Rosenberg served in the Air Force as a JAG officer, providing legal services in the Air Force. He founded three successful law firms, was involved in the creation of many large businesses, and one of his biggest points of pride was his negotiation of the purchase of the New Orleans Saints by Tom Benson. Rosenberg was known for his great sense of humor, his magnetic personality, and charismatic storytelling.
John Kaercher has joined Kirkland & Ellis LLP as a partner in the Corporate Practice Group to help launch its Austin office. Kaercher counsels clients on complex transactions, including domestic and cross-border mergers and acquisitions, divestitures, SPACs, private equity and public and private securities offerings, with a particular focus on the technology, media, telecommunications and energy sectors.
Minor L. Helm, Jr., 83, passed away Tuesday, May 18, 2021. Helm was admitted to practice before the U.S. Supreme Court; U.S. Court of Appeals as well as Northern, Eastern and Western districts of Texas, and was especially proud to achieve the highest possible peer review rating in legal ability and ethical standards for 40 years. He practiced law in Waco for 53 years, he was a friend to all and a very humble man.
Caitlin Rice has been promoted to the leadership position of Global Vice President, Customer Service. She was previously the Senior Director, Commercial Support for the evo® Cold Chain Management Platform.
Carlos Martinez has been appointed to the newly established position of Senior Vice President for Institutional Strategic Planning, Compliance Risk Management, and Office Operations & Chief of Staff at The University of Texas at San Antonio. Martinez has nearly 20 years of experience in senior leadership positions in Texas higher education and most recently served as chief of staff at The University of Texas at Austin before joining UTSA in September 2020.
Karen C. Burgess, of Burgess Law in Austin, was elected dean of the International Academy of Trial Lawyers at the academy’s annual meeting. Burgess was inducted into IATL in 2015 and has served on various ITAL committees, the board of directors, and held the office of secretary-treasurer. She served as co-chair of the 2019 State Bar of Texas Annual Meeting. Texas Law honored Burgess as Mentor of the Year at its 2018 Alumni Awards Dinner.