David K. Brooks passed away on August 26, 2022. A double Longhorn and Army veteran, Brooks worked on the Texas Law Review while in law school. He practiced at several law firms in three different states and also served as a judge of the 191st District Court and as assistant general counsel in the New Mexico Oil Conservation Division.
Miriam “Dusty” Burke passed away on Oct. 7, 2022. After graduating from Texas Law as one of only six women in her class, Burke went on to work as a law professor at St. Thomas University. She then became a partner at Vinson and Elkins LLP. Burke was honored with Texas Law’s Distinguished Alumna Award in 2014.
Irwin H. Steinhorn was named by 405 Magazine as one of the top lawyers in Oklahoma City and as one of the Best Lawyers in America for his work in corporate law and securities/capital market law. He is an attorney with Conner and Winters LLP.
Jackie Furlow has been recognized in the inaugural guide of the Lawdragon 500 Leading Litigators in America in the area of Commercial Litigation. She is a partner at Beck Redden.
Walter Fassnidge passed away on Oct. 2, 2022. Fassnidge earned a bachelor of law degree from Texas Law, then went on to serve in the U.S. Army. He practiced as a real estate attorney for the City of San Antonio, then worked as a professor of business and real estate law at the University of Texas at San Antonio.
Walter Russell Long, Jr. passed away on Sept. 30, 2022. He interrupted his law school years to serve in the army for two years before being honorably discharged as a first lieutenant. After completing law school, Long started a long career as an attorney including 42 years at the firm he co-founded, Long & Whitehead. After retiring, he was County Judge of Karnes County from 2015-18.
David Cole has joined the Houston office of Kirkland Ellis as a partner. Cole is a tax attorney who has been recognized by The Legal 500 US and named a “Texas Rising Star” by Thomas Reuters.
David Beckwith passed away in Austin on Oct. 2, 2022. After graduating from Texas Law, Beckwith worked at Time Magazine where he notably reported the Supreme Court’s original Roe v. Wade ruling before the decision came out. He went on to serve as founding editor of the Legal Times and a spokesperson for several elected officials.
Brittany Castillo, CEO of emergency management and logistics contractor AshBritt, is featured in Forbes Magazine.
David Smith passed away on Sept. 29, 2022. A double Longhorn, Smith was a graduate of the Plan II Honors Program and was vice president of his Texas Law class. Upon graduation, Smith practiced law in California and Texas, with a focus in administrative, environmental, and real estate law.
Billy Leonard, Jr. passed away on Oct. 1, 2022. He was a double Longhorn, having also earned his bachelor’s degree from UT. Leonard practiced primarily with Strasburger & Price, where he was a partner specializing in antitrust, bankruptcy, real estate, tax, environmental, and commercial litigation.
F. Walter Conrad Jr. passed away on Sept. 24, 2022. Before beginning his legal career, Conrad served as first lieutenant of an artillery battery at Fort Lewis, receiving the Army Commendation Medal for Meritorious Service. Conrad worked at Baker Botts as a trial attorney, specializing in environmental litigation.
William David Roberts passed away on Sept. 28, 2022. Upon graduation from Texas Law, Roberts served in the United States Army, obtaining the rank of captain. Roberts went on practice law in the Golden Crescent region for 50 years, and also served in leadership roles for multiple professional and community organizations.
Molly Fenton has been promoted to Partner at Cohen Gardner LLP. Fenton specializes in entertainment law, negotiating deals and contracts for a range of clients in film, television, and digital/new media spaces.
Adam Greiner has joined Schiffer Hicks Johnson PLLC after completing the firm’s 2021 Summer Associate Program. Greiner specializes in mass tort litigation, product liability claims, and commercial disputes in the energy sector.
Rudy Metayer has been named as a Texas Super Lawyer by Thomson Reuters. Metayer currently serves as an attorney for Graves Dougherty Hearon & Moody, and is also a council member for the City of Pflugerville.
Andrew Kerr, a Member of Clark Hill law firm in the San Antonio office, was the recipient of the prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award from Texas Lawyer for his commitment to public service to the Texas legal community and the community beyond over the course of his career.
Jadd Masso, a member of Clark Hill law firm in the Dallas office, received the Best Mentors Award from Texas Lawyer, presented at the Texas Legal Excellence Awards Dinner on Sept. 14, 2022.
Joe Redden, Jr. was recognized as a 2022 Texas Super Lawyer and in the inaugural guide of the Lawdragon 500 Leading Litigators in America. Redden is a trial lawyer and serves as of counsel in the Houston office of Beck Redden.
Allison Miller has been recognized as a 2022 Texas Super Lawyer. Miller is a trial attorney and serves as counsel for the Houston office of Beck Redden.
Geoff Gannaway was recognized as a 2022 Texas Super Lawyer. Gannaway is a partner at the Houston office of Beck Redden.
Alistair Dawson has been recognized as a 2022 Texas Super Lawyer, a Local Litigation Star by Benchmark Litigation for 2023, and in the inaugural guide of the Lawdragon 500 Leading Litigators in America. Dawson is a partner at the Houston office of Beck Redden.
David Beck has received numerous awards by Benchmark Litigation for 2023, including Top 100 Trial Lawyer, National Practice Area Star, and Local Litigation Star. He also was recognized as a 2022 Texas Super Lawyer for business litigation and in the inaugural guide of the Lawdragon 500 Leading Litigators in America. Beck is a founding partner of Beck Redden in Houston.
Fields Alexander has been recognized as a 2022 Super Lawyer for his work in business litigation, as well as a Local Litigation Star by Benchmark Litigation for 2023 and in the inaugural guide of the Lawdragon 500 Leading Litigators in America. Alexander is a partner at Beck Redden.
Kurt Schwarz passed away on Sept. 22, 2022. Schwarz served as a law clerk to Chief Judge Barefoot Sanders of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas, then later became a partner at Jackson Walker. During his time at Texas Law, Schwarz was the executive editor of the Texas Law Review.
Eric Halpern has joined Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP’s Dallas office as an associate in the Litigation Practice Group.
Randy Johnston is included on the 2022 list of Texas Super Lawyers and the DFW Top 100, recognized among the state’s top plaintiffs’ attorneys for professional liability cases. He has been named to the Super Lawyers list each year since the inaugural 2003 edition. Johnston is a partner and shareholder at Johnston Tobey Baruch.
Robert Tobey has earned recognition on the 2022 list of Texas Super Lawyers for his professional liability work on behalf of plaintiffs. He is a partner and shareholder at Johnston Tobey Baruch.
Miguel Hernandez Romo Valencia presented a guest lecture at Texas Law on litigation and dispute resolution in Mexico. Romo is a trilingual litigation attorney with a specialization in civil, commercial, professional responsibility, family litigation, medical malpractice and insurance sectors.
Thomas Mitchell passed away on Aug. 19, 2022. A veteran, Mitchell served in the Marines during WWII prior to enrolling at Texas Law. Mitchell began his legal career as a trial lawyer, later establishing his own firm of Mitchell and Doran.
Jim Reeder has been selected to receive the Laura Lee Blanton Community Spirit Award from Houston Hospice in recognition of decades-long dedication and commitment to the organization, with co-recipient Eric Nevil. Reeder is a partner at Jones Day, where he focuses on complex commercial litigation and antitrust.
David Genender has joined McDermott Will & Emery LLP as a partner. Genender has represented both plaintiffs and defendants in arbitrations at the state and federal levels, in industries varying from energy, technology, private equity and real estate.
David Whitten passed away on Sept. 9, 2022. A double longhorn, Whitten served on the staffs of two Texas Congressmen. He then entered private legal practice, specializing in environmental law as a shareholder with Guida, Slavich & Flores, P.C.
Attorney Mitch Little has been recognized on the 2022 Texas Super Lawyers list by Thomson Reuters for his expertise in securities litigation. He is a partner at Scheef & Stone.
Jessica Dean has been selected to the Texas Super Lawyers guide for the second consecutive year. Dean is a partner at Dallas law firm Dean Omar Branham Shirley LLP and is recognized for her work in personal injury products liability.
Harold Kleinman passed away on Sept. 2, 2022. Kleinman served as an attorney for more than five decades with Thompson & Knight and also served as a legal advisor to President George W. Bush. A double Longhorn, Kleinman also served in the U.S. Army.
Leonard Wayne Scott passed away on Sept. 14, 2022. Wayne served as a briefing attorney for the Criminal Court of Appeals and the Texas Supreme Court before becoming a law professor at St. Mary’s Law School.
Michael Byrd has joined Porter Hedges LLP’s Houston office as a partner in energy transactions. Byrd formerly practiced at Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP before briefly running a solo practice.
Judge James A. Parker passed away on Sept. 16, 2022. Parker worked for an Albuquerque law firm for 25 years before being nominated to serve as a U.S. District Court judge in 1987. He filled that role for more than three decades, one of the longest tenures of any federal judge in New Mexico.
Reid Phillips was recognized with North Carolina’s highest honor, induction into the Order of the Long Leaf Pine, presented by Governor Roy Cooper. Phillips, one of the state’s top litigators, has served as Managing Partner at Brooks Pierce since 2015, and has been with the firm for 45 years.
Melynda Price has been named the inaugural J. David Rosenburg Professor of Law at the University of Kentucky J. David Rosenburg College of Law. Price has served on the law school faculty there since 2006 and served as director of the University of Kentucky Gaines Center for Humanities.
Shavonne Henderson has been has been selected as a 2022 recipient of the Texas Diversity Council Top Women Lawyer Award. Henderson currently serves as Associate Dean for Diversity, Equity, Belonging, and Inclusion and is a lecturer at Texas Law.
Travis Maples is the newest associate attorney at Soltero Sapire Murrell PLLC in Austin. During his time at Texas Law, Maples served as associate editor of the Texas Law Review.
Omar Alaniz has been named the president of the John C. Ford American Inn of Court, an organization dedicated to the specialty of the bankruptcy field. Alaniz currently serves as a restructuring partner at Reed Smith LLP.
Susan Chase has joined the University of Michigan School of Law as a visiting clinical assistant professor in the Community Enterprise Clinic. In addition to teaching, she will work with student-led teams to assist small businesses and nonprofit organizations in southeastern Michigan.
Susan Byrd Burr passed away on May 23, 2022. Burr graduated Texas Law with Order of the Coif, after serving as Associate Editor of the Texas Law Review. She worked as both of counsel and senior counsel for two California law firms until retiring in 2011.
Grant Schmidt has become the first managing partner of the Dallas office of Hilgers Graben PLLC. Previously he was a partner in the Dallas office of Winston & Strawn.
Garrett Brawley was featured in a Texas Young Lawyers Association (TYLA) Director Spotlight. Brawley currently serves on the TYLA Board of Directors and specializes in commercial litigation at Beck Redden.
Charles Harold Lloyd passed away on July 17, 2022. After graduating Texas Law, Lloyd opened Harold Lloyd, Inc., where he served as a Texas trial lawyer in family and personal injury. He was later admitted to the Texas Fifth Circuit court of Appeals as well as the Bar of the Supreme Court of the United States.
Brad Barron has been appointed to the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas’ San Antonio Branch Board of Directors. Barron is the president and CEO of the San Antonio-based NuStar Energy.