Robert Gene “Rusty” Russell passed away on Monday, Jan. 17, 2022 in Arlington, Texas. Russell graduated from law school in 1970, served in the Air Force, and had a long legal career, including serving as an administrative law judge for the State of Texas and teaching law at a local college.
Taylor Steele is heading the newly opened Dallas office of civil litigation firm Knox Ricksen LLP, a civil litigation firm. Steele has worked as a lateral partner for the firm since January 2021.
Jose Vela has been elected to the Austin City Council representing District 4, after running a campaign based on tackling housing affordability in Austin. Vela works as an immigration attorney for Walker Gates Vela, PLLC.
Whitney Beckworth has been elected as Partner at Kelly, Hart, and Hallman, LLP. Beckworth focuses on civil litigation and was named a Super Lawyers Rising Star for business litigation in 2022 and Best Lawyer/One to Watch in DFW for 2022 by US News & World Report for appellate practice.
Hannah Watkins has been elected as Partner at Kelly, Hart, and Hallman, LLP. Watkins specializes in real estate law and was named a Texas Super Lawyers Rising Star in 2022.
Reid Phillips was recognized as a “Super Lawyer” for Business Litigation in the 2022 edition of North Carolina Super Lawyers, an annual list honoring the top lawyers in North Carolina. Phillips is a managing partner with Brooks Pierce.
Marlene Williams was appointed to a shareholder position at the Houston office of Ogeltree Deakins, a labor and employment law firm. Williams previously worked as a Partner in Charge for Eversheds Sutherland and has been recognized as Houston Top Lawyer in the Labor and Employment area in the Houston Business Journal.
Brad Wright has been appointed by Gov. Greg Abbott to the Permanent School Fund Corporation Board of Directors which oversees the investment of funds for Texas public schools. Wright is a co-founder and managing partner of Bandera Group, LLC, an energy investment firm. He serves on the Advisory Council for Kay Bailey Hutchinson Center for Energy, Law, and Business and the Advisory Committee for the McCombs School of Business Energy Initiative at UT Austin.
Wardlow Lane passed away at age 81 on Jan. 13, 2022 after a lengthy illness. After graduating from law school in 1968, Lane worked as an assistant attorney general under Texas attorney general John L. Hill. He later opened his own practices in Center, Texas and Pagosa Springs, Colorado.
David Ray Finney, former Tarrant County attorney and legislator, passed away on Jan. 18, 2022 at age 88. Finney earned his Bachelor of Laws in 1958, followed by a three-year stint in the Air Force as Assistant Staff Judge Advocate. He worked as an assistant city attorney for the City of Fort Worth and at a number of small law firms. Finney also represented Tarrant County in the House of Representatives from 1962 until 1977.
Danny McDonald has joined Endeavors, a service organization based in San Antonio, Texas, as the chief risk officer and general counsel. Before joining Endeavors, McDonald worked as an in house attorney, public accountant, and legal and business advisor.
Jim Weiss has been promoted to partner at litigation firm Reynolds Frizzell, LLP. A third generation lawyer, Weiss clerked for two years for The Hon. Sam Sparks on the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas.
Vianei Lopez Braun has been elected chair of the Fort Worth Regional Board of Directors for First Financial Bank after having served as the bank’s employment attorney for 24 years. Braun also sits on the Board of Directors for First Financial Bankshares, Inc. and serves as chief development officer for Decker Jones, P.C.
José M. Rubio has been elected to new member by Dykema, a national law firm. Rubio is an attorney in Dykema’s Commercial Litigation practice group.
Prescott W. Smith has been elected to new member at Dykema, a national law firm. Smith works as an attorney in Dykema’s Products Liability practice group.
Ard Ardalan has opened Ardalan Law Firm PLLC focusing on personal injury cases in Austin, Texas.
Rick Cofer was recognized as Best Lawyer in the Austin Chronicle 2021 Best of Austin Readers Poll. He is a partner of Cofer & Connelly, PLLC whose practice focus on family law, criminal defense, and personal injury law.
John G. Minniece passed away on Jan. 10, 2022 at the age of 88. He was a double Longhorn who graduated with his Bachelor of Laws in 1960, after serving in the Marine Corps. Minniece practiced oil and gas, banking, and real estate law.
Karen Roberts Washington was named a life member of the Uniform Law Commission. The Uniform Law Commission works to provide uniformity in state laws for citizens who work or travel in multiple states.
Leslie Robnett was appointed by Governor Greg Abbott to the Specialty Courts Advisory Council for a term set to expire February 1, 2025. Robnett of Fort Worth is an attorney for Duane Morris, LLP. She is a member of the State Bar of Texas, The University of Texas Chancellors Council, and the Eldon B. Mahon Inn of Court.
David Pritchett has been made a shareholder of Duluth-based law firm Fryberger, Buchanan, Smith & Frederick, P.A. He joined the firm in 2020, bringing his experience in real estate law, corporate law, business succession planning, and municipal law to the firm. He has served as Minnesota counsel for PotlatchDeltic Corporation and as Town Attorney for Thomson Township since 1991, among many other clients.
Charlie Stern has been hired by Beasley Allen to work in the Toxic Torts Section of the firm’s new Dallas office. He focuses his practice on representing individuals who have been exposed to asbestos and developed life-threatening cancers, including mesothelioma and lung cancer. Before joining Beasley Allen, Stern worked for another plaintiffs’ law firm and served as Assistant District Attorney for the Griffin Judicial Circuit in Spaulding County, Georgia.
Carlos Romo has taken over as President of the Colorado Hispanic Bar Association. He plans to build on CHBA’s pro bono efforts and expand its formal mentorship program. Romo is a Director of law firm Williams Weese Pepple & Ferguson’s Natural Resources and Environmental Practice Areas. He has been recognized as a top lawyer by 5280 Magazine, Best Lawyers, and Superlawyers.
C. Kenneth Roberts, former Chair of the UT Law School Foundation, Life Trustee, colleague and friend, passed away on Jan. 9, 2022. Roberts earned his JD in 1951 and his Master in Law in 1953. He then served in the US Army before a long, distinguished career in law. He rose to be Vice President and General Counsel of Exxon Corporation and retired in 1995. He was honored for his service to the legal community as Texas Law’s Outstanding Alumnus in 1993. Memorial contributions may be made to The Cary & Kenneth Roberts Endowment for Excellence Scholarship.
Judge Gregg Costa has announced that he will resign in August 2022 as jurist in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. His departure will create a vacancy for a new appointment for President Biden. Costa previously served as a judge on the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas, as an assistant U.S. attorney, and as an associate for Weil, Gotshal & Manges in Houston.
Joseph Flannery has joined the Cleveland, Ohio office of Reminger Co., LPA. He focuses his practice on medical malpractice defense, health care law, and long-term care liability.
Danny McDonald has assumed the new executive position of General Counsel/Chief Risk Officer for Endeavors. In the role, he will lead Endeavors’ legal services, counsel the company’s senior leadership, and implement a comprehensive risk management program. He is a double Longhorn with a Master’s in accounting.
Kathryn Gurley has been appointed by Gov. Greg Abbott as Judge of the 287th Judicial District Court in Bailey and Parmer counties. Previously, she served as the Parmer County Attorney. Gurley is a member of the State Bar of Texas and the Friona Chamber of Commerce. She is a former board member of the Friona Independent School District and former member of the Friona Public Library Endowment Committee.
Ned Sherman was named on Variety’s 2021 Dealmakers Impact Report among professionals who led major game-changing deals impacting the entertainment landscape. This is the second time Sherman was featured on this prestigious list. In his profile, Variety described Sherman as the “premium advisor” for companies and talent in the quickly evolving esports industry. Sherman is a partner at Manatt, Phelps & Phillips LLP and leader of the firm’s Digital & Technology Transactions practice.
Marvin Boyd Shannon learned golf after he lost his eyesight at age 13. He made history by winning the world’s blind golf championship at Rockwood golf course in Fort Worth, Texas in 1941.
Ross MacDonald has been named a partner of Gibbs & Bruns LLP. He is recognized by Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch, 2021-2022; and Legal 500 US as a “Rising Star” in General Commercial Disputes, 2019-2021. MacDonald devotes his practice to complex commercial litigation disputes, representing both plaintiffs and defendants in state and federal court as well as in arbitration.
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Wilson G. Jones has joined Bracewell LLP as a partner and chair of the healthcare practice. Over his 28-year career, Jones has provided counsel on the full range of legal issues faced by clients in the healthcare, pharma and life sciences industry, including representing and advising clients in compliance and regulatory matters, health industry transactions, and investigation and enforcement actions.
Patrick Bredehoft has joined Bracewell LLP as a partner in the healthcare practice. Based in Dallas, he maintains an active trial and arbitration practice, with a focus on healthcare and commercial disputes and qui tam litigation defense.
Jackie Furlow has been promoted to partner of Beck Redden. Furlow is a first-chair trial lawyer with significant experience in commercial litigation spanning a wide variety of industries.
Perry Joe Radoff, age 81, of Houston, Texas died on Jan. 3, 2022, after a prolonged illness. He began his legal career at Dow Cogburn & Friedman before going into private practice. Radoff was board certified in the practice of Probate and Real Estate law and worked at Bernstein Radoff Trachtenberg and Sarofim for the remainder of his legal career.
Colonel Herbert Green died on Dec. 27, 2021 in North Richland Hills, Texas. Green served over 27 years in the U.S. Army, culminating his military judicial career as Chief Judge, 3rd Judicial Circuit, Fort Hood, Texas until he retired in 1994. He took on a second career as an Administrative Law Judge for the Social Security Administration until his retirement in 2019.
John Blaine McAdams died on Dec. 25, 2021 at age 74. After graduation, McAdams became an associate with the Strasburger & Price law firm in Dallas. Later, he practiced law with the Vinson & Elkins and Kelly, Hart & Hallman law firms. His career passion became representing major league baseball teams.
Brian L. King has been elevated to a member of Cole Schotz P.C. in the Intellectual Property Group, as well as the Litigation Department in the firm’s Texas office. King is a trial attorney who primarily focuses on commercial and intellectual property litigation, including patent, trademark, copyright, trade secret, and breach of contract matters.
Kevin P. Hess has been promoted to Principal of McKool Smith in the Austin office. His practice focuses on intellectual property litigation, particularly cases involving standard essential patents subject to FRAND or RAND obligations. He represents plaintiffs and defendants in district courts, the Patent Office, and the Federal Circuit.
Jessica Hoffmann serves as the Chief Operating Officer of Steptoe & Johnson, where she leads the daily operations of the firm and oversees key functions. She has nearly two decades of law firm leadership experience.
Henry Paul Giessel, age 94, passed away on Dec. 16, 2021 in El Paso, Texas. He served in World War II in the United States Army before entering law school where he was editor of The University of Texas Law Review. He practiced in Houston for over 60 years and distinguished himself as a trial lawyer not only in Texas, but also across the country.
The late Zachary Barker Chittick has been honored and memorialized with an endowment fund in his name to benefit Valley Youth House in Pennsylvania.
Patrick K. Johnson was elected partner of Bracewell LLP in the firm’s Houston office. Johnson represents clients across the energy sector in transactions that include mergers, acquisitions and divestitures of assets and companies, joint venture arrangements and project finance and development. From 2015 to 2017, Johnson served as in-house counsel to ExxonMobil, where he provided legal support for upstream and midstream projects in Europe, North America, South America and Australia.
Amber K. Dodds was elected partner of Bracewell LLP in the firm’s San Antonio office. Dodds advises employers on labor and employment issues, such as leave administration, employee investigations, OSHA compliance, the use of background checks and consumer reports, employee discipline and preventing harassment and retaliation claims. She served as an intern in the US District Court for the Western District of Texas and the Texas First Court of Appeals.
Merritt Clements is now the Chairman of the Board of Directors for Planned Parenthood South Texas.
The Hon. Sarah Weddington—whose work as a trailblazing lawyer, beloved professor, and dedicated public servant has left a formidable legacy—passed away the morning of Dec. 26, 2021 at age 76. Weddington, who at 26, just over three years out of law school, successfully argued Roe v. Wade before the U.S. Supreme Court.
Paul Heermans Smith passed away on Dec. 10, 2021. After graduation from law school, Paul enlisted in the US Navy, and qualified for Naval Officer Candidate School in Newport, Rhode Island. For his last year of active duty, he was assigned to the Fleet Training Center in San Diego, CA where he taught Military Justice. After his assignment in San Diego, instead of returning to El Paso, he led his family to San Antonio where he joined the law firm of Cox, Patterson & Smith on Feb. 1, 1955. He practiced law with the same firm and its successors until his retirement in 2010.
James S. Carter was elected partner of Blank Rome LLP in the firm’s Washington, D.C., office, effective Jan. 1, 2022. Carter represents policyholders in disputes and litigation against their insurers, and provides strategic guidance to clients on ways to enhance coverage for their risks.
Donald Lawrence Davis, 82, passed away peacefully on Dec. 8, 2021 in Austin, Texas. After college, he declined an offer to try out for the Baltimore Colts, and instead earned a JD at Texas Law. He clerked for Justice Mead Griffith at the Texas Supreme Court before joining the firm of Byrd, Davis, Eisenberg and Clark in 1966. He stayed with the firm for the duration of his 53 year legal career. At the age of 28, he argued the landmark case of Powell v. Texas in the United States Supreme Court. At that time, he was the youngest attorney to have appeared and argued a case before the Supreme Court.
Charles Wayne Chapman passed away on Dec. 7, 2021. Chapman was a lawyer for 42 years and was a former district attorney in Hays County, Texas, elected by the community. He taught at Southwest Texas State University for 14 years. He later moved to the Lower Rio Grande Valley and continued to work as a university professor for 21 years.