Class Notes

Lane Powell Shareholder & Immigration Team Chair Dustin J. O’Quinn has been selected to participate in the Leadership Council for Legal Diversity’s (LCLD) 2019 Fellows Program, a select group of experienced attorneys from diverse backgrounds who have been recognized for their potential as leaders in their organizations. LCLD is a growing organization of 300+ corporate chief legal officers and law firm leaders who are personally committed to creating a truly diverse legal profession.

Baker Botts L.L.P., announced that John W. Martin has been elected as the firm’s 15th Managing Partner. Mr. Martin’s four-year term will commence April 1, 2019. “John is a bold and dynamic leader, and the perfect choice to lead our 179-year old firm in these changing times. I know that with John’s selection the future of the firm is in great hands,” said Andrew M. Baker, the current Managing Partner of Baker Botts.

HOUSTON, TX, February 13, 2019 – Taylor English Duma LLP is pleased to announce the addition of Bryce Linsenmayer as a partner in the firm’s Corporate practice. In his third decade of practice, Linsenmayer has built a reputation for assisting top national and global clients. He focuses his practice on securities law and mergers and acquisitions with a particular focus on the energy, technology, cybersecurity, environmental, travel and leisure and healthcare industries.

Ben Maddox (’14) currently serves as a Navy Judge Advocate General (JAG) at the Washington Navy Yard. He was recently selected as a 2019 Presidential Leadership Scholar, which is a leadership development initiative in partnership with the George W. Bush, Bill Clinton, George H.W. Bush, and Lyndon Johnson presidential libraries. As part of the program, Ben’s leadership project will address the large racial disparities in military justice.

Michael McBride, an intellectual property lawyer, was promoted to partner at Houston-based Ahmad, Zavitsanos, Anaipakos, Alavi & Mensing P.C. Jan. 28, 2019. Mr. McBride focuses on patent litigation and patent prosecution matters. He earned a degree in electrical engineering at UT and worked for Fujitsu-AMD Semiconductor in Austin before becoming a lawyer. He has prosecuted patents in hardware and software, aerospace and energy. Mr. McBride is a repeat honoree on the Texas Rising Stars list.

Commercial litigator Ryan Hackney was promoted to partner at Houston-based civil trial law boutique Ahmad, Zavitsanos, Anaipakos, Alavi & Mensing P.C. on Jan. 28, 2019. He has represented energy companies in a variety of disputes and previously worked as a management consultant at Boston Consulting Group. Mr. Hackney has earned recognition on Super Lawyers magazine’s peer-reviewed Texas Rising Stars list of top young lawyers the past two years. Less than 2.5% of lawyers in Texas are chosen.

Intellectual property lawyer lawyer Scott W. Clark, JD 1998, was promoted to partner at Houston-based civil litigation boutique Ahmad, Zavitsanos, Anaipakos, Alavi & Mensing P.C. on Jan. 28, 2019. Mr. Clark is a registered U.S. patent attorney with over 15 years of experience representing clients in all aspects of intellectual property. He has litigated over 30 civil cases, including 25 patent disputes. He earned a B.S. in chemical engineering from UT in 1993.

Fish & Richardson has elevated Jackob Ben-Ezra to principal in the firm’s Intellectual Property Litigation Group in Houston. Overall, 11 attorneys were promoted to principal. Ben-Ezra represents the world’s largest tech companies in complex patent litigation.

Norton Rose Fulbright has promoted Eliot Turner to partner. Turner is a member of the firm’s antitrust disputes group and he represents clients in defending and prosecuting claims under the Sherman Act, the Clayton Act, and state antitrust laws, as well as other complex matters. Based in the firm’s Houston office, Mr. Turner is an executive editor of Litigation, the journal of the American Bar Association’s Section of Litigation.

Norton Rose Fulbright has promoted Jamila S. Mensah to partner. Mensah concentrates on all areas of employment law and has extensive experience in discrimination, retaliation and wage and hour issues. Based in the firm’s Houston office, Ms. Mensah represents clients in federal and state court and before administrative bodies, such as the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. She counsels employers on hiring, termination, disability accommodation and drafting of personnel policies.

Norton Rose Fulbright in Houston has promoted Brandon Byrne to partner. Byrne represents clients on capital markets and M&A transactions, including public and private securities offerings, mergers, stock and asset transactions, and private equity and venture capital investments. He also advises on securities compliance, corporate governance, and contractual matters.

Vinson & Elkins has promoted Danielle Patterson to partner, effective Jan. 1, 2019. Patterson advises domestic U.S. and international clients in mergers and acquisitions, private equity investments, joint ventures and project development transactions. She most frequently represents public and private companies, private equity funds and financial institutions involved in the energy industry, particularly in the upstream and midstream oil and gas and renewable power sectors.

Fish & Richardson announced today that Leanne Flatter has joined the firm as a first-year associate in its Austin office. Flatter previously was a summer associate with the firm and focuses her practice on patents in the life sciences, medical devices and software industries. She received her J.D. from the University of Texas School of Law in 2018 and her M.S. (2015) and B.S. (2014) in bioengineering from Clemson University.

Jeffrey J. Zissa has joined the Dallas office of national law firm Polsinelli as a shareholder in its thriving Real Estate Finance practice. With a broad range of experience over almost three decades, Zissa has advised on all aspects of complex commercial real estate and mortgage transactions on a national scale, involving virtually every product line. He is board certified in Commercial Real Estate Law and Residential Real Estate Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization.

Mark D. Strachan joined the Dallas office of Bradley Arant Boult Cummings as Counsel. He has tried patent cases to verdict in Texas federal courts and has argued at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. A native of East Texas, he has served at East Texas Baptist University in Marshall as an adjunct professor. He is Board Certified in Civil Trial Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization and is an associate of the American Board of Trial Advocates. He is a Texas Super Lawyer.

Stacy D. Simon has joined Bradley Arant Boult Cummings as a Senior Attorney in Dallas. Ms. Simon represents business clients in complex commercial disputes in arbitration and in state and federal courts. Her expertise includes antitrust claims, contract disputes, breach of fiduciary duty claims, fraud and negligent misrepresentation claims, trade secret and non-competition issues, securities and transactional fraud, FOIA requests, partnership and shareholder disputes, as well as libel defense.

William S. Snyder has joined the Dallas office of Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP as a Partner. Mr. Snyder has an active practice in state and federal courts and in arbitration. He represents clients in a broad spectrum of business litigation and is included in The Best Lawyers in America, and was named a Texas Super Lawyer for the last 10 consecutive years. He has argued cases before the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit and the Texas appellate courts.

Attorney Jay Jackson of the Houston personal injury law firm of Abraham, Watkins, Nichols, Sorrels, Agosto & Aziz has been selected to the Texas Super Lawyers list for 2018. This marks Mr. Jackson’s seventh consecutive year of inclusion on this list which is published annually in the Texas Monthly and Texas Super Lawyers magazines. Only the top five percent of attorneys practicing in Texas are recognized each year and selection is based on peer nominations and evaluations and research.

Bracewell LLP is pleased to announce the election of Molly E. Butkus to the 2019 partnership class. Butkus represents clients in upstream oil and gas acquisitions, divestitures, exchanges, service agreements and other operational matters. She also advises on transactions in the water supply, disposal and infrastructure space, as well as transactions in the midstream energy sector.

Matt Sheehan has joined Reynolds Frizzell LLP as a litigation associate in Houston. A trial attorney, his practice focuses on complex litigation for clients in the energy, real estate, and financial industries.

Alex Berger has joined the Motorcycle Industry Council as Associate General Counsel, serving the national trade association for the motorcycle industry, as well as affiliated powersport associations — the Specialty Vehicle Institute of America (all-terrain vehicles), the Recreational Off-Highway Vehicle Association (ROVs), and the Motorcycle Safety Foundation. Alex is in the associations’ government relations office in Arlington, Virginia.

Lowry Crook has joined the law firm Best Best & Krieger LLP as a partner in the Environmental Law & Natural Resources practice group. He is in the firm’s Washington, D.C. office.

The Law Office of Patrick J McLain, an national practice of federal criminal law and an international practice of military law, is moving to Founders Square (900 Jackson Street, Suite 635, Dallas, Texas 75202). He welcomes on UT Law grads who have business next door at the US District Court in downtown Dallas to come by for a visit.

Carolyn Owen, Senior Vice President and General Counsel at Farm Credit Bank of Texas, will retire form the cooperatively owned wholesale funding bank on Dec. 31, after 35 years of Farm Credit Service. Owen joined the legal department of the Federal Intermediate Credit Bank of Texas in 1983. Over the years and through several bank name changes, she has held the positions of attorney, senior attorney, associate general counsel, assistant general counsel and deputy general counsel.

Brian Scrivani will be a partner in the corporate department. A member of the mergers & acquisitions group, Mr. Scrivani advises a diverse range of public and private clients on acquisitions, sales and divestitures, leveraged buyouts, mergers-of-equals and private equity transactions. He also advises boards and special committees on corporate governance and fiduciary matters. Mr. Scrivani earned his J.D., with distinction, from The University of Texas School of Law, and his B.A., with distinction, from the University of Virginia.

Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP has elected Erland Modesto as a member of the Firm, effective January 1, 2019. In addition to Erland’s promotion to Partner, he was recognized as a 2018 “Lawyer on the Rise” by Texas Lawyer magazine. Erland advises clients on banking, credit and other corporate matters, with a particular focus on the energy sector.

UT Law alumnus Korb Maxwell, in partnership with his Polsinelli colleague Nancy Hawes, has been selected by Missouri Lawyers Media as a 2018 Top Legal Innovation Award winner. 16 honorees from around the state were recognized for their work to drive new practice areas, services and business strategies.

Maxwell was instrumental in launching Polsinelli’s newest practice in October, the Opportunity Zones Practice Group, in response to a sweeping program created by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.

University of Texas School of Law alumnus Abraham Kant is proud to be one of the recipients of the “10 Best Attorneys in Texas” award for outstanding client service in 2017. Awarded by The American Institute of Family Law Attorneys, this honor is extended only to the selected family law attorneys who have reached the top of their profession, all while making the client’s satisfaction paramount.

Bill Shirer is proud to be one of only 2% of Texas attorneys who is board-certified in personal injury law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization. Mr. Shirer represents individuals in all areas of personal injury including car collisions, cycling accidents, product defects, and other tort claims. He is a proud partner of Mcgillberry & Shirer in Dallas and has over 28 years of trial law experience. Bill is a proud alumnus of the University of Texas at Austin.

KPMG LLP, the U.S. audit, tax and advisory firm, is pleased to announce the appointment of Linda L. Addison ’76 as an independent director to its U.S. Board of Directors. Addison is the immediate past U.S. Managing Partner (CEO equivalent) of Norton Rose Fulbright, one of the world’s largest global law firms.

Yvonne Puig ’78 received the 2018 Distinguished Service Award from the Health Law Council of the State Bar of Texas. The Distinguished Service Award is presented biannually to a Texas health lawyer who has encouraged the practice of health law, mentored lawyers new to the practice, fostered health law through participation in professional organizations or provided service to the Section or the community in matters related to health law.

Abbe Miller has accepted a position as Assistant District Attorney in the Child Welfare section of Hidalgo County, Texas. Miller will be representing the Department of Family and Protective Services in child abuse cases.

Lauren Fitte, an international tax and estate planning associate at the Austin firm of Giordani, Swanger, Ripp, & Jetel, LLP, has been named a Rising Star for 2018 by Texas Super Lawyers. Texas Super Lawyers’ Rising Stars recognizes up-and-coming attorneys who are either 40-years old and younger or have been practicing for 10 years or less. Each year, no more than 2 percent of lawyers in the state are named rising stars.

Andrew F. Newman has joined the law firm Clark Hill Strasburger as a member of its Litigation Practice in Dallas. Newman handles complex contract and business tort issues and has significant experience representing technology providers in software development and licensing disputes. He also has a strong background in alternative dispute resolution. Previously Newman served as a law clerk for the Honorable A. Joe Fish of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas.

Charles McFarland has again been selected by his peers for inclusion in the 2019 Best Lawyers in America® (25th Edition) in the practice areas of Eminent Domain and Condemnation Law. Charles has been recognized annually in Best Lawyers lists in the fields of Eminent Domain and Condemnation Law since 2011. His condemnation boutique law firm, McFarland PLLC, is also included in the 2019 U.S. News – Best Lawyers® “Best Law Firms” rankings for Eminent Domain and Condemnation Law.

Jim Milton was elected as the President-Elect of the Tulsa County Bar Association (TCBA). He will serve for one year as President-Elect before becoming President of the TCBA on September 1, 2019.

Steve Stodghill, Class of 1987, is being honored with two prestigious awards, the Anti-Defamation League’s (ADL) 2018 Larry Schoenbrun Jurisprudence Award and, with his wife Anne, the Business Council for the Arts 2018 Obelisk Juror’s Award. The Schoenbrun Award is presented in recognition of outstanding leadership, exemplary contributions to the community, and a commitment to the ideals of the ADL. The Obelisk Awards recognize contributions and achievements in the arts.

The Leadership Council on Legal Diversity (LCLD) has honored Daniel L. Butcher and Clark Hill Strasburger with a 2018 “Compass Award” in recognition of their support for and provision of career advancement opportunities for diverse attorneys. Butcher, formerly managing partner of Strasburger & Price, which combined with Clark Hill in April, is now a member of Clark Hill’s Executive Committee. The Compass Award recognizes LCLD members who demonstrate an exemplary commitment to the Council’s goal of creating a truly diverse U.S. legal profession.

Mr. Sam Denton with Denton & Fahring, PLLC has been elected to membership in the Fellows of the Texas Bar Foundation. Fellows of the Foundation are selected for their outstanding professional achievements and their demonstrated commitment to the improvement of the justice system throughout the state of Texas.

In honor of his contributions to the legal profession and the local community, San Antonio Business Journal has named Jackson Walker partner Peter R. Broderick one of 12 honorees for the 2018 Outstanding Lawyers Awards. The ceremony takes place on the evening of October 10, 2018.

The Phoenix based law firm of Snell & Wilmer is pleased to announce that partner Donald L. Gaffney was recognized by the State Bar of Arizona as the 2018 recipient of the Bankruptcy Section Pro Bono Superhero Award. Gaffney accepted the award at the Bankruptcy Section breakfast held at the United States Bankruptcy Court, District of Arizona in Phoenix on October 4.

This year has been rewarding for Jackson Walker partner Byron Egan, who was recently honored with the Texas Lawyer Lifetime Achievement Award for impacting the legal profession in Texas. In addition to this honor, Byron also received the Distinguished Alumni Award from his alma mater, Highland Park Independent School District.

Bryan Jones, B.S. ’00, J.D., M.B.A. ’05, was selected for the Outstanding Young Texas Ex Award which recognizes Texas Exes age 39 and younger who have made significant achievements in their careers and service to the university. Jones is an entrepreneur and technologist who has started several companies and been issued multiple technology-based patents. He is currently the COO at uStudio. Previously he co-founded Strive and Solve Ventures, GetHealthy, b.well Health, and Collider Media. While at UT, Jones was a 21-time All-American swimmer and captained the 2000 NCAA Championship team.

Danielle Healey, a senior principal at Fish & Richardson, was selected as a 2018 “Women Who Mean Business” by Houston Business Journal in recognition of her career achievements, leadership and community involvement. Healey is an accomplished patent trial lawyer who has held various leadership roles over the past 24 years, including opening and growing Fish’s Houston office.

John “Jack” Wilson has joined Kelly Hart & Hallman LLP as an associate in its Midland office. Mr. Wilson will focus his practice on oil, gas, and energy litigation and transaction.

Patrick Keel received the Professionalism Award from the Austin Bar Association and the Texas Center for Legal Ethics. The award is given annually to a lawyer “who best exemplifies, by conduct and character, truly professional traits, who others in the bar seek to emulate, and who all in the bar admire.”

Arleas Upton Kea, the President of Texas Law’s Alumni Association, has been named Chief Operating Officer and Deputy to the Chairman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC). Kea replaces Barbara Ryan, who retired as COO on July 27. Prior to her appointment as COO, Ms. Kea served as director of the Division of Administration, a post she has held since May 1999.

Reid C. Wilson, chairman of Wilson Cribbs + Goren, a leading, boutique real estate law firm in Houston, has been selected to the 2018 Texas Super Lawyers list. Each year, no more than five percent of lawyers in the state are selected to receive this honor.

Patrick Keel received the Professionalism Award from the Austin Bar Association and the Texas Center for Legal Ethics. The award is given annually to a lawyer “who best exemplifies, by conduct and character, truly professional traits, who others in the bar seek to emulate, and who all in the bar admire.”

James Hill was selected as one of The Daily Transcript’s “50 Influential Leaders” in the San Diego business community for 2018. Every year, the Daily Transcript bestows the “Top Influential” title on 50 leaders in the community who have made an impact on the industry sectors that keep San Diego’s economic engine running. Mr. Hill, is a founding member of Sullivan Hill, member of its Executive Committee and chair of its Insolvency and Commercial Bankruptcy practice group.