Class Notes

John William Stayton Jr. passed away on August 10, 2024. He was a partner with McGinnis Lochridge in Austin and devoted Texas Longhorn fan.

Nour Haikal, an associate at Bracewell, was featured in the August 13 “Volunteer Spotlight” by the Houston Volunteer Lawyers, the pro bono legal aid arm of the Houston Bar Association. Haikal was recognized for her role in a pro bono tax case involving a young immigrant mother. Haikal’s background includes serving as an ESL tutor to the adult refugee community in Houston and as an HVL law clerk.

Philip I. Danze has joined Hallett & Perrin in Dallas as a shareholder. Danze has a broad base of experience in complex real estate and corporate transactions, representing clients in connection with the acquisition, development, leasing, finance, and sale of a variety of large real estate projects.

J. Cullen Aderhold has joined Dallas’ Hallett & Perrin as a shareholder. Aderhold has extensive experience representing domestic and foreign clients in a wide variety of commercial real estate, corporate, partnership, and other business transactions.

Ralph Huston passed away on August 1, 2024. Although the ability to help people with his law degree was important to him, his true passion was music.

Allison Dickson Baker, a lawyer, lobbyist, and longtime philanthropist, passed away on August 8, 2024. A double Longhorn, she worked as an environmental lawyer at Vinson and Elkins in Houston, before dedicating herself to raising her family, as well as philanthropic and civic pursuits. She founded the nonprofit Cattlemen Care in 2007.

Robert “Bob” Scheske, a lieutenant colonel with the U.S. Air Force, passed away on August 11, 2024.  He was the longest-serving county attorney for Gonzales County (1981-2008). Scheske was recognized with the David B. Walshak Lifetime Achievement Award in 2023 for his lifelong service and contributions by the Gonzales Chamber of Commerce.

Sol Villasana is a 2024 recipient of the Stan Golden Men of Action Award from the Southwest Jewish Congress. He is of counsel to White & Wiggins, LLP in Dallas.

Jack Brandon passed away on July 20, 2024. Brandon served two years with the Judge Advocate General’s Corps of the U.S. Army in Okinawa, Japan.  He then became an oil and gas attorney with the law departments of Getty Oil Company and then Kerr-McGee Corporation, serving both in executive leadership positions.

Michael Markley passed away on July 27, 2024.  After graduating from Texas Law, he practiced entertainment law in Austin and Los Angeles for many years. Markley created an antique import business dedicated to Gothic Revival furniture and ceramics from France.

Russell Barron passed away on August 7, 2024.  After graduating from Texas Law, Barron moved to Quantico, Virginia, to serve in the FBI for three years. He then relocated to McAllen, where he practiced law as a senior member of the Barron, Orendain, Malany, Flanagan, and Dominguez Law Firm.

Peter Winstead passed away on August 7, 2024. He was a founding shareholder of Winstead PC and a  prominent civic leader.  He was appointed by Gov. George Bush to be the first chair of the Texas Turnpike Authority and chaired the boards of several organizations including the Austin Chamber and the United Way.

James “Jim” Darby Walker passed away on August 2, 2024. After graduating from Texas Law, he founded his company, Counselors Mortgage, where he worked for over three decades.

Cameron McBride has joined Davis Hartman Wright LLP as a partner in the firm’s civil litigation, internal investigations, and white-collar criminal defense and government investigations practice groups. McBride is based in Charlottesville, Virginia.

Scott White, a senior vice president in the Global Commercial Bank at Bank of America in Los Angeles, was selected to join the board of trustees at Pasadena Ronald McDonald House. He also represents B of A’s Pacific Southwest Region on the Sustainability Council within the Global Commercial Bank.

Nicole S. LeFave has been selected to to lead Littler’s SOAR Program. The program supports newly hired associates who have joined established affinity groups to find their footing and excel professionally. LeFave is a liaison for the firm’s Women’s Leadership Initiative, an active member of Littler’s Ohana affinity group, a founding member of the League of Lady Lawyers, and a pro bono liaison.

Jennifer Parker Ainsworth has been inducted as a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers. A shareholder in the Tyler, Texas firm of Wilson, Robertson & VanDeventer, Ainsworth represents clients in commercial and intellectual property litigation.

Caroline Brown Benediktson passed away on July 20, 2024. After graduating from Texas Law, she practiced law in Los Angeles and Houston before settling in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Over her career, she was a partner at a law firm, led the legal teams at private and public corporations, and worked for the City Attorney’s Office in Tulsa.

Ralph Molina was appointed deputy first assistant to Attorney General Ken Paxton. Molina most recently served as deputy attorney general for legal strategy, managing the Legal Strategy and Special Litigation divisions.

Sarah Keyton has been appointed to the position of interim commissioner by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board. Previously she Keyton served as associate vice chancellor for state relations at the Texas Tech University System.

Nick Pesina was honored as a 2024 Outstanding Texas Ex by the Texas Exes Tyler-Smith County Chapter. Pesina’s firm specializes in personal injury law, family law, and business law, serving clients throughout the East Texas area.

Chris Riley passed away on July 28, 2024. Riley served on the Austin City Council and was regarded as a champion of the City of Austin’s urbanist movement.

Marion Stanton “Bob” Roberts passed away on July 20, 2024. Roberts led a long legal career in Texas before retiring to devote his time to friends, family, and his church.

Brandon Butera passed away on July 22, 2024. Butera worked as an attorney for Bracewell LLP while pursuing his love for writing, authoring several books and screenplays.

Travis Phillips passed away on July 21, 2024. Phillips worked in civil litigation and was involved in the Austin legal community for many years. He also served on both the Rollingwood Planning Commission and as mayor of Rollingwood.

Madison Young Moore, an associate at Beck Redden LLP in Houston, has been named to the Institute for Energy Law’s 7th Leadership Class. The program is primarily for energy professionals who have been practicing in the energy field between three and 12 years.

Wade Smith passed away on July 14, 2024. A double Longhorn, Smith spent his legal career with Touchstone Bernays, including time as managing partner. He also served on the Highland Park Town Council and as the mayor of Highland Park from 1992 to 1996.

Ken Burch passed away on July 11, 2024. Burch served the Houston community as a personal injury attorney for more than 50 years.

Daniel E. “Dan” Mangis has a new position as deputy chief of mission at the Office of the U.S. Ambassador to Cyprus at the U.S. Embassy in Cyprus. Most recently, Mangus was the deputy public affairs officer and spokesperson at the embassy in Amman, Jordan.

Jim Weiss has been named co-managing partner of Reynolds Frizzell, a boutique trial law firm in Houston. A third-generation Texas lawyer, Weiss represents individual and corporate clients at the trial and appellate levels in disputes across various subject matters, including oil and gas, partnership, real estate, and intellectual property.

James Joseph “Jim” McConn Jr. passed away on July 14, 2024. McConn founded the law firm of Hays, McConn, Rice, and Pickering in Houston, where he practiced for 33 years.

Claire Campbell has joined Kirkland and Ellis as a Houston-based corporate partner focused on representing private equity funds, equity investments, and related portfolio management. Previously working as a managing director with Stonepeak, a leading alternative investment firm focused on the infrastructure and real estate sectors, she has extensive experience negotiating mergers and acquisitions and structured equity investments for private equity clients in multiple jurisdictions.

Andy Cooper has been named a partner with the Dallas-based firm Chamblee Ryan PC. Having joined the firm in 2014, his practice focuses on a variety of subject matters, including the defense of personal injury, insurance coverage, commercial, trucking, premises liability, environmental and toxic tort claims, indemnity, and trade practice cases in federal, Texas, and Louisiana courts.

Lipscomp “Lip” Norvell passed away on July 15, 2024. Norvell began his law career in Beaumont, Texas, and grew into the practice of civil defense trial law, practicing for more than 50 years.  He was honored by the Texas Center for Legal, Ethics, and Professionalism and the Jefferson County Bar Association with the Texas Center for Professionalism Award for his exemplary character.

Tommy W. Lueders passed away on July 14, 2024. Lueders earned his undergraduate and law degrees from UT before joining the U.S. Air Force where he served from 1961 to 1989. He served on several interagency groups under the Reagan administration including as a legal advisor for the first Anti-Terror Group. He was a life member of the American Legion and the VFW and served as Chairman of the Military Law Section of the State Bar of Texas.

William Gordon Childs has written a book titled “Recreation and Risk,” which delves into the law through recreational businesses. In addition to being an author, Childs works as an in-house litigation counsel for a Fortune 500 company in Minnesota and is an adjunct professor of law at Western New England University School of Law and Mitchell Hamline School of Law.

Thomas L. Tippetts passed away on June 4, 2024. Tippetts joined Haynes Boone in 2006 after graduating from Texas Law, eventually becoming partner, where he worked in the firm’s Mergers & Acquisitions Practice Group for more than over 18 years.

Josh R. Lounsbury, a shareholder with Coolidge Wall, was inducted into the Ohio State Bar Foundation Fellows Program, recognizing his commitment to professionalism and serving the community. Lounsbury has more than 15 years of experience representing businesses, public entities, and individuals in his practice areas of municipal law, civil litigation, and workers’ compensation defense.

Pam Giblin has joined the Good Neighbor Environmental Board under the Federal Advisory Committee Management Division of the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). With over 30 years of experience in environmental law, Giblin is knowledgeable in advising clients on environmental matters such as air quality.  She has also served as president of the American College of Environmental Lawyers and on the Clean Air Act Advisory Committee, a team that advised the EPA on the implementation of the Clean Air Act.

Cori Loomis has joined the healthcare group at McAfee & Taft, where she will represent and counsel hospitals and health systems, physicians and medical practices, and other healthcare providers. Before taking on this role, Loomis served as the compliance officer and HIPAA privacy official for the University of Oklahoma and as the general counsel for the Oklahoma State Medical Association.

Linda Broock’s new film “Unleashed” will be shown at the Waco Independent Film Festival. The film, which investigates the harsh world of sex trafficking, has been nominated for the Best Feature Film and Best Documentary Feature awards.

David Kavanaugh has taken on a new role as global head of investment operations at Dimensional Fund Advisors. Previously, Kavanaugh served as Dimensional’s head of global client group operations, where he managed the operations of the firm’s global client group in client onboarding, intermediary relationships, client reporting, and business data analytics.

Irwin Steinhorn has joined Steptoe & Johnson PLLC in the firm’s Oklahoma City office. Steinhorn has decades of experience assisting clients with corporate compliance, corporate governance and ethics, mergers and acquisitions, securities regulation and compliance, capital market transactions, securities offerings, shareholder activism, and environmental law.

Kristen Pauling Doyle has been unanimously voted to be hired as CEO by the oversight committee for the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT). She previously served as CPRIT’s general counsel and DEO since 2009.

Carlos Eduardo Cárdenas of the Law Office of Carlos Eduardo Cardenas, P.C., has been elected 2024-2025 chair of the Texas Bar Foundation Board of Trustees. Cárdenas also received the Reynaldo G. Garza Lifetime Achievement Award from the Hispanic Issues Section of the State Bar of Texas in recognition of his “long commitment and made great achievements in addressing concerns and issues affecting the Hispanic community.” In addition, Cárdenas has been elected 2024-2025 chair of the Texas Bar Foundation Board of Trustees.

Lena Silva was recognized in the 2024 Lawdragon 500 X–The Next Generation for Commercial Litigation. She also recently received the 2023-2024 Outstanding Director Award from the Houston Young Lawyers Association. 

Charles Hlavinka passed away on June 23, 2024. Hlavinka practiced tax law for more than 50 years, serving Texarkana and the surrounding area. He also served his community with roles in many organizations.

J. Holt Foster III has joined  Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP as the managing partner of Willkie’s newly launched Dallas office. Holt’s practice focuses on private equity, venture capital and creative financings, mergers and acquisitions, fund formation and international transactions. He was most recently a partner at Sidley Austin LLP, where he served as co-leader of the firm’s global energy practice team.

Madison Moore, an associate at Beck Redden in Houston, was recognized in the 2024 Lawdragon 500 X – The Next Generation for Commercial Litigation.

William G. Hagans of the Hagans law firm in Houston has been named chair of the State Bar of Texas Professionalism & Civility Committee for the 2024-2025 bar year.