Melissa Shultz has been named assistant dean for legal writing and professor of law at St. Mary’s University. Prior to becoming a law professor, Shultz worked at King & Spalding in Washington, D.C., before opening her own law firm.
Michael McBride, a partner at Houston trial law firm Alavi Anaipakos, has been named to the 2025 edition of The Best Lawyers in America based on his work in high-stakes intellectual property lawsuits. McBride focuses his practice on complex patent litigation and patent prosecution matters.
Scott Clark, a partner at Houston trial law firm Alavi Anaipakos, has been named to the 2025 edition of The Best Lawyers in America based on his work in high-stakes intellectual property lawsuits. Clark previously was recognized in 2023 by IAM Patent 1000.
Brad Caldwell, a principal at Dallas law firm Caldwell Cassady & Curry, has been named to the 2024 Texas Super Lawyers guide as one of the top intellectual property attorneys in the state. Caldwell focuses on patent infringement and complex commercial litigation.
Chris Stewart, a principal at Dallas’ Caldwell Cassady & Curry, was named to the 2024 Benchmark Litigation 40 & Under list of the nation’s top young trial lawyers. Stewart was recognized in the annual guide for his expertise in intellectual property trials.
Karen Hansen has joined the San Antonio Water System (SAWS) executive management team as vice president of environmental law and regulatory compliance. Hansen, who’s had a working relationship with SAWS since 2007, will assist the utility in navigating state and national environmental issues.
Cynthia Fuller Leigh passed away Sept. 14, 2024. Leigh, who was a board-certified attorney in immigration and nationality law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization, practiced immigration law and represented thousands of immigrants in her career.
Edward Guzman has been promoted to senior vice president/chief legal and ethics officer of the San Antonio Water System. Guzman joined SAWS in 2020 as senior corporate counsel, providing legal support for environmental and regulatory issues.
Rose Jenkins has been nominated by President Joe Biden as a judge to the United States Tax Court. Jenkins has over 15 years of career experience as a tax lawyer and is an expert in international tax law and administrative law. She is currently an attorney in the Office of Associate Chief Counsel at the Internal Revenue Service.
Elizabeth Noël Harwerth has been appointed as independent non-executive director at Hansard Global. Harwerth previously worked in the British government and recently was honored by King Charles III with the Order of the British Empire for her outstanding services to international trade.
Daniel Wade Sharp passed away Sept. 15, 2024. Sharp, who most recently served as senior corporate intellectual property counsel at Rimini Street, founded Sharp Family Vineyards with his wife.
Kelly Frels has won a Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2024 Texas Legal Awards. Throughout a career spanning over five decades, Frels spearheaded the desegregation of Houston ISD, served as president of the State Bar of Texas, co-founded the State Bar’s School Law Section, and was a managing partner at Bracewell LLP.
Suzanne Milton has been appointed as chief audit and compliance executive of Virginia Commonwealth University’s audit and compliance services unit. Previously Milton was VCU’s chief ethics and compliance officer after practicing in-house labor and employment law for the U.S. Postal Service.
Lawrence Allen Mann passed away Sept. 10, 2024. Mann was the third generation of his family to practice law in Laredo and enjoyed a 29-year legal career with the Mann firm.
Allison Miller, of counsel at Beck Redden in Houston, was named a 2024 Texas Super Lawyer in the practice area of professional liability: defense. Previously she was named a 2025 “Lawyer of the Year” in legal malpractice law–defendants by The Best Lawyers in America, as well as “Best Lawyer” in the areas of legal malpractice law–defendants and professional malpractice law–defendants.
Urban “Obie” O’Brien passed away July 26, 2024. O’Brien joined the campaigns to elect U.S. Rep. Mike Andrews and U.S. Sen. Lloyd Bentsen, worked for George Mitchell in the oil and gas industry, and later joined Apache Corporation and Raymond Plank.
Alex Anderson has joined Spencer Fane’s Plano office as an associate in the banking and financial services practice group. A double Longhorn, Anderson served as law clerk for Chief Bankruptcy Judge John S. Hodge of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of Louisiana.
Robert Sherman passed away on Sept. 15, 2024 after a courageous battle with cancer. Sherman was a partner at Morris & Campbell in Houston before moving to Carthage, Texas, where he founded a law practice, a title company, and an energy company.
Sharon Sass Feather passed away on August 28, 2024. Before becoming a full-time mother, Feather worked at the Federal Trade Commission and then the firm Sonnenschein, Carlin, Nath & Rosenthal in Chicago.
Catherine Bellah has been appointed to the Texas Department of Information Resources. Bellah is currently CEO of Plumaven and head of philanthropic and political missions for Charles and Potomac Capital.
Jack Rattikin Jr. passed away on Sept. 5, 2024. Following his service in the U.S. Army, Rattikin joined his parents at Rattikin Title Company and was president of both the Texas and American Land Title Associations.
Clint Alfred Harbour passed away on August 30, 2024. A trial attorney for the Texas Department of Transportation, Harbour has taught courses on trial advocacy as an adjunct faculty member at Texas Law.
Jack Balagia has been named executive director of the Kay Bailey Hutchison Energy Center at the University of Texas at Austin. Balagia was on Exxon Mobil’s legal team for nearly two decades, serving as vice president and general counsel from 2010 until his retirement in 2016.
Geoff Gannaway, a partner at Beck-Redden in Houston, has been named a 2024 Texas Super Lawyer in business litigation and a 2025 Lawdragon 500 Leading Litigator in America in commercial litigation, class actions, and energy disputes. Previously he was honored in the 2025 Best Lawyers in America for commercial litigation and litigation–health care.
Brian N. Hail, a director in the Dallas office of Kane Russell Coleman Logan, has been named a 2024 Texas Super Lawyer in business litigation.
Arthur M. Nathan, a director in the Houston office of Kane Russell Coleman Logan, has been named a 2024 Texas Super Lawyer in mergers and acquisitions.
D. Mitchell McFarland, a shareholder with Munsch Hardt Kopf & Harr in Houston, has been named a 2024 Texas Super Lawyer in business litigation.
Leah Gillum, the deputy commissioner of the fraud and enforcement division at the Texas Department of Insurance, has been elected secretary of the administrative and public law section of the state bar.
Mason P. Hester, a shareholder with Munsch Hardt Kopf & Harr in Houston, has been named a Texas Super Lawyer in construction litigation.
John Adcock, of counsel at Beck Redden in Houston, was named a 2024 Texas Super Lawyer in appellate law.
E. David Coligado was promoted to CEO at Munsch Hardt Kopf & Harr in Dallas. Coligado, who has led the firm’s real estate section, also was named a 2024 Texas Super Lawyer in real estate law.
Sarah Burrell Foster passed away August 1, 2024. Foster, who earned three degrees from UT Austin – a B.A., M.A., and J.D – was a law partner at Haynes & Boone, LLP.
Robert “Bryan” Gantt has been appointed by Governor Greg Abbott to the 471st Judicial District Court in Collin County.
Stephen Clarke has been promoted to general counsel at Preston Hollow Community Capital in Dallas. Clarke will be supporting Preston Hollow in its strategic initiatives by providing legal advice and counsel on a broad array of corporate, contract, litigation, and compliance matters.
James J. Neel passed away on August 8, 2024. Neel focused his legal career on helping people of lesser means navigate their legal issues, partnered with friend and fellow attorney David Horton.
Kimberly Pack Wilson has been elected to the State Bar of Texas Family Law Section Council. A partner at Fraser, Wilson & Bryan, P.C. in Stephenville, Texas, Wilson previously served as state bar director for District 14 from 2020-2023.
Taylor LeMay was elected as an ICC Young Arbitration and ADR Forum Representative for North America for the 2024-2026 mandate. LeMay is a senior associate in the International Arbitration group at Norton Rose Fulbright’s Houston office.
Drew Baldinger has joined King & Spalding’s Houston office as a partner in its Corporate Practice group and Energy Industry team. Baldinger specializes in energy transactions and has experience representing clients in M&A and joint venture transactions.
Marc Taubenfeld has joined Munsch Hardt Kopf & Harr, P.C. as a shareholder in the firm’s Bankruptcy, Restructuring + Insolvency section in Dallas. Taubenfeld has extensive experience representing both debtors and creditors in business bankruptcy matters as well as creditors and creditor groups in consumer cases.
Jackie M. Furlow, partner at Beck Redden LLP, has been named a 2025 Lawdragon 500 Leading Litigator in America in the practice area of Commercial Litigation. She previously was honored in the fifth edition of Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch in America for Commercial Litigation and Energy Law and was recognized as a 2024 Texas Rising Star by Thomson Reuters Super Lawyers. Furlow also has was recognized by Lawdragon in 2024.
Husch Blackwell Partner Michael Raupp is a finalist for the Young Lawyer of the Year—Litigation award, which will be presented Nov. 13 at The American Lawyer’s Industry Awards in New York City.
Ronald R. Scott passed away on August 18, 2024. Scott was a partner at Bracewell, leading significant litigation matters such as the firm’s representation of school districts as plaintiffs in asbestos remediation cases and helping open the firm’s New York office.
George J. Hittner has been appointed executive vice president, general counsel and corporate secretary at W&T Offshore, Inc., an independent oil and natural gas producer. Hittner, whose legal career in the public and private sector spans over 20 years, will join the executive team in propelling W&T’s strategic goals.
Wallace B. Jefferson, former chief justice of the Supreme Court of Texas, is being honored for his legacy as the state’s first African American justice and chief justice. An official portrait of Jefferson will be unveiled in the Supreme Court courtroom, celebrating his achievements and commitment to the principles of fairness and equality.
Andrea Fair has been selected as a finalist by the Texas Legal Awards for Intellectual Property Attorney of the Year. Fair is a partner at Ward, Smith & Hill, PLLC and has earned multiple recognitions from The Best Lawyers in America: Ones to Watch and Texas Super Lawyers.
Mary Kate Raffetto, a partner at Beck Redden LLP, has been recognized by Law.com and Texas Lawyer as an On the Rise winner in the 2024 Texas Legal Awards. Raffetto also was honored in the fifth edition of Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch in America for Appellate Practice and Commercial Litigation. She has been recognized on Lawdragon’s 500 X–The Next Generation for Appellate and Commercial Litigation and 500 Leading Plaintiff Financial Lawyer lists and as a 2024 Texas Rising Star by Thomson Reuters Super Lawyers.
Zoe Dobkin has joined Texas Legal Services Center as an Equal Justice Works Fellow. While at Texas Law, Dobkin was vice president of communications for If/When/How: Lawyering for Reproductive Justice; a student attorney in the Transnational Worker Rights, Civil Rights, Housing Policy, and Housing clinics; and a Pro Bono Scholar for the Richard and Ginni Mithoff Pro Bono Program Expunction Project.
Warigia Bowman has been named the new director of the Natural Resources and Environmental Law program at the University of New Mexico School of Law. Bowman is a nationally known expert in in water, natural resources, energy, public policy and regulatory issues.
Dennis McClendon passed away on August 8, 2024. McClendon, whose interests and talents were varied and broad, had a lifelong love for the city of Chicago, history, and travel. A well-respected cartographer and designer, he established his own company, Chicago CartoGraphics. McClendon also lectured on a variety of topics and ran the website “Chicago In Maps,” a trusted resource for historic map collections.
The Hon. Xavier Rodriguez, former Texas Supreme Court justice and now United States district judge for the Western District of Texas, will be honored by the San Antonio ISD Foundation at the 13th Annual Inspire Awards in October 2024.