Kristine Huskey has received the Leslie F. and Patricia Bell Faculty Service Award, which is bestowed by the dean of the University of Arizona James E. Rogers College of Law every year to honor outstanding achievement by a faculty member. A clinical professor, she was honored for her work on behalf of veterans, leadership of the clinical program, and committed service as an active member of the faculty.
Mark Taylor has been named to the Lawdragon 500 Global Bankruptcy & Restructuring Lawyers for 2025. He currently serves as a director in the Austin office of Kane Russell Coleman Logan.
Kandace Walter has received the 2025 State Bar of Texas Star of Achievement Award and the National Conference of Women’s Bar Association 2025 Outstanding Member Program Award for the documentary “A Law Unto Themselves,” for which she served as an executive producer. She is the president of the J.L. Turner Legal Association, director of the Small Business and Trademark Clinic, and an associate clinical professor of law at SMU Dedman School of Law.
Nicole Cubbage has been appointed chief of staff to the deputy secretary of commerce at the U.S. Department of Commerce. A double Longhorn, she is a criminal defense attorney who owns the Law Office of Nicole Cubbage in Washington, D.C.
Chris Dove has joined Beck Redden LLP’s appellate practice as of counsel. His work is focused on high‑stakes commercial disputes, particularly in the energy, financial services, and maritime sectors.
Tobey Blanton Forney has joined Kean Miller as a partner in the Houston office. She focuses her practice on family, estate, and legacy planning, tax-exempt matters, and probate litigation, and was previously an attorney at Forney Law PLLC.
Marc W. Taubenfeld, a shareholder at Munsch Hardt in Dallas, has been named to a 2025 Lawdragon 500 Leading Litigators in the Bankruptcy & Restructuring category.
Arleas Upton Kea has been named president and chairman of the board of the Texas Exes, the alumni association of the University of Texas. Kea plans to focus her tenure on expanding membership, supporting scholarships, and strengthening alumni engagement across the globe.
Lekha Gopalakrishnan has joined Jackson Walker in Dallas as a partner in the Intellectual Property Practice Group. She advises clients on patent prosecution, IP litigation, and technology transactions, with a focus on the healthcare, life sciences, and education sectors.
Mac Arnold passed away June 23, 2025. A former federal prosecutor, he later practiced construction law in Virginia. He also served on the Clifton Town Council and was active in community service, including leading fundraising efforts for Parkinson’s research.
Daniella Landers took office as the 2025-26 president of the Houston Bar Association at the HBA’s annual dinner on May 15. Landers previously served on the HBA board of directors as first vice president, secretary, and for two terms as director.
Cullen Rogers passed away June 19, 2025. Rogers worked for 22 years at Dallas Federal Savings and Loan and its successors, rising to associate general counsel. His subsequent years of private practice focused on estate planning and probate.
William Peterson has been named the 10th solicitor general of Texas as part of the Office of the Attorney General. He was previously a partner in the Houston office of Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP, where he co-chaired the firm’s appellate practice.
Ernie Kohnke retired from practicing law on April 1, 2025. He previously was general counsel for the Americas at Vitol, and served on the Market Risk Advisory Committee to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, as well as the board of directors of the Commodity Markets Council.
William G. Hagans has been elected 2025-2026 fellows chair of the Texas Bar Foundation after many years of co-chairing the Houston nominating committee. He also will continue to serve of the foundation’s board of trustees. Hagans is an attorney at the Hagans law firm in Houston.
Marilyn Jean Kretsinger passed away June 24, 2025. After earning her J.D. from Texas Law, Kretsinger went on to serve for 25 years as associate general counsel at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C., where she worked as a copyright attorney.
Elliot Branson passed away on June 1, 2025. Throughout his legal career, he worked in the Texas Attorney General’s Office, Mexican American Legal Aid and Defense, Texas Rural Legal Aid, and ultimately in private practice, representing injured patients in medical malpractice cases.
Thomas Verity has joined Norton Rose Fulbright as a corporate, M&A, and securities partner in Houston. Verity will support the firm’s energy practice by advising on cross-border mergers and acquisitions, corporate finance transactions, and general corporate and securities matters for clients in the energy and infrastructure sectors.
Lyrissa Lidsky has won the 2025 Harry W. Stonecipher Award for Distinguished Research on Media Law and Policy Law presented by the policy division of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication. A member of the Bech-Loughlin First Amendment Center’s board of advisors, Lidsky was honored for an article she co-authored, “First Amendment Disequilibrium,” which is published in the Virginia Law Review.
Joseph Royce passed away on April 25, 2025. Over his 57-year legal career specializing in trust and estate work, he served on various bar associations, was listed among “The Best Lawyers in America” in two different categories, and ultimately retired from Gray Reed in 2023.
Laurie Higginbotham celebrated her 25th wedding anniversary with Jamal Alsaffar in May. Higginbotham and her husband are partners at National Trial Law in Austin, representing victims of catastrophic injury, medical malpractice, and gun violence nationwide.
Erleigh Wiley has been reappointed by Governor Abbott to the Crime Victims’ Institute Advisory Council. She serves as the criminal district attorney of Kaufman County, an executive board member of the Texas District & County Attorneys Association, and a member of the Kaufman County Juvenile Board.
E. William “Bill” Barnett passed away on June 15, 2025. He served as managing partner and senior counsel at Baker Botts LLP until his retirement, in addition to holding various chairman and director positions throughout his distinguished career in commercial litigation and antitrust law.
Carlos J. Contreras III has been named chair of the Community Advisory Council for the Federal Reserve System Board of Governors. He currently serves as the president and CEO of Goodwill Industries of San Antonio.
Manuel Escobar was recognized with the Chair’s Award by the state bar’s Hispanic lawyers section for his continued dedication and service. Escobar is a partner at McGinnis Lochridge in Austin.
Jack O’Neill been recognized in the newly released 2025 Chambers USA guide for his commercial litigation expertise in Houston in energy, contract and business matters. As lead trial counsel, the partner at Pierce & O’Neill has handled some of Texas’ most closely watched cases, including numerous multimillion- and billion-dollar energy and commercial disputes.
Jesse Pierce been recognized in the newly released 2025 Chambers USA guide with a national Band 1 ranking for oil and gas litigation, and additional honors for his commercial litigation work in Houston. The 2025 edition marks his 17th consecutive year recognized by Chambers, placing the Pierce & O’Neill partner and co-founder among the most consistently honored trial lawyers in the field.
Robert Newey passed away on June 6, 2025. He began his career in the legal department of Texaco before becoming a partner at various law firms, establishing his own private practice in Houston, and serving as an associate judge for multiple family judicial district courts in Harris County until his retirement.
Matthew Richardson has joined the Los Angeles office of Ogletree Deakins as an associate. Richardson, who specializes in employment law and is known for his dedication and zealous advocacy on behalf of employers, has expertise in wage and hour disputes, employment discrimination, wrongful termination, and workplace harassment.
Stephanie Kaiser, a director in the Dallas office of Kane Russell Coleman Logan, has been recognized by the 2025 Chambers USA Guide for her work in business commercial litigation. She has been consistently ranked for this practice area since 2022.
Mark Taylor, a director in the Austin office of Kane Russell Coleman Logan, has been recognized by the 2025 Chambers USA Guide for his work in bankruptcy and restructuring. He has been consistently ranked for this practice area since 2019.
Siddartha Rao has joined New York litigation boutique Hoguet Newman Regal & Kenney in New York City as a partner. Rao brings to HNRK nearly two decades of experience in securities, intellectual property, and other disputes in federal, state, and appellate courts as well as arbitration forums.
Kourtney Mueller Merrill has joined Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton as a partner in Washington, D.C. Merrill, who has extensive experience in the biotechnology, pharmaceutical, medical device and broader technology sectors, will work with the firm’s intellectual property practice group and life sciences industry team. She was previously a partner at Perkins Coie.
Peter Williamson, shareholder in Chamberlain Hrdlicka’s immigration practice in Houston, was ranked by Chambers & Partners, the leading independent professional legal research company, among top immigration attorneys in Texas as a senior statesman. He has been ranked by Chambers for 19 consecutive years.
Larry Campagna has been named one of the top tax fraud and tax controversy attorneys in Texas by Chambers & Partners, the leading independent professional legal research company. He has been included in this ranking for 18 consecutive years. Campagna is managing shareholder of Chamberlain Hrdlicka in Houston.
H. Lee Godfrey passed away on June 2, 2025. One of the top trial lawyers in the world and recipient of many honors and awards, Godfrey’s highly distinguished legal career began after serving in the Air Force. He was a partner at Wood Campbell Moody & Gibbs, then joined his old friend Steve Susman in 1982 to found the firm that would become Susman Godfrey. Godfrey was nominated by former President Clinton as the U.S. ambassador to Brazil.
Bailey Watkins has joined Yetter Coleman in Houston as a senior counsel in the Intellectual Property litigation group. She was previously in-house counsel with Dell Technologies. Bailey’s practice includes representing clients in patent, trade secret, and technology-related disputes in federal courts, the International Trade Commission, and the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
Henry Radoff has written a book titled “Solo 50,” which tells the story of his own life and 50 years of solo practice. In addition to his legal career in Houston, Radoff, a double Longhorn, has published five other books ranging from novels to true stories.
Paul Dean is the new vice president of NTI’s (Nuclear Threat Initiative) global nuclear policy program. In this role, he leads the organization’s efforts to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons, reduce the risk of nuclear use, and ultimately end the existential threat of nuclear war.
Charles Rufus Ramsay Jr. passed away on May 26, 2025. He was first elected to public office in 1963 as county attorney and was appointed as the first judge of the newly created county court at law in 1978. In 1981, he was elected to the 22nd Judicial District Court, where he served for 31 years.
Keith Stanton Richey passed away on May 20, 2025. After starting his career at the law firm Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher in Houston, Richey became an international tax attorney at Exxon, then Mobil. He continued his career as an international tax counsel for firms including Citibank, Xerox, ITT, and Xylem.
Charles Henry “Hank” Still passed away on May 2, 2025. He had a distinguished career as a corporate lawyer at Fulbright & Jaworski (now Norton Rose Fulbright), where he was a partner from 1975 until his retirement in 2007. Still, who later returned to the firm as of counsel, was known as an expert in corporate governance, authoring a widely consulted treatise on that topic published by Fulbright.
Richard Williams has been appointed by U.S. Attorney Ryan Ellison as chief of the criminal division in the Las Cruces Branch Office for the District of New Mexico. He previously served in supervising roles such as deputy branch chief and section supervisor after joining the office in 2001.
Charles Lee has been appointed senior advisor in the Office of Chair Paul Atkins for the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. He previously served in the same role under Acting Chair Mark T. Uyeda.
Mandy McCary of McCary & McCary in Marble Falls, Texas, was elected into the Fellows of the Texas Bar Foundation, which recognizes excellence in the law profession. McCary is a successful general practitioner focusing on elder law, a leader in the local bar association, and contributor of many pro bono hours.
Mark Hanna passed away on May 23, 2025. After serving in the U.S. Army as an airborne combat medic, he had a career as a respected attorney and successful lobbyist supporting the professional practices of thousands of Texas licensees, their patients, and clients.
Francisco Solis has been named president of San Antonio College. He has more than 25 years of service to San Antonio College throughout his career including being the college’s interim president since March 2024.
Katherine Reilly has been appointed acting inspector general of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. She has served in the SEC’s Office of Inspector General since 2020.