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.
Larry Campagna was named to the inaugural Lawdragon 500 Leading Global Tax Lawyers guide, recognizing accomplished advisors in tax law. Campagna is managing shareholder at Chamberlain Hrdlicka, where he focuses on matters of business litigation, white-collar criminal defense, and particularly in federal, state and local tax controversies.
Mark Nawfal has joined GableGotwals’ Houston office as of counsel, where his practice will focus on mergers and acquisitions, taxation, and energy law. Nawfal has more than 15 years of international legal experience advising multinational companies, private equity funds, and partnerships on a wide range of corporate and transactional matters.
James Alton Bruen passed away on April 7, 2025. He began his law practice specializing in defending objectors to the Vietnam War before establishing the firm Bruen, Kaufman & Hatfield and later joining a group of attorneys at a successful practice to help small businesses thrive and grow.
Joseph Putnam passed away on May 8, 2025. After practicing law in Mesquite for a year, he moved to Irving, Texas, where he began a 57-year career in law and politics, serving as mayor for two terms and as a member of the city council for part of every decade from the 1970s through the 2010s.
James Peter Klapps passed away on May 2, 2025. He began as a trial attorney in the Department of Justice Civil Division before transitioning to private practice, where he spent the remainder of his 50-year legal career.
George Lee has joined Ferguson Braswell Fraser Kubasta’s Plano, Texas, office. He previously worked for Carrington Coleman Sloman & Blumenthal as a securities and capital markets lawyer.
Nate Stark passed away on April 23, 2025. In his 40-plus-year career, Stark served as a Travis County prosecutor for several years before launching his successful solo career as a criminal defense lawyer.
Frankie Shulkin was promoted to partner at Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld in Dallas, starting Jan. 1, 2025. Shulkin represents private equity and debt funds, as well as private and public companies, in a wide range of transactional special situations.
Daniel E. Mangis has been promoted to chargé d’affaires at the U.S. Embassy in Cyprus. He was previously the chargé d’affaires ad interim during the temporary absence of Ambassador Julie S. Davis.
Leyna Williams is the newest Texas underwriting counsel at First National Title Insurance Company, based in Plano, Texas. She previously worked as an escrow officer, CE instructor, and in-house counsel for a title agency in Houston.
Leslie Hagin has founded Lawyers Assisting Lawyers, a 501c3 public charity to educate, destigmatize and provide free, confidential and independent peer support counseling to lawyers, law students, and judges facing substance use and other mental health challenges. Previously she was a federal law clerk, partner in private practice, and served as a counsel to the U.S. House Judiciary Committee. Hagin also is a Washington state certified peer counselor.
Patrick Flueckiger has joined Decker Jones in Fort Worth as of counsel, focusing on oil and gas law. He previously ran his own private oil and gas law practice.
Frederic Allen Bittner died on May 8, 2025. After completing eight years of active duty with the Air Force, Bittner begin his legal career and practiced law with the law firm that became Baker & Botts for 21 years. A double Longhorn, Bittner retired from his law practice in 1985, then engaged in financial and real estate investment activities.
The Hon. Steven Dankof, a judge with the Montgomery County (Ohio) Common Pleas Court, has published “Extreme Cruelty: The Complicity of Judges in the Shame of Wrongful Convictions.” The book posits the notion that trial judges are the single greatest cause of wrongful convictions, sounding a clarion call for judges to take a penetrating look at their work and breathe life into their Constitutional oaths.
Josh Pollick has been appointed co-lead of the Orrick’s Tech & Innovation sector after serving in that role for the company’s Technology Companies Group. A founding member and former leader of the firm’s Santa Monica office, he represents high-growth tech companies, VC firms and strategic investors and has been widely recognized as one of the leading VC and emerging companies lawyers in the United States.
Ernest John Flowers passed away on April 30, 2025. Throughout his distinguished legal career, he served as an assistant attorney general for the State of Texas, a bankruptcy judge for the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas, practiced law alongside his father, and later retired after several years at the firm he founded.
Dwayne Smith, managing partner at Gardner Smith & Vaughan in Fort Worth, received the Professionalism Award from the Tarrant County Bar Association in May 2025. This prestigious honor is awarded annually to one attorney in Tarrant County under the age of 65 who “exemplifies, by conduct and character, professional traits that others in the bar should try to emulate and is an inspiring role model for the bar and is respected by his or her peers.”
Reece Norris, co-founder and COO of WeInfuse, has been named to the Longhorn 100 by Texas Exes for the third consecutive year. This list recognizes alumni from The University of Texas who have created and guided some of the fastest-growing businesses in the world in 2025.
Sam Loughlin, founding partner and CEO of Paceline Equity Partners in Dallas, has been named to the Longhorn 100 by Texas Exes. This list recognizes alumni from The University of Texas who have created and guided some of the fastest-growing businesses in the world in 2025.
Hudson Henley, president and CEO of Hudson Henley Property Management in Dallas, has been named to the Longhorn 100 by Texas Exes. This list recognizes alumni from The University of Texas who have created and guided some of the fastest-growing businesses in the world in 2025.
Doyle Simons has been promoted to non-executive chairman of the board of directors at Fiserv. He was previously the lead independent director.
Edward Knight has been named one of the 500 most influential people of 2025 in Washington, D.C., by Washingtonian. As the executive vice chairman for Nasdaq, Edward was selected in the Banking & Finance category, which recognizes leaders who advocate for stable and secure financial systems.
David E. Arnold passed away on March 23, 2025. David began his career at the firm Winters, Deaton, Briggs & Britton in Houston and retired from Arnold & Ellwood in 2012.
Aleza Remis has joined Hicks Thomas’ Houston office as senior counsel. She previously was the assistant deputy chief of the U.S. Department of Justice Health Care Fraud Unit.
Hubert Turner Odom Jr. passed away on April 13, 2025. Board-certified in commercial, real estate, and farm and ranch law, Hubert spent more than 50 years in private practice and served as general counsel to The Avera Companies, working alongside his family.
Ronald “Ronny” Krist passed away on April 21, 2025. Krist devoted himself to his legal practice, receiving numerous awards and distinctions at the state and national levels for his work with personal injury law, including the landmark case Turner v. General Motors. He was the recipient of the Outstanding Alum Award in 2006.
Andrew L. Kerr has received the Texas Bar Foundation’s 2025 Outstanding 50-Year Lawyer Award. He began his legal career as a JAG officer in the U.S. Air Force and has continued his litigation practice in San Antonio, where he currently serves at Clark Hill.
Luke Soules has received the Texas Bar Foundation’s 2025 Outstanding 50-Year Lawyer Award. He practiced as a business and commercial trial and appellate attorney in San Antonio for 57 years, including 30 years of service on the Supreme Court of Texas’ Rules Advisory Committee.
Ralph Eugene “Gene” Storrs passed away on April 27, 2025. Gene dedicated more than 50 years to practicing criminal law in Amarillo, where he was known for his commitment to helping others in the community.
The Hon. Debra Lehrmann has been selected to receive the Texas Bar Foundation’s 2025 Samuel Pessarra Outstanding Jurist Award. She is the senior justice on the Supreme Court of Texas and the longest-serving woman to serve on the Court in the state’s history.
Gustavus Northcott McFaddin passed away on April 28, 2025. He dedicated his legal career to managing the family’s oil, gas, and land interests, and also worked alongside his father and brother on the ranches they acquired to raise cattle.
John Robert Pulaski passed away on April 23, 2025. His distinguished legal career spanned over 50 years, beginning as a partner at Foreman Dyess in Houston before he established his own firm with a friend that became Weycer, Kaplan, Pulaski & Zuber.
Edsam “Ed” Moore Ingram died on April 25, 2025. Moore practiced law in Austin for more than five decades and taught business law at Austin Community College for over 40 years. He served in the United States Air Force Office of Special Investigations, retiring in 1990 from the Air Force Reserves with the rank of colonel.
Jane Rachael Vorwerk passed away on April 20, 2025. Jane, a double Longhorn, practiced as an attorney before focusing on raising her son.
Allison Standish Miller has moved her practice to Steptoe in Houston, where she is a partner in the Professional Liability and Commercial Litigation groups. A double Longhorn, Standish Miller has been recognized on the Best Lawyers in America and Super Lawyers lists multiple times.
Chris Thiele has joined Baker Botts as a partner in the Litigation practice within its Environmental, Safety, and Incident Response section. Thiele, who has more than 25 years of environmental law experience, previously the senior vice resident and legal counsel for an independent midstream energy infrastructure development company.
Robert P. Braubach was appointed by the Czech Republic Minister of Foreign Affairs as honorary consul for San Antonio and South Texas to represent the Czech Republic and promote trade, investment, tourism and education in South Texas. Braubach’s San Antonio-based law firm specializes in international business law, international real estate law, and entity formation.
Kenneth H. “Ken” Goetzke Jr. has a new position as deputy general counsel at the Office of Chief Counsel for NASA Langley Research Center. He was previously the associate chief counsel.
John Donaleski has rejoined White & Case in New York as part of its global project development and finance practice, after working at Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe as a partner in energy and infrastructure finance. He advises financial institutions on complex energy and infrastructure projects, with a focus on renewables, conventional power, and digital infrastructure.
William Howard Wolf Sr. passed away on April 11, 2025. Howard, a double Longhorn, served in the military following law school before spending over four decades of his career with the international law firm Fulbright & Jaworski.
Tanner Truett Hunt passed away on April 6, 2025. Hunt, a double Longhorn, worked in Robert Kennedy’s Department of Justice before joining Wells, Duncan and Beard for the entirety of his 57-year private practice.