Class Notes

Nick Buratto passed away August 3, 2023. Buratto’s legal career spanned the 13th, 2nd and 5th Texas Courts of Appeals in Corpus Christi, Fort Worth, and Dallas.

William “Bill” D. Pargaman passed away August 3, 2023. With his estate planning expertise, Pargaman made significant contributions to the State Bar’s Real Estate, Probate and Trust Law section and was inducted into The American College of Trust and Estate Counsel. Pargaman was a member of the Chancellor’s Society at Texas Law.

David Watson passed away July 9, 2023. A double Longhorn, Watson was employed by the Securities and Exchange Commission and by the Department of Justice throughout his career.

Hollis Gail Turnham passed away August 5, 2023. Turnham was engaged in advocacy work for the rights of elders and direct care workers, serving as the Michigan State Long-Term Care Ombudsman for 16 years.

Colin Watterson has been selected for inclusion in the Benchmark Litigation 40 & Under listing. Watterson is a partner at Hicks Thomas and was previously recognized by “The Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch” for his experience in commercial litigation.

At the 35th Annual Texas Environmental Superconference, Jeff Civins was honored by the Environmental and Natural Resources Law Section of the State Bar of Texas with the creation of the Jeff Civins Volunteer of the Year Award, recognizing his long-time dedication to the section. Civins has chaired the conference since its inception, developed and co-edits the Thomson Reuters two-volume treatise on Texas environmental law, and has been an adjunct professor at the law school for more than 30 years.

David J. Beck has been named to the 2023 Lawdragon 500 Leading Global Litigators list. Beck is a trial lawyer and founding partner at Beck Redden LLP and is a fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers.

Under the pen name Alystair West, George Christopher Scruggs published the novel “Marshland,” which  involves a murder in Houston in the 1980s and the response of a young lawyer to the events in which he becomes involved. In addition to being an author, he is a retired lawyer and pastor.

Samantha Jarvis has been named to the 2023 Lawdragon 500 X – The Next Generation guide. Jarvis is a partner at Smyser Kaplan & Veselka, L.L.P. and focuses her practice on commercial disputes and white collar litigation.

Jeb Golinkin has been named to the 2023 Lawdragon 500 X – The Next Generation guide. Golinkin is a trial associate at Jordan Lynch & Cancienne and focuses his practice on commercial litigation.

Ryan M. Goldstein has been named to the 2023 Lawdragon 500 X – The Next Generation guide. Goldstein is a partner at Reid Collins & Tsai and focuses his practice on complex commercial litigation.

Neil Gehlawat has been named to the 2023 Lawdragon 500 X – The Next Generation guide. Gehlawat is an attorney at the Taylor & Ring law firm and focuses his practice on serious personal injury, wrongful death, civil rights, and sexual abuse.

Jackie Furlow has been named to the 2023 Lawdragon 500 X – The Next Generation guide. Furlow is a partner at Beck Redden and focuses her practice on commercial, employment, and energy litigation.

Ryan Ellis has been named to the 2023 Lawdragon 500 X – The Next Generation guide. Ellis is an attorney at the Lanier Law Firm and focuses his practice on commercial litigation.

Amber K. Dodds has been named to the 2023 Lawdragon 500 X – The Next Generation guide. Dodds is a partner at Bracewell LLP and focuses her practice on employment law.

Keith Y. Cohan has been named to the 2023 Lawdragon 500 X – The Next Generation guide. Cohan is a partner at Reid Collins & Tsai and focuses his practice on commercial financial litigation.

Joshua J. Bruckerhoff has been named to the 2023 Lawdragon 500 X – The Next Generation guide. Bruckerhoff is a partner at Reid Collins & Tsai and focuses his practice on financial litigation.

Mariah Berry has been named to the 2023 Lawdragon 500 X – The Next Generation guide. Berry is an associate at Muskat Devine and focuses her practice on Labor & Employment litigation.

W. Jared Berg has been named to the 2023 Lawdragon 500 X – The Next Generation guide. Berg is an associate at Bracewell LLP’s Houston office and focuses his practice on Mergers & Acquisitions and the energy industry.

Patrick K. Johnson has been named to the 2023 Lawdragon 500 X – The Next Generation guide. Johnson is a partner at Bracewell LLP and focuses his practice on the energy industry.

Michael Kelso has been named to the 2023 Lawdragon 500 X – The Next Generation guide. Kelso is a partner at Susman Godfrey LLP and focuses his practice on commercial litigation.

Nishi Kothari has been named to the 2023 Lawdragon 500 X – The Next Generation guide. Kothari is a partner at Brasher Law Firm and focuses her practice on bad faith insurance claims and commercial personal injury matters.

Kat Li has been named to the 2023 Lawdragon 500 X – The Next Generation guide. Li is an IP litigation partner at Kirkland & Ellis LLP and focuses her trial practice on patent and technology litigation.

Rocco Magni has been named to the 2023 Lawdragon 500 X – The Next Generation guide. Magni is a partner at Susman Godfrey LLP and focuses his trial practice on commercial litigation.

Stephanie L. Matherne has been named to the 2023 Lawdragon 500 X – The Next Generation guide. Matherne is a partner at Estes Thorne Ewing & Payne and focuses her practice on family law.

Utsav Mathur has been named to the 2023 Lawdragon 500 X – The Next Generation guide. Mathur is a partner at Norton Rose Fulbright and focuses his practice on commodity trading, shipping, and offshore energy.

Andrew W. Monk has been named to the 2023 Lawdragon 500 X – The Next Generation guide. Monk is an associate at Bracewell LLP and focuses his practice on corporate and securities transactions.

Denton Nichols has been named to the 2023 Lawdragon 500 X – The Next Generation guide. Nichols is a partner at Norton Rose Fulbright and focuses his practice on international arbitration and disputes.

Nathaniel J. Palmer has been named to the 2023 Lawdragon 500 X – The Next Generation guide. Palmer is a partner at Reid Collins & Tsai and focuses his practice on complex commercial litigation.

Mary Kate Raffetto has been named to the 2023 Lawdragon 500 X – The Next Generation guide. Raffetto is an associate at Beck Redden and focuses her practice on appellate and commercial litigation.

Scott D. Saldaña has been named to the 2023 Lawdragon 500 X – The Next Generation guide. Saldaña is a partner at Reid Collins & Tsai and focuses his practice on plaintiff financial litigation.

Rafe A. Schaefer has been named to the 2023 Lawdragon 500 X – The Next Generation guide. Schaefer is a partner at Norton Rose Fulbright and focuses his practice on complex commercial litigation matters.

John L. Stavinoha III has been named to the 2023 Lawdragon 500 X – The Next Generation guide. Stavinoha is an associate at Bracewell LLP and focuses his practice on energy and infrastructure.

Jeremy Wells has been named to the 2023 Lawdragon 500 X – The Next Generation guide. Wells is a partner at Reid Collins & Tsai and focuses his practice on complex commercial, insolvency, and qui tam litigation.

Austin C. Whitmore has been named to the 2023 Lawdragon 500 X – The Next Generation guide. Whitmore is a senior associate at McGuire Craddock and focuses his practice on commercial real estate and finance.

Ashley Wilder has been named to the 2023 Lawdragon 500 X – The Next Generation guide. Wilder is an associate attorney at Marrs Ellis and focuses her practice on eminent domain litigation.

Kelsi Stayart White has been named to the 2023 Lawdragon 500 X – The Next Generation guide. White is an associate at Ahmad, Zavitsanos & Mensing and focuses her practice on commercial litigation.

Solace Southwick has joined Hogan Thompson Schuelke LLP as of counsel. Southwick has practiced trial law for more than 30 years and specializes in handling complex civil litigation in Texas and federal courts of appeals.

Zimei Fan has joined Stinson LLP’s New York office as a member of the Energy, Environmental, Mining & Transportation Division. Fan focuses his practice on corporate and transactional matters with an emphasis on energy, electric power and energy finance.

Charles Gene Barnett has passed away. Throughout his legal career, Barnett worked with the U.S. Tax Division of Justice, the law firm of Vial, Hamilton, Koch, Tubb, Knox and Stradley, and as in-house counsel with the Southwestern Life and Philadelphia Life insurance companies.

Amanda Goldstein has been named to the 2023 Lawdragon 500 X – The Next Generation guide for her work in commercial litigation. Goldstein is an attorney at Hicks Thomas LLP, where she represents businesses and individuals in commercial litigation matters.

Monica Ingram has been named vice provost for enrollment management at Seattle University. Ingram previously served as associate dean at the Cornell Law School and has more than 20 years of experience in higher education executive leadership.

Stacey Jernigan’s legal thriller “Hedging Death” is featured in an article about a hedge-fund manager who is citing evidence from the novel to bolster his recusal request. Jernigan presides over the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Texas and has served as a federal bankruptcy judge since 2006.

Jason Pratt has been promoted to partner at Shearman & Sterling’s New York office. Pratt is a member of the firm’s Global Environmental practice and focuses on the impact of environmental and climate change laws and regulations on commercial transactions.

The Honorable Charles F. Sandoval passed away July 25, 2023. A veteran of the U.S. Army, Sandoval served as a State District Judge in Texas for 12 years and was president of both the Plano Bar Association and the Collin County Bar Association.

Morris Jackson Hampton passed away July 21, 2023. An Army veteran, Hampton worked in the Dallas District Attorney’s Office, worked in private practice specializing in criminal and family law, then was appointed as the criminal district judge for the 283rd Criminal District Court in Dallas County.

Eric Nichols has been appointed as chair of the Texas Board of Criminal Justice. Nichols is a partner at Butler Snow LLP and previously served as an assistant U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Texas and as deputy attorney general for criminal justice in the Office of the Texas Attorney General.

The Hon. Joe D. Clayton passed away July 14, 2023. Clayton served as a senior state district judge and was active in the State and Smith County Bar Associations in addition to his civic pursuits.

Richard Valle has been named one of the Best Car Accident Lawyers in Albuquerque by Forbes Advisor. Valle focuses on the plaintiff side, specializing in car accidents, personal injury, and products liability litigation.

David Curran has been appointed as general counsel to the University of Arkansas System, where he provides day-to-day legal advice to each of the universities, community colleges, and other units of the UA system.