Milton Henry Steffen, Jr. passed away on July 15, 2025. After graduating from the law school, he became both a licensed attorney and CPA. He spent most of his life in Houston, where he built a respected legal career.
Darren Walker has joined The Obama Foundation’s board of directors. He is a transformative leader in philanthropy and the outgoing president of the Ford Foundation.
Benjamin Kelly has rejoined Baker McKenzie as a partner in its Intellectual Property Practice in Dallas. Before his return, he served as senior counsel at Forrest Weldon Law Group LLP in Dallas.
Judge Mike Westergren, formerly a judge for the 214th District Court in Nueces County, passed away on July 17, 2025. Westergren, who also served as the Nueces county attorney and worked in private practice later in his career, was best known for presiding over the murder case of singer Selena,
Samuel James Johnson passed away on July 13, 2025. He spent the majority of his career as a trial lawyer at Scott, Douglass, & McConnico where he served as a partner for over three decades.
Christopher D. Bell has joined the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority board of directors for a six-year term. Bell is the deputy general counsel for the Conservation Fund, a nationwide nonprofit organization. He was previously a partner at the law firm Ballard Spahr LLP.
Tyler Ames has rejoined McAfee & Taft as a trial lawyer based in Oklahoma City. He previously served as a federal law clerk to the Honorable Timothy D. DeGiusti, chief judge of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma.
Joshua Gold has joined Nixon Peabody LLP as counsel in its affordable housing practice in the Washington, D.C., office. Formerly a managing attorney at HUD’s southwest regional office, he has 12 years of experience with programs like Section 8 and RAD.
Oliver Luck has been appointed to the West Virginia University Board of Governors by Governor Patrick Morrisey. The co-founder of Ten Mile Consulting LLC and chairman of Altius Sports Partners, Luck has a history of leadership in the world of sports, having worked in the NFL, as a college athletics director, and as the first commissioner and CEO of the XFL.
Jon Bible passed away on July 12, 2025. Bible, a triple Longhorn, was a Collegiate Baseball Hall of Fame umpire, a veteran football official, and taught business law at Texas State University for more than 30 years.
Chris Dove has joined the Beck Redden LLP’s nationally recognized appellate practice as of counsel, based in Houston. Dove brings with him nearly 25 years of experience in complex appellate advocacy focused on high stakes commercial disputes, including his most recent work at Troutman Pepper Locke. He has argued more than 40 appeals in state and federal courts across the country.
Brian Dupré has been appointed deputy associate general counsel for program integrity in the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Division of the Office of the General Counsel at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. He previously served as chief counsel for Region 1 in Boston.
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.