Vianei Lopez Braun has been elected chair of the Fort Worth Regional Board of Directors for First Financial Bank after having served as the bank’s employment attorney for 24 years. Braun also sits on the Board of Directors for First Financial Bankshares, Inc. and serves as chief development officer for Decker Jones, P.C.
José M. Rubio has been elected to new member by Dykema, a national law firm. Rubio is an attorney in Dykema’s Commercial Litigation practice group.
Prescott W. Smith has been elected to new member at Dykema, a national law firm. Smith works as an attorney in Dykema’s Products Liability practice group.
Ard Ardalan has opened Ardalan Law Firm PLLC focusing on personal injury cases in Austin, Texas.
Rick Cofer was recognized as Best Lawyer in the Austin Chronicle 2021 Best of Austin Readers Poll. He is a partner of Cofer & Connelly, PLLC whose practice focus on family law, criminal defense, and personal injury law.
Karen Roberts Washington was named a life member of the Uniform Law Commission. The Uniform Law Commission works to provide uniformity in state laws for citizens who work or travel in multiple states.
Leslie Robnett was appointed by Governor Greg Abbott to the Specialty Courts Advisory Council for a term set to expire February 1, 2025. Robnett of Fort Worth is an attorney for Duane Morris, LLP. She is a member of the State Bar of Texas, The University of Texas Chancellors Council, and the Eldon B. Mahon Inn of Court.
David Pritchett has been made a shareholder of Duluth-based law firm Fryberger, Buchanan, Smith & Frederick, P.A. He joined the firm in 2020, bringing his experience in real estate law, corporate law, business succession planning, and municipal law to the firm. He has served as Minnesota counsel for PotlatchDeltic Corporation and as Town Attorney for Thomson Township since 1991, among many other clients.
Charlie Stern has been hired by Beasley Allen to work in the Toxic Torts Section of the firm’s new Dallas office. He focuses his practice on representing individuals who have been exposed to asbestos and developed life-threatening cancers, including mesothelioma and lung cancer. Before joining Beasley Allen, Stern worked for another plaintiffs’ law firm and served as Assistant District Attorney for the Griffin Judicial Circuit in Spaulding County, Georgia.
Carlos Romo has taken over as President of the Colorado Hispanic Bar Association. He plans to build on CHBA’s pro bono efforts and expand its formal mentorship program. Romo is a Director of law firm Williams Weese Pepple & Ferguson’s Natural Resources and Environmental Practice Areas. He has been recognized as a top lawyer by 5280 Magazine, Best Lawyers, and Superlawyers.
Judge Gregg Costa has announced that he will resign in August 2022 as jurist in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. His departure will create a vacancy for a new appointment for President Biden. Costa previously served as a judge on the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas, as an assistant U.S. attorney, and as an associate for Weil, Gotshal & Manges in Houston.
Joseph Flannery has joined the Cleveland, Ohio office of Reminger Co., LPA. He focuses his practice on medical malpractice defense, health care law, and long-term care liability.
Danny McDonald has assumed the new executive position of General Counsel/Chief Risk Officer for Endeavors. In the role, he will lead Endeavors’ legal services, counsel the company’s senior leadership, and implement a comprehensive risk management program. He is a double Longhorn with a Master’s in accounting.
Kathryn Gurley has been appointed by Gov. Greg Abbott as Judge of the 287th Judicial District Court in Bailey and Parmer counties. Previously, she served as the Parmer County Attorney. Gurley is a member of the State Bar of Texas and the Friona Chamber of Commerce. She is a former board member of the Friona Independent School District and former member of the Friona Public Library Endowment Committee.
Ned Sherman was named on Variety’s 2021 Dealmakers Impact Report among professionals who led major game-changing deals impacting the entertainment landscape. This is the second time Sherman was featured on this prestigious list. In his profile, Variety described Sherman as the “premium advisor” for companies and talent in the quickly evolving esports industry. Sherman is a partner at Manatt, Phelps & Phillips LLP and leader of the firm’s Digital & Technology Transactions practice.
Ross MacDonald has been named a partner of Gibbs & Bruns LLP. He is recognized by Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch, 2021-2022; and Legal 500 US as a “Rising Star” in General Commercial Disputes, 2019-2021. MacDonald devotes his practice to complex commercial litigation disputes, representing both plaintiffs and defendants in state and federal court as well as in arbitration.
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Wilson G. Jones has joined Bracewell LLP as a partner and chair of the healthcare practice. Over his 28-year career, Jones has provided counsel on the full range of legal issues faced by clients in the healthcare, pharma and life sciences industry, including representing and advising clients in compliance and regulatory matters, health industry transactions, and investigation and enforcement actions.
Patrick Bredehoft has joined Bracewell LLP as a partner in the healthcare practice. Based in Dallas, he maintains an active trial and arbitration practice, with a focus on healthcare and commercial disputes and qui tam litigation defense.
Jackie Furlow has been promoted to partner of Beck Redden. Furlow is a first-chair trial lawyer with significant experience in commercial litigation spanning a wide variety of industries.
Brian L. King has been elevated to a member of Cole Schotz P.C. in the Intellectual Property Group, as well as the Litigation Department in the firm’s Texas office. King is a trial attorney who primarily focuses on commercial and intellectual property litigation, including patent, trademark, copyright, trade secret, and breach of contract matters.
Kevin P. Hess has been promoted to Principal of McKool Smith in the Austin office. His practice focuses on intellectual property litigation, particularly cases involving standard essential patents subject to FRAND or RAND obligations. He represents plaintiffs and defendants in district courts, the Patent Office, and the Federal Circuit.
Jessica Hoffmann serves as the Chief Operating Officer of Steptoe & Johnson, where she leads the daily operations of the firm and oversees key functions. She has nearly two decades of law firm leadership experience.
Patrick K. Johnson was elected partner of Bracewell LLP in the firm’s Houston office. Johnson represents clients across the energy sector in transactions that include mergers, acquisitions and divestitures of assets and companies, joint venture arrangements and project finance and development. From 2015 to 2017, Johnson served as in-house counsel to ExxonMobil, where he provided legal support for upstream and midstream projects in Europe, North America, South America and Australia.
Amber K. Dodds was elected partner of Bracewell LLP in the firm’s San Antonio office. Dodds advises employers on labor and employment issues, such as leave administration, employee investigations, OSHA compliance, the use of background checks and consumer reports, employee discipline and preventing harassment and retaliation claims. She served as an intern in the US District Court for the Western District of Texas and the Texas First Court of Appeals.
Merritt Clements is now the Chairman of the Board of Directors for Planned Parenthood South Texas.
James S. Carter was elected partner of Blank Rome LLP in the firm’s Washington, D.C., office, effective Jan. 1, 2022. Carter represents policyholders in disputes and litigation against their insurers, and provides strategic guidance to clients on ways to enhance coverage for their risks.
J.J. Broderick has joined Blank Rome LLP’s Philadelphia office as a partner in the real estate practice group. Broderick advises clients, including private equity funds, REITS, tenants, landlords, buyers, sellers, developers, owners, operators, investors, and users in all aspects of real estate transactions. During his career, he has handled some of the largest, most complex U.S. real estate transactions.
Robert Hughes has been promoted to partner at Vinson & Elkins effective Jan. 1, 2022. Hughes advises private equity firms, portfolio companies and a variety of public and private businesses in connection with a range of strategic transactions, including mergers and acquisitions, structured financings, leveraged buyouts and joint ventures. His work focuses on identifying practical solutions to complex legal issues and spans a variety industries, including infrastructure, renewables, telecommunications, energy and technology.
Brad Foxman has been promoted to partner at Vinson & Elkins effective Jan. 1, 2022. Foxman’s practice focuses on restructuring and reorganization, including the representation of lenders, buyers, debtors, creditors and trustees. He has extensive experience in advising clients on all aspects of financial distress, including liability management transactions, corporate workouts and restructurings, distressed asset acquisitions and divestitures, bankruptcy litigation, counterpart risk and reorganization and insolvency proceedings.
Rose Jenkins has started a new role as senior attorney advisor at NYU Law’s Tax Law Center. Prior to joining the Tax Law Center, Jenkins was a Managing Director in the International Tax group within KPMG’s Washington National Tax office. Before KPMG, Jenkins was in the Office of Associate Chief Counsel (International) at the IRS, finally as a Special Counsel.
Aaron Gregg has joined Balch & Bingham as a partner to their public policy and government relations practice in Austin, Texas. His background includes working in the Texas Capitol and previously serving as chief of staff to former Texas House Appropriations Chairman Jim Pitts.
Koby Kirkland opened plaintiff’s firm the Law Office of Koby Kirkland, LLC in Mobile, Alabama. Kirkland’s law office handles personal injury cases in Alabama and Texas, federal tort claims nationwide, and vaccine injury claims nationwide.
Boyd Herndon, formerly Director of Research Compliance at the University of North Texas, has retired.
Marianne Nitsch has been elected shareholder with Graves, Dougherty, Hearon & Moody, PC in Austin, Texas.
Rachel Fitzgerald has been elected partner with Locke Lord’s Houston practice. Fitzgerald practices corporate law, focusing primarily on mergers and acquisitions, divestitures, corporate restructurings, joint ventures and matters related to corporate governance and compliance. She has a particular focus in energy — including midstream, oilfield services, renewables and storage facilities — insurance and media.
Brandan Montminy has been elected partner with Locke Lord’s Dallas practice. Montminy provides counsel to clients in a wide array of litigation matters as well as in privacy, data protection, cybersecurity compliance, and incident preparedness and response. He represents clients across multiple industries, including banking and finance, commercial, construction, health care, insurance, professional services, real estate and technology.
Brian O’Reilly has been elected partner with Locke Lord’s Austin practice. O’Reilly practices in the area of transportation, administrative, and public law, focusing on the development of major infrastructure projects by public and private entities. He advises clients on procurement matters and legal issues related to the planning, construction, financing and operation of infrastructure projects.
Molly (Bentley) Fenton was recognized by Variety as one of Hollywood’s New Leaders of 2021.
Ryan B. Hunsaker has been elected as a partner for global law firm Winston & Strawn LLP. He will serve in the firm’s Houston office. Hunsaker has experience in commercial lending and finance transactions, with a focus on oil and gas exploration, and production and oilfield services.
Sarah Gray has been appointed to serve as an Assistant General Counsel in the Office of General Counsel at the Texas Tech University System. Prior to this position, Gray worked in private practice at Porter Hedges LLP in Houston, Texas.
Vicky Johnson of the 1st Judicial District of Nebraska announced that she is retiring at the end of January 2022. Johnson has served on the bench for 17 years and as the presiding judge for the Southeast Nebraska Adult Drug Court since 2007.
Paul Singer has joined Kelley Drye & Warren LLP as a partner in the firm’s State Attorneys General practice group. Most recently, he served as the Texas Associate Deputy Attorney General for Civil Litigation.
Christie Yang has been appointed to general counsel for the Walton Family Foundation. Yang most recently served as the foundation’s interim general counsel. Before joining the WFF in 2019, Yang was associate general counsel at the Brookings Institution. She also was a litigator at Morrison & Foerster LLP, representing numerous Fortune 100 tech and financial services clients.
Ana Ibáñez has joined Broude Smith Jennings & McGlinchey PC as an associate representing clients in real estate and business transactions, estate planning and probate.
Sharmila Kassam has joined NASDAQ as Chief Operating Officer of their newly formed Nasdaq Asset Owner Solutions. Kassam joins with experience in institutional investing and a unique asset owner perspective. Most recently, she served as executive director of the AIF Institute, and as the Deputy Chief Investment Officer for the Employees Retirement System of Texas.
Claire Powell has been named Lewisville, Texas’s next city manager. Powell, who has served as an assistant city manager in Lewisville since 2016, will become the eighth city manager in the city’s history and the second woman to hold the post. She first joined Lewisville in 2011 as assistant city attorney, and became the Assistant City Manager over Development Services.
Martha Hofmeister was awarded Altrusa International, Inc.’s highest honor: the Eleanor Roosevelt Humanitarian Award. This award is worldwide community service organization’s only award given to an individual member. Designed to recognize an Altrusan who makes a lasting contribution to community service as a result of involvement with Altrusa, recipients must have a distinguished service record at the local, district, and international levels. Hofmeister is a founding partner of Shackelford, Bowen, McKinley & Norton, LLP.
Lindsey A. Mills has been promoted to counsel at Latham & Watkins in New York, effective Jan. 1, 2022. A member of the Capital Markets Practice in the Corporate Department, she advises clients on a range of equity and debt transactions, including IPOs and high yield and investment grade debt offerings. She also advises clients on securities law compliance and general corporate governance matters.
Jennifer M. Gascoyne has been elected a partner at Latham & Watkins in London, effective January 1, 2022. A member of the Capital Markets Practice in the Corporate Department, she represents both issuers and investment banks on a range of capital markets transactions, including IPOs. She advises clients across a variety of industries and has particular experience with cross-border transactions and foreign private issuers. She received her JD from the University of Texas School of Law in 2013.
Samuel D. Rettew has been elected a partner at Latham & Watkins in Austin, effective Jan. 1, 2022. A member of the Capital Markets Practice in the Corporate Department, he represents private and public companies, private equity firms, and investment banks in a variety of financing and other transactions, including cross-border and leveraged buyout transactions as well as debt and equity offerings.