Class Notes

Paul Watler has been ranked in the 2023 Chambers USA Guide as one of the top lawyers in the U.S. for First Amendment Litigation and was recognized by The Texas Lawbook for the defense of one of the nine most significant lawsuits handled by Texas attorneys in 2023. A partner at Jackson Walker who specializes in First Amendment, media law, and commercial litigation, Watler also was named in Lawdragon’s 2024 list of top 500 leading litigators in America.

Jonathan P. Harmon has been featured in “The Power 50,” Virginia Business’s ranking of the top 50 most powerful executives in the state. Harmon is the current Chairman of McGuireWoods, the oldest law firm in Virginia.

Richard Pena has received the National Conference of Bar Presidents’ 2024 Fellows Award. Pena, who is only the second bar president from Texas to receive the award, is a past president of the State Bar of Texas and the Austin Bar Association. He is president and CEO at the Richard Pena law firm in Austin.

Christy Lea has been appointed co-chair of the Medical Device Litigation Group at Intellectual Property law firm Knobbe Martens. Lea has represented clients in the medical device and pharmaceutical industries for nearly two decades and is an accomplished PTAB trial litigator.

John Beckworth received the 2024 Ernest Smith Lifetime Achievement Award at the Texas Journal of Oil, Gas, and Energy Law (TJOGEL) Symposium. Beckworth has more than four decades of experience, demonstrating expertise in energy, litigation, and arbitration.

Rose E. Jenkins has been nominated by President Biden to be a judge on the United States Tax Court. Jenkins has more than 15 years of experience as a tax lawyer and currently is an attorney in the Office of Associate Chief Counsel at the Internal Revenue Service.

Byron L. LeFlore Jr. has been selected as a Foundation Fellow by the San Antonio Bar Foundation. LeFlore is a partner at Pulman, Cappuccio & Pullen LLP and has more than 30 years of practice in corporate law and business litigation.

Elizabeth H. Fry has been selected as a Foundation Fellow by the San Antonio Bar Foundation. Fry practices trust and estate planning at Hornberger Fuller & Garza Incorporated and is board certified in estate planning and probate law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization.

Demetrio Duarte Jr. has been selected as a Foundation Fellow by the San Antonio Bar Foundation. Duarte has more than 35 years of experience as a trial attorney at Duarte & Molina, PC and is board certified in criminal law.

Jesse Pierce has been listed among the nation’s top attorneys by the 2024 edition of Lawdragon’s 500 Leading Lawyers in America for excellence in commercial litigation.

Jack O’Neill has been listed among the nation’s top attorneys by the 2024 edition of Lawdragon’s 500 Leading Lawyers in America for commercial litigation excellence.

Kayvon Rashidi is now Board Certified in Family Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization (TBLS) after passing the 2023 board exam. Rashidi is with Powers and Kerr, PLLC.

Mary Kate Raffetto is joining the partnership at Beck Redden LLP. Raffetto is a trial and appellate specialist with significant experience representing both plaintiffs and defendants.

Samuel E. Bassett has been named one of the Best Criminal Defense Attorneys in Austin by Forbes Advisor. Bassett is a trial lawyer at Minton Bassett Flores & Carsey and has been a Texas Super Lawyer for more than 17 years.

William B. Mange has been named one of the Best Criminal Defense Attorneys in Austin by Forbes Advisor. Mange is a former assistant district attorney for Travis County who currently is an attorney at Dunham & Jones.

E. G. Morris has been named one of the Best Criminal Defense Attorneys in Austin by Forbes Advisor. Morris has been a criminal defense attorney since 1977 and is board certified as a criminal specialist by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization.

Sandra C. Ritz has been named one of the Best Criminal Defense Attorneys in Austin by Forbes Advisor. Ritz opened her own law office in 2001 and has tried cases in both federal and state courts.

Joseph A. Turner has been named one of the Best Criminal Defense Attorneys in Austin by Forbes Advisor. Turner specializes in federal criminal defense cases and has tried more than 100 jury trials in his 30-plus-year legal career.

Hilda Galvan has been named in the Top 50 Diverse Board Candidate List, a recognition by Equilar and the Nasdaq Center for Board Excellence that seeks to advance opportunities for underrepresented groups. Galvan is a partner in charge at the Dallas office of Jones Day, specializing in intellectual property, with a background in technology and artificial intelligence.

Richard R. Orsinger has been named a Best Divorce Lawyer in San Antonio for 2023 by Forbes. Orsinger has more than 40 years of experience in family and appellate law and has been previously honored in the State Bar of Texas Family Law Hall of Legends.

Arthur J. Rossi, Jr. has been named a 2023 Best Divorce Lawyer in San Antonio by Forbes. Rossi has more than 40 years of experience helping clients with property division, child custody, spousal support, and other family law-related issues.

Mysti Murphy has been named a Best Divorce Lawyer in San Antonio by Forbes for 2023. As a consultant for the City of Dallas Domestic Violence Task Force and a former Dallas County assistant district attorney, Murphy specializes in domestic violence and other family law cases.

Floyd S. Contreras has been named a 2023 Best Divorce Lawyer in San Antonio by Forbes. Contreras practices all types of family law, with experience in business and probate law that allows him to help clients with divorces involving family businesses.

Keith Y. Cohan has been named a Rising Star by Texas Lawyer. Cohan is a partner in the Austin office of Reid Collins & Tsai and focuses his practice on complex commercial litigation.

Matthew Falcone has been named a recipient of Texas Lawyer’s 2023 “On the Rise” Award. Falcone is a partner at Vinson & Elkins’ Houston office and focuses his practice on M&A and private equity.

Taylor Mauze has been named a Rising Star by Texas Lawyer. Mauze is a litigator and trial attorney at Reichman Jorgensen Lehman & Feldberg LLP and specializes in complex business disputes and patents.

Atman Shukla has been named a Rising Star by Texas Lawyer. Shukla is a partner at Sidley Austin LLP and focuses on M&A and investment transactions in the energy, infrastructure, and aviation industries.

Maryssa Simpson has been named a Rising Star by Texas Lawyer. Simpson is a trial lawyer at the Simpson Tuegel Law Firm and focuses her practice on personal injury, sexual assault, and sexual harassment cases.

Courtney Hammond has been named a recipient of Texas Lawyer’s 2023 “On the Rise” Award. Hammond is a member of Vinson & Elkins’ real estate practice and focuses on commercial real estate projects.

Michael Kelso has been named a Rising Star by Texas Lawyer. Kelso is a trial lawyer at Susman Godfrey LLP and focuses his practice on antitrust, securities fraud, and the energy sector.

Rocco Magni has been named a Rising Star by Texas Lawyer. Magni is a trial lawyer at Susman Godfrey LLP and specializes in commercial litigation and patents.

Kim Hicks has been named a Rising Star by Texas Lawyer. Hicks is a founding partner at the Austin office of Kirkland & Ellis and focuses on M&A and private equity in the energy sectors.

Ralph C. Mayrell has been promoted to special counsel in Kramer Levin’s litigation practice. Mayrell specializes in complex commercial litigation and appeals across a variety of industries.

Wayne D. Meissner has been named one of the Best Criminal Defense Attorneys in Austin by Forbes Advisor. A former district attorney in Amarillo and Austin, Meissner currently serves as an attorney at Fitzgerald & Meissner PC.

Drew Kershen was honored by the State of Oklahoma as an Oklahoma Water Pioneer. The State honored him for his 30-plus years of teaching, writing, and service about Oklahoma water law. Kershen was a faculty member for 41.5 years at the University of Oklahoma College of Law.

Bryan P. Hoeller has been named a “Best Criminal Defense Lawyer” in Fort Worth of 2023 by Forbes. Hoeller was a former criminal prosecutor turned criminal defense lawyer, defending thousands of clients in a variety of cases.

Sakina Rasheed Foster has received the Texas State Bar’s annual Trailblazer of the Year Award. Foster was nominated for the award by The Podium, a nonprofit for Asian American women lawyers,  for her work as managing partner and mentor at Haynes and Boone.

Dick DeGuerin has been named one of the Best Criminal Defense Lawyers in Houston,2023. DeGuerin has been practicing criminal defense for the past five decades and represented many high profile clients as his firm handles state and federal cases from trial through the appellate process.

George Parnham has been named one of the Best Criminal Defense Lawyers in Houston 2023. An Army veteran who has practiced for over five decades, Parnham has secured reduced sentences for clients accused of terrorism, criminally negligent homicide and murder.

David Nachtigall has been named one of the Best Criminal Defense Lawyers in Houston 2023.  Nachtigall, whose firm is based in Houston, has tried several thousand criminal cases and has represented clients facing serious allegations from the FBI, DEA, ATF, U.S. Secret Service and other government agencies.

Neal A. Davis has been named one of the Best Criminal Defense Lawyers in Houston 2023. Davis, who runs his own firm,  has 25 years of experience in criminal defense from the investigative phase to appeal, and has appeared as counsel in front of the U.S. Supreme Court in a matter involving the Fifth Amendment.

Amanda Tyler testified before the U.S. House Oversight Committee’s Subcommittee on National Security, the Border, and Foreign Affairs. Tyler is the executive director of Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty (BJC) and lead organizer of the Christians Against Christian Nationalism campaign.

John D. White has been awarded the 2023 Outstanding Alumni Award for the Bush School of Government & Public Service at Texas A&M University. In addition to his numerous public service appointments, White served as a judge advocate general in the United States Air Force and practiced law for three decades.

David Tamisiea has been named executive director of the North Dakota Catholic Conference. Tamisiea is the dean of the School of Arts & Sciences and associate professor in Theology at the University of Mary in Bismarck, N.D.

Alistair B. Dawson earned the Litigation Star Award in Benchmark Litigation 2024. Dawson is a partner at the Houston office of Beck Redden LLP.

David J. Beck earned the Top 100 Trial Lawyers, National Practice Area Star, and Litigation Star Awards in Benchmark Litigation 2024. Beck is a trial lawyer and founding partner at Beck Redden LLP and is a fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers.

Fields Alexander earned the Litigation Star Award in Benchmark Litigation 2024. Alexander is a partner at Beck Redden LLP, where he specializes in trial law.

Wayne Haglund has been selected as a Texas Super Lawyer for his work in school law for the 20th consecutive year. Haglund established the Haglund Law Firm and has provided legal services to more than 60 Texas school districts.

Shawn Raymond has received the Anti-Defamation League’s Karen H. Susman Jurisprudence Award, an annual award presented by ADL Southwest that honors an outstanding member of the legal community who exhibits a commitment to equality, justice, fairness and community service. Raymond is a partner at trial law firm Susan Godfrey.

Brad Caldwell has earned a selection on the 2024 Lawdragon Leading Litigators in America listing based on his work in intellectual property trials. Caldwell is principal at Caldwell Cassady & Curry, where he focuses on patent infringement and complex commercial litigation for both plaintiffs and defendants in trial.