Justice Patricia O’Connell Alvarez (Ret.) was inducted into the National Academy of Distinguished Neutrals, an invitation-only organization of the nation’s most respected and accomplished alternative dispute resolution professionals. Alvarez served 12 years as a judge in the Fourth Court of Appeals and spent 26 years as a trial attorney before launching Alvarez Dispute Resolutions, PLLC.
Scott Young will be recognized by the Association of Corporate Counsel’s DFW Chapter and The Texas Lawbook with a 2025 Corporate Counsel Award for Achievement in Pro Bono and Public Service. He currently serves as managing counsel for Toyota North America.
The Honorable Wallace B. Jefferson has been elected as the next president of the American Law Institute, effective at the conclusion of the Institute’s 2026 Annual Meeting in May. Jefferson served on the Supreme Court of Texas from 2001 to 2013, including as Chief Justice from 2004 through the end of his tenure. He also previously served as president of the Conference of Chief Justices, representing chief justices from all 50 states and U.S. territories.
Kim McMath has served as president of the Eanes ISD Board of Trustees since May, 2025. McMath, who was first elected to the school board in 2020 and spent two years as vice president, is general counsel for Madison Industries entities, a private company with international holdings.
Jane Beard was selected to receive an honorary Doctor of Laws degree at the winter commencement ceremony at Hardin-Simmons University in recognition of her humanitarian and philanthropic contributions. Beard has served as grants administrator for the Dian Graves Owen Foundation for more than 20 years and previously was a shareholder at McMahon, Smart, Surovik, Suttle, Buhrmann & Cobb in Abilene, where she focused on corporate, nonprofit, and health law.
Craig Ball has been announced as a 2025 finalist for the Gayle O’Connor Spirit Award. He serves as an adjunct professor at Texas Law and general counsel of the Electronic Discovery Reference Model. The award celebrates members of the e-discovery and legal technology communities based on “singular energy, enthusiasm and verve.”
Chris Kratovil was named to D Magazine’s “Best of Dallas Hall of Fame.” An attorney at Dykema who specializes in commercial litigation, Kratovil has been named a “Best Lawyer in Dallas” by the publication for 15 consecutive years.
Jared P. Harrell has been named to the Top 50 Undergraduate Business Directors of 2025 by Poets & Quants for Undergrads. He is an associate professor of practice and director of the Center for Real Estate at the Rawls College of Business at Texas Tech University.
Mary Goldsmith has been selected for inclusion in Marquis “Who’s Who,” which is a biographical collection covering leaders and achievers from around the world. She is the owner of the Law Office of Mary A. Goldsmith in Port Aransas, Texas, as well as Mary Goldsmith Photography and Art in Nature.
Russ Hollenbeck has been promoted to managing partner of Wright Close Barger & Guzman. A member of the firm for over 23 years, he previously served as a partner before his election to this leadership role.
Annie Holland Miller has been inducted into the University of Texas at Austin Recreational Sports Hall of Honor for 2025. She currently serves as chief business and operations manager of Holand Investments, LTD, and remains involved with RecSports as a member of the department’s Leadership Team.
Brian Haley has been inducted into the University of Texas at Austin Recreational Sports Hall of Honor for 2025.The co-founder of CB Capital, he served as the student government president during the 2003–04 academic year, and was appointed the first student on The University of Texas System Board of Regents in 2006.
Milam Newby has been inducted into the University of Texas at Austin Recreational Sports Hall of Honor for 2025. He served on the ad hoc committee that developed the initial design concepts for the Gregory Gym Aquatic Complex, and he currently works as a partner at Vinson & Elkins in Austin and heads the firm’s technology practice.
Dean Greenwood has been inducted into the University of Texas at Austin Recreational Sports Hall of Honor for 2025. One of four individuals to earn All-Intramural Team honors in four sports within a single academic year, he served in the U.S. Army for four years before law school, where he continued his intramural career playing flag football with the Legal Eagles.
Samuel G. Encarnacion has been chosen to receive the A. Leon Higginbotham Jr. Lifetime Achievement Award from the Pennsylvania Bar Association’s Minority Bar Committee, recognizing his outstanding contributions to justice, leadership, and service throughout his career. Encarnacion is senior trial counsel at Haggerty Silverman & Justice in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
Nancy Carlson, trustee emeritus for The University of Texas Law School Foundation, has been named a 2026 TACA Silver Cup Award honoree. She serves as a partner at the investment firm Carlson Capital, LP and is heavily involved in the Dallas art community.
Veronica Gonzales has been named the 2025 Woman of the Year by the Edinburg Chamber of Commerce. Gonzales, who is the senior vice president for governmental and community relations at The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, also serves on Texas Law’s Alumni Association Executive Committee.
A downtown plaza in Austin will be named to honor the late Pike Powers, former state representative and longtime contributor to Austin’s technology sector. The “Old” Red River Street will become a pedestrian-oriented space named Pike Powers Plaza.
Chris Stewart of Caldwell Cassady & Curry has earned a spot on the 2025 Texas Rising Stars list as one of the state’s top young lawyers for intellectual property and patent trials. Stewart is a trial lawyer who focuses on patent and general commercial litigation as a principal at the firm.
John Summers has been selected to the 2025 Texas Rising Stars list of the state’s top intellectual property and patent trial lawyers. Summers is a principal at Caldwell Cassady & Curry in Dallas.
Brad Caldwell has been named to the 2025 Texas Super Lawyers list for his work in intellectual property and patent trials. Caldwell, who is a principal at the Dallas trial firm Caldwell Cassady & Curry, also was recognized in the 2026 edition of The Best Lawyers in America.
Barrett Robin has earned selection on the 2025 Texas Rising Stars list of the state’s top young attorneys for his successful work in high-stakes personal injury and wrongful death lawsuits. Robin is a partner at Hamilton Wingo in Dallas.
Chris Hamilton of Hamilton Wingo in Dallas has earned selection on the 2025 Texas Super Lawyers list based on his work in high-stakes personal injury and wrongful death lawsuits. Hamilton, the firm’s founding partner and owner, also has been recognized in the 2026 edition of The Best Lawyers in America.
Judge Hilda Tagle Knebel, the first Hispanic woman in Texas to become a federal judge, will be honored at Texas Woman’s University with the official opening of the Judge Hilda Tagle Collection on Oct. 1, 2025. This archive will include a comprehensive collection of documents and other materials that chronicle her historic judicial career, community engagement, and civic leadership.
William G. Hagans has been named to the Top 100 Houston Super Lawyers list for 2025 by the Thompson Reuters publication Texas Super Lawyers. He currently serves as an attorney and president of the firm Hagans.
Andres Contreras has been recognized in the 2026 edition of The Best Lawyers in America directory in recognition of his legal excellence in two categories: Commercial Litigation, Personal Injury Litigation–Defendants and Product Liability Litigation–Defendants. He is an associate in the Houston office of Munsch Hardt Kopf & Harr, P.C.
Kelly Wise has been recognized in the 2026 edition of The Best Lawyers in America directory in recognition of her legal excellence for two categories: Commercial Litigation, Personal Injury Litigation and Defendants and Product Liability Litigation-Defendants. Wise is a shareholder in the Dallas office of Munsch Hardt Kopf & Harr, P.C.
Scott Clark has been recognized in the 2026 edition of The Best Lawyers in America for his work in high-stakes intellectual property and patent trials. He is a partner at Alavi Anaipakos PLLC’s Houston office.
Mitchell McFarland has been recognized in the 2026 edition of The Best Lawyers in America directory for his legal excellence in the Commercial Litigation category. He is a shareholder in the Houston office of Munsch Hardt Kopf & Harr, P.C.
Stuart Miller has been recognized in the 2026 edition of The Best Lawyers in America directory for his legal excellence in the Health Care Law category. He is a shareholder in the Houston office of Munsch Hardt Kopf & Harr, P.C.
Jim Bettis has been recognized in the 2026 edition of The Best Lawyers in America for his legal excellence in the Insurance Law category. He is a shareholder with the Houston office of Munsch Hardt Kopf & Harr, P.C.
Michael McBride has been recognized in the 2026 edition of The Best Lawyers in America for his work in high-stakes intellectual property and patent trials. He is a partner at Alavi Anaipakos PLLC’s Houston office.
Mason Hester has been recognized in the 2026 edition of The Best Lawyers in America directory for his legal excellence in the Construction Law and Litigation-Construction category. He is a shareholder in the Houston office of Munsch Hardt Kopf & Harr, P.C.
Mike Hatchell, appellate counsel at Haynes Boone in Austin, received the 2025 Chief Justice Jack Pope Professionalism Award by the Texas Center for Legal Ethics in recognition of his unwavering professionalism and integrity in appellate law.
Ashley Morgan, an attorney and lobbyist at Erben & Yarbrough in Austin, received the 2025 Lumberjack Pride Award by Stephen F. Austin University. This award honors alumni who demonstrate Lumberjack pride and spirit.
Nicholas Lowrey has been honored in the 2026 edition of The Best Lawyers in America® and Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch® in America. He is of counsel at Klasko Immigration Law Partners, LLP.
Walter A. Buchanan, a shareholder with Munsch Hardt Kopf & Harr, P.C. in Dallas, was featured in the 2026 edition of The Best Lawyers in America® directory. He was highlighted for his legal excellence in the Banking and Finance Law category.
Frederick W. “Rick” Addison, a shareholder with Munsch Hardt Kopf & Harr, P.C. in Dallas, was featured in the 2026 edition of The Best Lawyers in America® directory. He was honored for his legal excellence in the Environmental Law and Litigation – Environmental categories.
Lourdes “Lulu” Ortiz has been named to the 2025 Lawdragon 500 X – The Next Generation list. She is an associate at Cleveland Krist PLLC in Austin who represents plaintiffs and defendants in commercial disputes in state and federal courts.
Michael Kelso ’14 was recognized by Bloomberg News in its “40 under 40” list of next-generation legal leaders from various legal specialties. Kelso is a partner at Susman Godfrey in Houston, specializing in litigation.
Ross Williams has been named to D Magazine’s “Best Lawyers in Dallas 2025” list. He is a partner at Bell Nunnally in Dallas, specializing in business and commercial litigation.
Kassandra McLaughlin has been named to D Magazine’s “Best Lawyers in Dallas 2025” list. She is a partner and of counsel at Bell Nunnally in Dallas, specializing in the real estate area of law.
Karen Hart has been named to D Magazine’s “Best Lawyers in Dallas 2025” list. She is a partner at Bell Nunnally in Dallas, specializing in business and commercial litigation.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.