Class Notes

Joe Long passed away on Oct. 7, 2026. A U.S. Army veteran and double Longhorn, Long was a prominent lawyer, chairman and CEO of First State Bank, and philanthropist. With his wife, Teresa Lozano Long, he supported UT’s Institute of Latin American Studies, endowed faculty positions for talented musicians, developed the Latin American Collection at the Blanton Museum of Art , and established the Joe R. and Teresa Lozano Long Career Launch Program for recent graduates of Texas Law.

Chris Smith passed away on Oct. 9, 2026. After serving as an assistant district attorney in Minnesota, Smith had his own firm specializing in real estate law in Syracuse, New York.

Florentino “Tino” Ramirez Jr. passed away on Sept. 29, 2026. His practice, Ramirez & Associates, represented businesses and banks working between the United States and Mexico. He was a founding member of the Mexican American Bar Association.

Laura Galaviz passed away on Sept. 26, 2026. Galaviz worked as an El Paso prosecutor, family law attorney in San Marcos and Austin, advocate for the elderly, and volunteer for the Texas Abuse Hotline and CASA.

David Crook passed away on Oct. 1, 2026. A double Longhorn, he practiced law in both Austin and McAllen, concentrating on commercial and residential real estate law.

Michael Carnes passed away on Sept. 30, 2026. After a term as U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Texas, Carnes spent more than 20 years as a criminal defense lawyer in Dallas.

Jesus Enrique Samaniego passed away on Sept. 29, 2026. He served in the U.S. Air Force during the Korean War before becoming the first Hispanic to hold both a CPA title and law degree in the state of Texas.

Charlotte Tonroy Slack passed away on Sept. 1, 2026. A double Longhorn, Slack was a community leader in her hometown, Pecos, Texas, as an organizing member of the Women’s Division of the Chamber of Commerce and chair of the Rodeo Parade. She also was involved with Pecos Players, a touring troupe that performed original plays.

John Davis Roady passed away on Sept. 8, 2026. Roady had a long, distinguished legal career, including many years as senior partner at Hutcheson & Grundy in Houston where his practice included antitrust, employment, appellate law, and commercial litigation.

Barbara Breedlove Rollins passed away on August 23, 2026. She practiced law in Abilene, Texas, with the Bradbury, Tippen & Choate law firm for nine years before serving as the Taylor County Court at Law #2 judge for 24 years.

Charles William “Bill” Blair passed away on Sept. 9, 2026. After earning with both his J.D. and MBA from Texas, Blair built an accomplished career at Kelly Hart, where he remained committed to pro bono work. A generous philanthropist, he established the Ruth K. Blair Endowment at Texas Law in honor of his mother.

Hank W. Flagg Jr. passed away on Sept. 2, 2026. After serving as a lieutenant in the Army Judge Advocate General Corp. in Washington, D.C., he spent his career in the legal department of NASA’s Manned Spacecraft Center in Houston (later renamed the Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center), including nearly two decades as chief counsel.

William “Bill” Puckett passed away on August 26, 2026. After proudly serving in the United States Army Military in Intelligence as a second lieutenant, he enjoyed a long career as a criminal defense attorney before retiring in 2016.

Michael Roy Pickering passed away on Nov. 2, 2025. A double Longhorn, he practiced law for decades in Houston before retiring in Horseshoe Bay.

J. Stewart Bass passed away on August 12, 2026. Bass served as a  municipal judge for several North Texas cities, presiding judge in Blue Mound and North Richland Hills, and maintained a private legal practice in Fort Worth for 40 years.

Harold Metts passed away on July 22, 2026. A U.S. Navy veteran who served in the Korean war, Metts started his career as a briefing attorney for the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals. He practiced law for five years in Liberty, Texas, then joined Baker Botts in Houston where he specialized in estate and tax law for 34 years, retiring as a senior partner.

Timothy “Tim” Smith passed away on July 27, 2026. A double Longhorn and devoted fan, Smith practiced real estate law and was known for his longtime work with LH Capital, where known for his insightful counsel and exceptional work ethic.

Joe Bailey Jr. passed away on July 31, 2026. He was an award-winning documentary filmmaker and UT instructor who met his wife, fellow Texas Law alum Alice Dolson, while attending law school.

Douglas Leroy Corbett passed away on July 26, 2026. After starting his career with the Federal Power Commission in Washington, D.C., he moved to Houston, where he pursued a legal career in natural gas pipelines then in power plant development in an independent practice. Corbett was active in civic and community service in Houston.

Joe Ramirez passed away on July 24, 2026. An attorney and retired U.S. Air Force colonel, Ramirez held senior legal leadership roles at Southwestern Bell, Western Electric, and AT&T, eventually becoming vice president and chief labor counsel. A double Longhorn, he and his wife supported scholarships for students in the Rio Grande Valley.

Sheree Lynn Rabe passed away on July 24, 2026. She practiced law in Texas for 33 years.

Brock Jones passed away on July 25, 2026. He served as judge of Texas’ 112th Judicial District for 24 years and later worked as a visiting senior judge and mediator across West Texas.

David Allan Eldridge passed away on July 15, 2026. A U.S. Army veteran, Eldridge practiced law for over 50 years, specializing in wills, trusts, and probate. A third-generation lawyer, he worked at two other firms before forming Holman, Robertson, and Eldridge.

Gilbert “Buddy” Low passed away on July 14, 2026. A nationally recognized trial lawyer, he practiced with Orgain Bell & Tucker for more then 50 years and received numerous honors throughout his career. Low served for many years on both the Texas Supreme Court Advisory Committee and the Supreme Court Professional Ethics Committee.

Douglas Duane Behrendt passed away on July 10, 2026. A U.S. Army veteran, Behrendt started his career as an assistant criminal district attorney in Brazoria County, Texas. He went on to practice law in Austin, San Marcos and Lockhart from 1979 until he retired in 2013.

William Willard “Bill” Gibson passed away on June 1, 2026. After starting his career at an Amarillo law firm, Gibson returned to Texas Law and was on the faculty for 33 years, also serving as associate dean for administration and academic affairs. In the early 1970s, he spent two years as an attorney advisor to the Federal Power Commission in Washington, D.C.

William “Bill” Archer passed away on July 4, 2026. Archer served Texas in Congress for 30 years, chaired the influential House Ways and Means Committee, helped negotiate the 1997 balanced federal budget, and later founded the Archer Center in Washington D.C.

William C. Bednar Jr. passed away on June 6, 2026. A U.S. Marine veteran who served in Vietnam, Bednar had a distinguished career in education law—first as general counsel of the Texas Education Agency and then in private practive— and also served as president of the National Organization on Legal Problems of Education.

Daniel Ortman passed away on May 5, 2026. Ortman held many significant legal and engineering-related roles where he worked for companies such as Saudi Aramco, Samsung, and Hyundai. At the end of his career he served as an adjunct professor at Texas Law.

Curtis Kantor passed away on June 12, 2026. He practiced law for 35 years, including more than 20 as a managing attorney for TeleCheck in Houston.

Steven Pfister passed away on June 7, 2026. Pfister worked for various companies throughout his career—mostly in the field of real estate development—including many years as a commercial broker with Real-Tec in Ft. Collins, Colorado.

Thomas Vance McMahan passed away on June 6, 2026. Recognized as one of Texas’ leading oil and gas and commercial real estate attorneys, McMahan spent more than four decades at Vinson & Elkins in Houston. He was on multiple professional and civic boards in the Houston area and also served on the University of Texas Chancellor’s Council Executive Committee.

William “Bill” Kemp passed away on June 2, 2026. A U.S. Navy lieutenant commander and Korean War veteran, William practiced law for over 60 years. He co-founded and chaired the Austin Bar Association’s Lawyer Referral Service and drafted and championed the legislation that established state licensure for home health agencies in Texas.

Brent Howard passed away on May 25, 2026. Brent dedicated 45 years to the practice of law and was selected for membership in the American Board of Trial Advocates, where he served as president of the East Texas Chapter.

Richard Don Coan passed away on May 15, 2026. A U.S. Army veteran who served  during the Cold War and later in the Active Reserves, Coan practiced law for 50 years in Stephenville, Texas, and also was president of the Tarleton State University Foundation Board.

Julius Glickman passed away Feb. 24, 2026. Glickman built a distinguished legal career in Houston as the former managing partner of Glickman, Carter & Bachynsky, LLP, becoming one of Texas’s most respected trial lawyers, teachers, and mentors. He served on the board of directors of the State Bar of Texas, taught at the University of Houston Law Center, and lectured widely on litigation, ethics, and employment law. In 2012, he received the University’s Distinguished Alumni Award, followed by the Alumni Association’s Lifetime Achievement Award in 2019. The Julius Glickman Fellowship in Public Interest Law, administered by the William Wayne Justice Center for Public Interest Law, is named in his honor and awarded annually to an outstanding Texas Law graduate or judicial clerk pursuing public interest work on behalf of underrepresented individuals or groups.

The Hon. Rufus Adcock passed away Jan. 15, 2026. After beginning his career as a prosecutor in the Tarrant County District Attorney’s Office in 1960, he served as judge of the 297th Criminal District Court, chief prosecutor for the Tarrant County District Attorney’s Office, and then in 1986, was appointed to the newly created County Criminal Court No. 6, where he served until his retirement in December 1998.

Jason Clarke Marshall passed away on March 31, 2026. Marshall served as a shareholder of Winstead, Sechrest, and Minick before he started the Marshall Firm, specializing in real estate and property tax matters.

Pamela Beachley passed away on April 4, 2026. A double Longhorn, Beachley was a renowned expert in workers’ compensation, and once served as general counsel for the Joint Select Committee on Workers’ Compensation and as executive director of the Business Insurance Consumer’s Association. In her lobby career, Beachley represented business and governmental entities through the 2021 legislative session.

Dudley McCalla passed away on March 29, 2026. A double Longhorn and Navy veteran,  McCalla’s successful career in public law started with the Office of the Attorney General and included many years in private practice. He authored “Texas Administrative Law” and received the Trial Lifetime Achievement Award by the Administrative Law and Public Law section of the Texas State Bar.

Arthur Schechter passed away on April 13, 2026. He founded his own law firm in 1976, representing injured clients with a focus on maritime workers. Schechter served as U.S. ambassador to the Bahamas under President Bill Clinton and later chaired the Metropolitan Transit Authority in Houston.

James Barksdale Jr. passed away on Feb. 24, 2026. Barksdale had a distinguished career in patent law, first with Monsanto Chemical, then with IBM for 30 years.

William “Bill” Dorsaneo passed away on March 15, 2026. Dorsaneo was a faculty member at Southern Methodist University’s Dedman School of Law for more than four decades and was the principle author of the 26-volume Texas Litigation Guide, referred to by generations of attorneys simply as “Dorsaneo’s.” He also served for decades as a member of the Texas Supreme Court Advisory Committee.

Joe Deming passed away on March 17, 2026. Deming worked as an attorney for various oil companies including Saudi Aramco and Royal Dutch Shell until his retirement in 2010.

Leslie “Les” Acker passed away March 15, 2026. A double Longhorn, Acker started his career in Midland, Texas, working in the City Attorney’s Office and later serving as the Midland County attorney before relocating to Post, Texas and becoming the Garza County attorney.

Elizabeth Page Kanetzky passed away on March 2, 2026. A double Longhorn with an artistic side that led to an additional degree in interior design, Kanetzky was the owner of Page Kanetzky Design for nearly a decade.

Gary Norton passed away on Feb. 11, 2026. Norton primarily practiced as a civil defense trial attorney, later becoming assistant attorney general in the Consumer Protection Division of the Texas Attorney General’s Office.

Terry Scarborough passed away on Feb. 25, 2026. After starting his career at the Travis County District Attorney’s Office, he founded Hance Scarborough LLP and served as a celebrated litigator there for most of his 50-year career. Scarborough earned induction into the American Board of Trial Advocates and the International Society of Barristers.

Sidney Clifton Farrar passed away on Feb. 22, 2026. A retired senior district judge, Farrar led a long career of involvement in the Fort Worth judicial community before joining his son’s law firm as of counsel while also acting as a visiting judge and mediator.

Charles Helms passed away on Nov. 2, 2025. Helms practiced law in Dallas for many years alongside his friend and partner Paul Pesek, then spent his last years teaching theology at the University of Dallas. He was president of his local Catholic lawyer’s guild—the St. Thomas More Society—and was a member of the Catholic Bar Association.