Class Notes

James “Jim” Darby Walker passed away on August 2, 2024. After graduating from Texas Law, he founded his company, Counselors Mortgage, where he worked for over three decades.

Caroline Brown Benediktson passed away on July 20, 2024. After graduating from Texas Law, she practiced law in Los Angeles and Houston before settling in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Over her career, she was a partner at a law firm, led the legal teams at private and public corporations, and worked for the City Attorney’s Office in Tulsa.

Chris Riley passed away on July 28, 2024. Riley served on the Austin City Council and was regarded as a champion of the City of Austin’s urbanist movement.

Marion Stanton “Bob” Roberts passed away on July 20, 2024. Roberts led a long legal career in Texas before retiring to devote his time to friends, family, and his church.

Brandon Butera passed away on July 22, 2024. Butera worked as an attorney for Bracewell LLP while pursuing his love for writing, authoring several books and screenplays.

Travis Phillips passed away on July 21, 2024. Phillips worked in civil litigation and was involved in the Austin legal community for many years. He also served on both the Rollingwood Planning Commission and as mayor of Rollingwood.

Wade Smith passed away on July 14, 2024. A double Longhorn, Smith spent his legal career with Touchstone Bernays, including time as managing partner. He also served on the Highland Park Town Council and as the mayor of Highland Park from 1992 to 1996.

Ken Burch passed away on July 11, 2024. Burch served the Houston community as a personal injury attorney for more than 50 years.

James Joseph “Jim” McConn Jr. passed away on July 14, 2024. McConn founded the law firm of Hays, McConn, Rice, and Pickering in Houston, where he practiced for 33 years.

Lipscomp “Lip” Norvell passed away on July 15, 2024. Norvell began his law career in Beaumont, Texas, and grew into the practice of civil defense trial law, practicing for more than 50 years.  He was honored by the Texas Center for Legal, Ethics, and Professionalism and the Jefferson County Bar Association with the Texas Center for Professionalism Award for his exemplary character.

Tommy W. Lueders passed away on July 14, 2024. Lueders earned his undergraduate and law degrees from UT before joining the U.S. Air Force where he served from 1961 to 1989. He served on several interagency groups under the Reagan administration including as a legal advisor for the first Anti-Terror Group. He was a life member of the American Legion and the VFW and served as Chairman of the Military Law Section of the State Bar of Texas.

Thomas L. Tippetts passed away on June 4, 2024. Tippetts joined Haynes Boone in 2006 after graduating from Texas Law, eventually becoming partner, where he worked in the firm’s Mergers & Acquisitions Practice Group for more than over 18 years.

Charles Hlavinka passed away on June 23, 2024. Hlavinka practiced tax law for more than 50 years, serving Texarkana and the surrounding area. He also served his community with roles in many organizations.

A double Longhorn and Marine veteran, Mike Gregory was a 50-year lawyer, a board-certified Family Law Specialist for 44 years, and a certified mediator for 25 years. Gregory was active in the local and state bar associations, including serving as a director of the State Bar of Texas. In 2018, he was appointed by the Texas Supreme Court as a member of the Board of Disciplinary Appeals.

Raymond Harold Marshall passed away on June 13, 2024. A veteran of the U.S. Air Force, Marshall practiced law for firm in El Paso specializing in real estate and banking law, and served as bank counsel for the State National Bank.

Jerel Johnston Hill passed away on June 8, 2024. Hill opened his independent real estate law practice in 1992 and worked there with his son until his passing.

Judge Joe Leonard III passed away on June 12, 2024. Leonard served Hunt County first as the county attorney in 1983, followed by a 10-year stint as county court-at-law judge (1984-1994 and finally as the 196th district court judge (1995-2010).

Thomas E. Cirkal passed away on May 28, 2024. Cirkal, who enjoyed travel and rugby, practiced law in Denver for 45 years.

John Henry Broocks III passed away on June 11, 2024. A double Longhorn, Broocks enjoyed a long and successful legal career working for Humble Oil & Refining Company, now known as ExxonMobil. He retired as the chief landman for Exxon USA.

Vincent Perini passed away on June 3, 2024. Perini served as president of the Texas Criminal Defense Lawyers Association in 1979-80, president of the Dallas Bar Association in 1986, and was inducted into the Texas Criminal Defense Lawyers’ Hall of Fame in 2019.

Peggy Walsleben Huffman Thompson passed away on May 29, 2024. Thompson served as the executive director of the Fort Worth Legal Foundation’s Legal Aid Clinic for almost 10 years; she then became an attorney advisor in the Real Estate Division of the Fort Worth District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, where she served for 20 years before her retirement.

Kenneth Perez passed away on May 29, 2024. A native of New Orleans, Perez dedicated his legal career to people’s welfare. He and his wife were avid travelers.

Thomas Terrell passed away on Jan. 19, 2024. At Texas Law, Terrell was a member of the Order of the Coif and Texas Law Review, in addition to serving as a quizmaster. A U.S. Army veteran, he started his legal career in Austin before establishing a practice in Kerrville, Texas.

Gilbert Prud’homme passed away on May 24, 2024. Prud’homme worked as an attorney in Austin for six decades and devoted time to serving his community.

Jack Maroney II passed away on May 18, 2024. A United States Marine Corps veteran, was the last survivor of the Marine Detachment that served on the USS Enterprise (“Big E”) during WWII. Maroney completed law school after the war and worked for multiple law firms over a 50-year career.

Mike Cotten passed away on May 25, 2024. Cotten played varsity football for the University of Texas before serving in the US Marine Corps and building a successful 42-year career in the practice of law with Clark, Thomas Law Firm.

Joel P. Kay passed away May 16, 2024. Kay began his professional career as a lawyer in the Tax Division of the U.S. Department of Justice before becoming assistant U.S. attorney in the Southern District of Texas, then name partner at Sheinfeld, Maley and Kay, P.C. where he worked for more than three decades. He spent the remainder of his legal career as of counsel at Hughes Watters Askanase.

William Harris Connor, “Bill”, passed away on May 5, 2024. An active member of the Georgetown community, Connor served as District Attorney for the 26th Judicial District, Georgetown City Council member for three terms, and Mayor for one term.

Jesse Heber Coomer passed away on May 18, 2024. A diligent attorney, Coomer served as chief counsel for the Universities Research Associates, Inc., Superconducting Super Collider Laboratory. He also was appointed by the Secretary of State, George P. Shultz, as the contract manager for E-Systems, Inc. in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

Michael McLeaish passed away March 15, 2024. McLeaish opened his own practice in Odessa, Texas, in 1970 and celebrated 53 years of active practice last September.

Alphonso Ragland lll, “Fonse,” passed away on May 13, 2024. Ragland served as a Judge Advocate Officer, JAG, in the United States Air Force stationed in New York until June 1967. From there, Ragland moved back to Dallas to practice law before working as a stockbroker for more than 50 years.

Janet Carl passed away on May 4, 2024. Carl worked in environmental law before retiring to live near family and give back to her community through charitable giving.

John Varner passed away on Tuesday, May 7, 2024. Varner practiced law at three different firms, and co-founded Genprex, Inc., a biotechnology company fighting cancer and diabetes. He served as Genprex’s president, chief executive officer and chairman of the board of directors.

Thomas “Tom” Renfro passed away on Sunday, May 5, 2024. A double Longhorn, Renfro  practiced law in Ft. Worth as a litigator and medical malpractice defense attorney during his more-than-50-year career.

Mark Burroughs passed away on May 2, 2024. His legal career was based in Denton where he practiced business law, personal injury and property tax collection at his real estate law firm, Sawko & Burroughs. Burroughs also served as a city council member and mayor of Denton from 2008-2014.

James G. Ulmer passed away on April 16, 2024. He practiced law for 40 years with the firm of Baker Botts LLP in the field of general litigation with emphasis on intellectual property, bankruptcy, and oil and gas law. Ulmer, who also was an Air Force veteran, retired as a senior partner in 1990.

Roy Laughton Whitehead Jr. passed away on April 24, 2024. Based in Longview, his legal career grew from a start in the Gregg County District Attorney’s Office to joining his father’s practice. Eventually, Whitehead built a boutique firm that focused on family law until retiring in 2020.

Samuel Sipes passed away on April 14, 2024. A U.S. Army veteran, Sipes was a practicing attorney in El Paso, focusing on bankruptcy, business law and commercial law.

Henry Lee Caldwell passed away on April 18, 2024. Caldwell was an attorney, rancher and a founding director of Hospice of Abilene.

Harry Lee Hudspeth passed away April 7, 2024. After working for the U.S. Department of Justice under Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy, Hudspeth was appointed to the federal judiciary by President Jimmy Carter and served as a federal judge in Texas until 2016.

Carl Parker passed away on March 22, 2024. After serving as a Judge Advocate General in  in the U.S. Navy, Parker joined the law firm Long and Parker (now the Parker Law Firm) in Port Arthur. He went on to serve 34 years as a member of the Texas Legislature, starting in the House of Representatives in 1962 and later in the Texas Senate, where he served until 1995.

Thomas John “T.J.” Collins passed away March 23, 2024. Collins, a transactional attorney who specialized in mergers & acquisitions, was an associate editor of the Texas Law Review while in law school. His legal career was based in Dallas, first at Kirkland & Ellis, then at Frederic Dorwart, Lawyers PLLC (FDLaw).

William Neal Blanton III passed away on March 12, 2024. Following his graduation from Texas Law, Blanton went into private practice with Butler Binion and later worked at Exxon Mobil.

Paul Alexander passed away on March 11, 2024. Alexander was an accomplished lawyer, author, and paralytic polio survivor, gaining recognition for being the last living man in an iron lung.

Mark S. Partin passed away Feb. 26, 2024. Partin was a successful disability rights attorney licensed to practice law before the U.S. Supreme Court, several Circuit Courts, and the Federal Court, and spent his career representing and educating individuals with disabilities and their families.

Glen A. Rosenbaum passed away on Feb. 28, 2024. Rosenbaum was a double Longhorn and a celebrated attorney at Vinson & Elkins since 1973, where he worked until his passing.

John Wesley Tunnell passed away Feb. 15, 2024. Dedicated to criminal defense, Tunnell served as an assistant district attorney, general counsel to the Texas Secretary of State, and general counsel for the first Texas Ethics Commission before returning to private practice.

Campbell Houston “Cam” Gillespie III passed away on Feb. 24, 2024. A double Longhorn with a bachelor’s degree in history, he practiced law alongside his father, Campbell H. Gillespie, Jr., for many years. The practice focused on real estate, will/trusts/probate and school law; Gillespie retired in 2020.

Norvell Ford “N.F.” Jackson passed away on Feb. 9, 2024. Atter working in his family business, Jackson dedicated himself to 23 years of service in the Navy, followed by an additional four years in the judicial system as the Superior Court administrator, county clerk, and court commissioner in Bellingham, Washington.

Franklin D. Houser passed away on Feb. 6, 2024. An Army veteran, Houser spent the first decade of his career at a San Antonio defense firm before starting his own firm, Tinsman and Houser. Houser, who was featured in the first edition of “The Best Lawyers in America,” opened a winery after retiring from his legal career.