Joseph Royce passed away on April 25, 2025. Over his 57-year legal career specializing in trust and estate work, he served on various bar associations, was listed among “The Best Lawyers in America” in two different categories, and ultimately retired from Gray Reed in 2023.
E. William “Bill” Barnett passed away on June 15, 2025. He served as managing partner and senior counsel at Baker Botts LLP until his retirement, in addition to holding various chairman and director positions throughout his distinguished career in commercial litigation and antitrust law.
Robert Newey passed away on June 6, 2025. He began his career in the legal department of Texaco before becoming a partner at various law firms, establishing his own private practice in Houston, and serving as an associate judge for multiple family judicial district courts in Harris County until his retirement.
H. Lee Godfrey passed away on June 2, 2025. One of the top trial lawyers in the world and recipient of many honors and awards, Godfrey’s highly distinguished legal career began after serving in the Air Force. He was a partner at Wood Campbell Moody & Gibbs, then joined his old friend Steve Susman in 1982 to found the firm that would become Susman Godfrey. Godfrey was nominated by former President Clinton as the U.S. ambassador to Brazil.
Charles Rufus Ramsay Jr. passed away on May 26, 2025. He was first elected to public office in 1963 as county attorney and was appointed as the first judge of the newly created county court at law in 1978. In 1981, he was elected to the 22nd Judicial District Court, where he served for 31 years.
Keith Stanton Richey passed away on May 20, 2025. After starting his career at the law firm Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher in Houston, Richey became an international tax attorney at Exxon, then Mobil. He continued his career as an international tax counsel for firms including Citibank, Xerox, ITT, and Xylem.
Charles Henry “Hank” Still passed away on May 2, 2025. He had a distinguished career as a corporate lawyer at Fulbright & Jaworski (now Norton Rose Fulbright), where he was a partner from 1975 until his retirement in 2007. Still, who later returned to the firm as of counsel, was known as an expert in corporate governance, authoring a widely consulted treatise on that topic published by Fulbright.
Mark Hanna passed away on May 23, 2025. After serving in the U.S. Army as an airborne combat medic, he had a career as a respected attorney and successful lobbyist supporting the professional practices of thousands of Texas licensees, their patients, and clients.
James Alton Bruen passed away on April 7, 2025. He began his law practice specializing in defending objectors to the Vietnam War before establishing the firm Bruen, Kaufman & Hatfield and later joining a group of attorneys at a successful practice to help small businesses thrive and grow.
Joseph Putnam passed away on May 8, 2025. After practicing law in Mesquite for a year, he moved to Irving, Texas, where he began a 57-year career in law and politics, serving as mayor for two terms and as a member of the city council for part of every decade from the 1970s through the 2010s.
James Peter Klapps passed away on May 2, 2025. He began as a trial attorney in the Department of Justice Civil Division before transitioning to private practice, where he spent the remainder of his 50-year legal career.
Nate Stark passed away on April 23, 2025. In his 40-plus-year career, Stark served as a Travis County prosecutor for several years before launching his successful solo career as a criminal defense lawyer.
Frederic Allen Bittner died on May 8, 2025. After completing eight years of active duty with the Air Force, Bittner begin his legal career and practiced law with the law firm that became Baker & Botts for 21 years. A double Longhorn, Bittner retired from his law practice in 1985, then engaged in financial and real estate investment activities.
Ernest John Flowers passed away on April 30, 2025. Throughout his distinguished legal career, he served as an assistant attorney general for the State of Texas, a bankruptcy judge for the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas, practiced law alongside his father, and later retired after several years at the firm he founded.
David E. Arnold passed away on March 23, 2025. David began his career at the firm Winters, Deaton, Briggs & Britton in Houston and retired from Arnold & Ellwood in 2012.
Hubert Turner Odom Jr. passed away on April 13, 2025. Board-certified in commercial, real estate, and farm and ranch law, Hubert spent more than 50 years in private practice and served as general counsel to The Avera Companies, working alongside his family.
Ronald “Ronny” Krist passed away on April 21, 2025. Krist devoted himself to his legal practice, receiving numerous awards and distinctions at the state and national levels for his work with personal injury law, including the landmark case Turner v. General Motors. He was the recipient of the Outstanding Alum Award in 2006.
Ralph Eugene “Gene” Storrs passed away on April 27, 2025. Gene dedicated more than 50 years to practicing criminal law in Amarillo, where he was known for his commitment to helping others in the community.
Gustavus Northcott McFaddin passed away on April 28, 2025. He dedicated his legal career to managing the family’s oil, gas, and land interests, and also worked alongside his father and brother on the ranches they acquired to raise cattle.
John Robert Pulaski passed away on April 23, 2025. His distinguished legal career spanned over 50 years, beginning as a partner at Foreman Dyess in Houston before he established his own firm with a friend that became Weycer, Kaplan, Pulaski & Zuber.
Edsam “Ed” Moore Ingram died on April 25, 2025. Moore practiced law in Austin for more than five decades and taught business law at Austin Community College for over 40 years. He served in the United States Air Force Office of Special Investigations, retiring in 1990 from the Air Force Reserves with the rank of colonel.
Jane Rachael Vorwerk passed away on April 20, 2025. Jane, a double Longhorn, practiced as an attorney before focusing on raising her son.
William Howard Wolf Sr. passed away on April 11, 2025. Howard, a double Longhorn, served in the military following law school before spending over four decades of his career with the international law firm Fulbright & Jaworski.
Tanner Truett Hunt passed away on April 6, 2025. Hunt, a double Longhorn, worked in Robert Kennedy’s Department of Justice before joining Wells, Duncan and Beard for the entirety of his 57-year private practice.
Darrell Lee Barger passed away on April 2, 2025. He served as a captain in the U.S. Marine Corps before spending 50 years as a highly acclaimed and respected trial lawyer for Hartline Barger.
Mary Ella McBrearty passed away March 21, 2025. McBrearty worked at the Heinrichs & De Gennaro law firms in San Antonio for over 25 years, where she specialized in business and tax law, estate and probate planning and insurance, and other corporate law. She was vice chancellor of the Texas Law Class of 1980.
James Francis “Jim” Haley Jr. passed away on March 26, 2025. Jim, a double Longhorn, served as deputy executive director and lead attorney at the Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission for 15 years before continuing his government work at the Texas Department of Insurance.
Richard Gross passed away on March 25, 2025. Gross, a proud double Longhorn, worked for Baker Botts and, with his wife, owned a store in Boerne called Heydey.
Tom Royce Doyal has passed away. A double Longhorn and U.S. Army veteran, Doyal’s law practice represented school districts across the state of Texas throughout his career.
Susana Alemán passed away March 21, 2025. A triple Longhorn, Alemán served as assistant dean for student affairs at Texas Law from 1984-2006 and established the Dean Alemán Sunflower Lawhorn Scholarship in 2022 to support Mexican-American law students.
Sam W. Lane Jr. passed away March 22, 2025. A proud double-Longhorn who served in the United States Army, Lane Jr. spent his career working at the private law practice he established in Dallas.
Scott Aston passed away on March 10, 2025. A business litigation attorney for over 35 years in Dallas, Aston was repeatedly recognized as a Super Lawyer for his excellence and dedication to his clients.
Wanda Allen passed away on Feb. 3, 2025. Allen forged a successful career as a plaintiff’s attorney, trying cases in multiple federal courts, including the U.S. Supreme Court. She served as an attorney-adviser at Lowry Air Force Base and dedicated much of her time to empowering women in the workforce. Selected for a Federal Bar Association fact-finding delegation to China, the USSR, and Finland, she earned numerous commendations for her work.
Charles “Charlie” Ray Burton passed away on March 8, 2025. A Navy veteran, Burton forged a lifelong friendship and partnership with classmate Roy Q. Minton while at Texas Law. The two worked at the Travis County Attorney’s Office before founding their own Austin law firm, which eventually became known as Minton, Burton, Foster, & Collins.
Stanley Krysa passed away on March 1, 2025. After entering the U.S. Department of Justice under the Attorney General’s Honors Program, Krysa served as a trial attorney litigating federal tax violations for nearly 42 years. He earned many honors throughout his career, including the Presidential Meritorious Executive Rank Award, the Attorney General’s Distinguished Service Award, and the ABA Tax Section’s Ritholz Memorial Merit Award.
Olney Gray Wallis of Llano, Texas, passed away on November 18, 2024. A double Longhorn and Air Force veteran, Wallis served in the U.S. Air Force Judge Advocate General’s Corps, was an assistant U.S. attorney in Houston, and then practiced law as a federal criminal trial attorney for over 54 years. He received the Air Force Commendation Medal and was recognized by the U.S. Department of Justice for his outstanding performance.
Jeff Davis Jr. passed away on March 6, 2025. He served in the U.S. Marine Corps before becoming an assistant U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Arkansas. He spent the rest of his career in private practice and as a judge for the Social Security Administration.
Bill Wiley passed away on February 28, 2025. A double Longhorn, Wiley began his career in politics, working for U.S. Representatives Homer Thornberry and Jake Pickle in Washington, D.C., before serving for more than two decades as vice president of governmental affairs for Standard Oil (Amoco).
Donald Weber passed away on March 3, 2025. He had worked in private practice, as a corporate lawyer, and as general counsel of Enserch Exploration before retiring from law to pursue his new interests in the development of electronic data systems.
Cora Lynn Meyer passed away on Feb. 24, 2025 in Lufkin, Texas.
Arthur Lee Pertile III passed away on Feb. 25, 2025. Throughout his career, Pertile served as the city attorney for numerous Texas cities including Waco, Katy, and Stafford, and most recently was a partner at Olson & Olson before his retirement.
Harry Charles Dishman Jr. passed away Feb. 18, 2025. A double Longhorn who had a bachelor’s degree in business administration/accounting, Dishman was a skillful salesman of luxury goods for Tiffany’s, Cartier, and Gump’s.
James Stripling passed away Jan. 23, 2025. Stripling served six years in the Army JAG Corps, becoming a captain. After returning home, he joined Decker Jones Law Firm, working there as a tax and estate attorney for the next 50 years.
Diana Dutton passed away on Feb. 3, 2025. Dutton was the first female attorney hired by the Environmental Protection Agency in the South-Central Region and among the few women at the EPA nationally in 1972. In 1981, she joined Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld, where she was a partner until her retirement.
Charles Hoffman passed away on Jan. 30, 2025. Hoffman, who served four years in the U.S. Air Force prior to law school, retired as senior counsel of ExxonMobil Gas Marketing Company in 2002. In his career, he argued several cases before the D.C. and Fifth Circuit Courts of Appeals, and he contributed to the briefs for two Supreme Court cases.
James Coffee passed away on Jan. 7, 2025. After serving in the U.S. Air Force, Coffee was deputy general counsel at Atlantic Richfield Company from 1973 until his retirement in 1998.
Ricky Brent Keis passed away Feb. 1, 2025. A veteran of the U.S. Navy, Keis began his law career as an attorney in Fort Worth and was later appointed to the bench at County Court at Law No. 1, where he served until his retirement in 2010.
Edgar Foy Norton passed away on Jan. 25, 2025. Norton served in the Air Force Judge Advocate General’s Corp (JAG) before continuing his professional life as an oil and gas attorney and landman in the Western U.S.
Mario J. Martinez passed away on Jan. 20, 2025. Martinez served as assistant U.S. attorney in 1965-67 and was subsequently appointed United States commissioner and United States magistrate. He entered private practice in 1973 and maintained his solo practice for the more than five decades.
Charles “Chuck” Louis Strehli passed away Jan. 17, 2025. After serving in the U.S. Army and graduating from law school, Strehli ran his own independent Amway business for 60 years.