Jayne Piana has been named co-chair of Brown Rudnick’s Patent Trial and Appeal Board practice group after joining the firm in 2024. Piana advises clients on IP protection issues including technology transactions, disputes and freedom-to-operate cases.
Erick Robinson has been named co-chair of Brown Rudnick’s Patent Trial and Appeal Board practice group after joining the firm in 2024. Robinson is an experienced trial attorney, patent litigator and IP strategist with a background in biotechnology, computer science and electronics.
Junish Arora has a new position as the deputy director of the Office of Civil Rights for the United States Department of Commerce. He currently serves as chair of the Council’s Infrastructure Workstream and held numerous positions in the Department of Homeland Security before joining Commerce.
Greg Flores has been named a partner at Nichols Weitzner Thomas in Houston. Flores, who focuses his practice on healthcare regulation and litigation, was honored in the 2023 and 2024 editions of ‘”Ones to Watch” by Best Lawyers of America.
Charles Lee has been appointed senior advisor to acting chairman Mark T. Uyeda at the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Thomas Burton has joined Steptoe & Johnson’s Business Department as of counsel at the firm’s Dallas office. Burton specializes in corporate matters and previously served as chief legal officer of Service King Collision.
Reid Barnes has joined Steptoe & Johnson’s Dallas office as an associate. A double Longhorn, Barnes specializes in commercial real estate properties and is a member of the Dallas Bar Association.
Ronnie Skloss has joined Holland & Knight as a partner in the firm’s Austin office. Skloss, who was previously a shareholder with Greenberg Traurig, focuses his practice on strategic business transactions.
Lisa Magick is the co-founder of Bathe Austin, the city’s first bathhouse, which will open in fall 2025. In addition, Magick is an interior designer and is president of lifestyle brand Vacay Vans.
Gregory Smith was named partner at Vela Wood in Dallas. Smith, who focuses on real estate, corporate finance, and general business transactions, is a four-time Super Lawyers Rising Star recipient and a Texas Bar Foundation fellow.
Marysia Laskowski has been promoted to counsel at Hunton Andrews Kurth in Dallas. Laskowski focuses her practice on corporate and regulatory matters involving banks and other financial institutions.
Joe Lawlor has been promoted to partner at Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe in Houston. Lawlor represents clients in the energy industry and focuses his practice on renewables and oil and gas transactions.
Mason Harry has been promoted to partner at Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe in Houston. He represents clients in the acquisition, development, financing and disposition of energy projects across the United States.
Luis A. Reyes, a regulatory attorney and former high-ranking government official, has joined Troutman Pepper Locke as a partner in its Regulatory Investigations, Strategy and Enforcement Practice Group in Austin. Reyes, who most recently was a partner at Ashcroft Sutton Reyes, has over two decades of experience counseling clients at the White House, Department of Justice, and other federal and state agencies.
Sammi L. Renken has been appointed vice president of the Illinois Chapter of the American Board of Trial Advocates for the 2025-26 year. A double Longhorn, Renken is a shareholder and vice president at the law firm Johnson & Bell.
Gary Zausmer has joined the Specialized Advocacy practice group at Butler Snow in Austin. Zausmer, who brings over 35 years of experience in litigation and client representation in multiple areas, most recently practiced at Enoch Kever.
Jessica Soos has joined the Specialized Advocacy practice group at Butler Snow’s Austin office. Soos, whose practice focuses on the dynamic evolution of the competitive and regulated electric markets in Texas and across the United States, previously worked at Enoch Kever.
Martha Smiley has joined the Specialized Advocacy practice group at Butler Snow’s Austin office. Smiley, who offers telecommunications clients counseling and strategic business analysis of legal, regulatory, and legislative developments, previously practiced at Enoch Kever.
Shelby O’Brien has joined the Specialized Advocacy practice group at Butler Snow’s Austin office. Previously, O’Brien practiced at Enoch Kever and served as a staff attorney for the Texas Supreme Court.
Bill A. Moore has joined the Specialized Advocacy practice group at Butler Snow in Austin. Moore, who counsels energy industry clients on regulatory, business, litigation, and legislative matters, previously practiced at Enoch Kever.
Melissa Lorber has joined the Specialized Advocacy practice group at Butler Snow in Austin. Lorber, who represents businesses in litigation at both the trial and appellate levels in state and federal courts, previously practiced at Enoch Kever.
Andrew Kever has joined the Specialized Advocacy practice group at Butler Snow in Austin. Kever, who has served as an advocate and counselor for the electric and communication industries for many years, previously practiced at Enoch Kever.
Heather Holmes has joined the Specialized Advocacy practice group at Butler Snow in Austin. Previously, Holmes practiced at Enoch Kever and was a staff attorney at the Supreme Court of Texas.
Elana Einhorn has joined the Specialized Advocacy practice group at Butler Snow in Austin. Previously, Einhorn practiced at Enoch Kever and also has been an adjunct professor at Texas Law.
Michael Calhoon has joined Bourelly George & Brodey, a Washington, D.C.-based boutique litigation firm. Previously, Calhoon practiced at Baker Botts, where his team scored a nearly billion-dollar verdict in a complex securities fraud case.
Marcus Brooks joined Jackson Walker law firm as a partner in the tax practice group. Brooks advises clients on complex tax matters and represents them in disputes before the IRS Appeals Office, and proceedings before the U.S. Tax Court, U.S. District Court, and the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals.
Chad Craycraft was appointed to the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission by Governor Greg Abbott. Previously, Craycraft served on the Texas Ethics Commission where he was twice elected chairman.
Former First Court of Appeals Justice Peter Kelly has formed Kelly Watkins McPheeters, a statewide appellate law firm offering a range of services in state and federal court. Kely is board-certified in Civil Appellate Law and a member of the American Law Institute and Texas Supreme Court Advisory Committee.
Ben Love has joined Baker Botts as a litigation partner in the firm’s Houston office. Love, who is recognized as a global leader in international arbitration and public international law, will focus on the firm’s international disputes practice.
Marla D. Broaddus has joined McGinnis Lochridge as a partner in the firm’s oil & gas practice group. Broaddus, who has more than 28 years of experience litigating oil and gas matters, is a former original proceedings staff attorney for the Supreme Court of Texas and a also was a staff attorney for former Justice James A. Baker.
Stephen Howell has joined Cantey Hanger’s transportation practice area in the firm’s Fort Worth office. Howell specializes in aviation litigation and is a certified mediator and a member of the Defense Research Institute.
Stephanie E. Kaiser has joined Kane Russell Coleman Logan as a director in the firm’s Dallas office. She is a member of the Financial Services Practice Group and the Business and Corporate Transactional Practice Group.
Jonathan Adams has joined Bradley Arant Boult Cummings as an associate in the firm’s Houston office where he will work in the litigation practice group.
Tim Almohamad has joined Bradley Arant Boult Cummings as an associate in the firm’s Houston office where he will work in the construction practice group.
John “Carter” Byrum has joined Bradley Arant Boult Cummings as an associate in the firm’s Houston office where he will work in the litigation practice group.
Stephen McCluskey has joined Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP as an associate in the firm’s Dallas office where he will work in the litigation practice group.
Courtlyn Ward has joined a new six-person governmental practice team at Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton LLP in Dallas.
Stephen Moulton has joined a new six-person governmental practice team at Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton in Dallas.
Ben Mesches is now general counsel at Haynes Boone, where he guides appellate and litigation teams in high-stakes cases in state and federal courts nationwide.
Will Cain will host “The Will Cain Show” on weekdays on the Fox News Channel. Most recently, Cain was a co-host of “Fox & Friends Weekend” and had previously worked at ESPN.
José “Chito” Vela was resworn in on Austin City Council as District 4 representative on Jan. 6, 2025. Before being elected to the City Council, Vela worked as an immigration and criminal defense lawyer at Walker Gates Vela.
Randy Erben has been reappointed to the Texas Ethics Commission to fill the remainder of his current term set to expire on Nov. 19, 2025. Erben has served on the commission since December 2017 and is the current chair. He is currently an adjunct professor at Texas Law and of counsel with Erben & Yarbrough.
Eleanor D’Ambrosio has been promoted to partner at Spencer Fane’s Austin office. D’Ambrosio specializes in utility-related regulatory and business matters, having served at the Public Utility Commission of Texas prior to joining Spencer Fane.
Jillian Trezza has been named counsel at Debevoise & Plimpton in the firm’s Washington, D.C., office. Trezza is a member of the White Collar & Regulatory Defense Group, where she focuses on securities-related enforcement defense.
Kelli C. Fuqua has been elevated to shareholder in the Austin office of Littler, effective Jan. 1, 2025. Fugua regularly litigates discrimination, harassment, unfair competition and retaliation suits, with a focus on whistleblower matters and is well-versed in conducting workplace investigations and advising clients on workplace issues.
Melissa J. Ackie has been elevated to shareholder in the Austin office of Littler Mendelson P.C., effective Jan. 1, 2025. Ackie advises business owners, in-house counsel and human resources professionals on a broad range of HR and compliance workplace concerns, including leave and accommodation, discrimination, harassment, retaliation, terminations, and wage and hour issues.
Rob Walters has been appointed as independent director at Vistra, a leading Fortune 500 integrated retail electricity and power generation company based in Irving, Texas. Walters will serve on the Sustainability and Risk Committee and the Nominating and Governance Committee.
Aaron Reitz, who serves as the chief of staff for Senator Ted Cruz, was nominated by Donald Trump to serve as the head of the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Policy.
Caroline Dozier has been appointed by Governor Greg Abbott to the 228th Judicial District Court in Harris County for a term set to expire on Dec. 31, 2026. Dozier, who is bureau chief of the Misdemeanor Trial Bureau for the Harris County District Attorney’s Office, has served as an assistant district attorney for over 30 years.
Robert “Bryan” Gantt has been reappointed by Governor Greg Abbott to the 471st Judicial District Court in Collin County for a term set to expire Dec. 31, 2026. Previously, he was a partner at McCraw Gantt and served as an assistant attorney general in the General Litigation Division at the Office of the Attorney General.