Michael Reeder, a seasoned trial attorney and patent litigator, has joined Blank Rome’s Houston office as a partner in the Intellectual Property Litigation group and member of the Technology industry team. Previously, Reeder was a partner and founding member at Cadwell Clonts Reeder & Thomas.
Scott Cole, a veteran trial lawyer and patent litigator, has joined Reichman Jorgensen Lehman & Feldberg as managing partner of its Austin office. Cole has three decades of experience in commercial and intellectual property disputes with past leadership roles at top firms including Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan and McKool Smith.
Jesse Zambrano has created a Legal Eagles pipeline program through the Zambrano Law Firm. The program provides an immersive learning experience to high school and college students aspiring to make their mark in the legal domain, including a mentorship platform, educational resources, networking opportunities, and hands-on legal case experience.
Brighten S. Kaufman has been promoted to an associate for Akin where she will advise private fund managers and represent institutional and private investors across various jurisdictions. She was previously an Akin summer associate and a Strauss Diversity & Inclusion Scholar.
Kyle Fox has joined Perkins Coie’s Mergers & Acquisitions and Private Equity practices as a partner working in the firm’s Austin office. Fox is part of a three-partner group that made the move to Perkins Coie from Greenberg Traurig.
James Lloyd has been appointed deputy policy director to Vice President JD Vance. Before being called to serve in the Trump administration, Lloyd was deputy attorney general for civil litigation.
Kate Goodrich has been promoted to a senior policy advisor and member of Holland & Knight’s Government Advocacy Team. Goodrich previously was deputy general counsel and policy advisor for the Speaker of the Texas House of Representatives and a governmental affairs consultant with Jackson Walker.
Stephen Yeh has been promoted to partner at Latham & Watkins in Los Angeles, effective March 1, 2025. Yeh is a member of the firm’s Project Development & Finance Practice and Finance Department, where he represents financial institutions, corporate investors, sponsors, and developers.
Robert Brown has been promoted to partner at Latham & Watkins, effective March 1, 2025. Brown is a member of the firm’s Privacy & Cyber Practice and Corporate Department, where he advises clients on compliance with data privacy and security laws.
Emily Leitch has joined Jackson Walker as a partner in the Corporate & Securities practice group in Houston. Leitch advises clients on equity and debt offerings, high-yield transactions, and IPOs, representing underwriters, issuers, and SPACs in public and private deals.
Wendy Harvel has joined Spencer Fane as of counsel attorney in the Environmental and Energy Law practice groups. Previously, Harvel served as a master administrative law judge and head of the Public Utility Team for the Texas State Office of Administrative Hearings, where she acted as a neutral party presiding over disputes between Texas agencies, other governmental entities, and private citizens.
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.
Lance Caughfield has been named director of advocacy programs and assistant clinical professor of legal advocacy at the SMU Dedman School of Law. Previously, Caughfield focused on civil appeals at the law firm of Baker | Moran.
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.