Class Notes

Veteran Dallas corporate partner Don McDermett has moved his practice to Winston & Strawn, LLP.  McDermett has more than 30 years of experience in corporate, securities, and transactional law.

Seth Isgur has joined the Houston office of McGinnis Lochridge as a partner. Previously, Isgur was a partner in the Energy Litigation Group at Norton Rose Fulbright. Prior to his legal career, Seth was a certified public accountant.

Ken Parker has rejoined Haynes and Boone, LLP as a partner in the firm’s Intellectual Property Litigation Practice Group. His work spans across industries, including life sciences, software, electronics and semiconductors, and consumer products.

David Calvillo has been promoted to equity shareholder in the Houston-based law firm of Chamberlain Hrdlicka. Calvillo practices in a wide variety of areas, including breach of contract, commercial liability, shareholder rights, professional malpractice, and intellectual property. He currently serves on the State Bar of Texas Board of Directors.

Lydia Zakhari has been promoted to General Counsel at The Trust (powered by the NFLPA), which supports NFL players following their playing careers. As a member of its Senior Leadership Team, Lydia is involved in the administration and management of The Trust and leads the diversified legal needs of the organization. While at Texas Law,  she served as Editor-in-Chief of the Texas Journal on Civil Liberties & Civil Rights.

Leticia D. McGowan has been named Richardson Independent School District’s new General Counsel. The cabinet position provides in-house legal services to the board of trustees, the superintendent, and the district. She joined the staff at RISD after more than 20 years as in-house counsel at Dallas ISD.

Basil Umari has joined national law firm Dykema’s new Houston office as Senior Counsel. Basil has more than 20 years of experience representing debtors, liquidating trustees, official creditors’ committees, creditors, equity holders, officers and directors, patent holders, landlords, tenants, and asset purchasers in corporate bankruptcy matters. He also has extensive experience in bankruptcy litigation.

Justin Mapes has joined the Real Estate and Real Estate Finance practice group of Locke Lord’s Dallas office as a Partner. Mapes has extensive experience in real estate law and corporate finance.

Scott D. Page has joined Carlton Fields in Los Angeles as a member of the firm’s national Real Estate and Commercial Finance Practice. Page’s practice focuses on commercial real estate transactions, including development, purchase and sales, joint ventures, financing, leasing, and other matters involving office, hotel, retail, industrial, and multitenant residential projects.

Adam Ambrogi has joined the national League of Women Voters as Senior Director for Voting and Elections. In that role, he is using his experience with strategy, vision, and relationships to help expand the organization’s impact on voting rights and election administration. While at Texas Law, he served as the Editor-in-Chief of the Texas Journal on Civil Liberties and Civil Rights.

Finity Jernigan has been elected to partner at Holland & Hart, based in the firm’s Boulder office. Jernigan specializes in venture capital and private equity funds in consumer products (including the food, beverage, skincare and cosmetics industries). She works closely with funds, brands and entrepreneurs at all stages of the corporate life cycle.

Jeffrey Benz is serving as an ad hoc division arbitrator under the Court of Arbitration for Sport at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics. As a member of this group, he participates in hearings and contributes to decisions on issues during the Olympic Games.

John Bakht has joined the corporate, M&A and securities team in the Houston office of Norton Rose Fulbright as a partner. Bakht has 25 years of experience working in commercial, transactional, compliance, operational, and governmental matters.

Robert “Bobby” Voigt has joined the Austin office of Shackelford, Bowen, McKinley, and Norton, LLP as a patent and trademark partner. Voigt primarily focuses on acquisition, licensing, and transfer of intellectual property rights.

Awais Sufi has been elected to the Board of Directors of Christel House International, a nonprofit working towards helping impoverished children. Sufi currently serves as the CEO of SchoolSmartKC.

Sylvia Borunda-Firth has been selected as the interim city attorney of Laredo, Texas. She is currently the president of the State Bar of Texas and  a solo practitioner in El Paso. Prior to establishing her own firm, she was an associate with two El Paso firms, general counsel to American Garment Finishers, and served the city of El Paso for nearly 20 years.

Alexis Ander Kashar has been appointed to the Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Access Board by President Biden. Kashar is a civil rights attorney, business leader, technologist, and is the President of the Board for the New York School of the Deaf.

Amy Hereford now serves as LiftFund’s general counsel and director of government and community affairs.

Taylor Steele is heading the newly opened Dallas office of civil litigation firm Knox Ricksen LLP, a civil litigation firm. Steele has worked as a lateral partner for the firm since January 2021.

Jose Vela has been elected to the Austin City Council representing District 4, after running a campaign based on tackling housing affordability in Austin. Vela works as an immigration attorney for Walker Gates Vela, PLLC.

Whitney Beckworth has been elected as Partner at Kelly, Hart, and Hallman, LLP. Beckworth focuses on civil litigation and was named a Super Lawyers Rising Star for business litigation in 2022 and Best Lawyer/One to Watch in DFW for 2022 by US News & World Report for appellate practice.

Hannah Watkins has been elected as Partner at Kelly, Hart, and Hallman, LLP. Watkins specializes in real estate law and was named a Texas Super Lawyers Rising Star in 2022.

Marlene Williams was appointed to a shareholder position at the Houston office of Ogeltree Deakins, a labor and employment law firm. Williams previously worked as a Partner in Charge for Eversheds Sutherland and has been recognized as Houston Top Lawyer in the Labor and Employment area in the Houston Business Journal.

Brad Wright has been appointed by Gov. Greg Abbott to the Permanent School Fund Corporation Board of Directors which oversees the investment of funds for Texas public schools. Wright is a co-founder and managing partner of Bandera Group, LLC, an energy investment firm. He serves on the Advisory Council for Kay Bailey Hutchinson Center for Energy, Law, and Business and the Advisory Committee for the McCombs School of Business Energy Initiative at UT Austin.

Danny McDonald has joined Endeavors, a service organization based in San Antonio, Texas, as the chief risk officer and general counsel. Before joining Endeavors, McDonald worked as an in house attorney, public accountant, and legal and business advisor.

Jim Weiss has been promoted to partner at litigation firm Reynolds Frizzell, LLP. A third generation lawyer, Weiss clerked for two years for The Hon. Sam Sparks on the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas.

Vianei Lopez Braun has been elected chair of the Fort Worth Regional Board of Directors for First Financial Bank after having served as the bank’s employment attorney for 24 years. Braun also sits on the Board of Directors for First Financial Bankshares, Inc. and serves as chief development officer for Decker Jones, P.C.

José M. Rubio has been elected to new member by Dykema, a national law firm. Rubio is an attorney in Dykema’s Commercial Litigation practice group.

Prescott W. Smith has been elected to new member at Dykema, a national law firm. Smith works as an attorney in Dykema’s Products Liability practice group.

Ard Ardalan has opened Ardalan Law Firm PLLC focusing on personal injury cases in Austin, Texas.

Leslie Robnett was appointed by Governor Greg Abbott to the Specialty Courts Advisory Council for a term set to expire February 1, 2025. Robnett of Fort Worth is an attorney for Duane Morris, LLP. She is a member of the State Bar of Texas, The University of Texas Chancellors Council, and the Eldon B. Mahon Inn of Court.

David Pritchett has been made a shareholder of Duluth-based law firm Fryberger, Buchanan, Smith & Frederick, P.A. He joined the firm in 2020, bringing his experience in real estate law, corporate law, business succession planning, and municipal law to the firm. He has served as Minnesota counsel for PotlatchDeltic Corporation and as Town Attorney for Thomson Township since 1991, among many other clients.

Charlie Stern has been hired by Beasley Allen to work in the Toxic Torts Section of the firm’s new Dallas office. He focuses his practice on representing individuals who have been exposed to asbestos and developed life-threatening cancers, including mesothelioma and lung cancer.  Before joining Beasley Allen, Stern worked for another plaintiffs’ law firm and served as Assistant District Attorney for the Griffin Judicial Circuit in Spaulding County, Georgia.

Carlos Romo has taken over as President of the Colorado Hispanic Bar Association. He plans to build on CHBA’s pro bono efforts and expand its formal mentorship program. Romo is a Director of law firm Williams Weese Pepple & Ferguson’s Natural Resources and Environmental Practice Areas. He has been recognized as a top lawyer by 5280 Magazine, Best Lawyers, and Superlawyers.

Judge Gregg Costa has announced that he will resign in August 2022 as jurist in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. His departure will create a vacancy for a new appointment for President Biden. Costa previously served as a judge on the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas, as an assistant U.S. attorney, and as an associate for Weil, Gotshal & Manges in Houston.

Joseph Flannery has joined the Cleveland, Ohio office of Reminger Co., LPA. He focuses his practice on medical malpractice defense, health care law, and long-term care liability.

Danny McDonald has assumed the new executive position of General Counsel/Chief Risk Officer for Endeavors. In the role, he will lead Endeavors’ legal services, counsel the company’s senior leadership, and implement a comprehensive risk management program. He is a double Longhorn with a Master’s in accounting.

Kathryn Gurley has been appointed by Gov. Greg Abbott as Judge of the 287th Judicial District Court in Bailey and Parmer counties. Previously, she served as the Parmer County Attorney. Gurley is a member of the State Bar of Texas and the Friona Chamber of Commerce. She is a former board member of the Friona Independent School District and former member of the Friona Public Library Endowment Committee.

Ross MacDonald has been named a partner of Gibbs & Bruns LLP. He is recognized by Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch, 2021-2022; and Legal 500 US as a “Rising Star” in General Commercial Disputes, 2019-2021. MacDonald devotes his practice to complex commercial litigation disputes, representing both plaintiffs and defendants in state and federal court as well as in arbitration.