Rich Phillips has been appointed to serve as a member of the Supreme Court Advisory Committee for the Supreme Court of Texas. Phillips is a partner at Holland & Knight specializing in appellate cases in energy disputes.
Connie Pfeiffer has been appointed to serve as a member of the Supreme Court Advisory Committee for the Supreme Court of Texas. Pfeiffer is a partner at YetterColeman as a board-certified appellate specialist.
Eduardo R. Rodriguez has been appointed to serve as a member of the Supreme Court Advisory Committee for the Supreme Court of Texas. Rodriguez is a partner at Atlas Hall Rodriguez.
Hon. Tracy E. Christopher has been appointed to serve as a member of the Supreme Court Advisory Committee for the Supreme Court of Texas. Justice Christopher has served as Chief Justice of the 14th Court of Appeals since 2020.
Richard R. Orsinger has been appointed to serve as a member of the Supreme Court Advisory Committee for the Supreme Court of Texas. Orsinger is a partner at Orsinger Nelson Downing Anderson as one of Texas’ top family law and appellate lawyers.
Robert L. Levy has been appointed to serve as a member of the Supreme Court Advisory Committee for the Supreme Court of Texas. Levy currently serves as Executive Counsel of Legal Policy at ExxonMobil.
Jerry Bullard has been appointed to serve as a member of the Supreme Court Advisory Committee for the Supreme Court of Texas. Bullard is a partner at Adams Lynch & Loftlin specializing in handling civil appeals in complex civil litigation.
Hon. John Browning has been appointed to serve as a member of the Supreme Court Advisory Committee for the Supreme Court of Texas. Justice Browning has served on the Fifth District Court of Appeals since 2020.
Hon. Harvey Brown has been appointed to serve as a member of the Supreme Court Advisory Committee for the Supreme Court of Texas. Brown has seven years of experience as a trial judge.
Hon. Peter Michael Kelly has been appointed to serve as a member of the Supreme Court Advisory Committee for the Supreme Court of Texas. Justice Kelly has been serving on the Texas First District Court of Appeals since 2018.
Tara Porterfield has been named senior counsel at Littler in its Austin office. She focuses her practice exclusively on employment law litigation and counseling. Porterfield has more than 20 years of employment litigation experience, including her most recent position at Vinson & Elkins.
Hilary Frisbie has been appointed to senior director of investor relations at Oceaneering International, Inc.. Frisbie has served as associate general counsel, leading Oceaneering’s global contracting programs.
Nicholas Maxwell has been promoted to partner at Cohen Ziffer Frenchman & McKenna. Maxwell, who specializes in insurance litigation, served on the editorial advisory board of the Insurance Coverage Law Center for several years and has been recognized by Super Lawyers as a Rising Star in New York.
Carson Glass Lamle has been elected as one of the newest shareholders at Hall Estill. Lemle, who rejoined Hall Estill in January 2022, started her career with the firm in 2016 before serving as a law clerk for the Honorable John F. Heil, III. Carson practices in complex commercial litigation and energy and natural resources law.
Maka Hutson has been promoted to partnership at Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP’s Dallas office. Hutson focuses her practice on immigration law and policy and received the National Law Journal’s Immigration Law Trailblazer Award in 2023.
Hayden Harms has been promoted to partnership at Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP’s Houston office. Harms focuses on the development, construction and operation of highly complex power and infrastructure projects with a focus on the renewable energy and energy transition industries.
Kate Doorley has been promoted to partnership at Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP’s Washington D.C. office. Doorley focuses her practice on advising clients on a wide range of complex financial restructuring matters.
Jason P. Steed has been elected to the American Law Institute. Steed is currently a visiting professor at the University of Kentucky Rosenberg College of Law and has previously worked as an appellate attorney.
Judge Richard B. Farrer has been elected to the American Law Institute. Farrer currently serves as a federal magistrate judge for the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas.
Brian M. Gillett has been promoted to partner at Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP in Dallas. Gillett specializes in handling high-stakes, complex commercial matters at all stages of litigation.
Manuel Mungia has joined Norton Rose Fulbright’s global insurance practice as a partner. Mungia worked at the firm as an associate previously in his career, specializing in advising domestic and foreign insurers in complex coverage matters.
Carrie Douglas has been promoted to partner at Bracewell, specializing in the firm’s healthcare and life sciences practice. Douglas represents hospital systems, surgery centers, and large physician practices in coverage and reimbursement disputes with health insurers.
Paul F. Schuster has been promoted to partner at Bracewell’s litigation department. Schuster specializes in representing healthcare providers on a range of litigation and regulatory matters.
Miatta Echetebu has joined Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP as an associate. Echetebu is a member of the firm’s Corporate and Securities Practice Group, specializing in private equity and other corporate and securities transactions.
Matt Pyeatt has joined Vinson & Elkins’ Dallas office as senior associate. Pyeatt focuses his practice on restructuring and reorganization and represents companies, creditors, and investors in complex corporate restructurings.
Amanda Bush has joined strategic communications advisory firm TrailRunner International as managing director. Bush also serves as of counsel to law firm Jackson Walker and has spent her career advising clients facing complex legal matters.
Amanda Thomson has been named partner at Arnold & Porter. Brown is a member of the firm’s complex litigation practice, specializing in representing clients in health care and aviation industries.
Christopher Luna has joined SPCA of Texas—the most comprehensive and longest-serving animal welfare agency in North Texas—as president and CEO. Luna previously spent 18 years as vice president of legal affairs at T-Mobile. He also was a Dallas city councilman for three terms and served as deputy mayor pro tem.
Sherry Talton has joined Ogletree Deakins as shareholder in the firm’s Seattle office. Talton represents local and national employers in court and previously served as principal of Jackson Lewis’ Disability, Leave and Health Management practice group.
Saeed Mody has started a new position as deputy associate attorney general at the Office of the Associate Attorney General, Office of the Deputy Attorney General, United States Department of Justice.
Charles “Chip” Roy has started a new position as Chair Republican Member at Subcommittee on the Constitution and Limited Government, Committee on the Judiciary. Roy is currently serving his third term in Congress representing Texas’s 21st Congressional District.
Nathan Robinson has been elected as partner of Wilson Sonsini, a leading legal firm for technology and life sciences. Robinson specializes in corporate and securities law, advising clients on general corporate matters and transactions including public offerings, private placements, and mergers and acquisitions.
Brittany Castillo has been appointed to serve on FEMA’s National Advisory Council. Castillo currently is CEO of AshBritt, a government solutions provider specializing in emergency management, logistics, and disaster response.
James Leader Jr. has been elected to partnership at Vinson & Elkins’ Houston office. A trial lawyer, Leader focuses his practice on commercial and business litigation and has additionally served on the Board of Directors for Houston Volunteer Lawyers since 2019.
Alex Robertson has been elected to partnership at Vinson & Elkins’ Dallas office. Robertson focuses his practice on M&A and capital markets and serves as president of the Mergers and Acquisitions Section of the Dallas Bar Association.
Jamie E. France has been promoted to partner at Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP. France represents clients in antitrust merger and non-merger investigations, as well as in complex private and government antitrust litigation.
Allison Becker has been named co-chair at Health Care, Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani, LLP (GRSM Healthcare Practice Group). Becker’s healthcare practice involves defending providers against all manner of claims in various stages of litigation.
Travis Maples has joined Botkin Chiarello Calaf as an associate on the firm’s commercial litigation team. Following graduation from Texas Law, Maples clerked at both the Supreme Court of Texas and the Court of Criminal Appeals.
Rachel Ratcliffe Payne has been elected a partner at Latham & Watkins LLP in Austin. A member of the Mergers & Acquisitions and Private Equity Practice and Corporate Department, she advises public and private companies across industries on strategic and private equity M&A, take-private transactions, SEC compliance, and corporate governance.
Daniel Williams has been elected a partner at Latham & Watkins LLP in New York. A member of the Mergers & Acquisitions and Private Equity Practice and Corporate Department, he advises private equity sponsors, their portfolio companies, and strategic investors in M&A, dispositions, and asset sales transactions.
Brandi Howard has joined Brown Rudnick LLP as partner in the firm’s Washington D.C. office. Howard, who focuses her practice on commercial litigation and appellate matters, was selected to the National Bar Association’s “Top 40 Under 40” in 2022.
Rachel E. Ratcliffe Payne has been elected to partnership at Latham & Watkins LLP. She is a member of the firm’s Mergers & Acquisitions and Private Equity Practice and Corporate Department.
Daniel Williams has been elected to partnership at Latham & Watkins LLP. Williams is a member of the firm’s Mergers & Acquisitions and Private Equity Practice and Corporate Department.
Travis Maples has joined Botkin Chiarello Calaf as an associate on the firm’s commercial litigation team. Maples clerked at both the Supreme Court of Texas and the Court of Criminal Appeals before entering private practice.
Tammy Cooper has started a new position as deputy general manager of Regulatory, Communications, Compliance and Legal Services at Austin Energy. Cooper was former senior vice president, overseeing that same division at Austin Energy.
Brian A. Carpenter has joined Cole Schotz PC’s Dallas office. Carpenter has 32 years of legal experience and focuses on commercial and patent litigation, including trials before the U.S. Patent Trial and Appeals Board.
Rebekah Prince has joined Duane Morris LLP in the firm’s Los Angeles office. Prince, who previously worked at Barnes & Thornburg LLP, specializes in celebrity endorsement transactions and representing professional athletes.
Karen Robinson has been named to the board of directors of ChIPs Network Inc., a global membership community focused on advancing women and promoting diversity in IP and tech law and policy. Robinson is vice president and associate general counsel at Adobe.
Stephen R. Pattison has joined Hunton Andrews Kurth as a special counsel. Pattison is a business immigration attorney and a former U.S. State Department senior foreign service officer, focusing his practice on the representation of corporate and individual clients on business immigration, consular processing and individual immigration matters.
Courtney York has joined Greenberg Traurig as a corporate practice shareholder. York specializes in multimillion to billion dollar corporate and commercial technology cases.