Marc R. Stanley is the U.S. Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the Argentine Republic. Prior to his service as a diplomat, Stanley was a trial lawyer for 40 years, focusing on national class actions and complex litigation.
Zeena Angadicheril has joined Greenberg Traurig LLP as a Real Estate of counsel in the Austin office. A double Longhorn, Angadicheril specializes in sports and real estate law.
Edwin Flores has been reappointed to the Texas School Safety Center Board. Flores is the managing partner at Chalker Flores, LLP and is a member of the Dallas Independent School District Board of Trustees.
Michael B. Dear has formed Dear & Johnston Law Office, PLLC, with Brenda Johnston. Dear specializes in estate planning and real estate law.
Janiece Longoria has been reappointed to the University of Texas System Board of Regents. Longoria previously served a six-year term on the board, which is the governing body for the UT System. She is a founding member of the Center for Women in Law.
Max Africk has been named General Counsel at Legacy Housing Corporation. Africk most recently served as an attorney at King & Spalding LLP, where he focused on complex commercial litigation.
Ben Lane has been appointed to the Bipartisan Elections Task Force in Arizona, where he will make recommendations to strengthen state election laws, policies and procedures. Lane currently serves as Scottsdale city clerk, a role he has held since 2021.
Heather J. Kliebenstein has been named managing director of national the technology and innovation law firm Merchant & Gould’s seven offices. Kliebenstein comes from a technical background with experience as an IP and technology litigator.
Aron Potash ’07 has been elected as partner at Latham & Watkins LLP. Potash focuses on environmental law with an emphasis on air quality and climate change issues.
Scott A. Marks has joined Duane Morris LLP as a partner in the firm’s Real Estate Practice Group in its Austin office.
Ken Wall has joined the Houston trial law firm Alavi Anaipakos as of counsel, focusing his practice on complex business disputes. He also serves as a constitutional law instructor at the University of Houston Law Center.
Robert Hilton has been added as a partner at Barnes & Thornburg’s Dallas office and Intellectual Property Department. He will focus his practice on building and managing large and high-stakes patent portfolios for business from small startups to Fortune 500 companies.
Brian J. Willey has been promoted to chief financial officer of Matador Resources Company. Willey, who has a background in accounting and law, joined Matador in 2014 and has been primarily building the company’s legal department and midstream business.
On Feb. 15, 2023, the U.S. Senate confirmed the nomination of Adrienne C. Nelson, an associate justice on the Oregon Supreme Court, to serve as a federal district court judge. Nelson is the first Black woman jurist in Oregon to become a federal judge.
Sara Harris has been promoted to partner at Jackson Walker LLP. Harris specializes in healthcare and employment law and has been recognized among the Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch for Labor and Employment Law since 2022.
Sam Roberts has joined McAfee & Taft as a transactional attorney. Roberts, who specializes in corporate law, will be joining the firm’s Business Transactions and Finance and Securities practice groups.
Jim Ormiston has been named chair of the Controversies Department at Gray Reed & McGraw LLP. Ormiston has been with Gray Reed for 35 years and has been included in the “Best Lawyers in America” publication since 2013.
Michael B. Overstreet has been promoted to shareholder at Chamberlain Hrdlicka. A member of the firm’s Tax Planning & Business Transactions Group, he has significant experience forming, structuring, negotiating and implementing business acquisitions and dispositions, corporate reorganizations, mergers, conversions, and recapitalizations.
Chris Dodson has joined White & Case LLP as a partner. Dodson has a diversity of experiences in business disputes and environmental matters, and is an experienced first-chair litigator.
Andrew Zeve has joined White & Case’s global commercial practice and energy group as a partner. Zeve was previously at Bracewell LLP for more than 19 years as co-chair of Bracewell’s energy litigation group.
David Woodcock has joined Gibson Dunn as a partner and co-chair of Gibson Dunn’s securities enforcement practice group. Woodcock joins with both government and in-house counsel experience as former Assistant General Counsel at ExxonMobil.
Kevin S. Little has joined FordHarrison LLP as counsel at the firm’s recently opened Houston office. Little was a former staff attorney under Justice Charles A. Spain in the Texas Court of Appeals for the Fourteenth District and previously was an associate at Littler Mendelson.
Lauren Fitte has been promoted to partner at Giordani Baker Grossman & Ripp LLP, a boutique estate planning firm in Austin. Lauren specializes in domestic and international estate, trust, and business planning and the associated federal income, estate, and gift tax implications applicable to multi-jurisdictional clients.
Brittany Dadon has become a partner at Stahl, Davies, Sewell, Chavarria & Friend. She specializes in real estate, regulatory, and permitting aspects of utility scale wind, solar, and battery storage projects in Texas. While at the firm, Dadon has worked on wind, solar, battery storage, and natural gas energy projects at various stages.
Michelle Gomez has been promoted to partner at Baker Hostetler LLP in Denver. A double Longhorn, Gomez specializes in privacy and data security class action defense and complex business disputes.
Anjana Patel has been appointed to the Board of Trustees for Springpoint senior living communities. Patel is an attorney at Epstein Becker Green with two decades of experience advising individuals and businesses on healthcare transactions and health regulatory compliance issues.
George P. Bush has joined Michael Best & Friedrich LLP as a partner and Michael Best Strategies LLC as a principal. The former Texas Land Commissioner, Bush will lead efforts to bolster Michael Best’s corporate, litigation and consulting practices.
Martin Luff has joined Wilson Sonsini as a partner in the London office. Luff was previously of counsel at Vinson & Elkins for the past seven years, where he specialized in dealing with the employment aspects of business transactions.
Toni Brown has joined Greenberg Taurig LLP as of counsel. Brown comes as a former senior director of supply chain at Inspire Brands, owner of several national restaurant chains.
Brooke Lierman has been sworn in as Maryland’s comptroller, becoming the first woman to be independently elected to any state government office in Maryland. Lierman previously was a civil and disability attorney in Baltimore.
Mark Jones has rejoined Norton Rose Fulbright as a partner in the firm’s corporate, mergers, and acquisitions and securities practice. Jones started his legal career at Norton Rose nearly 40 years ago, leaving to serve at BakerHostetler for seven years.
Kamron Massumi has joined the law firm of Baker Donelson as of counsel in the Firm’s Real Estate Group in Atlanta. He focuses his practice on the leasing, development, acquisition, disposition, and management of retail and mixed-use real estate developments across the U.S.
Isaac V. Sulemana has been appointed city attorney for the city of La Joya, Texas. Sulemana previously has served as chief of staff at the Hidalgo County Judge’s office, assistant district attorney at the Hidalgo County Criminal, and managing vice president/general counsel at the La Joya Area Federal Credit Union.
Stephen Fernelius has joined Bradley Arant Bouly Cummings LLP as a partner specializing in energy litigation. Fernelius comes from Fernelius Mace PLLC, a small firm he founded and led for 13 years.
Josh Reyna has been named chief of staff for Texas State Senator César Blanco. Reyna previously served as legislative director for the vice chairman of the Senate Finance Committee and has worked on Sen. Blanco’s staff since 2016.
Edward Burbach has been promoted to managing partner of Foley & Lardner LLP. Burbach currently serves as chair of of the firm’s government solutions practice group, co-chair of the state attorney’s general practice team, and corporate law chair for the Austin location.
Orlando “Jay” Juarez has been promoted to partner with McCall Parkhurst & Horton. Juarez serves exclusively as bond counsel, disclosure counsel, underwriters’ counsel, and trustee’s counsel on debt financing by public entities.
Nikki Hill has been promoted to partner with McCall Parkhurst & Horton. Hill has experience serving as disclosure counsel to special districts and governmental entities throughout Texas, and also working with public finance transactions.
John Elliott has been reappointed to the Teacher Retirement System of Texas Board of Trustees by Governor Abbott. Elliott is a double Longhorn, having also earned his bachelor’s degree from UT. His firm, Elliott Stratmann, specializes in commercial real estate.
James Leech has been selected as managing attorney at Cesar Ornelas, a San Antonio-based injury law firm. Leech has experience as a trial lawyer in state and federal courts and has represented clients ranging from small businesses to large companies.
Ryan Holcomb has been elected to serve a three-year term on Bracewell’s Management Committee. Holcomb is a partner that represents clients in a wide variety of transactions in the electric power, and midstream and downstream oil and gas industries.
Stephen Crain has been elected to serve a three-year term on Bracewell’s Management Committee. Crain, who has chaired Bracewell’s litigation section since 2014, will be serving a fourth term on the committee. Based in Houston, he has led the growth of Bracewell’s national and international trial practice.
Oliver Luck has been named executive director of the ASUN-WAC Football Conference, a new NCAA Division I conference starting play in 2023. Luck’s career has included many leadership roles in professional and intercollegiate athletics, including serving as the athletic director at West Virginia University and CEO/commissioner of the former XFL. Luck, who was a successful collegiate quarterback at WVU, went on to play for the Houston Oilers.
Anthony Baca has appointed to serve as a La Plata County Court judge in Durango, Colo., area. Baca has served as a judge of Dolores County and a district court magistrate.
Brent Rubin has been promoted to partner at Carrington Coleman. Rubin is a trial and appellate lawyer representing individuals, businesses and government entities in complex business disputes, including non-compete/non-solicitation disputes, insurance coverage, professional liability, real estate and construction matters.
Monica Gaudioso has been promoted to partner at Carrington Coleman. Gaudioso is a commercial litigator representing financial services, technology, blockchain and cryptocurrency clients in state and federal courts.
Colin Watterson has been promoted to partner at Hicks Thomas. An accomplished trial lawyer with broad ranges of commercial experience, Watterson previously was recognized by “The Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch.”
Jingli Jiang has been promoted to partner at Akin Gump. Jiang’s practice focuses on international trade and transactional areas, where her fluency in Mandarin has allowed her to spearhead the growth of the firm’s China and Asia trade practice.
Mark Flores, an attorney in the Dallas office of Littler, has been elevated to shareholder. Flores has served as lead counsel at the hearing, trial and appellate levels on a wide range of complex matters, representing clients in both federal and state courts.
Michael Fishel has been added as a partner in King & Spalding’s Corporate, Finance and Investments practice group in Houston. A restructuring lawyer with particular experience in the energy industry, Fishel advises both debtor and creditor clients through complex Chapter 11 restructurings, out-of-court reorganizations and refinancings, and contested business litigation proceedings.