Class Notes

Grant Schmidt has become the first managing partner of the Dallas office of Hilgers Graben PLLC. Previously he was a partner in the Dallas office of Winston & Strawn.

Brad Barron has been appointed to the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas’ San Antonio Branch Board of Directors. Barron is the president and CEO of the San Antonio-based NuStar Energy.

Judge Gregg Costa will join Gibson Dunn & Crutcher LLP in Houston as co-chair of its global trial practice group. Costa previously spent eight years as a judge in the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals.

Robert Holland has been elected as a new member of the DBM Global Inc. Board of Directors. Holland previously served on other private and public company boards, including representing the United States on World Bank Executive Board of Directors.

David L. Mossman will lead Crowe & Dunlevy’s new Houston office, with two colleagues. The new office, where Mossman is a director, specializes in a variety of intellectual property issues. Previously he was a shareholder at Mossman Kumar & Tyler, P.C.

Scott K. Field has been appointed to the 480th Judicial District Court in Williamson County. Field is a partner at Butler Snow, LLP. and previously served as a Justice of the Third Court of Appeals.

Nathan Adams has been nominated to the First District Court of Appeals Judicial Nominating Commission by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis. Adams is currently a partner at Holland & Knight LLP.

Ima E. Nsien has been named as a principal in Squire Patton Boggs’ healthcare litigation practice group in the Los Angeles office. Nsien previously provided legal aid to some of the largest providers within the sector, including health insurers, hospitals, and pharmaceutical companies.

Michael Dierberg has been named the Board Chairman of the Today and Tomorrow Educational Foundation (TTEF) after eight years of board service. Dierberg serves as Chairman of the parent company of First Bank.

Andrew Newman has joined the Dallas office of  Polsinelli PLC’s commercial litigation practice as a shareholder, where he will work in the areas of business litigation, real estate litigation, and class action defense. While at Texas Law, he served as an associate editor of the Texas Law Review.

Evan McCurdy has joined the Dallas office of Winstead PC’s real estate development and investments practice group as a shareholder.

Brandy R. Manning has started her commercial law practice as a partner at Dykema, specializing in oil and gas litigation.

Steven Jumes has been appointed to the 485th Judicial District Court in Tarrant County by Governor Abbott. Jumes is currently an attorney at his own firm, and was formerly an assistant United States attorney for the Northern District of Texas.

Ben Browder joins national litigation firm Duncan Stubbs where he will focus on legal operations and financing, as well as litigation technologies and partnerships that support jury trials. A former Hunton Andrews Kurth partner, Browder has experience advising a broad spectrum of domestic and global private equity firms on the acquisition, disposition and financing of assets in excess of $10 billion.

LaTisha Tarrant has been promoted to chief human resources officer at PRA Group. Tarrant previously served as senior vice president, deputy general counsel and corporate secretary for the global financial services company.

Edward Knight has been appointed as interim chairman of  U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s U.S.-India Business Council’s Global Board of Directors.  Knight is currently the executive vice chairman of NASDAQ and serves as a trustee of the University of Texas Law School Foundation.

Samoneh “Sammy” Schickel has joined McDermott Will & Emery as a partner specializing in patent litigation. Schickel previously served as a senior associate at Baker Botts LLP.

Aashish Kapadia has joined McDermott Will & Emery as a partner specializing in intellectual property litigation, post-grant trials and patent prosecution. Kapadia previously served as a senior associate at Baker Botts LLP.

Alex Toney has joined Bain & Company as counsel for employment law, managing employment litigation and counseling Bain on emerging issues in employment law. Toney was previously an associate at McGuireWoods LLP, where he represented employers and business owners on employment law matters.

Steve Peterson has co-founded a new Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton LLP office in Houston. Peterson is a member of the firm’s Corporate and Securities practice group. He previously worked at Locke Lord LLP .

Hannah Roblyer has joined the Houston office of appellate firm Alexander Dubose and Jefferson LLP.  Roblyer will collaborate with trial teams pre- and post-verdict and continue her state and federal appellate practice.

Rae Guyse has begun her practice in commercial litigation at Carrington Coleman as an associate attorney. Guyse previously served as an associate and intern at Haynes and Boone, where she focused on insurance recovery.

Ethan Glenn has joined the Commercial Litigation group at the international law firm Butler Snow LLP. Glenn previously served as a judicial law clerk under Hon. Alia Moses and Hon. Renee Harris Toliver, and as an assistant attorney general.

Austin Whitmore has joined McGuire, Craddock & Strother as a senior associate, specializing in real estate law. He previously served in the same position at Reed Smith LLP.

Kevin Robnett has been appointed to the Texas Mutual Insurance Company Board of Directors by Governor Abbott. A Navy veteran and double Longhorn, Robnett is the co-founder and co-CEO of Lithos, a critical materials exploration and production company.

Rebekah Prince has joined Blank Rome LLP’s Corporate, M&A, and Securities practice group as a partner in the Los Angeles office. Her diverse corporate practice includes representing public and private companies as well as clients in the sports, media and entertainment, and franchising industries. Previously she worked at Barnes & Thornburg LLP.

Michael Dierberg has been named the new chairman of the Today and Tomorrow Educational Foundation (TTEF) Board of Directors. Dierberg is the current Chairman of First Bank, and has been with the company since 2010. Previously, Dierberg served as an attorney at the United States Department of Justice in Washington, D.C.

Marty Green has been appointed to the Finance Commission of Texas by Governor Abbott. Green has served as principal and attorney in charge for Polunsky Beitel Green, LLP, since 2011, specializing in financial services and consumer credit arenas.

John A. Bonnet III has been named a partner at Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP. Bonnet specializes in M&A transactions, debt and equity financings, investment funds, general business transactions, contracts, corporate governance, and other business law matters. While at Texas Law, he was associate editor of the Texas Law Review.

Doanh “Zone” Nguyen has been named new permanent city attorney for the City of Laredo. Nguyen has more than 27 years of experience as a litigator and employment attorney.

Christine Aguilera has been named CEO of MedHealth Partners. Aguilera previously served as the company’s president and CFO since 2020; she will retain her role as president. Aguilera is also a board member at the marketing company Belardi Wong.

Michael “Mike” Lee has been appointed by Governor Abbott to the 256th Judicial District Court in Dallas County. Lee is an attorney in private practice and former Judge of the 95th Judicial District Court in Dallas.

Kristofer Monson has been reappointed by Governor Abbott as Chief Administrative Law Judge for the State Office of Administrative Hearings. Monson has served as Chief ALJ since 2019, and previously was Assistant Solicitor General in the Office of the Attorney General of Texas.

Bartholomew W. Nebergall has joined the law firm Polsinelli as counsel in the Dallas office. Nebergall will work in the firm’s Corporate and Transactional Practice, which is part of the National Business Department.

Joshua Kelly has joined Austin’s Wittliff | Cutter as an associate in the firm’s commercial litigation group, handling business, intellectual property, and employment disputes. While at UT Law, Josh was an editor for the Texas Environmental Law Journal, a research assistant, a student attorney in the Domestic Violence Clinic, and a judicial intern in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas.

Jonathan Curth has been named executive vice president, general counsel and corporate secretary of W&T Offshore. Curth has served as an attorney in international law and general counsel at multiple companies in the oil and gas industry, where he has specialized in acquisitions, capital markets, and corporate transactions.

Irina B. Plumlee has been recognized as a top immigration attorney by Chambers USA, an independent research company delivering rankings and insight into the world’s leading lawyers. Plumlee is a shareholder for Musch Hardt PC,  where her practice focuses on business and family immigration.

Daniel Sternthal has been recognized a s a top healthcare attorney by Chambers USA, an independent research company delivering rankings and insight into the world’s leading lawyers. Sternthal is a shareholder for Musch Hardt PC,  where he serves as strategic counsel to a diverse range of health care entities as they evaluate and navigate through regulatory, administrative and transactional opportunities.

Stuart Miller has been recognized a s a top healthcare attorneyby Chambers USA, an independent research company delivering rankings and insight into the world’s leading lawyers. Miller is a shareholder for Musch Hardt PC, working in the Houston office where he represents health care clients in a variety of corporate and regulatory matters.

Paul Hobby has been elected to the Baker Institute Board of Advisors at Rice University. Hobby is the co-founder and managing director of Genesis Park, a private equity firm specializing in industrial intelligence, energy transition, and communications investments.

Sandra Phillips Rogers has been promoted to newly created position of senior vice president, corporate resources and general counsel for Toyota Motor North America (TMNA). Rogers has been with TMNA since 2012.

John Kinchen has been named a litigation partner at Smyser Kaplan & Veselka LLP, where he will serve in white collar defense and government investigations practice. Kinchen was previously a partner at Hughes Arrell Kinchen LLP, and also served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney.

Stefan Smith has been named a partner at BakerHostetler, where he specializes in helping employees navigate benefits and executive compensation matters. Previously, Smith was a partner at Locke Lord.

Francisco Solis has been named interim president at San Antonio College. Solis previously served as the college’s Dean of Performance Excellence since 2016, and professor of mortuary science from 1999 to 2016.

Scott Clark has joined Houston-based global intellectual property and commercial litigation firm Alavi Anaipakos as a partner. He represents clients in high-stakes intellectual property cases and business disputes.

Michael McBride has joined the recently established Houston law firm Alavi Anaipakos, which specializes in global intellectual property and litigation. McBride represents clients in high-stakes intellectual property cases and business disputes.

Faisal Al Alam has joined the Dallas office of Steptoe and Johnson PLLC as an associate. He will work in the professional liability practice group in the litigation department.

Ravez Javelidze has been appointed the new Head of Government Administration for Georgia by the country’s Prime Minister. Previously he held the positions of Deputy Head of the Administration of the Government of Georgia, Parliamentary Secretary of the Government, and Deputy Minister of Sport and Youth. Javelidze holds a Master of Law degree from Texas Law.

Drew Baldinger has been named a partner at Skadden’s Energy and Infrastructure Projects Group at the firm’s Houston office. Baldinger was previously a partner at DLA Piper, where he represented energy companies, private equity sponsors and strategic investors in  joint venture transactions. He did his undergraduate work at UT in addition to attending Texas Law.

Lyrissa Lidsky has been named Raymond & Miriam Ehrlich Chair in U.S. Constitutional Law at the University of Florida Levin College of Law, where she previously taught for 22 years. Most recently, Lidksy previously served as the first woman Dean of the University of Missouri School of Law.