Kate Higginbothom has been named chief administrative officer at the U.S. International Trade Commission. Higginbothom previously served for more than a decade in multiple roles with the Federal Election Commission.
Obadele Thompson has been elected to the Barbados Olympic Association (BOA) Board of Directors. Not only is he a skilled litigator, Thompson is also a three-time Olympian and the only Olympic medalist from Barbados.
Darcell Walker has co-developed a new app to help inventors, artists, businesses, and others identify the appropriate protection for their ideas. Walker has nearly 30 years of experience in intellectual property law and has authored two books.
Rebecca Olla has joined the Bishop Law Firm in Raleigh, N.C., as an attorney, representing the firm’s personal injury and workers’ compensation clients. Olla previously worked for the Texas State Office of the Attorney General and the U.S. District Court of Southern New York.
Solace Southwick has joined Hogan Thompson Schuelke LLP as of counsel. Southwick has practiced trial law for more than 30 years and specializes in handling complex civil litigation in Texas and federal courts of appeals.
Zimei Fan has joined Stinson LLP’s New York office as a member of the Energy, Environmental, Mining & Transportation Division. Fan focuses his practice on corporate and transactional matters with an emphasis on energy, electric power and energy finance.
Monica Ingram has been named vice provost for enrollment management at Seattle University. Ingram previously served as associate dean at the Cornell Law School and has more than 20 years of experience in higher education executive leadership.
Jason Pratt has been promoted to partner at Shearman & Sterling’s New York office. Pratt is a member of the firm’s Global Environmental practice and focuses on the impact of environmental and climate change laws and regulations on commercial transactions.
David Curran has been appointed as general counsel to the University of Arkansas System, where he provides day-to-day legal advice to each of the universities, community colleges, and other units of the UA system.
Justin Mapes has joined Blank Rome LLP as a partner in the Real Estate Practice group based in the firm’s new Dallas office.
Mark F. Rosenow joined the firm PilieroMazza as a counsel in the Litigation & Dispute Resolution Group. His practice focuses on complex commercial dispute resolution, business litigation, and government investigations, including matters arising under the False Claims Act.
Marissa Marquez was promoted to labor & employment counsel at Houston Methodist Hospital.
Tarek F.M. Saad has joined Reid Collins & Tsai LLP as partner. Saad has three decades of experience trying cases in U.S. and international civil and criminal courts as he specializes in resolving cross-border commercial disputes.
Andrea Marshall has been elected chairperson of SC Launch, Inc., and will serve on the board of trustees of the South Carolina Research Authority. Marshall previously served as the SC Launch board’s vice-chair and is the vice president, general counsel and administrative officer for MedTrust Holdings Inc.
Dina Koch has joined the Dean Law Firm as of counsel and will focus on growing the firm’s community-based Wills, Trusts, and Estate Practice. Koch’s career has spanned the legal, government, nonprofit fundraising, and political accounting and compliance fields.
Paul Schuster has joined Bracewell LLP’s Dallas office as a partner in the litigation department. Schuster specializes in healthcare law and has been recognized on D Magazine’s “Best Lawyers in Dallas” list since 2019.
Danielle “DJ” Healey has joined Spencer Fane LLP’s Intellectual Property Practice Group as a partner in the firm’s Houston office. Healey is ranked as one of the best Intellectual Property litigators in the United States by Chambers Global and has represented clients before the FTC, the European Union, and Texas state authorities over three decades.
John Summers returns to the Dallas-based intellectual property and business litigation firm Caldwell Cassady & Curry following his recent stint as an assistant U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Texas. Summers, who rejoins the firm as a principal, is an experienced trial lawyer who focuses on qui tam, commercial, and intellectual property litigation for businesses and individuals in a wide range of industries.
Randy Sawyer has been named general counsel for the clean-energy company Urban Grid. Sawyer began his career at law firms Holland & Knight and Latham & Watkins before joining EDP Renewables, where he served as associate general counsel.
Daniela de Souza has joined Kemp Smith as an associate in the firm’s Public and Environmental Law department in Austin. Souza served as president of the Human Rights Law Society during her time at Texas Law and is a member of the Administrative and Public Law and the Environmental and Natural Resources sections of the State Bar of Texas.
Joseph M. Cox has joined Duane Morris LLP as a partner in the firm’s Trial Practice Group in its Dallas office. Prior to joining Duane Morris, Cox was a partner at Bracewell LLP. Previously he served as a judge in the 160th Judicial District Court of Texas.
Vanessa Griffith has been named general counsel of Vinson & Elkins after serving as deputy general counsel at the firm. Griffith, who has been a partner there for almost 20 years, specializes in high-level employment law and workplace issues.
John Wander has joined Talen Energy as general counsel where he leads the company’s legal, regulatory and external affairs functions, oversees corporate governance, and serves as the primary point of contact for its Board of Directors. Wander previously was a partner and general counsel at Vinson & Elkins.
Amy Farish has been promoted to partnership at the litigation boutique Yetter Coleman, LLP. Farish was recognized in the 2022 Best Lawyers in America “Ones to Watch” list in Commercial Litigation and serves on the Houston Young Lawyers Association Board of Directors.
Patrick Yarborough has been appointed to the Plaintiffs’ Steering Committee of the In re Meta Pixel Tax Filing Cases pending in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. Yarborough is co-founder of Foster Yarborough PLLC, a business and consumer-class action law firm based in Houston.
Shane Pennington has joined Porter Wright Morris & Arthur LLP as partner in its Washington, D.C., office. A former law clerk to federal judges, Pennington counsels clients on federal regulatory issues and was named to Best Lawyers’ Ones to Watch in America listing.
Rodrigo Martinez has joined Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP as an associate in its Corporate and Securities Practice Group. Martinez focuses his practice on corporate matters in the U.S. and Latin America and specializes in representing clients in cross-border transactions.
Reagan Reaud will serve on the Board of Directors for the Beaumont Foundation, a nonprofit Texas corporation that provides grants for charitable causes. Reaud is the founder and CEO of Privateer Capital Management, L.P. and is the founder and Chairman of the Lucena Group.
Patrick Lingwall has joined Kane Russell Coleman Logan PC as a senior attorney in the Business & Corporate practice in Houston. A double Longhorn, Lingwall specializes in the energy and infrastructure sectors and represents companies in complex business transactions and commercial matters.
Julie Hardin has joined Reed Smith LLP’s senior management team as managing partner, Americas. Hardin, who focuses on the energy and life science sectors, is one of the founding members of Reed Smith’s Houston office and has served on the Executive Committee since 2016.
Zachary Wyatte has joined Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP as an associate in the Litigation Practice Group. Wyatte’s practice focuses primarily on commercial and construction litigation and he has experience representing large corporations in complex litigation involving corporate, maritime, and international trade matters.
David Park has joined Credit Union National Association as the senior director of advocacy and counsel. Park previously served as the senior policy and compliance officer at Navy Federal Credit Union and has more than a decade of experience in legal analysis and regulatory compliance.
Jason Villalba is rejoining Frost Brown Todd to lead its new Texas public affairs subsidiary, CivicPoint. A former member of the Texas House of Representatives, Villalba is a financially trained business advisor and corporate strategist.
Gregory Clark has joined Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP as a senior attorney in the firm’s Construction Practice Group. Clark, a member of Construction Law Section of the Texas Bar Association, focuses on business and residential commercial construction matters.
Katie Carmona has joined Jackson Walker as a senior counsel in the firm’s Trial & Appellate Litigation practice in Austin. Carmona previously served as a career law clerk to U.S. District Judge Lee Yeakel and has more than 25 years of experience handling complex trial and appellate cases.
JR Lanis has joined BakerHostetler as a partner at the firm’s Los Angeles office. With his specialization in mergers and acquisitions and securities, Lanis’ clients include publicly traded and privately held companies and investors in a variety of industries.
Martin “Marty” Schexnayder has joined Freeman Mathis & Gary LLP as the new chair of its Houston office. A double Longhorn, Schexnayder has more than 25 years of litigation experience and specializes in professional liability matters.
Adrienne N. Wall (Dallas) has been promoted to equity shareholder at Munsch Hardt Kopf & Harr, P.C. (Munsch Hardt). Adrienne is a member of the firm’s Real Estate and Finance practices. She specializes in commercial finance transactions secured by real estate, business assets or other personal property, notes receivable and other property or assets.
Aaron Reitz has been named Chief of Staff for U.S. Senator Ted Cruz. In addition to his experience in private practice, Reitz has been the as Deputy Attorney General for Legal Strategy for the State of Texas since fall 2020.
Lee Yeakel has joined King & Spalding’s trials and global disputes practice group as senior counsel. Yeakel recently retired from the federal judiciary after serving for 20 years as a United States District Judge for the Western District of Texas.
Kennon Wooten has been selected as chair-elect of the State Bar of Texas Board of Directors. Wooten is a partner at Scott Douglass & McConnico LLP and currently serves as a member of the Texas Supreme Court Advisory Committee.
Peter Moir has joined Morgan Lewis & Bockius LLP as a toxic torts litigation partner. Moir, who previously worked at Forman Watkins & Krutz, has more than 30 years of experience in handling product liability and toxic tort cases at trial.
Alexandra Harrison Gaiser has been appointed to the board of trustees at The King’s College. She currently works as the Director of Regulatory Affairs at Bitcoin company River Financial, Inc. and previously served as the Executive Secretary at the U.S. Department of the Treasury.
Carrie Douglas has joined Bracewell LLP as a partner in healthcare and life science practice. A double Longhorn who earned dual bachelor degrees from UT, Douglas represents hospital systems, ambulatory surgery centers and large physician practices in coverage and reimbursement disputes.
Kameron D. Johnson has been named to the South Central Regional Advisory Board of the Gault Center. Johnson is the juvenile public defender for Travis County.
Kimberly A. Chojnacki has been elected a shareholder with Baker Donelson in Houston. A double Longhorn, Chojnacki is a complex commercial litigator and transactional attorney representing clients in an array of industries.
Erleigh Norville Wiley has been appointed to the Texas Crime Victims’ Institute Advisory Council. Wiley is the Criminal District Attorney for Kaufman County and is an executive board member of the Texas District & County Attorneys Association.
John H. Eichelberger, III has been appointed to the Texas Appraiser Licensing and Certification Board. He is a partner at Schwartz, Page & Harding, LLP and serves on the Board of Directors of Urban Reform.
Sally Gillette Hankins has been appointed city attorney of Falls Church, Va. A double Longhorn, Gillette Hankins previously served as town attorney for Purcellville, Virginia and has 25 years of combined experience in municipal law and urban planning.
Maurice W. Dobson has been appointed General Counsel and Deputy Commissioner for Legal Affairs of the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development. Dobson has served as Deputy General Counsel since 2005 with increasing responsibilities and mostly recently oversaw the Operations and Legislation Division.