Charles Gene Barnett has passed away. Throughout his legal career, Barnett worked with the U.S. Tax Division of Justice, the law firm of Vial, Hamilton, Koch, Tubb, Knox and Stradley, and as in-house counsel with the Southwestern Life and Philadelphia Life insurance companies.
Gene Matthews Jr. passed away June 13, 2023. He was a partner and specialized in trial law at Wootton, Land and Matthews; Matthews also served as the president of the Garland County Bar Association.
Bill Harris passed away on Dec. 23, 2022 in Sherman, Texas. Harris served in several positions throughout his law career, including Cooke County judge and city attorney of both Lindsay and Gainesville.
Walter Fassnidge passed away on Oct. 2, 2022. Fassnidge earned a bachelor of law degree from Texas Law, then went on to serve in the U.S. Army. He practiced as a real estate attorney for the City of San Antonio, then worked as a professor of business and real estate law at the University of Texas at San Antonio.
Leonard Wayne Scott passed away on Sept. 14, 2022. Wayne served as a briefing attorney for the Criminal Court of Appeals and the Texas Supreme Court before becoming a law professor at St. Mary’s Law School.
Judge James A. Parker passed away on Sept. 16, 2022. Parker worked for an Albuquerque law firm for 25 years before being nominated to serve as a U.S. District Court judge in 1987. He filled that role for more than three decades, one of the longest tenures of any federal judge in New Mexico.
Harry Reasoner was awarded the Clarence Darrow Award, which recognizes outstanding advocates who give their time and talent to benefit others, by the Harris County Democratic Lawyers Association. Reasoner is a senior partner at Vinson & Elkins, where he practices primarily in complex civil litigation.
Robert Calvert Patterson passed away on Sept. 22, 2021. Patterson was born in West Point, MS. He worked for the Attorney General’s Office of the State of Texas from 1962-1966 and then went into private practice in San Antonio.
Jim Branton passed away peacefully at home on July 19, 2021. After graduating from law school, he served as a captain in the U.S. Air Force where he was a judge advocate, then later went on to a career in private law practice. He co-founded the law firm of Branton, Hall, Rodriguez, Cruz, where he focused on personal injury litigation. He served as president of the State Bar of Texas from 1994 to 1995.
Broadus Autry Spivey died at home Saturday, May 8, 2021 with his beloved Texas Hill Country view. Spivey graduated with a B.A. in Government at UT in 1960, then a J.D. from Texas Law in 1962. During his 57 years of practice he tried more than 500 cases to a jury and 146 appellate cases, and mentored around 200 law clerks. He believed in—and counseled law clerks & students to adopt—four principles: honesty, humility, humor, and humanity.
Robert Edwin Edwards passed away peacefully on Jan. 18, 2021. Edwards started his legal career with Lone Star Gas Company in Dallas, Texas, and ended his career over 30 decades working with the Army and Air Force Exchange Service in Dallas. While with the AAFES, he created and directed their Worker Compensation Division for many years until his retirement in 2005. Edwards was a dedicated member and Master Mason of the Grand Lodge of Texas, Hillcrest No. 1318 for over 50 years, volunteering many hours at Scottish Rite Hospital. Memorials may be sent to The Boys and Girls Club of Falls County.
Dr. Charles William Mohundro, 82, of Texarkana, TX passed away peacefully Nov. 7, 2020. He served as VP, General Counsel for Hayes Enterprises, Inc. from 1963-1969. During this time, Mohundro returned to school and received his MBA from North Texas State University in 1970. He then moved to Bryan-College Station, TX to teach at Texas A&M University while working on his Ph.D. Mohundro received his Doctor of Philosophy from TAMU in 1977. Mohundro and his family moved to Texarkana in 1976 where he was a Professor of Management and Finance at TAMU-Texarkana for over 35 years, retiring in 2013.
Marion Borchers passed away on Nov. 17, 2020, after a brief battle with leukemia. After law school, he settled in New Braunfels where he began a law practice and became involved in many aspects of community life. Borchers was a Life member of the University of Texas Exes and an alumni of Alpha Tau Omega fraternity. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorials be sent to the Shriners Hospital for Burned and Crippled Children or the St. Jude’s Ranch for Children.
Benjamin Bynum Turner, Jr. passed away on October 16, 2020. Between his undergrad at Rice and Texas Law, he spent three years on active duty with the U.S. Navy. Following active duty, Turner spent 18 years in the reserve and retired as a Captain. Turner practiced law for over 50 years, was board certified in Estate Planning and Probate Law, and a C.P.A. At various times he was a Trustee member of the Board of Governors for the Sewanee Military Academy, a Trustee member of the Board of Directors for the Harris County Heritage Society, and President of the Houston Chapter of the Archeological Institute of America. Any memorials in Turner’s honor are requested to be made to the St. Andrews-Sewanee School, 290 Quintard Road, Sewanee, TN 37375.
James Merrill Neel passed away on July 1, 2020 in Houston, Texas, at the age of 82. Neel started his law career at Baker Botts in 1962 where he worked until he left to be the founding partner in Houston’s first boutique labor law firm in 1972. In 2007, he made the change to a solo practice at Neel Interests and continued to represent his clients for several years. Neel continued to contribute to the legal profession by teaching Title VII litigation at the University of Houston, wrote and lectured at many Continuing Legal Education seminars across the country, was a contributing co-author of the Texas Association of business Employment law Handbook, and served as chairman of the Section of Labor and Employment Law for the State Bar of Texas.
Phillip Mann died suddenly at home on June 3, 2016. Former colleagues at his firm Miller & Chevalier described Mr. Mann as “an outstanding tax lawyer and even better person. One of the kindest and most generous people I know.: “His touchstone in life was friendship. Clients became friends with Phil.” In the words of Anthony Shelley, Chair of Miller & Chevalier’s Executive Committee, “Phil was a preeminent lawyer, a strong leader both inside and outside the firm, a loyal colleague and a cherished friend to his clients and peers. He will be greatly missed by so many.”
Jim Branton was honored in January by the Litigation Section of the State Bar of Texas with the Luther (Luke) Soules III Award for Outstanding Service to the Practice of Law at the Litigation Section Institute in San Antonio.
Ardon Berkeley (RB) Judd, Jr. died April 25, 2016 in Houston, Texas. He was born in Houston on October 7, 1936 and married Nancy Ruina (Rue) Wallace on June 5, 1965. They raised their two daughters, Nancy Alston Judd and Sallie Matthews Judd, in Arlington, Virginia. He was a natural joiner, and in equal measures took joy from and gave joy to all around him. Ardon is survived by a large and loving family.
The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) has named Vinson & Elkins partner Harry Reasoner as the recipient of the 2016 Karen H. Susman Jurisprudence Award. The award is given annually to an outstanding member of the legal community who exhibits an exceptional commitment to equality, justice, fairness and community service.
Julien Devereux Weeks, 80, retired Senior Public Service Associate with the Carl E. Vinson Institute of Government, University of Georgia and active community volunteer, passed away on Tuesday, May 26, 2015. He received his B.A. in Political Science and J.D. from the University of Texas at Austin. His father, Oliver Douglas Weeks, was a UT political science professor until his death in 1970.