Class Notes

Peter Idziak has been promoted to principal at Polunsky Beitel Green in the Dallas office as the transactional residential mortgage lending law firm marks its 50th anniversary. Idziak has been with PBG for nearly seven years, building a practice focused on regulatory compliance and consumer financial law, providing guidance on complex matters to lenders across the country.

Dani Sanchez, senior assistant general counsel over litigation and employment at Academy Sports + Outdoors, has been named the 2026 Outstanding Mentor of the Year by the Houston Young Lawyers Association.

Katherine Spry has been selected as a fellow for the Immigrant Justice Corps’ 2026 class. She will serve for two years as a staff attorney at The Bronx Defenders, representing low-income immigrants in complex immigration cases, including removal defense.

Amber Russell’s Austin-based firm, LOAR PLLC, has received the 2026 Travis County Women Lawyers’ Association Firm of the Year Award. Russell began her career at Baker Botts before founding LOAR in 2006 with a vision to reinvent the personal injury firm model, building a practice focused not just on case outcomes, but on long-term impact.

Julius Glickman passed away Feb. 24, 2026. Glickman built a distinguished legal career in Houston as the former managing partner of Glickman, Carter & Bachynsky, LLP, becoming one of Texas’s most respected trial lawyers, teachers, and mentors. He served on the board of directors of the State Bar of Texas, taught at the University of Houston Law Center, and lectured widely on litigation, ethics, and employment law. In 2012, he received the University’s Distinguished Alumni Award, followed by the Alumni Association’s Lifetime Achievement Award in 2019. The Julius Glickman Fellowship in Public Interest Law, administered by the William Wayne Justice Center for Public Interest Law, is named in his honor and awarded annually to an outstanding Texas Law graduate or judicial clerk pursuing public interest work on behalf of underrepresented individuals or groups.

The Hon. Rufus Adcock passed away Jan. 15, 2026. After beginning his career as a prosecutor in the Tarrant County District Attorney’s Office in 1960, he served as judge of the 297th Criminal District Court, chief prosecutor for the Tarrant County District Attorney’s Office, and then in 1986, was appointed to the newly created County Criminal Court No. 6, where he served until his retirement in December 1998.

R. Doak Bishop has joined the panel at FedArp. He previously founded the International Arbitration Practice Group at King & Spalding in 2000, spending 25 years helping build it before retiring from the firm at the end of 2025. Bishop is a published author who previously served as chairman of the Institute of Transnational Arbitration.

Brooke E. Lierman has been selected as the keynote speaker for Howard Community College’s 55th commencement exercises on May 22, 2026. She serves as the 34th Comptroller of Maryland and the first woman independently elected to one of the state’s constitutional offices.

Richard Orsinger has earned the 2026 Patrick A. Nester Outstanding Achievement in CLE Award for his career-spanning dedication to the promotion and advancement of continuing legal education. He currently serves as the a co-founder and name partner in the family law firm Orsinger, Nelson, Downing & Anderson.

John Bonnet III has joined Norton Rose Fulbright’s Dallas office as a partner, with a team that expands the firm’s capabilities in private equity, healthcare, and energy transactions. He previously served as a partner in Mergers & Acquisitions, Finance, and Corporate Governance for Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP.

Jerry Negrete has been promoted to named partner at Chapman Negrete PLLC in Austin. Negrete is board-certified in construction law and serves on the American Arbitration Association Panel of Construction Arbitrators. She provides comprehensive legal support to construction clients through transactional work, outside general counsel representation, and litigating and arbitrating construction disputes.

Hiawatha Northington II has been named co-chair of Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani, LLP’s Diversity Committee, effective May 1, 2026. Northington, managing partner of the firm’s Jackson, Mississippi, office, also is co-chair of the African American Affinity Group and will act as co-chair alongside Houston Partner Laura De Santos.

Gary Farmer was featured on Texas Exes’ “Hello Longhorn,” a podcast and video series. As president of Heritage Title Company of Austin and past chair of Opportunity Austin, Farmer reflected on his time at the university and how it shaped his career. Earlier this year he received the Texas Exes 2025 Distinguished Alumnus Award.

Charles Foster, chairman of Foster LLP who served as chair of the Asia Society Texas Center Board of Directors for 24 years, was honored with the 2026 Stephen L. Kleinberg Award by the Kinder Institute for Urban Research at Rice University for his decades of leadership and advocacy for a more inclusive, globally connected Houston. A double Longhorn, he was also honored with the ASTC’s inaugural 2026 Roy Huffington Lifetime Achievement Award.

Richard Hood has joined Ryman Clark, a new trial firm in Round Rock founded by two fellow Texas Law alumni. Hood, who is of counsel at the firm, specializes in construction defect, tenant health and safety, and mold-related issues. The U.S. Army veteran previously ran his personal practice, Richard R. Hood.

Josh Davis has joined Ryman Clark, a new trial firm in Round Rock founded by two fellow Texas Law alumni. Davis, who is of counsel at the firm, served as a JAG Officer in the U.S. Army before starting his own private practice.

Martin Gatens has joined Ryman Clark, a new trial firm in Round Rock founded by two fellow Texas Law alumni. Martin previously worked at Beck Redden, handling complex real estate and property harm litigation cases.

Alex McClintic has joined Ryman Clark, a new trial firm in Round Rock founded by two fellow Texas Law alumni. McClintic, who is of counsel at the firm, works with a large range of legal disputes spanning consumer protection and real estate.

Jason Clarke Marshall passed away on March 31, 2026. Marshall served as a shareholder of Winstead, Sechrest, and Minick before he started the Marshall Firm, specializing in real estate and property tax matters.

Kyle Ryman, along with fellow Texas Law alumnus Alexander Clark, has formed the trial firm Ryman Clark in Round Rock, where both will be co-managing partners. Before running his own firm, Ryman Litigation, the U.S. Army veteran practiced at McKool Smith and clerked for Chief Justice Nathan L. Hecht of the Supreme Court of Texas.

Alexander Clark, along with fellow Texas Law alumnus Kyle Ryman, has formed the trial firm Ryman Clark in Round Rock, where both will serve as co-managing partners. The U.S. Air Force veteran brings experience in insurance recovery, trials, and crisis management, having spent five years at Haynes Boone, during which he also served as a teaching assistant for insurance law courses at two law schools. Clark previously clerked for the Honorable Lee Yeakel of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas.

Jim Noles, professor of environmental law at Auburn University, was awarded the Student Government Association’s 2026 Outstanding Faculty Award for the College of Forestry, Wildlife and Environment.

Art Bayern is retiring from the San Antonio Spurs’ stats crew after a 50-year run. Bayern, who specializes in estate planning and probate work for the firm of Langley & Banack, was honored on the court before the Spurs’ regular-season finale game on April 12.

Jay Ellwanger has joined the Austin panel of JAMS, which provides mediation and arbitration services. A longtime adjunct professor at Texas Law and founder of Ellwanger Henderson LLLP, he has more than 25 years of legal experience.

Stewart Hoffer has been named to the Texas Legal Elite list in the Super Lawyers 2026 edition. Stewart currently serves as partner at Hicks Thomas LLP, focusing on civil arbitration and civil litigation.

Pamela Beachley passed away on April 4, 2026. A double Longhorn, Beachley was a renowned expert in workers’ compensation, and once served as general counsel for the Joint Select Committee on Workers’ Compensation and as executive director of the Business Insurance Consumer’s Association. In her lobby career, Beachley represented business and governmental entities through the 2021 legislative session.

Ryan Gorsche has joined O’Melveny as a partner in the Mergers & Acquisitions Practice and Private Equity Group at the firm’s Dallas office. He makes the move from BakerHostetler, where he worked on complex domestic and cross-border transactions.

Katie Brien has joined O’Melveny as a partner in the Mergers & Acquisitions Practice and Private Equity Group at the firm’s Dallas office. She most recently worked at BakerHostetler, focusing on M&A transactions, dispositions, and other corporate matters.

Dudley McCalla passed away on March 29, 2026. A double Longhorn and Navy veteran,  McCalla’s successful career in public law started with the Office of the Attorney General and included many years in private practice. He authored “Texas Administrative Law” and received the Trial Lifetime Achievement Award by the Administrative Law and Public Law section of the Texas State Bar.

Arthur Schechter passed away on April 13, 2026. He founded his own law firm in 1976, representing injured clients with a focus on maritime workers. Schechter served as U.S. ambassador to the Bahamas under President Bill Clinton and later chaired the Metropolitan Transit Authority in Houston.

David Woodcock has been named the director of the Division of Enforcement by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Woodcock previously served as a partner in SEC Enforcement, Investigations, and Corporate Securities at Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher while teaching a Securities Law Enforcement course at Texas A&M University School of Law.

Marissa Marquez has been named the 2026 Houston Corporate Counsel Senior Counsel of the Year for a Nonprofit/Governmental Agency by the Texas Lawbook and the Association of Corporate Counsel’s Houston chapter. Marquez, who is labor and employment legal counsel at Houston Methodist Hospital, will be honored at an award ceremony in Houston May 28.

Adrienne Wall has been appointed managing shareholder of the Munsch Hardt’s Fort Worth office. Wall’s experience includes representing commercial banks and lenders in finance transactions secured by real estate and business assets.

Amy Sutton has been appointed as regional president of Southside Bank’s Wealth Management & Trust division in Tyler, Texas. Sutton has over 30 years of expertise in wealth management and estate and tax planning to the branch.

Michael Cotton has been promoted to chair of the Opinion Committee for the Texas Attorney General’s Office after previously serving as the committee’s deputy chief. He will head the committee’s efforts to conduct legal research, draft formal opinions, and provide counsel to state and local officials on complex legal matters.

Corinne Sullins Davis has been promoted to partner at Hunton Andrews Kurth’s Houston office. Davis’s expertise lies in mergers and acquisitions, divestitures, joint ventures, and corporate governance matters throughout a variety of industries.

Stephani Michel has joined the Houston office of Norton Rose Fulbright as a senior associate. She previously served as a senior appellate associate at the boutique litigation firm Tillotson Johnson & Patton.

Kelli Bills has joined the Dallas office of Norton Rose Fulbright as senior counsel. She previously was counsel at the boutique litigation firm Tillotson Johnson & Patton.

Andres Contreras has been promoted to shareholder at Munsch Hardt Kopf & Harr P.C. in Houston effective April 1, 2026. Contreras focuses his practice on complex commercial litigation in both state and federal courts.

Randy Johnston has been named to the 2026 Lawdragon 500 Leading Plaintiff Financial Lawyers list—marking his sixth consecutive selection—as well as the Texas Super Lawyers list. A co-founder and shareholder at Johnston Tobey Baruch in Dallas, he is recognized for his work in professional liability, legal malpractice, fiduciary litigation and investment fraud.

Robert Tobey, a shareholder at Johnston Tobey Barush in Dallas, has been included on the 2026 Lawdragon 500 Leading Plaintiff Financial Lawyers list—marking his sixth consecutive selection—and was named as Texas Super Lawyer. Board certified in consumer and commercial law, he is recognized for handling complex commercial litigation, professional liability and business disputes.

James Barksdale Jr. passed away on Feb. 24, 2026. Barksdale had a distinguished career in patent law, first with Monsanto Chemical, then with IBM for 30 years.

Alistair Dawson will be posthumously inducted as a Legal Legend by the Litigation Section of the State Bar of Texas. Dawson, who passed away in 2025, was a respected partner and trial attorney at Beck Redden, president of the Houston Bar Association, chairman of the Texas Bar Foundation, fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers, and a member of the American Board of Trial Advocates.

Jane Webre will receive the 2026 Gregory S. Coleman Outstanding Appellate Lawyer Award from the Texas Bar Foundation. Webre is a partner at Scott Douglass & McConnico LLP in Austin, where she focuses on civil appellate law and handles the majority of the firm’s appeals.

Fred Hagans will receive the 2026 Ronald D. Secrest Outstanding Trial Lawyer Award from the Texas Bar Foundation. The award, which is given annually to an active trial lawyer who demonstrates outstanding trial skills, ethical standards, and professional conduct, will recognize Hagans’ acclaimed career with his firm Hagans Law.

Luis A. Galindo has been appointed to the Fort Worth ISD board of managers. Galindo, an attorney specializing in construction, business, and real estate law, teaches at Texas Wesleyan University and is an adjunct supervising attorney with the Texas A&M School of Law.

Pete Geren has been appointed president of the Fort Worth ISD board of managers. Geren, a double Longhorn who formerly served as a U.S. House representative and in the Department of Defense, currently is president and chief executive officer of the Sid W. Richardson Foundation.

Becky Diffen has been named to Tamarindo’s Legal Power List 2026, which recognizes the 100 most influential lawyers in the clean energy and infrastructure sectors. A partner with Norton Rose Fulbright in Austin, Diffen is also an adjunct professor at Texas Law, teaching a course in wind and solar law.

Kalyani Adusumilli has written her debut novel, “The Invisible Canvas,” which explores themes of resilience, identity, and mental health. Adusumilli worked as an epidemiologist and an attorney before turning to writing fiction and is also author of The Happy Wildflower series, collections of reflective essays and poetry.