1990

Bryan Blevins Jr., senior equity partner with Provost Umphrey Law Firm, has been included in the 2012 edition of Best Lawyers in America in the field of product liability litigation - plaintiffs. Blevins joined Provost Umphrey in 1990, specializing in personal injury law. He became a firm equity partner in 2007. In 2006 Blevins was named Baylor Law School's Young Lawyer of the Year.

Rosemary Sage Jones has been named chairwoman-elect of the Tyler Area Chamber of Commerce. Jones will serve for one year as chair-elect and will take over the helm as chair the following year.

1992

Duane L. Coker was recently selected as one of the 2011 Texas Super Lawyers and Super Lawyers magazine. Coker is a member of the College of the State Bar of Texas, the Collaborative Professionals of Denton County, Certified Ad Litem of the State Bar of Texas, and the International Academy of Collaborative Professionals. He is also Past Chair of the Denton County Family Law Section and the President Elect of the Denton County Bar Association (will serve as President in the 2012-2013 fiscal year).

Michael C. Smith was recently elected as Chair of the Litigation Section of the State Bar of Texas. Smith is a partner in Siebman, Burg, Phillips & Smith LLP. He has served on the governing council of the Litigation Section since 2001. Approximately one out of every 10 lawyers in Texas is a member of the Litigation Section, which is the largest section in the State Bar. Smith is also serving his third term as Chair of the Board of Editors of the Texas Bar Journal and has also been the editor of the O'Connor's Federal Rules * Civil Trials handbook on federal civil procedure since 1998. He maintains the nationally recognized Eastern District of Texas Federal Court Practice web log at www.EDTexweblog.com, which tracks local federal court news and case law. He is a frequent author and speaker on federal civil procedure topics at seminars nationwide.

Michele Smith, a shareholder and management committee member with MehaffyWeber, P.C., has been named executive vice president of the Texas Association of Defense Counsel for 2012-2013, and will serve as president of the Texas Association of Defense Counsel for the term of 2014-2015. Smith has more than 20 years of diverse jury trial experience and is board certified in personal injury trial law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization.

1993

James Deets is opening the Dallas office of Compensation & Benefit Solutions LLC, which he has joined as a director. Previously with Hunton & Williams, Deets focuses his practice in the employee benefits and executive compensation areas, and his experience includes qualified and nonqualified retirement plans, equity plans, executive compensation arrangements, and health and welfare plans, including correction of plan defects before the IRS, as well as issues that arise in connection with mergers and acquisitions.

Chad Everingham, a former U.S. magistrate judge, has joined Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP as a partner in its intellectual property practice in the firm's newly established office in Longview. Everingham has had a distinguished career in both public service and private practice. For four years, he served as a magistrate judge in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, one of the busiest patent litigation courts in the federal system. Everingham will advise clients on an array of intellectual property litigation matters, with a particular focus on patent litigation.

1995

Wade Emmert (JD '95) was recognized at the Dallas Baylor Lawyer Network reception as the Outstanding Dallas Baylor Lawyer. Emmert is an accomplished trial lawyer with Burford & Ryburn, a former city councilman in Cedar Hill, former chairman of the Best Southwest Partnership, and is currently chairman of the Dallas County Republican Party.

Kristie A. Wright was recently named the Executive Director of 1st Choice Pregnancy Resource Center (FCPRC) in Texarkana. FCPRC is a 501(C)3 non-profit dedicated to empowering young women in crisis pregnancies to choose life.

1996

Todd J. Liles was named partner at the law firm of Cantey Hanger in Fort Worth. Liles' practice area focuses on title insurance litigation, real estate litigation and general commercial litigation in state and federal courts throughout Texas. He is a member of the State Bar of Texas and the American Bar Association and is admitted to practice in the United States District Courts for the Northern, Southern, and Eastern Districts of Texas.

Leane C. Medford was selected for inclusion in 2012 Texas Super Lawyers. Medford is an attorney in the Dallas office of Polsinelli Shughart. Her innovative approach to commercial litigation and appeals has also resulted in her section for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America and Top 100 Attorneys in Dallas/Fort Worth lists. Her practice includes handling litigation and appellate matters related to intellectual property disputes, copyright and source code enforcement, trade secrets, employment law matters, Fair Labor Standards Act matters, class and collective actions, aviation related litigation, oil and gas litigation, indemnity and fraud claims, business torts and contract actions.

Celeste R. Yeager, Vice-Chair of the Hospitality Industry Team at Gardere Wynne Sewell LLP, is slated to participate in the 2012 Labor and Employment Roundtable hosted by The Center for Hospitality Research (CHR) at the School of Hotel Administration at Cornell University. The event will be held May 6-7 2012 at the Cornell University campus in Ithaca, N.Y. In addition to her leadership role with the Hospitality Industry Team, Yeager chairs the Firm's Immigration and Naturalization Practice and is a partner in Gardere's Labor and Employment Practice Group. Yeager is Board Certified in Labor and Employment Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization and regularly represents employers nationally in all types of employment disputes, including class and collective actions before local, state, and federal administrative agencies and courts.

1997

Floyd Hartley Jr., a shareholder at Godwin Ronquillo PC, has been named to the 2012 Texas Rising Stars listing of the state's top young lawyers.

David Fowler Johnson has been named managing shareholder of Winstead PC's Fort Worth Office. Johnson is certified in Civil Trial Law, Civil Appellate Law and Personal Injury Trial Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization. When obtained, he was the youngest attorney in Texas to achieve this triple certification. Out of more than 84,000 attorneys in Texas, Johnson is one of fewer than 20 with this triple certification. Johnson is licensed and has practiced in the U.S. Supreme Court; the Fifth, Seventh, and Eleventh Federal Circuits; the Federal District Courts for the Northern, Eastern, and Western Districts of Texas; the Texas Supreme Court and various Texas intermediate appellate courts. A prolific writer and speaker, Johnson has authored over 25 legal articles and has presented at over 60 legal education courses on both trial and appellate issues. His articles have been cited as authority by the Texas Supreme Court (twice), and the Texas Courts of Appeals located in Waco, Amarillo, Texarkana, Beaumont, Tyler, and Houston, as well as a federal district court, and many other legal commentators. Johnson is a member of the American Bar Association, the State Bar of Texas, the Bar Association of the Fifth Federal Circuit, the Tarrant County Bar Association, the College of the State Bar of Texas, and the Counsel of Appellate Lawyers.

Stephanie Dooley Nelson has joined the Dallas-based appellate law firm of Hankinson LLP. Nelson handles a variety of appellate matters, including jurisdictional challenges, mandamus petitions, and interlocutory and accelerated appeals. She also works with trial teams on motions and evidentiary issues, jury charges, and litigation strategy. Her commercial and business litigation experience includes cases involving fiduciary obligations, professional liability, employment relations, contract disputes, insurance coverage, and products liability. She represents a broad cross section of clients, including those involved in the legal, manufacturing, insurance, aviation, trucking, and oil and gas production industries. Nelson graduated cum laude from Baylor Law School, where she was managing editor of the Baylor Law Review and earned the President's Award. She is a past president of the Dallas Young Lawyers Association and chair of the group's foundation, as well as a member of the Dallas Bar Association's Board of Directors. From 2004 through 2009, Nelson was named to the Texas Rising Stars list by the publishers of Texas Super Lawyers magazine.

Mark Slough was appointed by ES Performance to the positions of CEO and president. This move precedes the grand opening of the company's Houston facility on Oct. 13. CES Performance will operate its training facility in partnership with The Methodist Center for Sports Medicine out of the Houston Amateur Sports Park, which also serves as the training location of the Houston Dynamo. In his role as CEO, Slough will oversee all strategic decision making, operations, events and facilities, and will lead the effort to expand CES into new vertical markets.

1998

Christopher B. Trowbridge of Bell Nunnally & Martin LLP has been selected by the Dallas Business Journal for inclusion on its annual 40 Under Forty list for 2012. This distinction highlights executives and entrepreneurs 39 years of age and younger who are, according to the Dallas Business Journal's Managing Editor Katherine Cromer Brock, "at the top of their game professionally, and personally have demonstrated a commitment to the North Texas community." He also was named to the 2012 Texas Rising Stars list by Super Lawyers -- a Thomson Reuters publication and rating service. Trowbridge, a partner, is a member of the firm's Commercial Finance; Corporate and Securities; Creditors' Rights; Entertainment, Advertising and New Media; Intellectual Property; and Litigation practice areas. He is focused on helping clients with complex business disputes and his litigation docket routinely includes class action defense, securities matters, broker-dealer disputes, FINRA and AAA arbitrations, and appeals for clients nationwide and ranging from high-net-worth individuals to Fortune 500 companies.

Bane Phillippi has joined Weisbart Springer Hayes LLP, a new boutique law firm focusing on high-stakes business, technology, employment, and aviation litigation. Phillippi focuses on litigation involving regulatory enforcement and compliance matters, and has represented companies in a wide range of environmental-related disputes, hearings and transactions. Among other honors, Phillippi has been recognized in The Best Lawyers in America directory for the past five years, and was named one of the 10 Environmental Lawyers Under 40 to Watch by the Law360 news service in 2010.

1999

Melanie Okon of Taber Estes Thorne & Carr's Dallas office was honored by Texas Lawyer in the inaugural Winning Women list of the state's top women lawyers. Okon focuses on trial and appellate work in state and federal courts. She has represented Fortune 500 companies, as well as medium and small businesses, regulated and unregulated electric utilities, gas companies, mining operations, homebuilders, commercial construction companies, and property owners in a wide range of matters, including contract damages, property damages and personal injury claims.

Kirk L. Pittard was recently selected as one of nineteen Best Lawyers in Dallas in Appellate Law by D Magazine and was named a Texas Lawyer Rising Star for 2011 for the seventh year in a row. Pittard is a partner at Kelly, Durham & Pittard LLP, in Dallas.