Jonathan R. Smith recently joined Cherry Petersen Landry Albert in Dallas as a partner. Smith focuses his practice on commercial real estate transactions, including new development, lending and leasing. He also handles sales transactions involving retail, office, warehouse and multifamily residential properties. Before joining Cherry Petersen, Smith was a partner at Kane Russell Coleman & Logan.

New Positions

Travis W. McNellie has been named leader of Thompson & Knight's Fort Worth office. McNellie is a real estate and banking partner in the firm and focuses his practice on commercial lease transactions on both a state and national level.

Anthony J. “Tony” Phillips has joined the Houston office of McKool Smith as a principal. Phillips previously served as senior legal officer for corporate ethics and compliance at MD Anderson Cancer Center, where he developed a corporate ethics and compliance program. Before his stint at the cancer center, Phillips was a trial attorney for the Public Integrity Section of the U.S. Department of Justice. He focuses on complex commercial litigation, white-collar defense and compliance matters.

Alfredo Raúl Ramos has joined the Houston office of Thompson & Knight as a partner in the firm's oil and gas practice group. He focuses his practice on oil, gas and energy transactions, as well as on infrastructure and project development matters in the United States, Mexico and throughout Latin America.

Kristin Smith, an education lawyer, has joined Fisher & Phillips in Houston as of counsel. She counsels and represents religious and secular schools, assisting with, among other matters, student and employee discipline and discrimination claims.

Elected

Ray Khirallah, a Dallas partner in Thompson & Knight, has been elected to a three-year term on the board of directors for Nexus Recovery Center, which provides specialized substance abuse services for females. Khirallah is a member of his firm's real estate and banking practice group.