Laura Edrington, managing partner with Locke Lord, in Houston.

Laura Edrington, managing partner of Locke Lord's Houston office, was named a 2018 inductee in the Greater Houston Women's Chamber of Commerce Hall of Fame in recognition of her contributions to the advancement of women and improved quality of life for future generations of Houstonians. Edrington also was named a Houston Business Journal 2018 “Women Who Mean Business” honoree in the Outstanding Leaders in Law category.

Patrick J. O'Connor, a trial attorney with Law Offices of Patrick J. O'Connor in Austin, was named “Lawyer of the Year” by the Washington, D.C.-based Taxpayers Against Fraud Education Fund. In 2018, O'Connor saw resolution of four fraud cases he brought in which the U.S. Department of Justice secured settlements of more than $44 million against health care providers. O'Connell was the first chief of the Office of the Attorney General's Civil Medicaid Fraud Section.

Ray Chester, a partner in McGinnis Lochridge in Austin, has been inducted as a fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers. Chester is a civil trial lawyer who represents clients in complex and high-profile products liability and personal injury trials in state and federal courts. He leads the firm's products liability group.

Benny Agosto Jr., a partner in Abraham, Watkins, Nichols, Sorrels, Agosto & Aziz in Houston, has received the 2018 Top Latino Leaders Award from the National Diversity Council. Agosto was recognized for success in his career and for his leadership in helping to advance the Latino community.

New Positions

John Adolph, a commercial real estate attorney, has joined Winstead's real estate development and investments practice group as a shareholder in Dallas. He represents lenders and borrowers in financing structures, including real estate loans, asset-based lending, mezzanine financings and syndicated credit facilities. He also works on general corporate and transactional issues for public and private companies.

Stefanie Major McGregor was promoted to shareholder in Dallas-based Godwin Bowman. She is in the firm's commercial litigation and civil appellate sections. Two lawyers recently promoted to senior counsel with the firm are Whitney Keltch Green, a family law attorney, and Michael A. Holmes, a member of the firm's commercial litigation section. On the executive committee, Shawn McCaskill has been named president and managing shareholder; Laci S. Bowman and Sidney H. Scheinberg have been named executive vice presidents; Ira Bowman has been named commercial litigation section chair; and Israel R. Silvas has been named co-chair of the bankruptcy/creditors' rights section.

Jana L. Simons has joined the estate planning and probate section at Meadows, Collier, Reed, Cousins, Crouch & Ungerman in Dallas as an associate. Previously, Simons clerked for U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Robert L. Jones of the Northern District of Texas.

Sara M. Prasatik and Evelyn E. Terrell have joined Wilson Cribbs + Goren as associates in the firm's Houston office. Prasatik works with the firm's litigation group, representing individuals and businesses in an array of legal disputes, including business, real estate and construction matters. Terrell is in the firm's real estate law and land use law practice groups.

Alexandra W. “Ady” Durham has joined Porter Hedges as an associate in the firm's financing section. Durham focuses her practice on representing borrowers and lenders in a variety of commercial financings, such as working capital facilities and asset-based loan transactions.

Susan Fisher has joined the Dallas office of Thompson & Knight as an associate in the corporate and securities practice group. Fisher has experience handling mergers and acquisitions, private equity and securities transactions, among other matters.

Angelina Wike has joined Abraham, Watkins, Nichols, Sorrels, Agosto & Aziz in Houston as an associate. Wike's practice focuses on a variety of personal injury matters, including automobile accidents and premises liability as well as the representation of first-party policyholders in disputes against their insurance companies.

John S. Bruzina has joined the Dallas office of Polsinelli as counsel in the firm's national real estate finance practice. Bruzina has represented a wide range of institutional and private lenders in the origination of complex construction financing transactions, secondary mortgage market lending and permanent financings involving loans secured by multifamily developments, office buildings, hotels, commercial and mixed-use developments and industrial warehouses across the country.

Savita Sivakumar, a 2019 recipient of the annual Baker Donelson Diversity Scholarship, will clerk in the firm's Houston office next summer. Tenia Clayton, also a recipient of a scholarship, will be a summer associate in Baker Donelson's Nashville office. Upon completion of the summer associate positions, each recipient will receive a $10,000 scholarship.