Jason Boatright, a former justice on the Fifth Court of Appeals in Dallas, has joined Cantey Hanger as a partner. Boatright, who works in the firm's Dallas and Fort Worth offices, handles a variety of litigation and appellate matters. Prior to serving on the appeals court, Boatright was with Regency Energy Partners, served as director of the general counsel section and special counsel at the Railroad Commission of Texas and as special counsel and chairman of the Opinions Division at the Office of the Attorney General of Texas.

Andrea L. Fair, a trial attorney, has been promoted to partner in Ward, Smith & Hill in Longview. Fair joined the firm in 2016 and handles intellectual property and business litigation.

Jim D. Aycock and J. Ryan Schmidt have been elected shareholders in Andrews Myers in Houston. Aycock, a trial lawyer, handles a variety of complex commercial litigation matters in state and federal courts, as well as domestic and international arbitrations for plaintiffs and defendants. Schmidt focuses his practice on transactional law, with an emphasis on construction, commercial real estate and corporate transactions.

Hope Everett has joined Roberts Markel Weinberg Butler Hailey in Houston as senior counsel. Katherine Wilcox and Edward “Teddy” Holtz have joined the firm as associates. Everett joined from Forrest McElroy, expanding Roberts Markel's CPA and general counsel client base statewide. Wilcox joined from the Strong Firm, and Holtz joined from Ford + Bergner. Both are in the community association law practice.

Serena M. Mergeani has joined The Bassett Law Firm in Dallas as an associate. Mergeani formerly was with The Willis Law Group.

Elected

Travis Torrence, global litigation bankruptcy and credit team lead at Shell Oil Co., took office as chair of the Houston Bar Foundation on Feb. 14. Charles A. “Chip” Casey of Exxon Mobil Corp. became the HBF vice chair, and Tom Godbold of Twin Eagle Resource Management became the treasurer.

Awards

Eva M. Guzman, a justice on the Texas Supreme Court, has received the James B. Sales Pro Bono Leadership Award, the highest honor presented by the Houston Bar Foundation, in recognition of her outstanding lifetime leadership in ensuring all Texans have access to justice. The award was presented Feb. 14 at HBF's annual luncheon in Houston. Those honored at the luncheon for outstanding contributions to Houston Volunteer Lawyers are: Baker Botts, large firm; Blank Rome, mid-size firm; Jenkins & Kamin, small firm; Christie Cardon of King & Spalding, pro bono coordinator; J. Thomas Black, solo practitioner; Bryn Poland of Mayo & Poland, individual; and Shell Oil Co., corporate law department. Susan Rokes was recognized for outstanding volunteer service to the Dispute Resolution Center, and James Montgomery, for longevity of exemplary service to the DRC. Dustin Rynders of Disability Rights Texas was recognized as author of the outstanding article published in The Houston Lawyer. Kay Sim, executive director of Houston Bar Association and the HBF for more than four decades, was honored on the occasion of her retirement.

Earsa Jackson, a Dallas member of Clark Hill Strasburger, is the recipient of the 2019 Ronald E. Harrison Diversity Award presented by the International Franchise Association at its 59th annual convention held Feb. 26 in Las Vegas.