Scarlet McNellie. Courtesy photo

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Global law firm Norton Rose Fulbright has appointed partner Scarlet McNellie as its head of corporate, mergers and acquisitions and securities in the United States. Based in Dallas, McNellie represents clients in the energy, insurance, technology, life sciences and health care, media and banking sectors. She earned her J.D. from the University of Texas School of Law and her B.A. degree from Dartmouth College. She succeeds Dallas partner Glen Hettinger, who will continue to be an active contributor to this team.

New Positions

Akerman announced the expansion of its national litigation bench in Texas with the hiring of former federal prosecutor Ferdose al-Taie, who brings extensive experience in the areas of white-collar criminal defense, securities enforcement and compliance, and antitrust and competition law. Al-Taie, who joins the firm's Dallas office as a partner, focuses her white-collar defense practice on advising clients navigating all aspects of federal and state regulatory systems. She uses her experience with government enforcement actions to help clients anticipate potential issues and correct them before they become larger problems. Prior to returning to private practice, she dedicated 10 years to the federal government, holding various prosecutorial roles within the U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, including serving as first-chair trial lawyer and trying over 40 civil and criminal jury trials to verdict.  

Husch Blackwell announced that Jeffery T. Nobles has joined the firm's Houston office as a partner. A well-known and respected member of the appellate bar, Nobles joins the firm's technology, manufacturing and transportation industry group and its commercial litigation practice group. He handles a variety of litigation matters for clients, including business disputes, media defense, probate matters, political controversies and bankruptcy issues. Nobles began his legal career with a clerkship in the First Court of Appeals in Houston. He received his J.D. from Baylor Law School and graduated from Princeton University with an A.B. in history. 

Willkie Farr & Gallagher announced today that prominent compliance attorney Jay Martin has joined the firm as senior counsel in the Houston office. Previously associate general counsel and chief compliance officer at global oilfield services provider Baker Hughes, a GE company, Martin has over four decades of experience and is regarded as a leading voice on compliance and enforcement matters. Willkie's compliance, investigations and enforcement group represents public companies, financial institutions and their executives in all aspects of compliance, investigations and enforcement, and in particular high-stakes matters and all types of financial crimes.

Appointments

The Texas Senate has voted unanimously to confirm Jason Boatright, a partner in the Dallas office of Cantey Hanger, to his appointment to the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission. Boatright's term began May 28, 2019, and is set to expire November 15, 2023. The commission oversees the agency that inspects, supervises and regulates every phase of businesses related to alcoholic beverages, including manufacturing, sales and distribution. While he serves on the commission, Boatright will continue to represent his clients at Cantey Hanger in appeals and administrative law matters. Before joining Cantey Hanger, Boatright served as a Justice on the Texas Fifth Court of Appeals. He was also the chief of the Attorney General's Opinion Division and Director of the Texas Railroad Commission's General Counsel Section. Boatright received his Bachelor's of Arts from Middlebury College, and also received a post-graduate diploma from the University of St. Andrews in Latin and ancient history. He earned his J.D. from The University of Texas School of Law in 2003.

Bar Elections and Awards

On May 16, at the annual dinner meeting of the of the Houston Bar Association at The Houstonian in Houston, Benny Agosto Jr., a partner at Abraham, Watkins, Nichols, Sorrels, Agosto & Aziz, took office as the new president of the HBA, succeeding Warren W. Harris, a partner at Bracewell. In 2018, Harris established the Justice Eugene A. Cook Award, named after the former Justice of the Texas Supreme Court and former HBA president, as the HBA's highest award for professionalism. Justice Cook was the inaugural recipient. This year, Harry M. Reasoner of Vinson & Elkins and Fred Hagans of Hagans, Montgomery & Rustay were both honored with Cook Awards, which were presented by Hon. Eva M. Guzman of the Supreme Court of Texas. In addition, Christopher A. Prine was honored with a special HBA President's Award for Service to the Houston Courts of Appeals. Prine serves as the Clerk of Court for both the First Court of Appeals and the Fourteenth Court of Appeals. The HBA also presented a new award for outstanding achievement and leadership for women in the law to the Hon. Ruby Kless Sondock. Justice Sondock was the first woman to serve on the Supreme Court of Texas and the first woman District Court Judge in Harris County. The University of Houston established the biennial “Ruby Kless Sondock Lecture in Legal Ethics” in her name, and in 2015, she was recognized as a Texas Legal Legend by the Litigation Section of the State Bar of Texas.

Susan Kidwell, a partner with Locke Lord in Austin, received the 2019 Pro Bono Attorney Award from the Travis County Women Lawyers' Association and Foundation (TCWLA/F)‎. Kidwell was recognized for her pro bono work at the TCWLA/F Annual Grants and Awards Luncheon on May 17 in Austin. As Past President of Volunteer Legal Services of Central Texas (VLS), Kidwell was instrumental in the formation of a strategic plan for VLS to further the organization's mission of providing volunteer attorneys and legal services to low-income clients.