Newsmakers: Week of June 3, 2019

Board Appointments

Locke Lord chairwoman emeritus Jerry Clements has been named chairwoman of the Baylor University Board of Regents, effective June 1. She will be the first woman to serve as chairwoman of the Baylor board. Clements, who served as chairwoman of Locke Lord from 2006-2017 and currently is a partner at the firm, has been a member of the Baylor board since 2011 and most recently served as vice chairwoman for compliance and regulatory oversight. Clements, whose one-year term concludes May 31, 2020, has served on the Baylor Board of Regents select governance review and selection task forces. She received her law degree, cum laude, from Baylor University School of Law and is a lifetime member of the Baylor Law Alumni Association as well as a past president.

Jacob M. Monty, managing partner at Houston-based law firm Monty & Ramirez, has been voted in to serve on the board of directors of the Texas Association of Business (TAB). The association represents thousands of companies of all sizes and industry sectors in the state. Founded in 1922, TAB bills itself as the bipartisan voice fighting for business-friendly public policy issues. Monty has spent over two decades practicing immigration, labor and employment law. In that time, he has also become a recognized authority on issues facing employers with large Hispanic workforces. His clients include professional baseball teams, grocery store chains, single establishment and chain restaurants, and leading companies in the construction and facility maintenance fields. He has held several presidential and gubernatorial appointments to such institutions as the University of Houston Board of Regents, the National Hispanic Advisory Council for Trump, and the North American Development Bank. Jacob also serves as outside counsel for the Mexican Consulate in Houston and chairs the Center for Latino Jewish Relations.  

New Positions

Barnes & Thornburg has added Jason Myers as a partner in the firm's corporate department in Dallas. Myers joins from Hudson Advisors, a global asset management company where he served as director and senior counsel. He also previously served as counsel at Vinson & Elkins in Dallas for 11 years. Myers' experience includes credit facilities, real estate financing, derivatives, and a wide variety of both traditional real estate transactions and specialized projects in the energy, public-private partnership, and mergers and acquisitions sectors. Myers earned his law degree from Southern Methodist University Dedman School of Law, his master's degree from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and his bachelor's degree from Illinois State University.

Wes Strickland has joined Holland & Knight as a partner in the firm's Austin office. He is one of the preeminent water industry attorneys in the U.S. His clients include U.S.-based and multinational water companies and financial institutions that develop, manage and finance water resources and infrastructure. He was previously a partner with Jackson Walker. Strickland has been involved in many of the largest and most significant water development projects and transactions in the United States for the past 20 years, with a strong focus on California, Texas and the West. Strickland earned his law degree degree from the University of North Carolina School of Law and his bachelor's degree from Yale University. He is admitted to practice in Texas, California and New York.

New Offices

The Law Office of Shane R. Kadlec, which focuses on personal injury law, recently opened a new office at 9575 Katy Freeway, Suite 200, in Houston. Kadlec has 24 years of experience practicing personal injury law in the Houston area. “Given our growing practice, having a bigger office that's along the Katy Freeway gives us a better place to interact with our clients and address their needs. Plus, all the new developments in the West Houston area offer great places to eat and shop,” said Shane R. Kadlec, founder of the firm. 

Awards

KoonsFuller in Houston announced that firm associate Jordan Turk has been chosen to receive the Harris County Bench Bar Pro Bono Award for Outstanding Service by an Individual. She received this award for her pro bono work representing Katy Hayes of Kingwood, Texas, who lost custody of her children in 2010 after she lost all of her limbs to a catastrophic infection—invasive group A streptococcal disease, or GAS—following the home birth of her third child. Along with KoonsFuller managing shareholder Sherri Evans, Turk took on the case pro bono. Within a short period of time, Turk was able to settle the case without going to trial and obtained primary conservatorship of the children for Hayes. “I'm honored and deeply touched to be recognized for this case. Katy has overcome tremendous obstacles, beating all odds and this was a defining moment where showing that being physically disabled does not prevent you from being an effective parent, “ said Turk in a statement issued by the firm.