YOUNG LAWYER OF THE YEAR: Shown, from left: Dillon Meek receives Baylor Law School's Young Lawyer of the Year from Baylor Law Dean Brad Toben, at the Waco city council meeting at Waco Convention Center's Bosque Theater, on June 18, 2019.

Awards

Waco attorney and District IV Waco city councilman Dillon Meek has been named Baylor's Young Lawyer of the Year. Meek received the award from Baylor Law Dean Brad Toben at the Waco city council meeting at Waco Convention Center's Bosque Theater on  June 18. Toben said Meek's “exceptional record” of professional and public service exemplified the criteria for the honor. Upon receiving his award, Meek noted, “The excellent education I received from thoughtful and intentional professors and staff has made me better. I will be forever grateful for my time at Baylor Law,” and added, “I am very humbled to receive this award. Waco is in a time of great opportunity and on the cusp of even greater things.  It's a blessing and an honor to serve this community.”

Bar Associations

Randy Sorrels, from the Houston law firm of Abraham, Watkins, Nichols, Sorrels, Agosto & Aziz took office as President of the State Bar of Texas for the 2019-2020 bar year at the general session luncheon during the State Bar of Texas annual meeting June 14 in Austin. He  is the 139th president of the State Bar of Texas and the first president from Houston in 12 years. He will be leading the third-largest bar in the United States, which consists of almost 104,000 lawyers. Sorrels plans to focus his leadership year on expanding the member benefits programs of the State Bar. “I believe our State Bar can provide more services and benefits to Texas lawyers, which will in turn allow our Texas lawyers to provide more services and benefits to their clients, families, and the public as a whole,” said Sorrels in a statement by the State Bar. Sorrels has been practicing personal injury and business litigation at Abraham Watkins for almost 30 years and has served as the firm's managing partner for 25 of those years.

Locke Lord partner Brad Weber, a past president of the Dallas Bar Association and former director on the Board of the State Bar of Texas, began a one-year term as the chair of the Antitrust and Business Litigation Section of the State Bar of Texas following the Section's annual meeting June 13 in Austin. Weber previously served a one-year term as chair-elect of the Section. Based in the firm's Dallas office, Weber serves as co-leader of Locke Lord's firm-wide antitrust practice group and has developed a full-service antitrust practice with an emphasis on litigation, government investigations and antitrust compliance. He also has extensive experience representing clients in class actions and multi-district litigation.

New Partner

Greenberg Traurig expanded its health care & FDA practice with the addition of powerhouse health care regulatory lawyer Charles Dunham in the firm's Houston office as a shareholder. Dunham brings a depth of experience working with health care providers and health-related entities in matters involving regulatory and billing compliance, corporate formation and governance, and business transactions and acquisitions. He also advises private-equity firms and venture capitalists on investiture in the health care industry and target acquisitions. “Greenberg Traurig has an outstanding reputation for the regulatory and transactional work it does on behalf of clients in this key industry. That experience and range of services to offer my clients is what excited me to join the team, and I look forward to actively participating in the firm's continued growth,” Dunham said in a statement issued by the firm.

New Positions

Sumner Schick in Dallas has added business litigation lawyer Nicole Ward to the firm's ranks as an associate. She will work on complex commercial litigation, qui tam litigation, and health care compliance and transactions. Ward's client representation history includes breach of contract disputes and employment law matters. Her experience includes extensive briefing and motion practice for cases in federal and state court, as well as administrative proceedings. She graduated magna cum laude from Texas A&M University in 2014, where she earned her Bachelor of Science in economics. She went on to earn her Juris Doctor degree from the University of Oklahoma College of Law in 2017. “I joined Sumner Schick for the great culture,” Ward said in a statement issued by the firm. “Everyone collaborates on cases, and it leads to the best outcome for the client.”

Litigator Brad Timms has joined the Underwood Law Firm in Fort Worth and will focus his practice on construction, business and insurance litigation. He has experience representing a wide range of clients, from individuals and small businesses to large publicly-traded corporations, in a variety of business and commercial cases in state and federal court. Timms previously worked with Phelps Dunbar in Southlake and Brackett & Ellis in Fort Worth. He graduated with his Juris Doctor from Texas A&M School of Law in 2013, where he served as an editor on Law Review. He earned his Bachelor of Arts in political science in 2003 from Baylor University in Waco. Timms is also a member of the Tarrant County Bar Association and Tarrant County Young Lawyers Association.  Richard Schellhammer, the managing partner of Underwood's Fort Worth office, said, “Brad is a great addition to our team and we are very excited that he has decided to join us.” 

Office Moves

Due to continued growth, Steele Law Group has moved to a new, larger office in metro area Houston. The new address: Chase Tower, Suite 7373 (73rd Floor), 600 Travis, Houston, TX 77002. Tel: 713-659-2600;  Fax: 713-659-2601.