Dr. Karthika Perumal, Ph.D. Courtesy photo

Partners

Beck Redden in Houston announced that Mark C. Rodriguez has joined the firm, effective Aug. 12. Rodriguez is a trial attorney with nearly 25 years of experience representing energy industry clients in a broad range of lawsuits and arbitrations, including royalty disputes and other energy-related disputes. Formerly a partner at Vinson & Elkins, Rodriguez is a 1992 graduate of Rice University and a 1995 graduate of Harvard Law School.

Reed Smith announced that consumer banking regulatory and litigation lawyer Christina Vitale has joined the firm’s Financial Industry Group as a partner in Houston. She counsels clients on complex matters before U.S. state and federal courts, with an emphasis on financial services class actions and banking and enforcement actions. Prior to joining Reed Smith, Vitale was a partner at Morgan Lewis. She received her J.D. from American University, Washington College of Law (summa cum laude) in 2005, and her B.A. from the University of Arizona (magna cum laude) in 2002.

Womble Bond Dickinson continues to build its Houston office with the addition of intellectual property attorney Dr. Karthika Perumal as a partner. Perumal works with clients in the health care and energy sectors to protect, defend, and monetize their innovations and to develop strategic intellectual property portfolios to meet their business goals at all stages of the product life cycle. She has specific experience with life sciences, biomedical devices, chemicals, oil and gas processing, and various software technologies. In addition to her significant technology transfer practice, Perumal also has experience in the prosecution of patents and trademarks for large corporate entities, research institutions, and independent inventors. Perumal recently completed a term as Chair of the Licensing Executive Society’s Life Science Sector Executive Committee. She has a Ph.D. in pharmacology from the Baylor College of Medicine and she previously served as Associate Director for Technology Development at the University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB). In that role, she developed commercialization strategies for various technologies and led numerous successful technology commercialization deals, including helping to structure six life sciences start-up companies. 

Senior Counsel

Lugenbuhl, Wheaton, Peck, Rankin & Hubbard is pleased to welcome senior counsel attorney Michael McCoy to its Houston office. Focused on insurance coverage and litigation, and professional liability, his litigation experience includes liability, malpractice and a range of general insurance defense. Most recently, McCoy served as partner at Jones Walker after nearly two decades with Fowler Rodriguez. After receiving an undergraduate degree from the University of Texas, McCoy earned his Juris Doctor from Baylor Law School in Waco. He is admitted to practice law in Texas, including all U.S. District Courts in the state, as well as the Fifth and Eleventh Circuits of the U.S. Court of Appeals. He is a member of the Independent Insurance Agents and Brokers Organization, Houston Bar Association, Houston Bar Foundation, Texas Association of Defense Council, Texas Bar Foundation and the Defense Research Institute.

New Positions

Munck Wilson Mandala added intellectual property attorney Sheri Higgins to the firm’s IP practice in the firm’s Dallas office. Higgins is a registered patent attorney with a background in pharmaceutical research and chemistry.  She previously worked as a solo practitioner in her own law boutique. Higgins represents clients in the chemical and mechanical industries.   Higgins’ patent work includes IP counseling, chemical and mechanical patent preparation and prosecution. Prior to her legal career, Higgins worked for major pharmaceutical company Genzyme as a researcher. She received her J.D. from Oklahoma City University. She holds an M.B.A. from the University of Oklahoma and a B.S. in chemistry from the University of Central Oklahoma.

Sumner Schick has added experienced real estate and construction attorney Elisa C. Fox to lead the firm’s expansion into real estate and construction law in the firm’s Dallas office. The firm is building their new full-service practice group on the strong foundation of Fox’s 10 years of experience in real estate and construction. Fox began her work in construction and real estate development at a young age due to her family’s deep roots in the Dallas-Fort Worth development community. In her previous work as a banker, Fox gained valuable insight into the lending aspects of real estate development and deal financing. Fox graduated with a BBA in Real Estate and Finance from Baylor University in Waco, Texas, and she holds a Juris Doctor degree from Texas A&M University School of Law.

Associates

The Dallas-based intellectual property and business litigation firm Caldwell Cassady & Curry has added attorney Bailey Blaies as an associate. She joins Caldwell Cassady & Curry after spending the past year in the civil litigation section at one of the oldest law firms in Fort Worth, Texas. In addition to her courtroom work, she also has experience drafting pleadings and motions, handling settlement negotiations, and preparing discovery requests and responses. Licensed to practice in both Texas and California, Blaies is a summa cum laude graduate of Pepperdine University School of Law and Pepperdine University. Prior to law school, Blaies served as an intern for Texas Sen. John Cornyn and Texas Congresswoman Kay Granger.

Lugenbuhl, Wheaton, Peck, Rankin & Hubbard welcomes litigation attorney Juliana Gaige as an associate in the firm’s Houston office. Gaige focuses on defense of personal injury and commercial claims, employment law and insurance coverage claims. Gaige’s litigation experience includes advising clients on matters pertaining to personal injury, labor and employment, intellectual property, and public utility and energy law. Before joining Lugenbuhl, Gaige practiced at Adams and Reese as a civil litigation attorney and served as an assistant attorney general in the Tort Litigation Division of the Texas Attorney General’s Office prior to that. Gaige received her undergraduate degree from Santa Clara University and earned a law degree from South Texas College of Law. She is admitted to practice in Texas, including all U.S. District Courts in the state. She is also a member of the State Bar of Texas, the Houston Bar Association and Texas Women Lawyers.

Immigration Attorney Elected to AILA Board 

Maggie Murphy, the managing principal at Jackson Lewis P.C.’s Austin office, was recently elected to the Board of Governors of the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA). As a board member, she will support the Association and its mission to promote justice, advocate for fair and reasonable immigration law and policy, advance the quality of immigration and nationality law and practice, and enhance the professional development of its members. Her appointment was announced by AILA in June 2019, and she will serve a three-year term. Murphy focuses her practice on advanced U.S. immigration and nationality law and global business immigration matters. Murphy earned her J.D. from The University of Texas School of Law and her B.A. from St. Edward’s University.  

New Offices

Norton Rose Fulbright has completed its move into its new San Antonio office in Frost Tower, a 23-story high-rise at 111 West Houston St. The global law firm now occupies nearly 40,000 feet on the 17th and 18th floors of the Frost Tower, which is a short distance from its former office in the Bank of America Plaza Building in downtown San Antonio. Designed by Pelli Clarke Pelli Architects, Frost Tower offers modern office space, 20,000 square feet in ground floor retail and a 400,000 square-foot parking facility. DLR Staffelbach served as the architect for Norton Rose Fulbright’s new space.  Norton Rose Fulbright’s San Antonio telephone number remains the same: 210-224-5575.