Partners

Hawkins Parnell & Young announced that Laura Kugler has joined the Dallas office as a partner. Kugler brings nearly 30 years of experience in products, premises, employment and professional liability litigation. She manages litigation nationwide for large corporations and helps with governmental relations and advocacy. Prior to joining Hawkins Parnell, Kugler was a founding partner at Bailey, Crowe, Kugler & Arnold, and more recently of counsel with Beard Kultgen Brophy Bostwick & Dickson. She has been the coordinating counsel for the liaison committee of the Texas asbestos MDL since its inception 15 years ago. Kugler received her law degree from Tulane University Law School and her bachelor's degree from Indiana University. She is active in the Dallas community and nonprofit organizations. "Hawkins Parnell & Young has a stellar reputation as trial lawyers and litigators who are known for their abilities in the courtroom and delivering exceptional results for their clients," Kugler said in a statement. "The firm's national footprint and resources offer tremendous value to  my clients, which range from professionals to local businesses and global corporations."

Frost Brown Todd's Dallas office continues growing with three new partner hires. Robert B. Smith is a Dallas native who has been in private practice in the city since 1993. His business law practice was primarily focused on several diverse areas, including amusement and entertainment law, corporate governance in the nonprofit sector, and oil and gas law. He currently serves as general counsel for the State Fair of Texas, a position he has held since 2004. In 2012, Smith served as tournament chairman for the PGA Tour's Byron Nelson Championship and raised over $5.5 million for a local charity, the Momentous Institute, and was later board chair of the Salesmanship Club Charitable Golf of Dallas Inc. Steven R. Smith focuses on real estate lending and servicing. His clients include conduit and other lenders and borrowers involved in the financing of commercial real estate, developers and other real estate professionals in every aspect of the industry from development to acquisition and dispositions, multifamily, residential community development and mixed-use development. Sean Whyte joins the firm's business litigation and blockchain and digital currency practice groups. He also advises companies on the legal implications of blockchain. Whyte's insights come from years of experience representing individual blockchains, cryptocurrency exchanges and companies building businesses with blockchain technology. He formerly served as chief operating officer and general counsel of a blockchain software development company and remains on the cutting-edge of distributed ledger technology through his industry connections.

Eric S. Schlichter has joined McGuireWoods as a partner in Houston, bringing nearly two decades of experience litigating patent infringement and trade secret cases for clients in the oil and gas and technology industries. Schlichter has served as lead counsel in numerous cases involving oil and gas drilling technology and environmental protection equipment, as well as matters dealing with consumer electronics and e-commerce. He has trial experience in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, among the country's busiest venues for patent litigation. He joins McGuireWoods from Winston & Strawn in Houston. "McGuireWoods has built a powerhouse litigation practice that stands apart with its industry-focused approach to client service," Schlichter said in a statement. "The firm has a stellar reputation in high-stakes IP and patent litigation matters and I am excited for the opportunity to grow my practice here."

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Shareholder

Greenberg Traurig expanded its health care and FDA practice with the addition of 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. Dunham is outside general counsel to numerous clinical laboratories and pathology groups, hospitals and health systems, physician group practices, telehealth providers and other health care providers and suppliers across the country. His practice and representative experiences include a wide range of matters from structuring commercial arrangements to representing clients in government investigations. "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.

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Associate

Morgan Drake Alleyn has been promoted to associate attorney in the tax controversy and litigation group of Chamberlain Hrdlicka's Houston office. She originally joined the firm in 2018 as a clerk. Prior to joining Chamberlain Hrdlicka as a clerk, Alleyn served as a clerk at Dussias Skallas Wittenberg Koenigsberger in Chicago, specializing in corporate law. Before that, she was a legal extern at The Field Museum in Chicago and Partridge Partners PC in Chicago, specializing in copyright/trademark law. She also was a legal intern at Université de Genève Art-Law Centre in Geneva. She graduated from Southwestern University in Georgetown, Texas, with a bachelor's degree in art history, and earned her J.D. from DePaul University College of Law in Chicago. Alleyn continued her legal education at the University of Houston School of Law, where she received an LL.M. in taxation. She also earned an International Cultural Heritage Law Certificate from the University of Geneva. Alleyn is a member of the Houston Bar Association and the Texas Young Lawyers Association. 

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Trial Attorney Named Charity Event Chair

Dallas-based Sommerman, McCaffity, Quesada & Geisler's name partner, Laura Benitez Geisler, has been picked to serve as the honorary chair of the Denim & Diamonds event, organized by the Legal Hospice of Texas, an organization that provides timely and compassionate legal services to low-income residents living with HIV or other terminal illnesses. The event is set to take place Sept. 7 at Gilley's Dallas with casino games, a silent auction, food and beverages. "Every person deserves access to legal representation and the work that is done by Legal Hospice of Texas is important to help serve the needs of people facing the extraordinary challenge of fighting terminal illness," said Geisler in a statement. "I'm excited to be a part of this event, and I'm excited to raise awareness of this group's mission." An experienced trial attorney who represents people in wrongful death and personal injury cases, Geisler is also the current president of the Dallas Bar Association. Throughout her career, she has devoted considerable time to programs seeking to provide access to justice for low-income Dallas County residents, including raising more than $1 million as a co-chair for the Equal Access to Justice Campaign, which benefits the Dallas Volunteer Attorney Program.