Heather Sumerfield. Courtesy photo

New Partners

Arcadi Jackson announced that Heather Summerfield has joined as a partner of the Dallas-based law firm. Summerfield was previously the vice president and general counsel for EXCO Resources Inc., a Dallas-based oil and gas company. Summerfield's practice focuses on commercial litigation, leveraging her experience with energy disputes and regulation in Texas, Pennsylvania, Louisiana and West Virginia. "Choosing Arcadi Jackson was an easy decision for me," Summerfield said in a statement. "The firm is able to be very nimble, allowing me to make decisions in real-time and meet my clients' needs more efficiently. I can also serve a broader range of clients without the inherent issue of conflicts that arise in big law firms. They have a talented group of lawyers, and I'm excited to join the team here."

Trial attorney Derek Staub joined Frost Brown Todd's Dallas office in September as a member of the firm. Staub brings a wealth of experience in both white-collar crime and health care litigation. He provides clients with counsel related to internal investigations and audits related to fraud, employee misconduct and compliance. He previously served as an assistant district attorney in Dallas County, in addition to work at other Dallas law firms. He graduated from Michigan State University College of Law. He is a member of the Dallas Bar Association and admitted to practice in the U.S. District Courts for the Northern, Southern and Eastern districts of Texas and the Northern District of Illinois.  

Michael A. Freeman has joined Haynes and Boone as a Dallas-based partner in the firm's energy practice group. Freeman handles a broad array of matters in the middle-market energy sector, including mergers and acquisitions, divestitures, securities offerings and other entity governance and commercial transactions. Freeman began his law practice as a member of Vinson & Elkins' corporate group and was most recently at Winstead P.C., where he was a shareholder in the firm's corporate and M&A sections. His practice includes recapitalizations, joint ventures, distressed asset sales and acquisitions, securities compliance and private offerings, and general business law matters. "I was drawn to Haynes and Boone because of its reputation and deep bench in the energy practice," Freeman said in a statement issued by the firm. "I have worked with Haynes and Boone lawyers on a number of deals over the years and have been consistently impressed."

New Counsel

Haynes and Boone announced that Jennifer Beth Ingram has joined the firm as a counsel in the labor and employment practice group. Based in the firm's San Antonio office, Ingram's practice focuses on labor and employment litigation, client counseling and training, traditional labor law, executive investigations, executive agreements, and the labor and employment aspects of mergers, acquisitions and other corporate transactions. She has experience both as in-house counsel and outside counsel. She most recently served as vice president and associate general counsel at Sally Beauty Holdings Inc,. and its subsidiaries. 

SMU Dedman Law School to Launch 1st Amendment Clinic 

The Southern Methodist University Dedman School of Law in Dallas will launch a First Amendment Clinic in the fall of 2020, thanks to a generous gift of $900,000 from the Stanton Foundation. The clinic will focus on First Amendment issues, including free speech, freedom of the press, and freedom of assembly and petition. This funding will cover the core operating expenses of the clinic for five years. The clinic will be led by Tom Leatherbury, a leading First Amendment expert who is a partner at the law firm of Vinson & Elkins, where he serves as the practice group leader of the firm's appellate practice. He will join the faculty as an adjunct professor in order to direct the clinic. Leatherbury is a graduate of Yale College and Yale Law School, and has previously worked on cases with First Amendment clinics at both Yale and Cornell. "I thank the Stanton Foundation, SMU Dedman School of Law, and Dean Jennifer Collins for giving the students and me this tremendous opportunity, and Vinson & Elkins for letting me take on this additional challenge," said Leatherbury, in a statement. In addition to Leatherbury's work as director, the clinic will benefit from the guidance of professors Lackland H. Bloom Jr., Dale Carpenter and Jeff Kahn, who will serve as an advisory committee. The law school will also immediately launch a nationwide search for a full-time fellow, who will handle day-to-day administration, to join the clinic. 

New Baylor Law Alumni President

Laura Hilton Hallmon, a partner with Cantey Hanger in Fort Worth, was installed as president of the Baylor Line Foundation (originally the Baylor Alumni Association) at the foundation's annual meeting Oct. 12. Hallmon's term officially began June 1 and will run through Dec. 31, 2021. Hallmon, whose practice focus is labor and employment law, is a 1996 graduate of Baylor University and a 1999 graduate of Baylor University School of Law, both in Waco, Texas. The Baylor Line Foundation is a nonprofit organization that represents the independent and diverse voices of Baylor alumni. Founded in 1859, it is committed to informing, inspiring and empowering Baylor alumni. The foundation's fundraising efforts provide for its annual award of student scholarships, the publication of the The Baylor Line magazine (since 1946), and other various activities and events that support its mission.

Associates

Family law firm Orsinger, Nelson, Downing & Anderson welcomed attorneys Allen Griffin and John Kappel to the Dallas office. Griffin joins the firm as an associate with a practice covering a range of family law litigation matters. He is a former Dallas assistant city attorney, and before that practiced family law at his own firm as well as with several prominent Dallas law firms. He is a graduate of Baylor Law School and Baylor University in Waco, Texas. Kappel also joins the firm as an associate. He focuses on divorce, child custody and property division matters, as well as probate and estate planning. A native of Dallas, he is a graduate of Southern Methodist University Dedman School of Law, with an undergraduate degree from Baylor University in Waco. 

Award

Cybersecurity services provider SecureWorld has honored Spencer Fane attorney Shawn Tuma with its 2019 Ambassador of the Year Award, just before he delivered his keynote address at SecureWorld's Dallas conference held Oct. 9-10 at the Plano Event Center. The award was presented by Kerry Nelson, SecureWorld's program director, who noted that "this award recognizes one leader each year who is consistently a popular speaker, moderator, and attraction at SecureWorld events across multiple markets," according to a statement issued by Spencer Fane. Tuma is a partner in Spencer Fane's Dallas office. He is co-chair of the firm's cybersecurity and data privacy practice group. SecureWorld, based in Portland, Oregon, has emerged as one of North America's most vital cybersecurity conference series, providing globally relevant education, training and networking for practitioners on a regional level for 18 years, according to a statement by SecureWorld.