Huyen Pham                                                                                                                                                                            [Courtesy Photo.]

Texas A&M Law Professor Elected to American Law Institute 

Texas A&M University School of Law Professor Huyen Pham has been elected to the American Law Institute (ALI). She received her J.D. from Harvard Law School and her A.B. in social studies from Harvard College. She chaired the Immigration Law Section of the American Association of Law Schools for 2016-17. The ALI is the "leading independent organization" in the U.S. producing scholarly work to improve the law, according to a statement by the law school. Celebrating 90 years of existence, the Institute is made up of 3,000 judges, lawyers and law professors from the United States and abroad. 

Three Join Peckar & Abramson's Construction Practice

National construction law firm Peckar & Abramson, P.C. (P&A) announced that two litigation and corporate attorneys have joined the firm's Houston office in the firm's Construction & Infrastructure Practice. Timothy A. Rothberg has been named a partner and Jonathan Scott Miles has been named senior counsel in the firm's Houston office. In addition, Ian Fullington has been named as an associate in the firm's Dallas office. Recently inducted into the American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA), Rothberg provides both litigation services and corporate advice. He holds a B.A. in political science/communications from Houston Baptist University and a J.D. from Emory University School of Law. Miles' experience includes advising clients on a wide range of commercial litigation and corporate concerns, particularly in the construction and energy sectors. Prior to joining Peckar & Abramson, he served as corporate counsel for The Brock Group and as vice president and general counsel for Houston's Wolfcreek Group. Miles holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in history from Washington & Lee University and a J.D. degree from Drake University Law School. Fullington focuses his practice on construction litigation, commercial dispute resolution and construction defect litigation and has significant experience with Texas lien and bond claims. Prior to this, he was an associate with Griffith Davison P.C. Fullington holds a Bachelor of Business Administration and economics from the University of Oklahoma, and a J.D. degree from the University of Oklahoma College of Law.

New Attorney at Family Law Firm

KoonsFuller Family Law welcomed attorney Jessica Perroni to the firm's Plano office. She previously had her own firm, Peroni Law, with offices in Plano and Dallas, Texas. Before that, she was of counsel with criminal defense firm Lewis & Wilton, representing clients in family law matters. Perroni received her J.D. from St. Mary's University School of Law in San Antonio in 2009, and her B.S., with an advertising and media concentration, from the University of Texas at Austin in 2006. Perroni can be reached at 5700 W. Plano Parkway, Suite 2200, Plano, Texas, 75093, 972-769-2727.

Austin Firm Welcomes Two Transaction Counsel

Michael Best & Friedrich announced the additions of Marianne S. Dwight and Sharmila "Shar" Kassam to the firm's Transactions Practice Group, both of whom will hold the position of counsel in the Austin office. Dwight and Kassam will utilize their experience of business operations and allocator focus to advise investment managers in a full service manner, complimenting the firm's nationwide practice. Dwight has advised clients in the public and private sectors through various transactional matters across multiple asset classes. Before joining Michael Best, she served on the investment committee and as general counsel for the Texas Treasury Safekeeping Trust Company, with more than $65 billion of assets under management. Dwight received her J.D. from Southern Methodist University Dedman School of Law, her M.A from St. Edward's University, and her B.B.A. in accounting from Texas A&M University. Kassam advises on investment and transaction structures, asset allocations and asset management. Kassam previously served for over a decade as the deputy chief investment officer for the Employee Retirement System of Texas, a government pension plan sponsor with assets valued at over $28 billion. She received her J.D. from the University of Texas School of Law and her B.B.A. in accounting, with honors, from the University of Texas.

 Associate

Blank Rome announced that Abdul S. Abdullahi has rejoined the firm as an associate in the Intellectual Property and Technology group. He is based in the firm's Houston office. Abdullahi rejoins Blank Rome from Schwabe, Williamson & Wyatt. He concentrates his practice on intellectual property law, with an emphasis on patent matters. Abdullahi is admitted to practice in California, Florida and the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. He earned his J.D. from the University of Illinois College of Law, and his B.S. in electrical engineering and B.B.A in international business from Florida International University.

Firm Receives 2019 Human Trafficking Litigation Firm of the Year Award 

The Texas firm of Fish & Richardson, with offices in Austin, Dallas and Houston, has received the 2019 Human Trafficking Litigation Firm of the Year award from the Human Trafficking Legal Center. This national nonprofit organization creates a bridge between highly skilled pro bono attorneys and trafficking survivors to ensure that survivors have access to justice. Fish was selected for this year's award for its remarkable victory in Alfaro v. Gandy, winning a $1.43 million civil award on behalf of plaintiff Jose Alfaro, a teen survivor of sex trafficking. Fish won the civil case on summary judgment in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas on March 14 and the court awarded $1,436,409 in compensatory and punitive damages on April 24, 2019. "We are honored to receive this award, and proud to have achieved such a rare and substantial award for our client," said Andrew Kopsidas, the Washington, D.C.-based Fish principal who led the trial team. Kopsidas accepted the award for the team at the Human Trafficking Legal Center's annual On My Side Awards event on October 17 in Washington, D.C.

Dallas Attorney Sworn In as President of NAFUSA 

Locke Lord's Dallas partner Paul E. Coggins, co-chair of the firm's White Collar Criminal Defense and Internal Investigations Practice Group, was sworn in as president of the National Association of Former United States Attorneys (NAFUSA) during its annual meeting held from Sept. 25-27 at the Westin St. Francis in San Francisco. Coggins, who served as the organization's president-elect for the past year and previously as Vice President, was U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas from 1993 to 2001. As U.S. attorney (appointed by President Bill Clinton), he prosecuted the nation's first "three strikes" case in Texas and some of the earliest cybercrime cases in the United States. He  is a graduate of Yale University, Harvard Law School and Oxford University, which he attended as a Rhodes Scholar. 

Houston Attorney Elected Senior Care Nonprofit Chair 

National Senior Campuses Inc. has elected Michelle Bohreer to chair its board of directors. Bohreer is the first female chair of NSC, a Springfield,Virginia-based nonprofit organization founded in 1999 that governs 16 affiliated seniors housing communities. She previously served as corporate secretary of the organization and has been an independent director for two NSC communities in Texas, Highland Springs and Eagle's Trace, for the past 10 years. Bohreer is a partner in the law firm of Bohreer & Zucker, an employment law defense and commercial litigation firm located in Houston. A licensed certified public accountant, Bohreer graduated from the University of Houston Law Center.