STCL AWARD: Texas Supreme Court Justices Brett Busby (left) and Eva Guzman (second from right), a South Texas College of Law Houston alumna ('89 ), along with Trish McAllister (far right), executive director of the Texas Access to Justice Commission, present STCL Houston president and Dean Michael F. Barry with the annual Texas Access to Justice Law School Commitment to Service Award at the 2019 New Lawyer Induction Ceremony held Nov. 18 at the Frank Erwin Center in Austin. (Courtesy photo)

Law School Honored With Service Award

For the third time in the past eight years, the Texas Access to Justice Commission (ATJ) has honored South Texas College of Law Houston (STCL Houston) with its annual ATJ Law School Commitment to Service Award. This recognition "honors a law school that has carried forward one of the finest traditions of the legal profession by actively educating its students about access to justice issues, " according to a press release. Trish McAllister, executive director of the Texas Access to Justice Commission, said in the release, "The commission recognizes the commitment to the provision of legal services to the poor by South Texas College of Law Houston as truly exceptional." Texas Supreme Court Justices Eva Guzman (STLC '89, an STCL Houston alumna) and Brett Busby presented STCL Houston president and Dean Michael F. Barry with the award in front of an audience of approximately 10,000 at the 2019 New Lawyer Induction ceremony held Nov. 18 at the Frank Erwin Center in Austin. South Texas College of Law Houston received the award in large part because of the innovative consolidation of its academic clinical program and pro bono initiatives. After renovating an entire floor of the school in 2013, STCL Houston opened the state-of-the-art Randall O. Sorrels Legal Clinics, which pair law school faculty and staff with students who gain firsthand experience while learning about the challenges marginalized Texans face in obtaining access to justice.

Two Join Firm as Shareholders

Am Law 100 firm Polsinelli has continued to grow the firm's Texas presence with the additions of shareholder Elizabeth N. Boydston, with joint offices in Dallas and Houston, and shareholder Edward T. Laborde Jr., who is based in Houston. 

Boydston joins the firm's bankruptcy and restructuring practice group, where she focuses on Chapter 11 bankruptcy cases, adversary proceedings, fraudulent transfers, preference litigation and the sales of substantially all assets, receiverships and workouts throughout the United States. Her experience includes representing for-profit and nonprofit hospitals, municipalities, senior housing centers, health care providers, financial institutions, independent contractors, and large multinational and multi-subsidiary corporations in complex restructuring and insolvency matters. Boydston earned her J.D. from the Southern Methodist University Dedman School of Law and previously completed her B.A. at Baylor University in Waco, Texas. 

Laborde joins Polsinelli's corporate and transactional practice group, where he advises a wide range of business enterprises in connection with mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, capital raising, reorganizations and other complex commercial transactions. He draws on over 25 years of corporate transactional experience, including five years as general counsel, secretary and board member of a publicly owned, for-profit health services company, to inform his service as a trusted adviser to many boards of directors, executive management teams and investors. Laborde completed his J.D. at Tulane University Law School and earned his B.S. from Georgetown University.

NASA Honors Former Texas Congressman

NASA has honored John Culberson, a former U.S. representative from Texas, with an agency Distinguished Public Service Medal. NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine presented the award to Culberson during a presentation Oct. 25 at the 70th International Astronautical Congress in Washington, D.C. NASA's Distinguished Public Service Medal is awarded to individuals not employed by the U.S. government for sustained performance that embodies multiple contributions on NASA projects, programs, or initiatives. Culberson served in the House of Representatives from 2001 to 2019, representing Texas' Seventh Congressional District in west Houston. He served 16 years on the House Appropriations Committee and four years as chairman of the Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies, which funds NASA, the National Science Foundation, and other science agencies. "John was a fervent champion of NASA and space exploration during his distinguished congressional career," said Bridenstine in a statement. "It's fitting we honor him with NASA's Distinguished Public Service medal as we build on his legacy of agency support and return astronauts to the Moon by 2024, and then on to Mars, as well as explore the four corners of our solar system and beyond." "I am deeply grateful to Administrator Bridenstine for this singular honor," Culberson said in a statement by the firm. "I also want to thank my congressional colleagues for their steadfast support to help me significantly increase overall NASA funding, double Planetary Science funding, help ensure that it will be an American orbiter and lander that are the first to seek out life in the oceans of Europa, and help ensure that an American spacecraft will be the first interstellar mission to travel to the nearest Earth-like planet."

Austin Partner Receives Clean Energy Award

The U.S. Clean Energy Education and Empowerment (C3E) Initiative, a DOE-sponsored group that recognizes women's achievements in advancing and promoting clean energy, has honored Norton Rose Fulbright partner Becky Diffen in Austin by awarding her its 2019 Law and Finance Award. Diffen was one of eight women to receive awards at C3E's eighth annual symposium Nov. 13-14 in College Station, Texas. Each winner also received an $8,000 grant, which C3E intends to be used to further the organization's goals. Diffen will donate the money to an organization in which she is active, the nonprofit Women of Renewable Industries and Sustainable Energy (WRISE), which promotes the education, professional development and advancement of women in renewable energy. Diffen serves as WRISE's co-chair of its Austin chapter, co-chair of the 2020 WRISE Leadership Forum and chair of its National Webinar Committee. The contribution will be used to fund programming to support women as they move to more senior and executive level roles.  

Two New Associates

Munck Wilson Mandala in Dallas has added intellectual property associate Alexander Antonio and litigation associate Tri Truong to the firm's practice.

Antonio obtained his B.S. in mechanical engineering from the University of Oklahoma and his J.D. from Texas A&M University School of Law. His addition to the firm's IP team adds another attorney to the firm's strong roster of over 40 registered patent attorneys. Prior to his legal career, Antonio worked as a project engineer for FMC Technologies, where he specialized in designing sub-sea oil and gas manifold systems for some of the biggest oil producers in the world. His experience as a project engineer has outfitted Antonio with the technical knowledge needed to prepare and prosecute patents in a variety of technical fields.

Truong received his J.D. from SMU Dedman School of Law, where he served as an articles editor of the SMU Law Review Association and a student attorney in the SMU Criminal Justice Clinic. While in law school, Truong also served as a judicial intern at both the trial and appellate level. He holds a B.S. in biology from Texas A&M University and a Master of Arts in Legal Studies from Texas State University.