Nimroz Ali. Courtesy Photo

Fort Worth Firm Adds Transactional Associate

Transactional attorney Nimroz Ali has joined Underwood Law Firm in Fort Worth as an associate and will focus his practice on commercial real estate and business transactions. Ali has represented a wide variety of clients, from individuals and small businesses to large, publicly-traded corporations, in areas such as mergers and acquisitions, franchising, loan documentation and real estate deals locally, nationally and internationally. He previously worked with Pappas Law Group in Fort Worth, Salek & Ali in Austin and Harrison Hull in McKinney, Texas. He graduated in 2016 with his Juris Doctor from the University of Houston Law Center and earned his Bachelor's of Business Administration in 2011 from The University of Texas. He is a member of the Mergers & Acquisition Committee of the State Bar of Texas.

New Associate Joins Dallas-BasedTrial Firm 

Attorney Monica Niewiarowski has joined Bailey Brauer, helping bolster the Dallas-based boutique's complex commercial litigation, trial and appellate practices. She  joins Bailey Brauer as an associate from the Dallas office of Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani, where she focused primarily on product liability and toxic torts litigation. A 2016 graduate of the University of Virginia School of Law, she served as a judicial intern for Justice Douglas Lang of the Texas Fifth Court of Appeals. She also worked with the Legal Aid Justice Center in Charlottesville, Virginia, where she assisted low-income residents with landlord-tenant disputes. She graduated from the University of Texas at Dallas in 2013 and is an alumna of the school's prestigious Eugene McDermott Scholars Program. "I am impressed with the quality of cases and the expertise of Bailey Brauer's lawyers. I look forward to learning from these talented attorneys and growing my litigation practice in a new direction, including employment-related work," said  Niewiarowski, a member of the Dallas Association of Young Lawyers' 2019 Leadership Class, in a statement by the firm. Her employment litigation focus will include trade secrets, discrimination, retaliation, wage and hour claims, ADA, and regulatory agency investigations. 

Firm Elects 5 Texas Attorneys to Partner

Locke Lord has promoted six lawyers representing the firm's Dallas and Houston offices to partnership level, effective Jan. 1, ‎‎2020. The lawyers are members of the Firm's Business Litigation and Dispute Resolution, Corporate, Energy Litigation, IP Pharmaceutical and Biotechnology, Labor and Employment and White Collar Criminal Defense and Internal Investigations Practice Groups. The new partners are: In Dallas: Taylor Brinkman focuses his practice in federal court and class-action litigation. In his time at the firm, he has advised organizations, such as banks, life insurance companies, housing developers, transportation authorities and universities, in complex and high-profile class action litigation matters. Brendan Gaffney concentrates his practice on white-collar criminal defense and internal investigations for a wide range of clients. He has experience conducting investigations on behalf of public and private entities involving various allegations, including financial fraud, mail/wire fraud, health care fraud, theft of company funds, discrimination, securities and antitrust violations and other issues.  Joe Unis provides counsel to clients in a variety of business and energy litigation matters. He has experience advising oil and gas exploration and production companies, individuals, health care companies, universities, financial institutions, insurance companies and other corporate clients with respect to contract, title and royalty disputes in all phases of litigation and negotiation. In Houston: Lauren Corbeil focuses her practice on mergers and acquisitions, divestitures, corporate restructurings, joint ventures, private equity and venture capital transactions, corporate governance and other general corporate and commercial matters. Corbeil's oil, gas and energy practice includes a wide range of energy-related commercial transactions for clients in the midstream and upstream segments. Jeff McPhaul represents employers in a wide variety of litigated employment matters in state and federal courts, arbitration and before administrative agencies. He is Board Certified in Labor and Employment Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization.

Houston Firm Adds Oil and Gas Lawyer as a Partner

Mayer Brown announced that oil and gas lawyer Vera de Gyarfas has joined the firm as a partner in its Corporate and Securities practice in Houston. Previously, Gyarfas was a partner at King & Spalding. She represents companies in upstream exploration and production, LNG and other natural gas projects under all types of host government agreements, including production sharing agreements, concessions/licenses and operating services agreements. She also advises companies with respect to power projects, generation, transmission and distribution facilities, and counsels petrochemical companies in developing specialized plants. "My goal is to further enhance my oil and gas practice, specifically in upstream, midstream, and LNG projects in Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, Angola and Mozambique, which are all very active markets for energy infrastructure," said Gyarfas in a statement issued by the firm. 

New Partner Joins Dallas Firm

Thompson & Knight announced that Jessica B. Magee has joined the firm as a partner in the Trial Practice Group in Dallas. She was previously an associate at the firm from 2002 to 2010,  when she joined the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in Fort Worth. Prior to joining Thompson & Knight, Magee served as general counsel at Dallas-based financial services firm The Beneficient Company Group, a Thompson & Knight client, where she led an in-house legal and compliance department, advised the board and senior leadership on a wide array of legal, regulatory, and corporate governance issues, and oversaw the firm's legal efforts through numerous strategic transactions. Magee focuses her practice on assisting clients in commercial and shareholder disputes, government and internal investigations, and matters of corporate governance. In addition, she has experience advising clients on issues involving regulatory compliance, disclosure, risk mitigation, corporate and shareholder rights, partnership disputes, director and officer disputes, and federal receiverships. She received her J.D. from SMU Dedman School of Law and her B.A. from Texas State University. 

Two Associates Join Austin Firm

Chris Camillone and Rachel Mathisen have joined Weisbart Springer Hayes as associates in the firm's Austin office. Camillone has experience in a range of commercial litigation and family law matters, including trials and arbitrations involving breach of contract claims, securities-related claims and other financial disputes, and child custody. He received his law degree from The University of Texas School of Law, While earning his undergraduate degree from The University of Texas, he was team captain of the Longhorn Tennis Team and was an NCAA All-American & NCAA Championship Doubles Finalist. Prior to joining the firm, Camillone was an associate at Austin-based Duggins Wren Mann & Romero.  Mathisen advises clients in all aspects of employment and trade secret law and has represented companies in commercial litigation disputes involving claims of discrimination, harassment, retaliation, breach of restrictive covenants, and related issues in state and federal courts. She earned her law degree from The University of Texas School of Law, She received her undergraduate degree from Trinity University. Prior to joining the firm, she was an associate at Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati in Austin, and Bell Nunnally & Martin in Dallas.