Free Speech, Due Process and Trial by Jury
Marek had been a frequent presence on corporate teams at Vinson & Elkins, including some of the firm's largest deals in 2025. Marek had been with V&E since his graduation from University of Texas School of Law in 2014.
Willkie Farr & Gallagher announced Tuesday that it has hired two Texas-based partners, Jon Platt and Larry Hall, to its Dallas office, which was launched nearly a year ago. The duo joins from Baker Botts after each spent significant time working within the firm's transactional practices there.
Kimberly Priest Johnson, who formerly served as a U.S. magistrate judge in the Sherman Division of the Eastern District of Texas, has joined the Houston office of Shook, Hardy & Bacon as a partner in its complex litigation and strategic counseling practice group.
Clarissa Howley Mills, a former deputy regional counsel for the Environmental Protection Agency, played a key role in one of the largest settlements nationwide relating to the Clean Air Act. She said her experience growing up on a crop farm in Northern Kansas gives her an appreciation for the environment and business related to it.
A&O Shearman has hired Paul Astolfi as a partner in its energy, natural resources and infrastructure practice in its Dallas office.
Cozen O’Connor has hired veteran litigator and former Texas state district court judge Jeff K. Work as a member in its global insurance department in its Houston office.
The longtime prosecutor is reuniting with former U.S. Attorney Leigha Simonton to form what Dykema calls ‘a potent tag team’ in healthcare litigation and other white-collar fields.
Tammy Woffenden comes to the firm from Troutman Pepper Locke, where, prior to the firm’s merger with Troutman Pepper, she was co-chair of Locke Lord’s healthcare practice group. She had been with the firm since September 2006.
This week, Jackson Walker bolstered its labor and employment practice in Houston with the addition of two lawyers from Chamberlain Hrdlicka. Diana Pérez Gomez joins the firm as a partner and Leslie Tan joins as senior counsel.
In an interview with The Texas Lawbook, Craig Stanfield said that closely watching Paul Hastings’ moves over the past year or two fostered his interest in the firm. “I wanted to see their strategy, and it seemed to me they had a pretty well-defined strategy for building, bringing on teams in Dallas and Houston,” he said. “That was very attractive to me. This is a really strategic and ambitious firm, and they have a Texas strategy that is working.”
Charla Aldous has formed Aldous Law with trial lawyers Caleb Miller and Eleanor Aldous, while Brent Walker has launched Brent Walker Law.
Munsch Hardt Kopf & Harr has promoted eight attorneys to shareholders across various practice groups in its Dallas and Houston offices, the firm announced in a news release on Tuesday. The new shareholders bring a wide range of expertise in areas such as real estate, litigation, corporate law, labor, M&A and bankruptcy.
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