law practice management article

Meet the Committee

Meet the Law Practice Management Committee

The Committee is comprised of experienced lawyers from across Texas who have been appointed by the State Bar president.

Additional Contributors

Gregory W. Sampson

Chair

Greg Sampson is a Senior Counsel at Gray Reed where he focuses his practice on estate planning, asset protection planning, business succession planning, trusts, probate, guardianship and non-profit entities. He brings more than 30 years of experience to counseling clients on all aspects of wealth preservation and transfer, including estate and gift tax planning, charitable planning, retirement planning, estate and trust management, trust and estate controversy, trust modification and termination, family asset management and business succession planning. Greg is Board Certified in Estate Planning and Probate Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization. Greg previously served on the Board of Directors of the State Bar of Texas from 2016-2019 and is currently Co-Chair of its Succession Planning Work Group and Chair of the Closing a Practice Subcommittee of the Law Practice Management Committee and speaks frequently on that topic.

JOhn
Meredith

Vice Chair

John Meredith is the Chief Operating Officer for Chamberlain Hrdlicka, which is a diversified law firm with multiple practice areas including tax, litigation, corporate, IP, real estate and estate planning. After graduating from Baylor Law School, he practiced trial law in Houston. He worked at nonprofits including Aspiring Youth where he was the founding President and General Counsel and at SpringSpirit as Executive Director and General Counsel. He has worked in law practice management at Greenberg Traurig as Business Director, Beck Redden as Executive Director and Chamberlain Hrdlicka as COO.

Jaclyn Yvonne
Roberson

A San Antonio native, Jaclyn Roberson is a graduate of William H. Taft High School, The University of Texas at Austin and Tulane Law School in New Orleans, Louisiana. Jaclyn founded her first law firm in March 2006 in a spare bedroom in her mother’s house. She is now a senior partner of Roberson Duran Law, PLLC, a firm she co-founded with Laura O. Duran in January 2020. Having helmed two law firms, Jaclyn is all too familiar with the ins and outs of establishing, growing and maintaining a law practice. She advises attorneys ready to establish their own firm to imagine their dream law firm, then build it using systems, technology, and most importantly, mentorship

Penny
Robe

LPM CLE Course Director

Penny Robe currently serves as president of Robe Law Firm, which provides a full range of legal services and focuses on three main areas of practice: probate-related matters, family law matters, and business law and corporate transactions. Prior to opening Robe Law Firm, she spent a decade as in-house corporate counsel, working for such companies as Pinnacle Anesthesia Consultants, PBS&J, and Star’s Edge International. Her early career experiences include serving as an attorney and officer on active duty in the United States Air Force and serving as an assistant district attorney for the 64th and 242nd district courts and as acting county attorney for Hale County, Texas.

William H. (Bill)
Betts, Jr.

William H. (Bill) Betts, Jr. is a shareholder with Betts, Walters & Mutscher, PC in Brenham, Texas, whose primary practice is in the area of real estate, probate, trust and related litigation. Bill is a former Section Representative to the State Bar Board of Directors and former Chairman of the Board’s Property & Space Committee, as well as a former Section Chair of the General Practice, Solo & Small Firm Section of the SBOT. He has served multiple terms on the District 8 Grievance Committee, including multiple terms as District Chairman and Panel Chair.

Erich
Birch

Erich Birch is an environmental lawyer with Birch, Becker & Moorman, LLP, where he assists clients with permitting, enforcement, audits, and other environmental and regulatory matters.  He recently served on the Board of Directors of the State Bar of Texas, is a former Chair of the Bar’s Alternate Dispute Resolution Section, and frequently speaks at Bar CLE events.  He is an arbitrator and mediator and provides neutral services to the U.S. EPA, the American Arbitration Association, the Better Business Bureau, and is a Credentialed Mediator.  He provides pro bono environmental assistance through the TCEQ EnviroMentor program, and is also a Professional Engineer in Texas.  Erich has a B.E. in Mechanical Engineering from Vanderbilt University and a law degree from the University of Houston Law Center.

Debra L.
Bruce

Debra L. Bruce is President of Lawyer-Coach LLC, which provides coaching and training for lawyers on leadership and management, team effectiveness, and productivity. Capitalizing on 18 years in law practice and 20 years coaching, she helps lawyers adapt effectively to the unprecedented changes occurring in the legal industry today. She emphasizes 3 Ps for their practice: Productivity, Profitability and Personal Fulfillment. Debra was the first lawyer in Texas to be credentialed by the International Coach Federation. She has served as the Chair of the Law Practice Management Committee of the Houston Bar Association, served on a number of ABA Law Practice Division committees, and is currently the Co-Chair of the Productivity & Knowledge Strategy Committee of the ABA Law Practice Division.

Cameron
Brumfield

A native of small-town Breckenridge, Texas, Cameron Brumfield moved to Corpus Christi, TX after graduating Texas Tech School of Law to work as an associate at a small firm practicing in the areas of family, administrative, entity formation, and estate planning law. In February 2017, Mr. Brumfield opened Brumfield Law, PLLC as a solo attorney offering many of the same services. In addition, Mr. Brumfield is the First Assistant County Attorney in Bee County, prosecuting misdemeanor crimes and child protective cases. Mr. Brumfield is a member of the Business Law and Child Welfare Law sections of the State Bar of Texas. Mr. Brumfield is also the vice president of the family law section for the Corpus Christi Bar Association.

Justice Lawrence Doss

Justice Larry Doss serves on the 46-county Seventh District of Texas, serving the Texas Panhandle and South Plains. Before going on the bench, Justice Doss was a partner in the firm of Mullin Hoard & Brown, LLP, a diversified law firm with multiple practice areas located in the Panhandle and Dallas metroplex. He previously served as a law clerk to Hon. Sam R. Cummings, United States District Court for the Northern District of  Texas. Larry is a Life Member of the Texas Bar Foundation and is a Trustee of the Texas Supreme Court Historical Society. He is married Julie Doss, who is the Chair of the State Bar’s Public Affairs Committee.

Holly
Draper

Holly Draper is the managing partner of The Draper Law Firm, PC in McKinney, Texas. She is board certified in family law and has grown her firm from a solo practice starting in 2008 to a boutique family law firm with six attorneys. She practices primarily in Collin and Denton counties but handles cases throughout the DFW metroplex. She also handles family law appeals. Holly represented the father in the landmark parental rights case In re C.J.C. (No. 19-0694), where the Texas Supreme Court ruled 9-0 in favor of her client. She regularly gives CLE presentations to various attorney groups on C.J.C. and is regularly retained to represent parents in custody cases filed by non-parents. Holly is active in the Collin County Bar Association and has served on the leadership team for the CCBA’s Family Law Section.

Matthew E.
Eilers

Matthew E. Eilers is Principal Attorney Editor in the Corporate and M&A section of Practical Law at Thomson Reuters, where he creates, edits and maintains content offering practical legal guidance in the industry. Previously he was Jurisdiction Lead at Westlaw Doc & Form Builder (formerly New Product Manager at ProDoc), leading teams of attorneys and legal professionals to author, edit and develop legal technology and document assembly form templates in diverse subject areas (such as business organizations, immigration, family law, litigation, real estate, estate planning and probate). Prior to ProDoc, he spent a year on sabbatical in Guanajuato, Mexico. Before that, he was the managing partner of Tuck & Eilers LLP, a general practice law firm in Austin, Texas.

Brian A.
Hall

Brian A. Hall is the managing partner of Hall Law in Austin, Texas.  He is the founder of TraverseGC.com, a fixed-fee subscription-based provider of general counsel services to companies.  He has represented enterprise Internet and technology companies, startups, and brand owners throughout the world with their intellectual property, Internet law, and business law issues.  Brian has extensive experience with corporate transactions involving an entity’s business-critical IP.  He has served as counsel to private, venture-backed companies, public companies, and venture capital funds.  Brian has also litigated cases involving trademark, domain name, copyright, software trade secret, online defamation, and privacy/personal rights issues.  He regularly advises clients on sports and entertainment law issues, with a focus on endorsement agreements.

Michael S.
Martinez

Michael S. Martinez is a founding shareholder of Martinez Hsu, P.C. He is a graduate of Texas Tech University School of Law and is admitted to practice in Texas and New Mexico. Michael’s practice is focused on business litigation throughout the state of Texas.  Specifically, he focuses on working with small to medium sized companies. Michael is lead corporate counsel for companies in various industries including Oil & Gas, restaurants, computer software companies, and transportation. His blend of legal knowledge and personal attention to clients is what separates him from other attorneys.

Joshua
Massingil

Joshua Massingill is an attorney practicing in Cedar Park, Texas. He serves on the Success-Werx Board of Advisors, mentors young entrepreneurs in Leander ISD’s INCubatorEDU program and is active in his church. He served as Legislative Counsel to a United States Representative in Washington, DC until 2014, when he decided to return to Texas for reasons every Texan will inherently understand. As Counsel to the Texas Senate Committee on Health and Human Services, he managed a broad portfolio of legal and regulatory issues and contributed to significant legislative reforms. He is passionate about the Dallas Cowboys and providing his clients with excellent service. He lives in Cedar Park with his wife, Allie, and daughters, Zoe and Aimee.

ThÉDA W.
Page

Théda W. Page opened The Page Law Firm in 2002, after many years in corporate America.  Her practice areas are bankruptcy and family law.  She is a member of the Bankruptcy and Family Law Sections of the State Bar of Texas and the National Association of Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys.  Ms. Page serves on the Council of the Bankruptcy Section of the State Bar of Texas.  She is the current president of the Plano Bar Association. Ms. Page is a graduate of Mount Holyoke College in South Hadley, Massachusetts and the University of Pittsburgh School of Law in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.  She is married to Julian Brice and lives in Frisco.  They are members of One Community Church in Plano.

Naval
Patel

Naval Patel is a member of Patel Fuller, PLLC, a full-service firm, proudly representing clients across the state, in various areas of the law. His focus is helping clients with complex business, consumer, commercial, and real estate related matters. He graduated from the Texas Tech University School of Law and earned his undergraduate degree from Texas Tech University. He is actively involved with bar organizations in the Dallas area, as well as the small business community. In his free time, he enjoys spending time with close friends, and his two dogs - Baily and Bacon, a Boxer-mix and Jack Russell-mix, respectively. His passion for animals has also propelled him to be involved in a number of animal rescue organizations.

Kristin
Postell

Kristin Postell is a partner at the Law Offices of Randy Wilson and Kristin Postell, PLLC in Abilene, Texas.  Her practice mainly consists of family law and criminal defense.  She obtained her law degree from Baylor School of Law in 2010 and her entire legal career has been in the same office.  Ms. Postell has never worked for another lawyer preferring to forge a path for herself.  Her focus is on helping members of the Abilene and surrounding areas and has dedicated herself to sharing her knowledge and experience in support of her community.  She has previously served as President of the Abilene Young Lawyers and the Big Country Criminal Defense Lawyer's Association.  She is currently on the Board of Directors for Legal Aid of Northwest Texas and will start her term as chair in 2021.

Cristal
Robinson

Cristal Robinson has a strong background in the legal, financial, and accounting sectors. Besides her law degree, she has an MBA with an emphasis in accounting and a finance degree. With over two decades in business, she has helped many businesses and non-profits to start, expand, or get back on track, as well as over a decade of helping people with family, estate, and bankruptcy. Technology helped her move her office to North Carolina while still practicing in Texas last summer. That experience along with her past activities of helping other attorneys use technology in their practice pushed her to open another business, Robinson Consultation. She will help solo and small firms use technology while learning how to use technology in the practice of law.

E. Steve Bolden

Steve concentrates on public finance matters and acts as bond counsel, disclosure counsel and underwriters’ counsel on various matters. In the corporate and securities arena, he advises clients in the merger and acquisition of publicly traded and privately held companies, private equity transactions and nonprofit representations. Steve is active in several community, civic and charitable activities. He serves as a trustee of the Dallas Bar Foundation and on the Council for the Business Law Section. Steve has also held leadership positions or served on the boards of the Dallas Bar Association, The Entrepreneurship Institute of Dallas, First Tee, Harmony Community Development Corporation, J.L. Turner Legal Association and the State Bar of Texas. He has received presidential citations from the J.L. Turner Legal Association and Dallas Bar Foundation.

Scott
Skelton

Mr. Skelton is a founding member of Skelton Slusher Barnhill Watkins Wells PLLC. Mr. Skelton has tried over 60 cases as first and second chair and has broad experience in personal injury and commercial litigation. Skelton has also handled disputes between multiple hospitals, employment law disputes, and contract disputes. Further, Skelton consults on a regular basis with local businesses about contract issues, conflict avoidance and resolution matters prior to litigation. Board Certified Personal Injury Trial Law - Texas Board of Legal Specialization, 2000.

William D.
Soffar

William D. Soffar has been attorney and mediator in general civil practice since 1969 when he graduated from Law School at the University of Houston. He has worked for the Interstate Commerce Commission as an Attorney Examiner in Washington, D.C. Besides the State of Texas, he is licensed to practice in the Federal Court System up through and including the Supreme Court of the United States. He has mediation credentials and certification in both general practice and family law mediation. He has been highly involved in the active practice of family law, general civil litigation, probate law, leasing and sales transactions in both residential and commercial real estate. He has been a member of the Grievance Committee of the State Bar of Texas for 2 separate 3 year terms. He has been a member of the State Bar and Houston Bar Family Law sections. He has been active in his religious congregation, a member of its Board of Directors, and President of its Men’s Brotherhood Organization.

Headshot of Mark I. Unger

Mark i.
Unger

Mark I. Unger is a family lawyer, mediator, and consultant in San Antonio, Texas. He has been practicing family law almost exclusively since 1996. He started his mediation practice in 2009, after becoming credentialed in both general and family law mediation. He has been highly involved with the integration of technology and law since approximately 1998, filing the first digital brief in Texas in 1998 and first e-Filing in Bexar County in 2003. He launched Muse Legal Technology in 2015 to help solo practitioners and small firms increase efficiency via the use of technology in their law practices. Mark has been listed as one of the Best Lawyers in America (2020), Best Lawyers in San Antonio (2009-2020), and to the Fastcase 50 Class of 2016. He also serves on the State Bar Computer & Technology Section Council (Chair, 2007-08), previously on San Antonio Bar’s Family Law Section Board (President, 2012-13), Supreme Court’s Judicial Committee on Information Technology (2007-present), and Technology Section of the San Antonio Bar (Chair, 2000-present).

Jessica
Vittorio

Jessica Vittorio is a business attorney based in Dallas, Texas. After graduating from Baylor Law School with a J.D. she started her career by serving as primary Legislative Counsel for a member of the United States House of Representatives. Following her tenure with Congress she opened her law practice in Dallas, which focuses on transactional business law – primarily working with young entrepreneurs and startup companies. Jessica is an active member, and frequent speaker, in the entrepreneurial community in Dallas, while also serving as an adjunct professor of Business Law at Collin College.

Leslie Stone
Turnage

Advisory Member

Leslie Turnage is a practicing attorney in the Houston/ Katy area. After graduating cum laude from Thurgood Marshall School of Law, she clerked in the Western District of Texas for the Honorable Alia Moses. After the two-year clerkship, she opened a boutique legal consulting practice in 2018. Leslie not only holds a J.D. but earned her BBA from The University of Houston, and MBA from The University of St. Thomas, (magna cum laude). She serves as a Fellow for The Texas State Bar Foundation, member of the Leadership SBOT Class of 2020, member of Texas Honors College, an advisory member of the Law Practice Management Section and member of the Judicial Internship Opportunity Program Sections of The Texas State Bar and American Bar Association respectively.

Steven
Traeger

Advisory Member

Steven Traeger practices real estate, estate planning, and oil & gas in New Braunfels, Texas at his firm Traeger & Ricks, PLLC. Before that, Steven was a prosecutor in both Hays and Denton counties. He attended law school at Texas A&M University. Steven has served as Chairman of the State Bar of Texas Law Student Division and Vice President of the Texas A&M Student Bar Association. He also served as a law student liaison to the Board of Directors of the Texas Young Lawyers Association. Prior to law school, Traeger worked in political consulting. He attended both Texas Lutheran University and Texas A&M University for his undergraduate B.S. in Economics. He is an Eagle Scout, Master SCUBA Diver and enjoys any time spent outdoors. He spends his free time with his wife, family, and close friends.

Peter S.
Vogel

Peter S. Vogel is a lawyer at VOGEL IT LAW aka Peter S. Vogel, PC. Before practicing law he worked as a computer programmer, received a Master’s in Computer Science, and taught graduate courses in information systems.

Peter has negotiated hundreds of IT, eCommerce, and Cybersecurity contracts and had trials around the US on failed, software implementations, misappropriation of trade secrets, copyright infringement, software patent infringement, and eCommerce Internet disputes.

For more than 30 years Peter has been an Arbitrator and Mediator with the American Arbitration Association, and a Tech List Member of the Silicon Valley Arbitration & Mediation Center. Currently Peter is the General Counsel of the North Texas Information Systems & Security Association.

For 12 years Peter served as the Founding Chair of the Texas Supreme Court Judicial Committee on Information Technology which is responsible for helping automate the Texas court system and creating the Texas eFiling System.

Peter has taught courses at the SMU Dedman School of Law for more than 25 years including courses on eDiscovery and the Law of eCommerce. Many of Peter’s topics are discussed on his Internet, IT & E-Discovery blog www.vogelitlaw.com/blog.

Kassi
Burns

Kassi Burns is a Senior Attorney at King & Spalding, LLP, based in Texas. Kassi holds a law degree from Tulane Law School, attended the University of Canterbury in New Zealand as a Rotary Ambassadorial Scholar, is a member of the Texas and Arkansas bars, and has multiple legal technology-related certifications.

As an attorney with over 10 years of experience working with AI and Machine Learning in litigation, Kassi’s career has advanced by always being curious and following technology innovations. In addition to a growing collection of publications on topics related to AI, Kassi is actively engaged in thought leadership through her podcast Kassi &, focused on the impact of emerging technologies to our professional and personal lives.

Kassi is a board member of the Academy of Court-Appointed Neutrals, a member of the Sedona Conference Working Group 13 (AI & the Law) Steering Committee, and Texas Regional Chair of Women in AI Governance. She’s an active member of various legal organizations and affinity groups, where she enthusiastically advocates for emerging technology awareness and education.

Committee Members
Not Pictured

Diana Brown            Melissa Astala Khan             

James W. Wester (Board Advisor)  Carmen Mae Roe (Alternate Board Advisor)

Additional Contributors

Dirk
Jordan

Dirk Jordan received his BA from Louisiana State University and his law degree from the University of Texas School of Law. He practices commercial and construction litigation and also has a mediation practice. He is an adjunct professor at the University of Texas School of Law teaching a course on how to manage your law firm. He has been a member of the Inns of Court for twenty-three years and has recently been elected to the Board of Trustees for the American Inns of Court.