Certifications and Awards

• Board Certified—Civil Trial Law (Texas Board of Legal Specialization)
• Member—American Arbitration Association Roster of Arbitrators
• College for Judicial Studies—Civil Jurisprudence (Texas Center for the Judiciary)
• 2013 Outstanding Legal Article Award for “What Law Applies?” (Houston Bar Foundation)

Leadership

• Chair—Texas Pattern Jury Charges—Oversight Committee, State Bar of Texas (2020-present)
• Director—Texas Center for the Judiciary (2017-2018)
• Co-Chair—Cybersecurity Subcommittee, State Judicial Committee on Info. Tech. (2019-present)
• Chair—Pattern Jury Charge Oversight Subcommittee on Fiduciary Duty (2016-2018)
• Chair—Jury Committee, Harris County Board of District Judges (2017-2018)
• Chair—Technology Committee, Harris County Civil District Courts (2013, 2015-2018)
• Chair—Rules Committee, Harris County Civil District Courts (2013-14)
• Chair—Pretrial Subcommittee, State Bar of Texas Court Rules Committee (2012-13)
• Chair—Houston Bar Association Federal Practice Section (2009-10)

Education

The University of Texas School of Law – Austin, Texas

• J.D. with Honors, May 1997
• Articles Editor, Texas Law Review (Volume 75)
• Dean’s Achievement Award: Highest Grade in Property

Texas A&M University – College Station, Texas

• B.S. in Electrical Engineering, Magna Cum Laude, May 1994
• Buck Weirus Spirit Award for Outstanding Leadership, 1994

Judicial and Legal Committee Memberships

• American Law Institute (2020-present)
• Texas Pattern Jury Charges—Oversight Committee, State Bar of Texas (2013-present)
• State Judicial Committee on Information Technology, State of Texas (2014-present)
• Board of Directors, Texas Center for the Judiciary (2017-2018)
• Finance Committee, Texas Center for the Judiciary (2016-17)
• Judicial Resources Committee, Texas Center for the Judiciary (2012-13)
• Court Rules Committee, State Bar of Texas (2007-13)

Publications

• “What’d I Miss? An Update on the Texas Pattern Jury Charges,” 31st Annual Conference on State and Federal Appeals, June 10, 2021
• “Special Judges Could Relieve Local Civil Trial Backlog,” Houston Bus. Journal, Apr. 26, 2019
• “The Jury Charge,” Civil Appellate Practice 101, Sept. 2017 (update of conference material)
• “Motions for Continuance,” The Advocate, Fall 2015
• “A Glossary of Common Trial Objections,” The Houston Lawyer, July/Aug. 2013
• “What Law Applies?” The Houston Lawyer, July/Aug. 2012
• “The Use of iPads by Judges,” In Chambers, Fall 2011
• “Conflicts of Privilege,” Pretrial Practice and Discovery, Winter 2006
• Note, “Consensual Sentencing in the Magistrate Court,” 75 Texas L. Rev. 1161 (1997)

Judicial and CLE presentations

• “What’d I Miss? An Update on the Texas Pattern Jury Charges,” 31st Annual Conference on State and Federal Appeals, June 2021
• “Jury Charges:  Perspectives from the Bench and Bar,” HBA Appellate Section, July 2020
• “The Courts’ Role at the Apex of State Power:  Public Health Restrictions in the Time of Pandemics,” Houston and Austin Chapters of the Federalist Society, April/May 2020
• “Polishing Your Evidence: Technology in the Courtroom,” HBA Bench-Bar Conference, 2019
• “Trying Your Maritime Case in State Court,” 26th Annual Admiralty and Maritime Law Conference, Sept. 2017
• “Litigation on the Gulf Coast,” Panel Discussion, Marine and Energy Law Conference, Oct. 2017
• “The Jury Charge,” State Bar of Texas Civil Appellate Practice 101 Seminar, Sept. 2017
• “The Ins and Outs of Early Dismissal,” Texas Regional Judicial Conferences, 2017
• “Effective Voir Dire,” several times over many years
•  “Implementing, Enforcing, and Amending Discovery Orders,” 2016 Texas Reg’l Judicial Confs.
• “Objection!” Litigation Section, Houston Bar Association, 2015
•  “60 Apps in 60 Minutes,” 2015 HBA Bench-Bar Conference; 2012 Texas Judicial Conference
• “iJudging,” Texas Annual Judicial Conference, 2013; Texas Regional Judicial Conferences, 2012
• “There’s an App for That,” Advanced Civil Trial Course, 2012
• “Service in the Third Branch,” George H.W. Bush School of Public Service, Texas A&M University, 2010
• “Interactive Briefs,” DRI Annual Meeting, Oct. 2008
• “Using Treater Depositions to Win the Battle of the Experts,” DRI Drug & Medical Device Seminar, May 2007

Hobbies and Interests

Marathons, Aggie football, history, music