SPEAKER
BIOGRAPHIES
Session 1 - Welcome
Daniel H. Sharphorn
Vice Chancellor & General Counsel
The University of Texas System
Dan Sharphorn is the Vice Chancellor and General Counsel aiding in providing legal advice to the Chancellor, Presidents, Executive Officers, and UT institutions and in overall management of the Office of General Counsel. Before joining UT System, he served in the Vice President and General Counsel's office of the University of Michigan for 25 years, most recently as Associate Vice President and Deputy General Counsel. In that capacity, Mr. Sharphorn had primary responsibility for legal advice and litigation management at every level of the University in all matters related to faculty and student affairs, research, and governance. As Deputy General Counsel, he assisted in the management of an office with twenty attorneys, five paralegals, and related support staff that provided legal advice to the Board of Regents, the main University campus in Ann Arbor, two regional campuses, and the University of Michigan Medical Center. Mr. Sharphorn directly supervised attorneys responsible for legal advice on intellectual property, technology transfer, export controls, purchasing, contracts, immigration, conflicts of interest and ethics, and student affairs. He also taught law, and social organization and law, in the University of Michigan Department of Sociology.
Mr. Sharphorn began his career in higher education as an instructor and Judge Advocate General at the United States Military Academy at West Point. Dan earned JD, MSW, and MA (Sociology) from the University of Michigan and a BS from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point.
Session 2 - Texas Public University Systems General Counsel Panel
Omar A. Syed
Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary
Rice University
Omar A. Syed is Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary for Rice University. Omar joined Rice in 2022 after 15 years with The University of Texas System, where he last served as Associate Vice Chancellor and Deputy General Counsel.
Omar earned his bachelor of arts with special honors from the University of Chicago in 1996 and his law degree from the University of Minnesota in 1999. After law school, he served as an Assistant Attorney General for the State of Minnesota, an Assistant U.S. Attorney in Minneapolis, and, very briefly, as an associate in an oil and gas firm in Austin.
Omar is a first-generation American, the son of an Ecuadorian mother and Pakistani father, and yes, he still does have that Mean Joe Greene action figure on his desk at work.
Daniel H. Sharphorn
Vice Chancellor & General Counsel
The University of Texas System
Dan Sharphorn is the Vice Chancellor and General Counsel aiding in providing legal advice to the Chancellor, Presidents, Executive Officers, and UT institutions and in overall management of the Office of General Counsel. Before joining UT System, he served in the Vice President and General Counsel's office of the University of Michigan for 25 years, most recently as Associate Vice President and Deputy General Counsel. In that capacity, Mr. Sharphorn had primary responsibility for legal advice and litigation management at every level of the University in all matters related to faculty and student affairs, research, and governance. As Deputy General Counsel, he assisted in the management of an office with twenty attorneys, five paralegals, and related support staff that provided legal advice to the Board of Regents, the main University campus in Ann Arbor, two regional campuses, and the University of Michigan Medical Center. Mr. Sharphorn directly supervised attorneys responsible for legal advice on intellectual property, technology transfer, export controls, purchasing, contracts, immigration, conflicts of interest and ethics, and student affairs. He also taught law, and social organization and law, in the University of Michigan Department of Sociology.
Mr. Sharphorn began his career in higher education as an instructor and Judge Advocate General at the United States Military Academy at West Point. Dan earned JD, MSW, and MA (Sociology) from the University of Michigan and a BS from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point.
Ray Bonilla
General Counsel
The Texas A&M University System
Ray Bonilla serves as General Counsel of The Texas A&M University System and leads the Office of General Counsel in providing legal services to the 11 universities and eight state agencies that comprise the A&M System. In this role, he regularly provides legal advice to the Board of Regents, Chancellor, Vice Chancellors, University presidents, Agency directors and other executives across the System. Mr. Bonilla has served as General Counsel since September 2011.
The A&M System is one of the largest systems of higher education in the nation, with an annual budget of more than $9 billion. As a result, the Office of General Counsel is consistently faced with a variety of sensitive and complex legal matters including issues relating to governance, litigation management, regulatory compliance, employment matters, student affairs, construction and real estate, international activities and athletics. Mr. Bonilla leads a team of lawyers, compliance officers, real estate professionals and administrative staff in OGC to handle the legal issues confronting the A&M System institutions.
Prior to joining the A&M System, Mr. Bonilla was a partner in the law firm of Ray, Wood & Bonilla in Austin. He previously served as General Counsel of the Texas Comptroller’s Office. In that position, Mr. Bonilla served as the primary legal advisor to the State’s chief tax administrator and chief financial officer. Before his service at the Comptroller’s Office, Mr. Bonilla served on the Washington staff of former U.S. Senator Lloyd Bentsen, and as an attorney at the law firms of McGinnis, Lochridge & Kilgore and Baker & Botts.
In November 2015, Mr. Bonilla was recognized for professional achievement by the Texas General Counsel Forum as the Outstanding General Counsel for a Non-profit or Government Agency.
Education
J.D. with honors, The University of Texas School of Law
B.B.A. in Accounting with honors, The University of Texas at Austin
Nelly R. Herrera
Vice Chancellor and General Counsel
The Texas State University System
Nelly R. Herrera has been with the Texas State University System Office of General Counsel since July 2011. She is a magna cum laude graduate of St. Mary’s University in San Antonio and received her Juris Doctor degree from the University of Texas School of Law.
Prior to joining TSUS, Ms. Herrera worked with the Texas Attorney General’s Office where she began her legal career as a law clerk. She first worked in the Consumer Protection Division but soon moved to the Tort Litigation Division where she defended numerous governmental agencies throughout the state. She was promoted to Division Chief of the Tort Litigation Division, serving for 16 years under both Democratic and Republican Attorneys General.
She began her career with TSUS as Associate General Counsel, assigned to the Texas State University campus, but has served as Deputy General Counsel since 2017, handling a variety of complex legal matters for the TSUS campuses and upper-level administration. She is board certified in Personal Injury Trial Law. She received the 2009 Government Service Award from the Travis County Women Lawyers’ Association.
Nelly was born in Mexico and is proud to be a dual citizen of both Mexico and the United States—her two beloved countries. She and her husband, Paul, have been married for more than 30 years.
Renaldo L. Stowers
Deputy General Counsel & Chief Compliance Officer
University of North Texas System
Renaldo Stowers is Deputy General Counsel for the UNT System and Chief Compliance Officer for the UNT System Administration. Before joining the UNT System, he served on active-duty in the U.S. Army as a Field Artillery officer; as both a senior criminal defense attorney and a chief prosecutor in the Judge Advocate General Corps,;and as a Senior Assistant Attorney General for the State of Texas Office of the Attorney General. Renaldo received his BA in Political Science and Commission in the U.S. Army from the University of Texas at Arlington, and his Doctor of Jurisprudence from The University of Texas School of Law.
Eric D. Bentley
Vice Chancellor and General Counsel
Texas Tech University System
Eric D. Bentley serves as Vice Chancellor and General Counsel for Texas Tech University System. Bentley oversees an office of 25 employees including 17 attorneys across the TTU System's component institutions (Texas Tech University, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, Angelo State University, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center El Paso and Midwestern State University). As Vice Chancellor and General Counsel, Bentley oversees a wide variety of legal matters including, litigation, employment matters, health care compliance, medical malpractice claims, student discipline issues, open records, policy matters, constitutional issues, athletics, law enforcement, real estate and construction matters and contracts.
Bentley arrived at the TTU System following a 15-year career in the Office of the General Counsel at the University of Houston where he most recently served as Senior Associate General Counsel.
Bentley received a Juris Doctor from the University of Houston Law Center, his master’s degree in sports management from the United States Sports Academy and a bachelor’s degree from Hawaii Pacific University. Bentley is a former college baseball student-athlete who was on a baseball scholarship at the University of Utah and Hawaii Pacific University and has published multiple articles in the areas of sports law. Bentley has also taught undergraduate and graduate courses in sports law and higher education law.
Eric and his wife, Mandy, have two children, daughter, Avery, and son, Camden.
Dona Cornell
Vice Chancellor for Legal Affairs and General Counsel
University of Houston System
Dona Hamilton Cornell became vice chancellor for legal affairs and general counsel for the University of Houston System and vice president for legal affairs and general counsel for the University of Houston in 2002. In these roles, she is responsible for legal services in all areas including contracts and conveyances, employment law, constitutional law, real estate, intellectual property, federal research, tax, gift matters, governance, open government issues and other matters applicable to higher education law including Title IX. She also has served as an adjunct professor at the University of Houston. Prior to her appointment, she served as deputy chief of the General Litigation Division for the Texas Attorney General's office, was a partner in an Austin-based law firm and was also an Assistant Attorney General from 1987-1992.
Cornell earned her undergraduate and law degrees from The University of Texas at Austin. Prior to receiving her law degree, she served as a committee clerk and legislative aide in the Texas Legislature.
Katherine A. Antwi
General Counsel, Secretary to the Board of Regents, and Chief Compliance Officer
Texas Woman's University System
Katherine Antwi is General Counsel, Secretary to the Board of Regents, and Chief Compliance Officer at Texas Woman’s University System. Texas Woman's University System is the nation's first woman-focused university system. Katherine oversees a team of experienced attorneys, a director, and support staff who help advance Texas Woman’s University System’s work and strategic priorities in governance, faculty and staff employment issues, student affairs, and complex transactional, compliance, and policy matters. As the Chief Legal Officer, Board Secretary, Chief Compliance Officer, Public Information Officer, and Ethics Officer, Katherine is responsible for providing legal advice and representation to help Texas Woman’s University System fulfill its mission and meet its goals.
Katherine joined the Texas Woman’s University System Office of General Counsel in 2019. Prior to joining Texas Woman’s University System, Katherine worked for the University of North Texas System, The University of Texas at Austin, The University of Texas System, the Texas Commission on Human Rights, and the Texas Office of the Attorney General.
Katherine is a graduate of The University of Texas at Austin and Gonzaga University School of Law.
Session 3 - 88th Session Wrap Up and Looking Ahead to the 89th
Stacey Napier, J.D.
Vice Chancellor for Governmental Relations
UT System
Stacey Napier is the Vice Chancellor for Governmental Relations at the University of Texas System. In this role, Ms. Napier serves as the primary liaison between the UT System Administration and Board of Regents and the Texas Legislature on the wide range of budget and policy issues and concerns that affect higher education and health care in Texas generally and the UT System institutions. She is also the liaison with Executive Branch officials and agencies of Texas state government and at times with local governments in Austin and around the state.
Ms. Napier began her career in state government working in the Texas House of Representatives as a legislative aide to State Representative Kenn George and later as General Counsel and Chief of Staff to Texas Senator Florence Shapiro. In 2003, she joined then-Attorney General Greg Abbott as the Chief of the Intergovernmental Relations Division at the Office of the Attorney General (OAG).
Over the next 12 years, she served in various roles of increasing responsibility at the OAG, including Senior Counsel to the Attorney General and Deputy Attorney General for Administration, where she oversaw eight divisions within the OAG. In January of 2015, Gov. Abbott named Ms. Napier as the Director of Administration for the Office of the Governor. In this role, she oversaw the day-to-day operations of the agency, continued to routinely interact with legislators and staff and testified on behalf of the agency in budget hearings throughout the session.
In February 2016, Ms. Napier was named Executive Director of the Texas Department of Information Resources (DIR). As Executive Director, Ms. Napier oversaw the agency’s $750 million biennial budget, all employees, contracts and initiatives. DIR’s main focus is to improve Texas by being a leader in technology innovation and contracting. Ms. Napier served as Executive Director through October 2018, when she was named Vice Chancellor for Governmental Relations. She now serves on the Board of the Department of Information Resources as the board member representing institutions of higher education.
Stacey earned a Bachelor's degree from Louisiana State University and a law degree from the Southern Methodist University School of Law. She is licensed by the State Bar of Texas. Stacey and her husband Rod have two very active young boys, aged 13 and 15.
Session 4 - Multistate Remote Work: Managing Risk in the New Reality
Darren Gibson
Shareholder
Littler Mendelson P.C., Austin, TX
Darren Gibson is a zealous advocate and trusted advisor to private businesses and public sector employers. Darren vigorously defends his clients in individual and class action cases, discrimination and retaliation claims, wage and hour collective actions, and noncompete litigation, among others. Darren loves the courtroom, is not afraid to take cases to trial, and regularly handles appeals. In addition, he regularly conducts workplace investigations, and he represents his clients before federal and state regulatory agencies.
Darren has a particular focus representing higher education, healthcare, and financial institutions, and he serves as co-chair of Littler’s Higher Education Industry Group. Darren’s higher education experience includes representing universities and related individuals in employment and Title IX litigation and conducting investigations into sexual harassment and sexual misconduct under Title IX.
Darren is board certified in labor and employment law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization. Prior to his return to private practice, Darren worked at the Attorney General of Texas, where he defended state agencies and universities in employment litigation and class actions. Before coming to Texas, Darren was a senior associate in New York City, where his practice focused on securities litigation, internal investigations, and business disputes in the accounting and financial services industries.
Education
J.D., Harvard Law School, 2000, cum laude
B.S., University of Kentucky, 1997, summa cum laude
Melinda J. Wetzel
Associate
Littler Mendelson P.C., Austin, TX
Melinda J. Wetzel is an active litigator in federal and state court. She has argued before the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals and won two federal trials, a bench trial in the Western District of Texas and a jury trial in the Southern District of Texas. Mindy regularly defends clients in civil litigation involving claims under:
- Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964
- Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)
- Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA)
- Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA)
- Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA)
- Equal Pay Act (EPA)
- Various other state and federal employment laws
Mindy also represents clients at various forms of alternative dispute resolution, such as private and agency-based mediations and arbitrations. She assists clients with personnel investigations and pre-litigation resolution, and presents client trainings on a variety of topics, including discrimination and harassment avoidance.
Previously, Mindy served as an assistant attorney general in the General Litigation Division of the Office of Attorney General, where she defended the state of Texas, its officials, and employees in constitutional and employment litigation matters in state and federal court.
Prior to moving to Austin in 2019, Mindy practiced law for five years in Illinois. During that time, she litigated claims for contributions and withdrawal liability under ERISA in federal courts across the Midwest, and represented school districts, municipalities, community colleges, and other public entities in Illinois state and federal courts as well as in labor arbitration and grievance proceedings.
Education
J.D., DePaul University College of Law, 2013
B.F.A., Roosevelt University Chicago, 2007with honors
Session 5 - ZOOM HYBRID: Global warming and infectious diseases: Are we ready? Focus on Fungi
Allyson H. Kinzel
Senior Vice President, Legal and Regulatory Affairs, Chief Regulatory Officer
UT MD Anderson Cancer Center
Ms. Kinzel is the senior vice president of Legal and Regulatory Affairs and serves as the Chief Regulatory Officer of The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. In this role, she leads Legal Services, Institutional Compliance, and Internal Audit. Ms. Kinzel is responsible for legal and regulatory matters that affect the institution.
She is the Executive Sponsor of the Women’s Leadership Network at MD Anderson and is a member of the President’s Advisory Council, Diversity Council, Executive Institutional Compliance Committee, Audit Committee, Institutional Conflict of Interest Committee, and Art Committee. Ms. Kinzel received the MD Anderson Inclusive Excellence Leadership Award in 2021 in recognition for offering invaluable support and exemplary leadership in advancing a culture of inclusion.
Since joining MD Anderson in 2008, Ms. Kinzel has served as the deputy chief compliance officer, vice president and chief compliance and ethics officer, and vice president and chief legal officer. Prior to her roles with MD Anderson, she represented health care providers as a partner at BakerHostetler LLP and as an attorney at Vinson and Elkins LLP. She was adjunct faculty for three years at the University of Houston Law Center, where she taught health law compliance classes.
Ms. Kinzel holds a bachelor’s degree in art history from Trinity University, and she earned her law degree magna cum laude at Tulane Law School, where she was awarded the Order of the Coif.
She has served on the Texas State Bar’s Health Law Council and has served as chair of the Houston Bar Association’s Health Law Section. She is a national speaker on health law-related matters, including HIPAA Privacy and Security, foreign government influence, and hospital compliance programs.
Daniel E. Gospin
Vice President, Legal Services, Chief Legal Officer
UT MD Anderson Cancer Center
Dan Gospin is the Vice President, Chief Legal Officer at The University of Texas, MD Anderson Cancer Center. As the Chief Legal Officer, Dan provides advice and counsel regarding legal matters affecting MD Anderson and oversees the administrative and professional activities of the Legal Services department, which includes the General Business, Intellectual Property and Research, Litigation and Risk Management, and People, Education and Operations sections. Prior to MD Anderson, he practiced law for ten years as an associate and then partner in the national health care practice group at Epstein Becker & Green. He earned his undergraduate degree from Washington University in St. Louis and his law degree from Brooklyn Law School.
Dr. Dimitrios P. Kontoyiannis, M.D., Sc.D, Ph.D.
Leader, Center for Excellence in Mycology, Deputy Division Head of Research, Internal Medicine
UT MD Anderson Cancer Center
Dimitrios P. Kontoyiannis is the Robert C Hickey Chair in Clinical Care and Deputy Head, Division of Internal Medicine and Professor in the Division of Internal Medicine at the MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, TX. Dr. Kontoyiannis has authored over 670 peer-reviewed manuscripts and has given over 370 lectures in national/ international conferences and academic institutions. He is considered the leading mycology expert world-wide (expertscape.com) with an H index of 127 and over 68000 citations. His research group is credited for many and sustained contributions to clinical, translational and experimental mycology. He is the past president elect of Immunocompromised Host Society (2016-2018) and the president elect for MSGERC 92024-2026). He is recipient of many national and international awards and memberships in honorary medical and scientific societies. He is the leader of the European Confederation of Medical Mycology (ECMM) Diamond Excellence in Mycology Center at MD Anderson Cancer Center, the only US center to receive such designation by ECMM.
Session 6 - An Uncertain Privilege: How SCOTEX Has Helped and Why In-House Counsel Should Still Be Wary
Lanora Pettit
Principal Deputy Solicitor General
Texas Attorney General’s Office
Lanora Pettit joined the Office of the Attorney General in July 2019 and serves as the Principal Deputy Solicitor General. She represents the State, its agency, and officials in significant appeals in both state and federal court. Her practice covers a wide variety of topics, and she has handled several matters on behalf of state universities. She argued University of Texas System v. Franklin Center for Government and Public Integrity, No. 21-0534, 2023 WL 4278243 (Tex. June 30, 2023), which is the primary topic of today’s discussion.
Ms. Pettit graduated summa cum laude from the College of William and Mary with a B.A. in History, then attended the University of Virginia School of Law, where she graduated summa cum laude. After clerking twice for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, Ms. Pettit practiced for two years at a large law firm in New York and five years at a litigation boutique in Washington, D.C., where she handled complex commercial litigation and focused on securities and bankruptcy law.
Kimberly Gdula
Deputy Chief, General Litigation Division
Texas Attorney General’s Office
Kimberly Gdula joined the Office of the Attorney General in November 2019 and serves as the Deputy Chief of the General Litigation Division. She handles state and federal employment matters for her clients, who run the gamut of state agencies and institutions, and she also represents the State and its agencies and officials in constitutional matters.
Ms. Gdula graduated with highest honors from the University of Texas at Austin with a B.S. in Public Relations, then attended Baylor Law School, where she graduated cum laude. After law school, Ms. Gdula practiced at a large Texas firm in Austin where she handled business litigation and healthcare matters, first as an associate and then as a partner. She lives in Austin with her husband, two children, and their dog.
Benjamin Walton
Special Counsel, General Litigation Division
Texas Attorney General’s Office
Ben Walton joined the Office of the Attorney General in July 2017 and currently serves as Special Counsel in the General Litigation Division. He handles primarily employment litigation in state and federal court, on behalf of numerous state agencies and universities.
Mr. Walton graduated summa cum laude from Whitefield College with a B.A. in Christian Philosophy, then attended Liberty University School of Law, where he served as the Editor-in-Chief of the school’s law review and graduated summa cum laude. After a couple of appellate clerkships, Mr. Walton joined a mid-sized litigation firm in Austin, where he handled a variety of cases in the areas of automotive products liability, construction defect litigation, premises liability, and insurance defense. Mr. Walton lives in Austin with his wife and two children.
Session 7 - ZOOM: The Changing Landscape of Federal Practice
The Honorable Randy Crane
Chief Judge of The United States District Court, Southern District of Texas, McAllen Division
Chief Judge Crane has been a United States District Judge for the Southern District of Texas since 2002. Chief Judge Crane became the Chief Judge of the Southern District of Texas in November 2022. He presides in the McAllen Division. Chief Judge Crane received both his undergraduate and law degrees from his beloved University of Texas. Upon graduation, Chief Judge Crane became licensed by the State Bar of Texas at the age of 22. He joined the iconic south Texas law firm of Atlas & Hall where he practiced in the area of civil litigation for over fourteen years. During this time, Chief Judge Crane was president of the Hidalgo County Young Lawyers Association and a director of the Hidalgo County Bar Association. He has served on committees of the State Bar of Texas and was a director of the Texas–Mexico Bar Association.
Chief Judge Crane presides over one of the largest criminal case loads in the country. Chief Judge Crane was at one time the second busiest sentencing judge in the country. Chief Judge Crane’s typical criminal case load is greater than that of over 16 typical judges combined.
Since taking the bench, Chief Judge Crane has focused his efforts on improving the courts automation and information technologies. Along with a group of talented programmers, Chief Judge Crane assisted with the design and implementation of the Court’s current case management software known as CEO. After several revisions and upgrades this software was adopted nationally by the AO and is now used by most courts. Chief Judge Crane spent several years traveling throughout the country conducting Judge to Judge training on the use of CEO, lecturing on these issues at numerous conferences and teaching new Judges at their initial Phase I Judge’s training.
Chief Judge Crane is married with two sons. He is an avid runner with over 20 marathons completed and an avid fisherman. Judge Crane claims to have caught a 34” redfish but it got away.
Session 8 - Jeopardy! OGC Conference Edition (Title IX, Texas Public Information Act, Accommodations, and More)
Lee Roy Calderon
Assistant General Counsel, OGC General Law
UT System
Lee Roy Calderon joined the General Law Section of the Office of General Counsel in October 2015 and serves as an Assistant General Counsel. He specializes in student conduct matters, Title IX, employment law, employee benefits, and other policy matters. He also serves as plan counsel for the UT System Office of Employee Benefits.
Mr. Calderon graduated with honors from The University of Texas at Austin with a Bachelor of Arts in Government and Asian American Studies and received his law degree from Baylor Law School. After law school, Mr. Calderon worked at a small firm in Waco, focusing primarily on family law and criminal defense. Immediately before joining the UT System, Mr. Calderon served as in-house legal counsel for a national non-profit corporation headquartered in Austin.
Sean Flammer
Associate General Counsel, OGC General Law
UT System
Sean Flammer specializes in Title IX, student affairs disputes, employment issues, constitutional litigation, and general litigation.
Sean graduated with High Honors and with the Order of the Coif distinction from the University of Texas at Austin School of Law in 2007. After clerking for a federal appellate judge, Sean joined a large litigation firm in Austin. He practiced trial and appellate litigation for over 4 years before he joined the Office of Attorney General. At the Attorney General’s office, Sean spent over 5 years representing universities and other state agencies in complex litigation. He had a heavy docket of litigating and advising clients on Title IX/due-process matters. He has tried cases in federal and state court and argued at courts of appeals in both state and federal court. He is a former adjunct professor at UT Law and has represented both plaintiffs and defendants in high-profile litigation.
Sean is active in the Austin legal community. He is a member of the Lochridge Inns of Court and is the former Chair of the Austin Bar Association’s Civil Litigation Section. Before law school, Sean was a Teach for America teacher in the Mississippi Delta and attended Grinnell College.
Bob Bonner-Davis
Attorney, Chief Public Information Coordinator
UT Austin
Bob Bonner-Davis is an attorney and the Chief Public Information Coordinator at The University of Texas at Austin. He has been handling public information requests submitted to The University since December of 2015 and currently leads The University’s Open Records Department, which is part of its Office for the Vice President of Legal Affairs. In prior appointments, Mr. Bonner-Davis handled requests submitted to the Texas Department of Insurance as part of its Office of Agency Counsel and requests submitted to Governor Rick Perry as part of his General Counsel Division. He began his legal career in 2008 as a drafting attorney in the Open Records Division at the Office of the Attorney General. He holds a J.D. from the University of Houston Law Center and a B.S. in Mathematics from The University of Texas at Austin.
Katherine Fearn
Attorney - General Legal Services
UT Southwestern Medical Center
Katie Fearn is an attorney on the General Legal Services team in the Office of Legal Affairs at UT Southwestern Medical Center. She provides legal advice in a wide range of areas, including employment, student affairs, torts, campus safety, and related policy matters.
Before joining UT Southwestern in 2019, Katie worked as an attorney-investigator at the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights. She conducted hundreds of investigations in elementary, secondary, and postsecondary schools to assess their compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, Section 504, Title IX, and Title VI. Katie previously practiced labor and employment law at Littler Mendelson and served as a law clerk for the Honorable Henry F. Floyd of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. She received her law degree from William & Mary Law School and her bachelor’s degree in English from Trinity University.
Session 9 - Artificial Intelligence: What It Is, Where It’s Going, and Legal Implications for Higher Ed
Sheila Kadura
Associate General Counsel, OGC Business Law
UT System
Dr. Sheila Kadura is responsible for intellectual property matters involving patents, copyrights, trademarks, trade secrets, sponsored research, clinical trials, and technology commercialization and licensing. Sheila comes to the UT System after 4 years at Dell Technologies where she was a Senior Legal Director focusing on intellectual property litigation. Before that, she was a Senior Associate at Norton Rose Fulbright (Austin, Texas) and a law clerk to the Honorable Arthur J. Gajarsa on the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (Washington, D.C.).
After graduating from Texas State University (San Marcos, Texas) with a B.S. in biology, Sheila studied molecular and cellular biology at Baylor College of Medicine (Houston, Texas) where she earned a Ph.D. She then attended the University of Texas School of Law (Austin, Texas) where she earned a J.D., graduated as a Chancellor, and served on the Texas Law Review.
Sheila is active in the IP community locally and nationally. She serves on the Executive Board as the Mentorship Chair for the Honorable Lee Yeakel Intellectual Property Inn of Court and as the Sponsorship & Finance Advisor for the Texas Chapter of ChIPs, a nonprofit organization focusing on advancing and connecting women in technology, law, and policy.
Marc Vockell
Associate General Counsel, OGC Business Law
UT System
Marc Vockell is responsible for intellectual property including trademarks, copyrights, patents, sponsored research, clinical trials, technology commercialization, software licensing, confidentiality, and trade secrets. Marc comes to the UT System after 14 years at Dell Technologies, where he served as Vice President for Intellectual Property Litigation. Before working at Dell, Marc was a business litigation attorney at Vinson & Elkins.
After graduating from Purdue University in 1991, Marc taught bilingual elementary education in the Houston Independent School District, through Teach for America. He then got his law degree from The University of Texas School of Law in 1997, where he was Notes Editor of the Texas Law Review. He then clerked for United States District Judge Sam Sparks in Austin.
Marc is active in the bar and has served as a Commissioner for the Texas Access to Justice Commission, President of the Austin Chapter of the Federal Bar Association, Board Member and President of Volunteer Legal Services of Central Texas, and Executive Committee Community Liaison for the Honorable Lee Yeakel Intellectual Property Inn of Court.
Bruce Porter
Chief Science Officer
SparkCognition
Bruce Porter is the Chief Science Officer at SparkCognition. In this role, Bruce leads the Applied Research Lab, which initiates new Artificial Intelligence products and solves hard, important problems for external customers. Before joining SparkCognition in 2020, Bruce was a Professor in the Computer Science Department at the University of Texas in Austin. He joined the faculty in 1984 with a focus on research and teaching in Artificial Intelligence. Bruce served as Chair of the Department from 2009 through 2017. He is the recipient of numerous awards, including the NSF Presidential Young Investigator Award (1988), the Best Paper Award from the National Conference on Artificial Intelligence (AAAI-1997), and the President’s Associates Teaching Excellence Award from the University of Texas (2015). Bruce earned his Ph.D. in Computer Science, specializing in Artificial Intelligence, in 1984 from the University of California at Irvine.
Session 10 - Getting Back to Trial: The Modern Juror
Jason Bloom
Bloom Strategic Consulting, Inc.
Dallas, Texas
Jason Bloom is a jury consultant and is President of Bloom Strategic Consulting, Inc. As an expert in the psychology of jury decision-making and its strategic implications, he provides clients with jury selection consultation, witness communications training, and mock jury studies. Jason has been a jury consultant since 1997, based in Dallas, TX since receiving a graduate degree in Forensic Psychology.
He has conducted over 300 mock jury studies and assisted with over 150 jury selections in Federal and State Courts nationwide.
In addition to running mock jury studies and picking juries, Jason enjoys training witnesses and lawyers in the art of courtroom communications in an effort to create success stories for his clients.
Mr. Bloom believes that jury verdicts are no accident, and that how the jury feels about the parties matters. His insights were developed from over 25 years of studying jury decision-making, coupled with the courtroom strategies and tactics employed by trial lawyers across the country, in both big and small cases.
Session 11 - #GetYourOrangeOn - Rallying the Valley for UTRGV Football
Karen E. Adams
Chief Legal Officer
UT Rio Grande Valley
Karen E. Adams has served as the Chief Legal Officer for The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley since April 2015. Before joining UTRGV, Karen worked for 18 ½ years in the Office of Legal Affairs at UT Southwestern Medical Center. Karen also served as an Assistant City Attorney for the City of Dallas, Texas, and began her legal career clerking in the General Litigation Division of the Texas Attorney General’s Office. While working for the Attorney General’s Office and the City of Dallas, she held an appointment as an adjunct legal writing instructor for The University of Texas School of Law.
Because once wasn’t enough, Karen graduated twice from The University of Texas at Austin, first with a Bachelor of Arts degree in the Plan II Honors Program, and then with a Juris Doctor degree from The University of Texas School of Law. As an undergraduate, Karen was fortunate enough to have been elected the editor of The Daily Texan, the student newspaper of The University of Texas at Austin, from 1989-1990 – an invaluable experience in education and life.
All told, whether as a student or an attorney, Karen has been associated in some way with University of Texas institutions for nearly 35 years.
Travis Bush
Head Football Coach
UT Rio Grande Valley Vaqueros
Travis Bush, who has 14 years of NCAA Division I college and eight years of high school coaching experience in Texas, plus one season of NFL coaching experience, in addition to significant ties to the Rio Grande Valley, was named the first head football coach in UTRGV history on Dec. 12, 2022.
Collegiately, Bush held positions including assistant head coach, offensive coordinator, quarterbacks coach, and running backs coach at Houston from 2012-14, offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at UTSA from 2010-12, associate head coach, co-offensive coordinator, quarterbacks coach and wide receivers coach at Texas State from 2004-10, and assistant offensive line coach and graduate assistant at TCU from 2001-04.
Bush helped to start the UTSA program from scratch and was in a similar situation to the one in which he currently finds himself at UTRGV, using 2010 as a practice year before winning four games with a team made up almost entirely of freshmen in 2011.
Bush has been the head football coach and athletic coordinator at Canyon High School in New Braunfels for the last two years. He held the same positions at Seguin High School from 2016-21. He was also a running backs and quarterbacks coach and special teams coordinator at San Marcos High School in 2000-01.
Bush worked for the Buffalo Bills in 2015 as an offensive assistant coach, working with running backs and compiling advanced game plan studies.
Bush is the son of 2011 RGV Sports Hall of Fame and 2015 Texas High School Football Coaches Association Hall of Honor inductee and former Pharr North (2008-11), Donna (1995-96) and PSJA (1981-82) football coach Bruce Bush.
Bush played collegiately at Texas State as a wide receiver from 1995-99, serving as the special teams captain in 1999. He graduated in 2000 with a Bachelor of Exercise and Sports Science with certifications in math and physical education. Bush completed his Master of Education Administration at TCU in 2003.
Bush was a three-year varsity letterwinner and all-state quarterback while serving as team captain at Gregory-Portland High School. He also lettered in varsity track & field for three years while competing in varsity golf for one season.
Bush is a member of the American Football Coaches Association, the Texas High School Coaches Association (THSCA), the Hispanic Texas High School Football Coaches Association, and the Texas High School Athletic Director’s Association.
Session 12.a. - NIL Update (Room 2.206)
Lisa Bennett
Associate Vice President for Legal Affairs
UT Austin
Lisa Bennett joined the Office of the Vice President for Legal Affairs in August 2022. Previously, Bennett practiced appellate law as an Assistant Solicitor General in the Texas Attorney General’s Office for 7 years, where she represented the State of Texas, its agencies, and officers in appeals before the United States Supreme Court, federal courts of appeals, the Texas Supreme Court, and Texas courts of appeal. Those appeals involved a broad range of subjects including constitutional law, administrative law, environmental and energy law, taxation, workers’ compensation, torts, and others. Bennett also served as a judicial clerk for Judge William Lockhart Garwood on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit and spent several years in private practice at Baker Botts LLP in Austin.
Bennett received her bachelor’s degree from Princeton University in 2005 and her doctor of jurisprudence degree from NYU School of Law in 2010.
Blake Barlow
Associate Athletics Director
Risk Management and Compliance Services, UT Austin
Blake Barlow is the Associate Athletics Director for Risk Management and Compliance Services for Texas Athletics. He has worked in various capacities in athletics compliance and risk management over sixteen years with Texas Athletics, and currently manages the athletic department’s compliance with NCAA, conference, and institutional rules and the implementation of a comprehensive education and risk management program.
Blake is actively engaged in national compliance and enforcement matters and serves on the NCAA Committee for Legislative Relief and the National Association for Athletics Compliance (NAAC) Board of Directors.
He received his undergraduate degree in business administration from the University of Central Arkansas, where he was a four-year member of the men’s soccer team, and a graduate degree in sport management from Texas.
Session 12.b. - Know It When You See It: Professionalism in Academic Dismissals (Room 12.106)
Hailey Mullican
Vice President for Legal Affairs and Chief Legal Officer
UT Health Science Center San Antonio
As Vice President for Legal Affairs and Chief Legal Officer for The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, Hailey Mullican leads a team of experienced healthcare and higher education attorneys and staff to provide full-scope legal and strategic counsel for a large academic medical center in furtherance of its patient care, education and research missions. Hailey is a graduate of Abilene Christian University and St. Mary’s School of Law. She lives in San Antonio with her husband and their three sons, all of whom are being trained to dominate the neighborhood basketball court.
Meredith Mills
Managing Legal Officer
UT Health Science Center Houston
Meredith Mills is the Managing Legal Officer in the Office of Legal Affairs at UTHealth Houston. After graduating from UT Austin and Baylor Law School, Meredith first practiced at Fulbright & Jaworski (now Norton Rose Fulbright), then at the former Mayor, Day, Caldwell, & Keeton, both in Houston. After 8 years in-house in the private sector, she found her way to UTHealth Houston in 2009 and has been there ever since. Her practice focuses on research and academic issues, including research integrity, conflict of interest, compliance, intellectual property, tech transfer, faculty affairs, and despite her best efforts, the occasional medical student professionalism issue.
Session 13 - The Free Speech Implications of the Trump Indictments
Charles L. Babcock
Partner
Jackson Walker, L.L.P., Houston & Dallas, TX
Charles “Chip” Babcock is a Texas-based trial and appellate lawyer who litigates at both the trial and appellate levels, including arbitration, across the United States. He has tried over 100 cases to a jury, handled over ten domestic and international arbitrations and argued over 50 appeals. He handles all types of commercial trial work and has particular experience in media and First Amendment litigation. Chip has represented individuals such as Jerry Jones, Warren Buffet, Oprah Winfrey, Dr. Phil McGraw, George W. Bush, and Reggie Love (aide to President Obama). His corporate clients have included Independent Bank, ORIX USA, Celanese Corp, Fox News Network, CNN, Google, CBS Television Studios, Vantage Drilling International, Warner Brothers Pictures, New Line Cinema, 3M Corporation and OWN: The Oprah Winfrey Network.
Chip has tried highly publicized cases such as Turner v. Dolcefino, which was covered gavel to gavel for nine weeks on CourtTV (now TruTV); Texas Beef v. Oprah Winfrey, which was litigated for six weeks in Amarillo, Texas, and concerned the popular talk show host’s statements about “mad cow” disease; Knight v. The Chicago Tribune, a case tried in Cook County, Illinois, involving a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist defendant and his highly acclaimed series about prosecutorial misconduct; In re Sharon Keller, which involved an effort to remove the Presiding Judge of the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals from the bench; and In re Hecht, where the Judicial Conduct Commission attempted to admonish the (now) Chief Justice of the Texas Supreme Court over statements he made in support of a nominee to the United States Supreme Court.
Chip is a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers, the International Academy of Trial Lawyers, the American Board of Trial Advocates, and the American Law Institute, and is a Senior Fellow of the Litigation Counsel of America. He is a member of the Trial Law Institute and Diversity Law Institute. He also qualifies as a Barrister in the Order of Centurions and an Advocate in the Order of Certus.
Education
A.B., Brown University
- Rowing Team (4 years), Freshman and Varsity Crews
- WBRU FM, Sports Director
J.D., Boston University School of Law
- Executive Editor, Boston University Law Review
Session 14 - Nondiscrimination in Admissions - Legal, Compliance and Governance Frameworks to Advise Campus Clients
Charles Marshall
Vice Chancellor and General Counsel
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Charles Marshall has served as the Vice Chancellor and General Counsel at UNC-Chapel Hill since 2019. This is his first job in higher education, but he inherited a remarkably talented team of higher ed attorneys. His office has helped the institution navigate a stream of public controversies during the last four years that spanned multiple legal and governance issues. Charles managed the Students for Fair Admissions litigation for UNC, and his team has been instrumental in helping campus officials develop a process to provide guidance and compliance advice to Deans and admissions directors across campus in the wake of the Supreme Court’s decision. UNC’s legal office also was recently involved in helping the campus develop a plan to comply with a new System-wide compelled speech policy in hiring and admissions. Charles began his career in Washington DC at the U.S. Department of Justice and on Capitol Hill before joining a private firm in North Carolina in 2003. Although he and his wife are UNC alums, they are SEC parents – his sons attend the University of Alabama and the University of Georgia, and his daughter is a rising senior who may very well complete the conference realignment in the family.
Maya Kobersy
Associate General Counsel
University of Michigan
Maya Kobersy’s primary practice areas include affirmative action and diversity, election law, privacy, research and research misconduct, University logo issues, and in-state tuition guidelines for students. Maya is the OGC liaison to the Institutional Review Board-Health Sciences and Behavioral Sciences. She also serves on a number of University committees and is an active member of the National Association of College and University Attorneys. She has presented at University, state, and national conferences on issues relating to diversity, human subjects research, election law, Title IX, the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, and employment compensation, among other topics.
Prior to joining the Office of the Vice President and General Counsel in 2005, Maya worked in the Education Group of Hogan & Hartson, L.L.P. (now Hogan Lovells), where she advised clients on numerous K-12, higher education, and civil rights issues. She received her B.A. from the University of Michigan and her J.D. from Harvard Law School, where she was an Executive Editor of the Harvard Law Review and a finalist and oralist in the Ames Moot Court Competition. In recognition of her work to help ensure that Americans with limited English proficiency have meaningful access to federal and federally funded programs, Maya received the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund’s Excellence in the Legal Profession Award in 2002 and the National Asian Pacific American Legal Consortium’s Distinguished Service Award in 2003.
Session 15 - Texas Supreme Court Update
Dave Campbell
Shareholder, O'Hanlon, Demerath & Castillo, Austin, TX
Adjunct Professor, UT School of Law
David is board certified in civil appellate law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization. He regularly appears before the Texas Supreme Court, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, and other state and federal appellate courts. He specializes in lawsuits and appeals involving governmental entities, particularly complex challenges involving administrative actions by state agencies and government officials. David also advises and represents school districts regarding the myriad legal issues they face.
David graduated with honors from the University of Texas School Law, where he served as an editor for The Review of Litigation. For several years, David has returned to the University School of Law as an adjunct professor in classes for Appellate Advocacy and Legal Research and Writing and as a moot court coach. David and his wife, Kelsey, are from Austin and enjoy spending time with their four children. David is a patron saint at Lazarus Brewing and a member of Crux Climbing.
Kristi Godden
Partner
O'Hanlon, Demerath & Castillo, Austin, TX
After graduating from law school at the University of Texas at Austin School of Law in 2011, Ms. Godden became an Assistant Attorney General at the Office of the Attorney General of Texas. In that role, Ms. Godden’s practice focused on the confidentiality of governmental records under the Texas Public Information Act, as well as federal and state law. In 2016, Ms. Godden joined the law firm of O’Hanlon, Demerath & Castillo. As a Partner at O’Hanlon, Demerath & Castillo, Ms. Godden represents a broad range of public entities such as public schools, universities, and municipalities across the state of Texas. Ms. Godden’s practice areas have expanded to include a focus on employment and labor law and litigation involving governmental entities. Ms. Godden is admitted to practice throughout Texas, and in all federal district courts in Texas and the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals.
Session 16 - The Shadow Docket: What’s Really Wrong With (and How To Fix) the U.S. Supreme Court
Stephen I. Vladek
Professor, Charles Alan Wright Chair in Federal Courts
UT School of Law
Stephen I. Vladeck holds the Charles Alan Wright Chair in Federal Courts at the University of Texas School of Law, and is spending the Autumn 2023 quarter as a Visiting Professor at the University of Chicago School of Law. Vladeck is author of the New York Times bestselling book, “The Shadow Docket: How the Supreme Court Uses Stealth Rulings to Amass Power and Undermine the Republic.” He has argued over a dozen cases before the U.S. Supreme Court, the Texas Supreme Court, and various lower federal civilian and military courts; has testified before numerous congressional committees, Executive Branch agencies, and the Texas legislature; has served as an expert witness both in U.S. state and federal courts and in foreign tribunals; and has received numerous awards for his influential and widely cited legal scholarship, his prolific popular writing, his teaching, and his service to the legal profession. Together with Dean Bobby Chesney, Vladeck hosts the popular and award-winning “National Security Law Podcast.” He is CNN’s Supreme Court analyst and a co-author of Aspen Publishers’ leading national security law and counterterrorism law casebooks. And he is editor and author of “One First,” a popular weekly newsletter about the Supreme Court. Vladeck received his J.D. from Yale Law School in 2004, and his B.A. summa cum laude with Highest Distinction in History and Mathematics from Amherst College in 2001.
