panelist

Margaret Alverson (Meg) has served as the Circuit CJA Case Budgeting Attorney for the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals since April 2016.

Brit Featherston became the United States Attorney, for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for Eastern District of Texas, in November 2021 after returning from Baghdad, Iraq as the Justice Attaché.

Jeff Eichmann is a Plaintiffs’ lawyer, representing inventors in high-tech patent cases. Formerly a senior partner at Dovel & Luner, Jeff founded the EICHMANN law firm in January 2022.

Mr. Francis began his career as a member of the United States Air Force detailed to the National Security Agency. During his tenure with the NSA, he was deployed to Misawa Japan where he collected and analyzed both Soviet Union and Chinese military intelligence.

Greg Dykeman has been a trial lawyer in Southeast Texas for the last 35 years. Mr. Dykeman is Board Certified in Civil Trial Law. He has represented individuals and companies in a wide range of litigation in State and Federal Courts throughout Texas.

Janis Gorton began her career at Berg & Androphy in 2008, and she has worked almost exclusively on Qui Tam litigation since that time.

Megan Legband is an associate at Farrow-Gillespie Heath Wilmoth LLP. She focuses her practice on representing for-profit and nonprofit entities in a variety of transactional issues, including corporate governance, entity selection and formation, employment concerns, and other matters.

Alfred R. Fabricant (Fred) is an experienced first chair trial lawyer who focuses his practice on patent infringement cases. Fred tried his first case in the Eastern District before Judge Ward in 2006. 

G. Blake Thompson, a partner at Mann | Tindel | Thompson, focuses his practice on complex civil litigation including intellectual property and business litigation along with catastrophic personal injury cases.

Maryalyce Cox is a shareholder at MehaffyWeber, where she first started practicing after graduating from the University of Houston Law Center. She specializes in premises liability, products liability, transportation, toxic tort, labor and employment, and personal injury defense.