EDTX Bench Bar

2024 EDTX Bench Bar Conference

Panelists & Special Guests

EDTX Bench Bar

2024 EDTX Bench Bar Conference

Panelists & Special Guests

– TO BE ANNOUNCED –

2024 Panelists, Speakers, & Special Guests

2024 EDTX Bench Bar Conference: October 23rd – 25th

  • Timothy Batten Sr.

    Chief United States District Judge

    Judge Batten (61) is a native Atlantan who graduated with Highest Honors from Georgia Tech in 1981 with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Industrial Management. In 1984, he graduated cum laude from the University of Georgia School of Law.

  • Cathy Ann Bencivengo

    District Judge, USDC S.D. Cal.

    Judge Bencivengo was appointed to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California by President Barack Obama, and confirmed on February 10, 2012.

  • Colin Birss

    Judge of the Court of Appeal of England and Wales and Deputy Head of Civil Justice

    Colin Birss is a judge of the Court of Appeal of England and Wales and Deputy Head of Civil Justice. He was called to the English Bar in 1990 and practised in intellectual property law.

  • Claire C. Cecchi

    District Judge, USDC New Jersey

    Claire C. Cecchi serves as a United States District Judge for the District of New Jersey in Newark, New Jersey. She joined the Court as a United States Magistrate Judge in 2006, a position she held until her appointment in 2011.

  • Judge Tiffany P. Cunningham

    Circuit Judge, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit

    TIFFANY P. CUNNINGHAM was appointed by President Joseph R. Biden in 2021 and assumed duties of her office on September 1, 2021. Prior to her appointment, she served as trial and appellate counsel for companies and individuals in complex patent and trade secret disputes.

  • Dana M. Douglas

    Circuit Judge, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit

    Hon. Dana M. Douglas currently serves as United States Circuit Court Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. Judge Douglas is a graduate of Miami University (Ohio) and attended Loyola University College of Law in New Orleans.

  • Ernest Gonzalez

    District Judge, USDC Western District of Texas, Del Rio Division

    Ernest Gonzalez was appointed United States District Judge for the Western District of Texas, Del Rio Division by President Joe Biden in 2024.

  • Judge Todd Hughes

    Circuit Judge, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit

    Todd M. Hughes was appointed by President Barack H. Obama in 2013. Judge Hughes served as Deputy Director of the Commercial Litigation Branch of the Civil Division of the United States Department of Justice from 2007 to 2013.

  • Judge Kent A. Jordan

    Circuit Judge, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit

    Kent A. Jordan was appointed in 2006 to serve as a United States Circuit Judge for the Third Circuit. Before that, he was a United States District Judge for the District of Delaware from 2002 to 2006.

  • Cheryl Ann Krause

    Circuit Judge, U.S. Court of Appeals 3rd Circuit

    Cheryl Ann Krause was appointed to the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit in July of 2014. She received her undergraduate degree from the University of Pennsylvania, summa cum laude, and graduated from Stanford Law School with highest honors.

  • Kimberly Moore

    Chief Circuit Judge

    KIMBERLY A. MOORE was appointed by President George W. Bush in 2006 and assumed the duties of Chief Circuit Judge on May 22, 2021. Prior to her appointment, Chief Judge Moore was a Professor of Law from 2004 to 2006 and Associate Professor of Law from 2000 to 2004 at the George Mason University School of Law.

  • Robert Pitman

    District Judge, USDC Western District of Texas

    Judge Pitman was appointed United States District Judge by President Barack Obama in 2014. Prior to his appointment, Judge Pitman served as the United States Attorney for the Western District of Texas from 2011-2014.

  • Judge Sharon Prost

    Circuit Judge, U.S. Court of Appeals Federal Circuit

    Sharon Prost was appointed by President George W. Bush in 2001. Judge Prost served as Chief Circuit Judge from May 31, 2014 to May 21, 2021.

  • Irma Carrillo Ramirez

    U.S. Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit

    Irma Carrillo Ramirez was sworn in as Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit on December 11, 2023. She had previously served as a United States Magistrate Judge for the Northern District of Texas, Dallas Division, for 21 years.

  • Judge Leonard P. Stark

    Circuit Judge, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit

    Judge Leonard P. Stark was appointed to the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in 2022. Previously, he sat on the United States District Court for the District of Delaware as a magistrate judge (2007 - 2010) and district judge (2010 - 2022), including service as the District's chief judge (2014 - 2021).

  • Carl E. Stewart

    Circuit Judge, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit

    Judge Carl E. Stewart received his B.A. degree (Magna Cum Laude) from Dillard University and his J.D. from Loyola University School of Law in New Orleans.

  • Judge Kara Stoll

    Circuit Judge, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit

    Judge Kara Farnandez Stoll was appointed by President Barack H. Obama in July 2015.

  • Judge Richard Taranto

    U.S. Circuit Judge, CAFC

    Richard G. Taranto was appointed to the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit by President Barack H. Obama, in 2013, confirmed by the Senate on March 11, 2013 and assumed the duties of his office on March 15, 2013.

  • Judge Gregory B Williams

    District Judge U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware

    The Honorable Gregory B. Williams was appointed by President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. in 2022. Prior to his appointment, Judge Williams was an equity partner, trial attorney, litigator, former Office Managing Partner, and former member of the Executive Committee at Fox Rothschild LLP, where he practiced law for more than twenty-seven years.

  • Margaret Alverson

    Circuit CJA Case Budgeting Attorney, Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals

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

  • Jeffrey C. Boshek

    Special Agent in Charge, ATF Dallas

    Jeffrey C. Boshek II was appointed as the Special Agent in Charge (SAC) of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) Dallas Field Division in February 2018. As the Special Agent in Charge, Mr. Boshek is responsible for leading the men and women of the Dallas Field Division while enforcing laws and regulations related to firearms, explosives, arson and alcohol and tobacco trafficking in North Texas, and Oklahoma.

  • Christian Dennie

    Attorney, Arbitrator, and Mediator, Dennie Sports Law

    Christian Dennie is a sports and entertainment attorney, mediator, and arbitrator.  Prior to opening Dennie Sports Law, Christian was a partner at a boutique firm in Fort Worth, Texas and a partner and National Co-Head of Sports for an Am Law 100 firm.

  • Damien Diggs

    U.S. Attorney, EDTX

    Damien M. Diggs has taken the oath of office to become the United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Texas. Diggs was nominated by President Joe Biden on Feb. 2, 2023 and confirmed by the U.S. Senate on May 4, 2023. He took the oath of office on May 7, 2023 from Chief U.S. District Judge Rodney Gilstrap.

  • Gary Fowler

    Attorney, JAMS

    Gary Fowler, Esq., brings 35 years of national experience in mediation and arbitration, employment, commercial, insurance, professional liability, ERISA, consumer, and related matters.

  • Nicholas Ganjei

    Chief Counsel to U.S. Senator Ted Cruz

    Nicholas (Nick) Ganjei is Chief Counsel to U.S. Senator Ted Cruz, who sits as Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on the Constitution for the Senate Judiciary Committee. For the Senator, Nick oversees all legal matters related to criminal justice, border security, judicial nominations, antitrust, and intellectual property.

  • Paul Hemesath

    Senior Counsel, Coinbase

    Paul Hemesath is Senior Counsel at Coinbase, the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the United States. Previously, Paul Hemesath was counsel to the Digital Currency Initiative at the Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section in the United States Department of Justice.

  • Kellie Hohenshelt

    Division Counsel, ATF

    Kellie joined ATF in 1999 and has served as legal counsel to the Dallas Field Division since that time. She currently serves as the Dallas Division Counsel. In this role, Kellie provides legal opinions and advise covering both regulatory and criminal enforcement efforts.

  • Madison Jobe

    eVoucher Administrator

    Madison Jobe has served at the District Clerk’s Office in the Eastern District of Texas since 2019 and has administered the CJA eVoucher system since 2021. Ms. Jobe received her B.S. magna cum laude from the University of Texas at Tyler in 2020. 

  • Matthew Powers

    Partner, Tensegrity Law Group LLP

    Matt Powers is known for taking tough cases to trial and winning them. He tries patent cases, trade secret cases, fraud cases, fiduciary duty cases, antitrust cases and contract cases. Mr. Powers tries cases all over the country and has directed litigations all over the world.

  • Heather Rattan

    Assistant United States Attorney, Eastern District of Texas

    Heather Rattan was appointed Assistant United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Texas in 1998. She is a trial lawyer in the criminal division designated as an organized crime and drug enforcement task force prosecutor. In 2008, she began focusing on large scale, international cases requiring extradition primarily from Colombia, Guatemala and Mexico.

  • Marvin G. Richardson

    Deputy Director, ATF

    Marvin G. Richardson was appointed as Deputy Director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives on June 4, 2021. In this position, he also serves as the Chief Operating Officer and is the second highest ranking official at ATF.

  • Kathi Vidal

    Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director, USPTO

    Kathi Vidal serves as the Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) – America’s Innovation Agency.

  • Paul Ware

    Deputy Associate Chief Counsel, ATF

    Lieutenant Colonel Paul Ware retired from the United States Marine Corps in 2009 after 20 years of service as a Communications Officer, Prosecutor and Judge. During his time in the Marine Corps, LtCol Ware deployed with Third Tank Battalion as the Communications Officer and Air Liaison Officer during operation Desert Shield/Storm.