2025 EDTX Bench Bar Conference
Panelists & Special Guests
District Judge, USDC Western District of Texas
Judge Alan Albright is the federal district judge for the Western District of Texas, Waco Division. He was nominated by President Trump in January 2018, Judge Albright earned his J.D. from The University of Texas School of Law where he was a member of the Texas Law Review.
District Judge, USDC EDTX
The Honorable J. Campbell Barker was confirmed on May 1, 2019, to the seat vacated by the Honorable Leonard E. Davis, with a duty station in Tyler, Texas.
Magistrate Judge, USDC EDTX
James Boone Baxter serves as a United States Magistrate Judge for the Eastern District of Texas, Texarkana Division.
Chief U.S. District Judge, Southern District of Texas
Chief Judge Crane has been a United States District Judge for the Southern District of Texas since 2002. Judge Crane became the Chief Judge of the Southern District of Texas in November 2022. He presides in the McAllen Division.
District Judge, USDC EDTX
Marcia A. Crone received a B.A., summa cum laude, from the University of Texas at Austin in 1973 and a J.D., summa cum laude, from the University of Houston Law Center in 1978.
Chief Judge, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
Jennifer Walker Elrod is the Chief Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. She was nominated and confirmed to the Fifth Circuit in 2007. Prior to her tenure on the Fifth Circuit, Judge Elrod was appointed and then twice elected Judge of the 190th Civil District Court of Harris County, Texas.
U.S. Magistrate Judge, Western District of Texas
DEREK T. GILLILAND serves as a United States Magistrate Judge for the Western District of Texas in the Waco Division. In that role he oversees federal civil and criminal cases, with a significant number of patent cases on his docket.
District Judge, U.S. District Court, EDTX
Judge Rodney Gilstrap was nominated in 2011 to serve as United States District Judge for the Eastern District of Texas (EDTX) and was confirmed later that year. He served as Chief Judge of the Eastern District from 2018 to 2025.
Senior District Judge, USDC Northern District of Texas
Judge Godbey was appointed to the Northern District of Texas in 2002. Prior to that, he served two terms as a state civil district judge in Dallas County. Before taking the bench he was in private practice with Hughes & Luce, L.L.P. in Dallas, primarily in technology- related litigation, public law, and appeals.
Circuit Judge, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
Judge James E. Graves, Jr. was nominated by President Barack Obama on June 10, 2010, to the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.
U.S. District Court, EDTX
Judge Hawthorn is a United States Magistrate judge for the Eastern District of Texas in the Beaumont and Lufkin Divisions. He was appointed in 2011.
U.S. Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit
Judge Catharina Haynes was appointed as a Circuit Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit in April of 2008, having been confirmed by the Senate. Prior to taking the federal bench, she served eight years as a state district judge in Dallas (having run for office).
Magistrate judge, U.S. District Court, Western District of Texas
Judge Howell is a graduate of the University of Texas at Austin and Texas Tech University School of Law. He started his legal career as a law clerk to Chief Justice Wallace Jefferson of the Supreme Court of Texas.
District Judge, USDC EDTX
Judge Sean Jordan is a federal district judge for the Eastern District of Texas, Sherman Division. Judge Jordan was nominated by President Trump on January 17, 2019 and confirmed on July 30, 2019.
United States District Judge, EDTX
Jeremy Kernodle is a United States District Judge for the Eastern District of Texas in Tyler. Before taking the bench, Judge Kernodle was a partner at Haynes and Boone, LLP in Dallas, where he practiced complex commercial litigation and appeals.
Magistrate Judge, USDC EDTX
On January 3, 2006, Judge Love was sworn in as United States Magistrate Judge for the Eastern District of Texas. He was reappointed for a second term which he began serving on January 3, 2014.
Chief U.S. District Judge, U.S. District Court, EDTX
Amos Mazzant currently serves as Chief United States District Judge for the Eastern District of Texas, Sherman Division. Judge Mazzant was appointed as a U.S. District Judge on December 19, 2014. He served as a U.S. Magistrate Judge in Sherman from April of 2009 until the date of his current appointment.
Magistrate Judge, USDC EDTX
Judge Mitchell was sworn in as a United States Magistrate Judge on August 16, 2013. In her time on the bench and while working with Chief Judge Davis, Judge Mitchell has overseen numerous patent and general civil litigation cases. She also mediates cases pending in the Eastern District of Texas and the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.
Chief U.S. District Judge, Western District of Texas
Upon the recommendation of United States Senators Phil Gramm and Kay Bailey Hutchinson, President George W. Bush, on July 11, 2002, nominated Chief Judge Moses to the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas.
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.
US Magistrate Judge, US District Court, Middle District of Florida
Judge Anthony Porcelli was sworn in as a United States Magistrate Judge for the Middle District of Florida in August 2009. Judge Porcelli received a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1993 from Stetson University, a Master of Business Administration from Jacksonville University in 1995, and obtained his Juris Doctorate from Stetson University College of Law in 1998, graduating in the top three of his class.
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.
District Judge, USDC EDTX
Judge Schell was appointed as a U. S. district judge for the Eastern District of Texas on June 6, 1988 and took the oath of office on August 15, 1988.
District Judge, USDC Northern District of Texas
The Honorable Karen Gren Scholer was sworn in as a United States District Judge for the Northern District of Texas on March 7, 2018, after being confirmed by the United States Senate 95-0.
District Judge, USDC EDTX
Robert W. (Trey) Schroeder III is United States District Judge for the Eastern District of Texas, Texarkana Division.
U.S. District Judge, U.S. District Court, Northern District of Texas
Judge Brantley Starr was appointed to United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas in August 2019. Before his appointment, Judge Starr was the Deputy First Assistant Attorney General of Texas. Prior to that appointment, he served as Deputy Attorney General for Legal Counsel.
Magistrate Judge, U.S. District Court, EDTX
Sept. ’21 – present: U.S. Magistrate Judge, Eastern District of Texas, Beaumont and Lufkin Divisions.
U.S. District Court, EDTX
Michael Truncale was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on May 14, 2019, and appointed by President Donald J. Trump on May 16, 2019. As a nominee, he received the unanimous well-qualified rating by the American Bar Association.
Judge, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
Before joining the federal bench, Judge Willett served 13 years on the Supreme Court of Texas. His career spans decades of public service, including roles as legal counsel to a Texas Attorney General, a Texas Governor, a U.S. Attorney General, and the President of the United States.
Fifth Circuit Case-Budgeting Attorney
Margaret Alverson (Meg) has served as the Circuit CJA Case Budgeting Attorney for the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals since April 2016.
Principal, Caldwell Cassady & Curry
Brad Caldwell of Dallas’ Caldwell Cassady & Curry is a native of East Texas and a trial lawyer with a history of record-setting verdicts in the Eastern District and across the U.S.
Acting United States Attorney, Eastern District of Texas
Jay Combs joined the Department of Justice in 2006 as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Western District of Texas and was hired in the Eastern District of Texas in 2010. As an AUSA, Combs has prosecuted organized crime, immigration, narcotics and human trafficking cases, as well as fraud, public corruption and white-collar matters.
Director of the Office of Education and Sentencing Practice, U.S. Sentencing Commission
Alan Dorhoffer is the Director of the Office of Education and Sentencing Practice and has worked at the Commission for close to 30 years. He has conducted hundreds of training programs for judges, attorneys, law clerks, probation officers, and federal bar associations on federal sentencing.
Senior Consultant, Trask Consulting
Hailey Drescher, PhD, is a Senior Consultant with Trask Consulting, a litigation strategy, jury research, and trial consulting firm. Dr. Drescher consults on high-stakes civil and criminal matters in state and federal courts, providing insight into juror decision-making and effective trial communication.
Partner, O'Melveny & Myers, LLP
Tim Durst is a Chambers-ranked, first-chair trial lawyer with years of courtroom experience handling complex and high-stakes disputes. He has taken to trial a wide range of cases including contract, fraud, patent, trade secrets, and fiduciary duty disputes. He has handled litigation in more than 20 states and tried cases in a number of those,
Partner, Winston & Strawn LLP
An accomplished antitrust, sports, and complex-commercial litigator, Dave counsels clients on wide-ranging matters and represents them both at trial and on appeal.
J. Wesley Hill, P.C.
Wesley Hill has spent more than 20 years as a primary player in arguably the busiest complex litigation docket in the country - the Eastern District of Texas.
Attorney & Founder, The Hoda Law Firm, PLLC
Marshal is the founder of The Hoda Law Firm. He dedicates nearly 100% of his practice to representing victims of cybercrime, both in civil litigation and as law-enforcement liaison.
Financial Specialist/IC Analyst/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.
Founder and CEO, Lanier Law Firm
Mark Lanier is consistently recognized as one of the top civil trial lawyers in America. For almost 40 years, Mark has taken on some of the biggest challenges in the legal field.
Attorney, The Linder Firm
Phillip Linder has served in a variety of leadership positions in the Dallas area legal community including Chairman of the Dallas Area Committee for Lawyer Discipline for six years and president of the Dallas Criminal Defense Lawyers Association.
Chief Federal Public Defender, EDTX
John D. McElroy is the Federal Public Defender for the Eastern District of Texas. Mr. McElroy was appointed to his current position by the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in January 2021.
Partner, Winston & Strawn LLP
Described as “one of the most sought after trial lawyers in the country” by American Lawyer’s publishers, “a celebrated storyteller” by the magazine’s founder, and a “game-changing ringer” by another national legal publication, Tom is the all too rare true trial lawyer—one who can try any case, whatever the claims or subject matter.
Attorney, Law Office of Philip D. Ray
As a defense attorney, Philip practiced in 15 different counties throughout the first ten years, taking cases all over North Texas as well as returning down to the Austin area and into West Texas when the case needed him.
Partner, Scheef & Stone LLP
Michael C. Smith is a partner in Scheef & Stone LLP in his hometown of Marshall, Texas, and focuses on complex patent and commercial litigation in Texas federal courts.
Member, Cole Schotz P.C.
Gary specializes in intellectual property disputes and has tried numerous commercial litigation disputes in forums across the country including multiple top 100 verdicts in the nation as well as complete defense wins in district courts as well as the International Trade Commission.
Chief Probation Officer
During Nikki’s tenure as a federal probation officer, she has served as a supervisor, an assistant deputy, and a deputy. In November 2023, the U.S. District Judges for the Eastern District of Texas unanimously selected Nikki to serve as the Chief U.S. Probation Officer.
Deputy Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Deputy Director of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office
Most recently, Ms. Stewart served as Acting Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Acting Director of the USPTO, where she led one of the largest intellectual property (IP) offices in the world—almost a $5 billion operation with over 14,000 employees located across the 50 states and Puerto Rico.
Principal, McKool Smith
Jennifer Truelove is an accomplished trial lawyer whose trial skills have been sought after and used in a broad range of cases. Her focus involves intellectual property, antitrust, whistleblower and contract dispute litigation. In September 2023, Jennifer was inducted to the American College of Trial Lawyers.
Attorney, Palmer Perlstein
Attorney Russell Turkel is a former US Probation Officer for the Eastern District of Texas. During his twenty-year tenure with the federal courts, he proudly served as a presentence investigation officer, team leader, sentencing guidelines specialist, and supervisor of the Plano pretrial/presentence unit.
