Judicial History:  Appointed to the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Texas, Dallas Division, on May 12, 2006. 

Prior Legal Experience (Private Practice):  Practiced 17 years in the Business Reorganization and Bankruptcy Practice Group at Haynes and Boone, LLP (Dallas, TX office), 1989-2006.  Head of Bankruptcy Practice Group (2000-2006); Partner (1997-2006); Associate (1989-1996).  Represented all types of parties-in-interest in large Chapter 11 cases and out-of-court workouts.  Specific industry expertise:  energy companies; healthcare and other regulated entities; real estate businesses; public companies. 

Prior Legal Experience (Public Sector—Special Assignment):  Adviser to the California Legislature (Speaker of the Assembly Robert Hertzberg), Sacramento, California (Jan.-Aug. 2001), in connection with the California utility financial crisis involving PG&E.

Professional Memberships and Honors:  Board Certified in Business Bankruptcy Law by the American Board of Certification; Fellow, American College of Bankruptcy; Fellow, Texas Bar Foundation; Fellow, Dallas Bar Foundation; Master, former Board Member, Serjeant of the Inn, and occasional Bankruptcy Course Instructor for John C. Ford American Inn of Court; Member, American Bankruptcy Institute; Member, State Bar of Texas Bankruptcy Section; Member, Dallas Bar Association Bankruptcy and Commercial Law Section. 

Miscellaneous Publications:  Fiction novel/legal thriller:  He Watches All My Paths, ISBN:  978-1-79406-707-3 (Amazon Books 2019).  Also available at Barnes & Noble.com.

Also:    Contributing author to Bloomberg on Bankruptcy treatise; Evaluating a Chapter 11 Case:  Questions and Considerations Before Accepting Representation, Mississippi Bankruptcy Conference, Gulfport, Mississippi (Nov. 2018); Litigating New Financial Industry Issues in Bankruptcy: Cryptocurrency, Blockchain, and Other Breaking News, American Bankruptcy Institute Winter Leadership Conference, Scottsdale, AZ (Dec. 2018); Unique Issues in Chapter 11 Cases of Not-For-Profits Entities, FJC Workshop for Bankruptcy Judges, New York, New York (July 2019); Mass Preference Litigation:  Proper Exercise of Fiduciary Duties or Perversion of “Equality of Distribution” Policy (and What Impact Will the 2005 Bankruptcy Code Amendments Have)?, 24th Annual Bankruptcy Conference, University of Texas School of Law (Nov. 2005); Bringing Home the Bacon, or Just Being a Hog?  Employee and Executive Compensation Issues in Chapter 11, 22nd Annual Bankruptcy Conference, The University of Texas School of Law (Nov. 2003); The Insolvency Expert, Chapter 28, Advanced Expert Witness II Course, State Bar of Texas Feb. 2002); Tax Attributes of a Debtor as “Property of the state”: When the Tax Planning and Bankruptcy Worlds Collide, 17th Annual Advanced Business Bankruptcy Course, State Bar of Texas (May 1999); 1994 Consumer Bankruptcy Developments: The Bankruptcy Reform Act of 1994, 50 Business Lawyer 1193 (May 1995).

Education:   J.D., University of Texas School of Law, 1989; B.B.A., magna cum laude, Southern Methodist University, 1986.