DAWSON & SODD - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Partner
- Member of the Salesmanship Club of Dallas
Tyler Milton joined the firm as a Partner in October 2010. He previously practiced condemnation law as an attorney for the Law Office of Joe H. Staley, Jr., P.C. He has represented both condemnors and landowners, but since joining Dawson & Sodd, he has focused exclusively on the defense of property owners and their rights. He has successfully represented clients against condemning authorities at the local, county, and state levels involving various types of takings from residential, commercial, industrial, and rural properties, including takings for highway expansions, sanitary sewer lift stations, water transmission lines, natural gas transmission and gathering pipelines, and overhead electric transmission power lines.
Tyler received his undergraduate degree in 2003 from The College of William and Mary, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in History. During college, he spent his summers interning in Washington, D.C. at The White House and on Capitol Hill. In 2006, he earned his law degree from St. Mary's University School of Law and was admitted to practice in Texas in November of 2006. During law school, Tyler clerked in the Counterterrorism Section of the U.S. Department of Justice in Washington, D.C., served as Associate Editor of the St. Mary's Law Journal, and was selected to the Order of Barristers.
In addition to his law practice, Tyler is an active member of the Salesmanship Club of Dallas, and he teaches eminent domain law as an Adjunct Professor at the SMU Dedman School of Law. In the past, he has volunteered as a mentor through the Mercy Street West Dallas mentoring program, tutored students at G.W. Carver Elementary in West Dallas, and has served on the fundraising committee, the Touchdown Club, for the Rise School of Dallas.
The Thomson Reuters service has recognized Tyler as a Rising Star in eminent domain from 2014 to 2020.
Chris recently joined the firm after spending 16 years in civil litigation handling all areas of insurance defense with an overall focus on large-scale litigation and multi-party cases in Federal and State courts throughout Texas. During that time he obtained significant trial experience including personally handling dozens of trials through verdict in courts across Texas. He further obtained substantial appellate experience in drafting briefs and participating in oral arguments in Federal and State Courts of Appeals, including the United States Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit in New Orleans, Louisiana; the Texas Supreme Court; the Texas Second Court of Appeals in Fort Worth; the Texas Fifth Court of Appeals in Dallas; and the Texas Seventh Court of Appeals in Amarillo. Chris and his wife, Mandy, have two sons. He and his family are members of Highland Park Presbyterian Church. When he's not trying to keep up with his boys, Chris also enjoys golf, running, and traveling with his wife.
EDUCATION
J.D., Texas Tech University School of Law, 2001
B.B.A. - Finance, magna cum laude, Midwestern State University, 1997
University of Texas at Austin, 1995-1996
Clay began his litigation career representing landowner clients in eminent domain cases, and eminent domain remains the focus of his practice today. He has represented both individuals and businesses and has extensive trial experience aiding both corporate and individual landowners across Texas for over 20 years. He loves the challenges that come with the hard work and the intense preparation required to be a successful litigator-and the satisfaction of "leveling the playing field" for his clients when the desired result is achieved. Clay has often served as lead trial counsel in eminent domain and condemnation legal proceedings across the course of his distinguished career.
Clay received his Bachelor of Arts in Government with Honors from the University of Texas at Austin in 1986, and his Juris Doctor in 1989 from Baylor Law School. Litigation was always his focus in law school, where he enjoyed participating as part of the acclaimed Baylor Mock Trial Competition Team. At a law school known for training top-notch litigators, he was honored to receive the Matt Dawson Award as the outstanding trial advocate in his class.
After graduation, Clay joined Dawson & Sodd. He practiced with Dawson & Sodd for a total of 12 years starting in 1993, four years as an associate and eight as a partner. From 2001 until 2009, he worked as a solo practitioner and then with Jacobson, Beard & Edmondson, P.C. In January 2009, he reunited with his original firm as a partner and has practiced exclusively in the area of eminent domain since that time.
Clay is admitted to practice in Texas state courts, the U.S. District Courts for the Northern and Western Districts of Texas, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, and the United States Claims Court.
Clay married his high school sweetheart Tammy in 1989, and they have two daughters. He and his family are active members at First Baptist Church of Corsicana, where Clay serves as a Sunday School teacher and Deacon. He loves the outdoors and any activity that puts him outside, especially hunting and fishing on his ranch.
Clint Schumacher, CRE focuses his litigation practice on eminent domain and government taking litigation and counseling as well as other high-stakes litigation matters. He has been granted the prestigious and exclusive designation of Counselor of Real Estate due to his skill in leading clients through difficult real estate problems.
Clint has represented property owners of all sizes that are being impacted by public projects. Over the last twenty years, Clint has developed a particular expertise in condemnation for highway projects. He is able both to work with the condemning authority to try to minimize impacts and, when that fails, to seek full compensation for the owner. He will often recognize what others miss. His varied client list includes Fortune 500 companies, Wall Street investment firms, national restaurant brands, international hotel chains, individual investors, developers, and families. Before joining Dawson & Sodd, Clint represented regional toll authorities and mass-transit authorities in some of the largest projects in north Texas.
Clint continually seeks to build on his extensive litigation experience by studying and practicing the art of effective advocacy. This dedication to excellence has led him to being named as a Texas Super Lawyer in Eminent Domain by Texas Lawyer magazine (a Thomson Reuters publication) in 2014-22 and to being recognized by D Magazine as one of the top lawyers in Dallas.
Clint is the host of The Eminent Domain Podcast which can be found on ITunes, Stitcher, Spotify, or at its home website: www.eminentdomainpodcast.com. The podcast covers all things eminent domain and reaches listeners across the U.S. and in several foreign countries.
Additionally, Clint is a popular speaker. He is often called upon to speak on the subject of eminent domain to industry professionals, other lawyers and law students around the country. He has also presented at the highly prestigious TEDx Conferences in Flower Mound, Texas in 2019, Abilene Christian University in 2019, and at the leading coaches conference, Glazier Clinics, in 2018. In 2021, Clint released a book on resiliency called Second Wind: Decisions the Resilient Make to Overcome Adversity.
Clint is married to his college sweetheart, Jennifer, and they have three boys. In his spare time, Clint enjoys coaching football and will be entering his 14th season as a coach in the fall of 2022. Clint devotes his Twitter account to various eminent domain, sports, leadership, and team building topics. He can be found at J_Clint.
Among his numerous awards, Glenn has been named a Super Lawyer in Texas eminent domain law by the Thomson Reuters service for 17 consecutive years. In addition, he was named one of the 100 Best Trial Lawyers in America (one of only three from Texas) by Town & Country magazine in 1985.
Dawson & Sodd is please to welcome our new associate attorney, Hayley Ailshie Nanasi. Hayley graduated from The University of Texas at Arlington with a B.A. degree in 2005 and received her Juris Doctor degree from The University of Texas School of Law in 2009. She focuses her practice in the areas of real estate, eminent domain, inverse condemnation, commercial litigation, zoning, planning and land use.
Jody Sodd McSpadden has represented clients in a wide range of successful courtroom battles regarding eminent domain and property rights' disputes. Her diverse experience directly contributes to her unique insight into condemnation cases. She has represented landowners in various kinds of condemnation proceedings, including inverse condemnations, takings for Dallas Cowboys football stadium, water rights takings, pipelines, powerlines, highway takings, and takings of convenience stores, restaurants and gas compressor sites.
McSpadden has been integral to the eminent domain fight against the Texas Rail Project and will continue to help protect landowners from unjust condemnation.
McSpadden received her undergraduate degree from Texas A&M University, earning a Bachelor of Science in Agriculture Development in 1998. She graduated from Baylor Law School in 2002.
McSpadden was selected to the Texas Rising Star list published annually by Thomson Reuters in the area of eminent domain (2005-2007) and for 2014 and 2015. She is a member of the Navarro County Bar Association, Dallas Bar Association, Dallas Women's Lawyer Association, Texas Trial Lawyers Association, and State Bar of Texas. McSpadden is a past member of the Corsicana Education Foundation, served as Co-Chairperson for the Corsicana ISD Bond Committee and served as an Adjunct Professor at Navarro Junior College. McSpadden was appointed by the Mayor of Corsicana to the City of Corsicana's Planning and Zoning Board, where she served for several years before resigning her position. She has also served as Co-Chairperson of the Navarro County Youth Exposition for two years and is on the Board of The Camp of the Rising Sun, a local organization that assists children with special needs.
Matt Dawson earned his nickname "Mad Dog" through decades of fervent passion and dedication to his family, his career, and his community. His impact on his peers, students, law partners, and family rendered him a legend among Texas attorneys.
Mr. Dawson studied at Baylor University, receiving his Bachelor of Arts before studying law at the University of Wisconsin and Baylor University. He earned his license to practice law in Texas in 1938 and went on to diligently serve clients as a partner with Dawson & Dawson, the predecessor firm to Dawson & Sodd, PLLC. He was also licensed to practice before the United States District Courts for the Eastern, Northern, and Western Districts of Texas, as well as the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.
While actively practicing law, he served as the Navarro County Bar Association President in 1957 and Director of the State Bar of Texas from 1959 to 1962. He was named a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers and was President of the Baylor Alumni Association in 1947. He served as the County Judge for Gregg County from 1943 to 1944.
After 35 years of litigation, Mr. Dawson switched his primary focus to preparing future generations of attorneys as a professor at Baylor Law School. While serving in this role from 1971 to 1983, he established the idea of a mini-trial, a tool used by law programs nationwide. He is also credited with creating Baylor's modern Practice Court, a program that is still nationally acclaimed and considered an essential part of the Baylor experience. He and his wife established four scholarship funds, which continue to help aspiring lawyers gain a top quality education. In 2009, Mr. Dawson was honored with a life-sized statue at the Sheila and Walter Umphrey Law Center. In seeking to honor the former professor and establish a position for a Trial Advocacy professor, a group of students, alumni, and professors worked together to establish the R. Matt Dawson Endowed Professor in Trial Practice. The school continues to honor students on his behalf through awards, including the Matt Dawson Advocacy Award, a cash prize given to outstanding advocacy students in each Practice Court class.
Mr. Dawson passed away in February 2015 at the age of 98. His legacy and love of the law will continue on, and the partners of Dawson & Sodd, PLLC are proud that their firm bears the name of Matt "Mad Dog" Dawson.
Matt Hurt joined Dawson & Sodd, PLLC as a partner in April 2011. He focuses exclusively on eminent domain and condemnation litigation. Immediately prior to joining Dawson & Sodd, Matt practiced almost exclusively in the area of eminent domain, representing both landowners and condemning authorities while working for Locke Lord, LLP in Dallas. Before focusing so closely in this area, Matt represented clients in construction defect litigation, antitrust matters, personal injury and products liability cases, and numerous business litigation matters.
He graduated magna cum laude from Texas A&M University with a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering while also completing the Engineering Scholars Program in 1996. While studying there, he was nominated by the Department of Civil Engineering for Outstanding Student in the College of Engineering and he served in student government. Matt worked in the civil engineering field for nearly two years before attending law school. Some of his work involved research on the Texas A&M campus for the United States Navy. His engineering background and experience helps him to envision and critically analyze the impact that a government project will have on a landowner's property. Due to his engineering experience, he has become invaluable to Dawson & Sodd's clients and other partners, most notably in highway takings and other matters involving engineering analysis of damage to properties from partial takings.
In 2001, Matt graduated magna cum laude from Texas Tech University School of Law. During law school, he earned the highest grade in three classes: Torts, Products Liability, and Legal Writing. Matt was president of the law school's Texas Aggie Bar Association, served on the Board of Barristers, and was Technology Editor of the Texas Tech Law Review. He and his mock trial partner won the Texas Tech School of Law mock trial competition during their third year of law school.
The Thomson Reuters service has recognized Matt as a Super Lawyer in Texas eminent domain law for 2014-2020. Before being named a Super Lawyer, Thomson Reuters also recognized Matt as a Rising Star in construction litigation in 2005, and in the area of eminent domain in 2013 and 2015.
Matt is licensed to practice in Texas and Colorado, state and federal courts in Texas, and the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.
When not practicing law, Matt enjoys spending time with his wife and two sons, especially if it involves anything outdoors. Matt and his family attend Northwest Bible Church in Dallas.