BRANSCOMB LAW - Key Persons

Job Titles:

• Member of the Firm 's Business

Aaron M. Barton is a Member of the firm's Business and Real Estate Groups. Aaron has been practicing law for over a decade, representing businesses, title companies, developers, lenders, and individuals in a wide variety of business, financing, leasing, and real estate transactions. Prior to joining Branscomb Law, Aaron also represented title insurers and businesses in business and real estate litigation matters. This experience has assisted Aaron in delivering legal services to the firm's clients with an eye to avoiding litigation, and structuring transactions to better protect clients in the event a dispute arises in the future. Education B.A., Texas State University, 2004, summa cum laude J.D., St. Mary's University School of Law, 2007

Job Titles:

• Member in the Firm

Allen P. Bertin is a Member in the firm's Business Group. Allen counsels entrepreneurs and investors in the early development stages of new business endeavors, including initial entity formation and capitalization. He also serves as outside general counsel for businesses, and represents businesses and their owners in many types of negotiated transactions, including mergers and acquisitions and aircraft purchase and sale, financing, and leasing transactions. Allen also collaborates with our tax planning group to counsel companies on entity conversion, restructuring and recapitalization transactions.

Job Titles:

• Member in the Firm

Amanda Torres is a member in the firm's Litigation Practice Group. A veteran prosecutor, with over 25 jury trials, Judge Torres brings the unique perspective of a jurist that she gained while presiding over the Nueces County Court at Law No. 5 and Nueces County Justice of the Peace, Precinct 1, Place 1. This combination gives her the ability to properly evaluate her client's case and then present it in the most favorable way to the ultimate trier of fact. Her commitment to the success of her clients is also demonstrated in her extensive commitments to the Coastal Bend. She represents individuals and businesses in complex commercial litigation and other civil litigation matters, but primarily focuses on trust, estate and guardianship issues. Education B.A., Texas A&M University, 2002 J.D., St. Mary's University School of Law, 2007

Job Titles:

• Associate

Barrett Hoyt is an associate in the firm's Business Group. He assists clients with a wide range of transactional matters, including mergers and acquisitions, corporate governance, and general business counseling. Barrett has experience with corporate entity formation, entity conversions, commercial contract review, and general corporate work. Education J.D., Vanderbilt Law School, 2022 B.A., Economics, Texas Tech University, 2018

Job Titles:

• Member With the Firm

Casey F. Rickard is a Member with the firm's Estate Planning & Probate Group, as well as the firm's Tax Group. Casey's practice is focused primarily in the areas of estate planning, income and wealth transfer taxation planning, marital property planning, charitable gift planning, probate, and trust administration. In addition, Casey regularly advises private foundations and pubic charities on a range of tax and non-tax related matters and works with owners of closely held businesses on a variety of partnership and corporate income tax matters, as well as state and local tax matters. Education B.S., University of Louisville, 2005

Job Titles:

• Executive

Job Titles:

• Trustee

Job Titles:

• Member in the Firm

Clint Buck is a Member in the firm's Litigation Group. He has represented individuals, small businesses, and large companies in a broad spectrum of litigation and pre-litigation matters centering on cases involving real estate, water rights, and business disputes. Education J.D., Texas Tech University School of Law, 2011 B.A., cum laude, Austin College, 2007 Experience Clint handles a variety of cases involving individuals and businesses, primarily in the following areas:

Clint is a member in the firm's litigation group. His practice focuses on complex commercial and fiduciary cases at the trial and appellate levels. Education J.D., University of Texas, 2010 with honors B.A., Duke University, 2007 cum laude

Job Titles:

• Associate

Daniel is a dual-licensed attorney who enjoys analyzing complex issues, including constitutional law, contracts, and intellectual property. His passion for the law is matched only by his desire to fight for his clients in the litigation trenches. Daniel represents a wide spectrum of clients, which has included state legislatures, the nation's largest auto-manufacturers, public policy initiatives, civil rights clients, and fledgling startups. Daniel comes to Branscomb Law with a vibrant litigation background, which he developed while practicing in the state of Michigan as a Student Trial Lawyer for the Washtenaw County Public Defender and as a Litigation Associate in both Texas and Michigan Trial Courts. Before starting law school, Daniel was a volunteer with the Dallas Legal Aid Clinics and the Captain of his University's mock trial team. Education University of Michigan School of Law, Juris Doctor, 2019

Job Titles:

• Associate

Emily Arnold is an attorney with the firm's Litigation Group. Education B.A., The University of Texas at Austin, 2013 J.D., South Texas College of Law Houston, 2016

Job Titles:

• Member of the Firm

Grady B. Jolley is a Member of the firm's Real Estate Group. His law practice focuses on real estate and water rights. He frequently lectures on the topics of water rights, real estate development, financing water rights and laws and regulations regarding surface water use and groundwater rights. Grady has served on the planning committee for the State Bar of Texas' Changing Face of Water seminar and served as Co-chair in 2011 and 2012. He also serves on the board of the Real Estate, Probate and Trust Law (REPTL) section and chairs the sections' Water Law Committee. Education B.A., Texas A&M University, 1978 J.D., St. Mary's University School of Law, 1982

Job Titles:

• Co - Founder

Harvie Branscomb, Jr., co-founder and of counsel to the firm, died on July 10, 2015 at his home in Corpus Christi. He started his life 93 years ago in Dallas, the son of Harvie Branscomb, Sr. and Margaret Vaughan Branscomb. His father was a professor of religion at Southern Methodist University who would go on to teach at Duke University and later become Chancellor of Vanderbilt University. Through his father's influence, and having grown up in an academic environment, Harvie would become a fine teacher and mentor to numerous young tax attorneys, including Larry Gibbs, a future Commissioner of the IRS, and Kenton McDonald, a Special Assistant to the Commissioner. Harvie attended Duke University, where he received his B.A. and graduated Phi Beta Kappa. After college, he served in the Navy in World War II. He received his law degree from Yale University in 1948. His uncle, Ben F. Vaughan, Jr., was a Harvard-trained lawyer from Dallas who had married a local girl and relocated his law practice to Corpus Christi. He needed help, and Harvie needed a job, and they went into practice together. As the years went on, Uncle Ben practiced less law and went more into the oil business. Harvie associated with other attorneys in the Corpus Christi area and began to develop his specialty as a tax attorney. He eventually established the firm of Branscomb, Gary, Thomasson and Hall, which became one of the largest full service law firms in South Texas. In the spring of 1975, Harvie and his partner, Ray Miller, left the Branscomb, Gary firm and established the firm that would become Branscomb, P.C. Harvie became a nationally known and recognized tax attorney. He served as Chairman of the Tax Section of the American Bar Association from 1980-1981. He was also Chairman of the Tax Section of the State Bar of Texas. He worked to improve the administration of the tax system as a member of the Commissioner's Advisory Service of the IRS. His talents and achievements as an attorney were recognized by his election to membership in the American College of Tax Counsel, the American College of Trusts and Estates Counsel, the American Law Institute, and the American Bar Foundation. He served as a Trustee of the Southwestern Legal Foundation of Dallas, Texas for over 30 years. He was also a long-time member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. He was quite proud of his accounting background, and would often tell young tax lawyers who questioned his understanding of a tax matter that he once taught accounting at Yale Law School, so he knew what he was talking about. In addition to his many professional achievements, Harvie was an accomplished sailor and pilot. He owned sailboats of all types and sizes and sailed them all over the Gulf of Mexico. He particularly enjoyed cruising the Caribbean. One of his favorite sailing stories was about when he sailed through a hurricane while cruising off the Florida Keys. He was a founding member and past Commodore of the Corpus Christi Yacht Club. He owned his own airplane and would use it to call on ranching clients in remote parts of South Texas until he became too old to fly. He served his community as a trustee for the Art Museum of South Texas Endowment Fund, the Texas A&M Corpus Christi Foundation, the Warren Foundation and the Corpus Christi Industrial Park. One of his proudest accomplishments was the establishment of the Una Chapman Cox Foundation, which is dedicated to a strong, professional American Foreign Service. He served as its first President and was a trustee for a number of years. Harvie was predeceased by his parents, Harvie and Margaret Branscomb of Nashville, Tennessee. He is survived by his wife, Mary Josephine, and his children and their families, Bennett Hill Branscomb and wife Katharine Schultz Branscomb, and their daughter, Margaret Josephine, all of Sonoma, California; Margo Branscomb and daughters Rachael Louise and Isabella May, of Centennial, Colorado; and Richard Lee Branscomb and children Richard Massey, Jack Henry, Kate Prudence and Mary Piper, of Austin, Texas. He is also survived by brothers Benjamin Vaughan Branscomb, of Birmingham, Alabama, and Lewis McAdory Branscomb and wife Constance Mullen, of La Jolla, California, and cousins Genevieve Vaughan of Rome, Italy, and Ben F. Vaughan, III and wife Daphne of Austin, Texas, and their families.

Job Titles:

• General Counsel

Jeff Dickerson is the firm's senior corporate lawyer. Jeff serves as outside general counsel to businesses in a number of different industries, including refinery services, beverage distribution, oilfield services, and physician practices. He specializes in mergers and acquisitions and general corporate work. Education B.A., English, with Honors, University of Texas, 1983 M.A., English, University of Virginia, 1984 J.D., University of Texas, 1988

Jim Clancy is a Member of Branscomb Law. His practice focuses on complex commercial litigation. He also handles selected matters defending the firm's clients in personal injury lawsuits. His experience includes million dollar verdicts for his clients and numerous significant settlements and dismissals. Jim's greatest professional satisfaction is serving as a trusted advisor. A West Point graduate, Jim is a former Armored Cavalry Captain. He served with the 1st Cavalry Division in Operation Desert Storm. Education B.S., U.S. Military Academy, 1986 - Highest Honors J.D., University of Texas, 1995 - Associate Editor, The Review of Litigation Board Certified, Civil Trial Law, Texas Board of Legal Specialization

Jim Robichaux focuses on complex business disputes, eminent domain, and oil and gas litigation. His practice involves cases in state and federal trial and appellate courts and before arbitration panels. Education B.B.A. in Accounting, University of Texas, 1977 - With Honors - Member, Phi Kappa Phi and Beta Gamma Sigma J.D., University of Texas, 1979

Joe M. Davis, Board Certified in Civil Trial Law since 1989, is a Member of the firm's Litigation Group focusing on real estate and water related disputes. Joe has extensive courtroom experience, having managed thousands of cases, hundreds of hearings, bench trials and over 60 jury trials, exposing Joe to a wide variety of legal matters. Joe has recovered well over 25 million dollars in client results. Joe was part of a team winning one of the top ten largest verdicts in Texas in all of 2014. Joe is a seasoned litigator and counsellor who is focused on best outcomes for his client, not for the lawyers. Joe enjoys an "AV Preeminent™" rating in the Martindale-Hubbell Law Directory; a nationally recognized legal peer review based rating service. According to Martindale-Hubbell, the "AV Preeminent™" rating "is a significant rating accomplishment - a testament to the fact that a lawyer's peers rank him or her at the highest level of professional excellence. Education B.A., Angelo State University, 1981

Job Titles:

• Director

Keith B. Sieczkowski is the Firm's senior labor and employment lawyer and served as the Firm's president from 2003 to 2010. Certified in Labor and Employment Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization since 1994, Keith has achieved Martindale-Hubble's highest ratings in the areas of legal competency and ethics, and is recognized as a Texas Super Lawyer. Following graduation from the U.S. Naval Academy, Keith served as a Marine Corps officer from 1980 through 1990. From 1985 - 1988 Mr. Sieczkowski attended St. Mary's Law School in San Antonio where he was the Editor-in-Chief of the St. Mary's Law Journal, a member of the John M. Harlan Society and an honor graduate. From 1988 to 1990 Keith served as Marine Corps Judge Advocate and prosecuted criminal cases, conducted administrative hearings and investigations, served on the Commanding General, Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton's staff, and provided advice on a variety of legal issues ranging from divorce to claims against the government. As a private practitioner, Keith represents employers and business interests many of which have complex industrial operations and operate in numerous states. As a result, Keith has appeared before federal and state courts in Texas, Michigan, and Tennessee; and federal and state agencies, including the National Labor Relations Board, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the U.S. Department of Labor (Wage and Hour Division), the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, the Texas Workforce Commission, and the Corpus Christi Human Relations Commission. Keith also represents clients in arbitration proceedings, including those governing union-related disputes. The Firm's clients consider Keith to be a trusted advisor regarding labor and employment related issues and he routinely provides practical day-to-day advice to his clients, including assistance in union negotiations and disputes; policies and practices; investigations; layoffs and discipline; OSHA compliance; and non-competition matters. Keith regularly gives in-house training to management staff and has provided presentations on a host of issues such as: the ADA, ADEA, FMLA, and Workers' Compensation compliance; harassment and discrimination; proper employment documentation, discipline and termination practices; union activity, and current topics of interest.

Job Titles:

• Senior Counsel
• Senior Counsel and Member of the Estate Planning

L. Brian Narvaez is senior counsel and Member of the Estate Planning and Probate Group and the Tax Group. He primarily assists clients with estate planning, asset protection, incapacity planning, and estate and trust administration. He also advises non-profit and tax-exempt organizations with tax issues related to formation, operation, and regulatory compliance. Education B.B.A., University of Texas with Honors M.P.A., University of Texas J.D., Texas Tech University School of Law, cum laude

Job Titles:

• Associate

M. Payne Whatley is an Associate of Branscomb Law. His practice focuses on Oil, Gas, & Energy Group. Education J.D., St. Mary's University, 2022 B.S., Texas A&M University, 2019 Experience While in school, Payne was an active member of the St. Mary's Law Journal, where he honed his legal research and writing skills. Personal Payne was born and raised on his family's farm in Odem, Texas. In his free time, he enjoys fishing, playing golf, Astros baseball, and Aggie sports.

Job Titles:

• Experience

Before joining Branscomb Law, Barrett developed a passion for corporate transactional law through a Private Mergers and Acquisitions course, which allowed him to cultivate corporate drafting, negotiation, and research skills.

Job Titles:

• Member of the Firm

Marco A. Longoria is a Member of the firm's Tax Group. His practice focuses on federal, state and local tax planning and tax controversy matters. Marco frequently advises clients on the tax-related aspects of business formations, mergers and acquisitions, reorganizations and closely-held businesses. He also advises and counsels clients with respect to federal and state tax audits, initiates refund claims and contests tax adjustments. Education B.B.A. in Finance, University of Texas, 1999 J.D., University of Houston, 2003

Job Titles:

• Associate

Mary Adair is an associate with the firm's Real Estate Group. Her law practice centers around real estate transactions and water law. She has experience representing parties in residential and

Mike Stukenberg assists clients in preparing and developing their estate plans and structuring their family businesses. He also represents clients in income and estate tax audits and probate and trust matters. Mike's clients include companies and individuals involved in ranching and farming, oil and gas exploration and development, banking, real estate, construction and retailing. Education B.A., Princeton University, 1973 J.D., Vanderbilt University, 1976 - Executive Editor, Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law Board Certified, Tax Law, Texas Board of Legal Specialization, since 1983 Board Certified, Estate Planning and Probate Law, Texas Board of Legal Specialization, since 1984 Experience Admitted to practice in Texas and U.S. Tax Court

Job Titles:

• President

Omar J. Leal is the President of Branscomb Law. He is also a Member of the firm's Estate Planning and Probate Group. His practice focuses on estate planning, asset protection planning, probate, guardianship, and trust administration. He regularly assists and advises clients concerning marital property agreements, wealth preservation issues, including estate and gift tax planning, asset protection, incapacity planning and business succession. His work also includes assisting clients with procedural and substantive issues in uncontested and contested estate, trust, and guardianship matters, including community and separate property issues. Education Board Certified, Estate Planning and Probate Law, Texas Board of Legal Specialization, since 2006 B.B.A. in Finance, Texas A&M University, 1996 - Summa Cum Laude J.D., University of Texas, 1999 - Chief Notes Editor, The Review of Litigation

Job Titles:

• President

Job Titles:

• Member of the Firm

Rhonda S. Jolley is a Member of the firm's Real Estate Group. Her law practice centers primarily on commercial real estate and the most current topic of water law. Having previously owned her own practice in Hondo, Texas, and having been a joint owner of Medina County Abstract Company, Inc., she has a varied background in a broad range of general business, residential real estate, commercial leasing and real estate litigation matters. Rhonda is active in State Bar CLE Programming having been a member of the Planning Committee and Co-Chair of various seminars including the Advanced Real Estate Drafting Seminar, the Advanced Real Estate Seminar and the Changing Faces of Water Rights in Texas Seminar. She is a frequent speaker at all of these seminars. She has been a facility member at the South Texas College of Law Real Estate Law Conference and the University of Texas Mortgage Lending Institute. Rhonda also served on the State Bar's Real Estate Forms Committee. Rhonda has helped draft and complete the Water Section of the State Bar Real Estate Forms Manual. As head of the firm's Water Law Section, she leads the client efforts to handle the purchase and sale of both groundwater and surface water rights, groundwater development, joint use and water sharing agreements throughout the State of Texas. Rhonda and her team have particular experience in matters related to the regional groundwater conservation districts including the Edwards Aquifer Authority. Additionally, several of our lawyers act as counsel to groundwater conservation districts. Branscomb's water law team has experience in transferring and amending surface water rights, as well as working with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality. Our team also has experience related to obtaining water supplies for real estate development and industrial use and reserving and preserving value of water rights connected to real estate. Education B.A., University of Texas at Austin, 1978 J.D., St. Mary's University School of Law, 1982

Shannon M. Wilde represents business owners. He serves as outside general counsel for business clients and practices in the areas of business and real estate law. Shannon's practice also includes mergers and acquisitions work, the formation, organization and restructuring of businesses, and he regularly advises both for-profit and non-profit organizations on best practices in corporate governance. Shannon is fluent in Spanish and has negotiated many international transactions including deals in Mexico and Latin America. Education: B.A., University of Texas, 1993 High Honors M.B.A., Baylor University, 1999 Top 10% J.D., Baylor University, 2000 Alumni Academic Merit Scholar