The Texas Bar Foundation recently welcomed several new members and officers to its board of trustees and fellows in a ceremony at the 2014 State Bar of Texas Annual Meeting in Austin on June 27, 2014.
Melinda Wycoff with Wycoff Development and Construction took office as a public member of the Texas Bar Foundation Board of Trustees. Wycoff, who has an educational psychology degree from Texas A&M University, was an educator for 15 years, teaching students from kindergarten through college and also serving as a central office administrator. She also is a member of the scholarship committee for Lighthouse Christian Ministries.
Dustin Burrows with McCleskey Harriger Brazill & Graf became a member of the board of trustees. Burrows focuses his law practice on commercial and personal injury litigation and also volunteers for local community and charitable organizations.
Wendy Burgower with Burgower & Rainwater also became a trustee. Burgower is a board certified family law practitioner. She has served as the chair for several organizations, including the State Bar of Texas Family Law Section, Gulf Coast Family Law Specialists, the Burta Rhoads Raborn Family Law American Inn of Court, and the Association of Women Attorneys. She is chair-elect of the Texas chapter for the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers.
Buck Files with Bain, Files, Jarrett, Bain & Harrison was elected secretary-treasurer of the board of trustees. Files, a criminal defense lawyer and a former State Bar president, is a charter member and former director of the Texas Criminal Defense Lawyers Association and has been inducted into the organization’s hall of fame. He is also a long-time member of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers.
Timothy W. Mountz, a litigator with Baker Botts, was elected chair of the foundation’s board of trustees. Mountz has served as a former director of the State Bar of Texas, chair of the Dallas Bar Association Board of Trustees, and DBA president.
Shannon Dacus with the Dacus Firm was previously on the board of trustees and has become secretary of the Texas Bar Foundation Fellows. Dacus focuses her practice on numerous areas of commercial-business litigation, including patent litigation, contract disputes, and personal injury claims. She also serves as general counsel for several counties and is on the boards of the Tyler Economic Development Council and the Tyler Hispanic Business Alliance, among others.
Randall O. Sorrels with Abraham, Watkins, Nichols, Sorrels, Agosto & Friend, is now fellows chair of the Texas Bar Foundation Fellows. Sorrels, a personal injury trial lawyer, also serves as president of the Texas Association of Civil Trial and Appellate Specialists.