Winstead PC is pleased to announce the promotion of nine Associates to Of Counsel. The newly promoted Of Counsel are: Frank Amini, Clark Carruth, Preston (“Trip”) Dyer, Erika Larson, Brad Monk, Norene Napper, Roy Richter, Sam Udovich, and Mimi Yu.

The nine newly promoted Of Counsel are a diverse mix of accomplished attorneys with experience serving the firm’s key industries, including aviation, financial services, healthcare, higher education, investment management and private equity, life sciences, real estate and sports business.  Additionally, many of these attorneys are active in their local communities and have been recognized for their excellence in practice by third-party publications, including “Best Lawyers” (Best Lawyers, LLC) and “Texas Rising Stars” (Thomson Reuters).

“We congratulate these nine talented attorneys on being named Of Counsel,” said Winstead CEO David Dawson of these latest promotions. “These are attorneys with outstanding experience who have been incredibly valuable members of our team.”

Here are Winstead’s newly promoted Of Counsel:

Frank Amini, Ph.D. is a member of the firm’s Intellectual Property Practice Group in Houston, with a secondary office in Austin. His practice is focused on patent prosecution, as well as a spectrum of matters involving intellectual property licensing, litigation, and transactions.  Amini works with clients from a broad range of technological industries, including materials sciences, biotechnology, nanotechnology, chemical arts, and life sciences. He holds a Ph.D. in biological chemistry and has previously worked as a pre-doctoral fellow at the National Institutes of Health.

Clark Carruth is a member of the firm's Finance & Banking Practice Group in Dallas. He counsels clients on environmental issues involving real property. Carruth also handles corporate transaction matters that involve buying, selling, lending, and leasing. He has a wealth of experience working on a number of federal environmental issues, including matters involving the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act, The Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, and The National Environmental Policy Act.

Preston (“Trip”) Dyer is a member of the firm’s Taxation, Employee Benefits & Private Business Practice Group in Dallas. In his practice, he provides counsel on federal and state tax planning for business transactions. This includes helping clients with entity formations, real estate development and investments, mergers and acquisitions and tax credit financing. In addition to his legal work, Dyer previously served as Vice-Chair of the Partnership and Real Estate Tax Committee and the Tax Leadership Committee for the State Bar of Texas.

Erika Larson is a member of the firm’s Finance & Banking Practice Group in Dallas. In her practice, she works with both domestic and international clients from a range of industries, including technology, manufacturing, food and beverage, healthcare, and real estate. Larson handles a variety of corporate and middle-market syndicated transactions, including cash flow and asset-based facilities, acquisition financing, and multi-currency facilities matters.

Brad Monk is a member of the firm’s Business Litigation Practice Group in Dallas. An experienced litigator who handles trials in both state and federal court, he works with a diverse group of clients from a number of industries, including healthcare, real estate, finance and banking, and oil and gas. Monk has handled cases involving a broad range of claims, such as trade secret, medical device, professional liability, non-compete, and product liability matters. In his career, he has been involved in a number of high profile cases, including serving as first chair trial counsel in a jury trial for an oil and gas exploration company that resulted in a $44.5 million judgment for the client.

Norene Napper is a member of the firm’s Real Estate Finance Practice Group in Dallas. Her practice is focused on commercial real estate transactions, and she has considerable experience handling both finance and telecommunications transactions. In her practice, Napper represents national CMBS and portfolio lenders, as well as telecommunications and wireless companies. In addition to CMBS and portfolio loans, she provides guidance on an array of other transactional matters, including tenancy-in-common structures, leasing, licensing, and permitting.

Roy Richter is a member of the firm’s Corporate, Securities/Mergers & Acquisitions Practice Group in The Woodlands. His practice encompasses general corporate and securities representation, and business counseling of public and private corporations. Richter advises clients in connection with mergers and acquisitions, private and public debt and equity securities offerings, purchase and sale of assets, and other financing-related transactions.  A former landman, Richter has a unique blend of experience in both the legal and oil and gas industries.

Sam Udovich is a member of the firm’s Intellectual Property Practice Group in Dallas. He works with a diverse set of innovators and technology developers, chiefly handling domestic and international patent prosecution in a range of mechanical and electrical technologies. Udovich has drafted and prosecuted patent applications involving robotics, medical devices, telecommunications, computer systems, and manufacturing systems, among other industries. A former manufacturing engineer, Udovich also conducts due diligence studies of intellectual property assets.

Mimi Yu is a member of the firm’s Corporate, Commercial Transactions & Outsourcing Practice Group in Dallas. In her practice, she negotiates commercial transactions for clients based in a variety of industries. Yu’s clients include companies in the airlines, energy, technology, supply chain, and hospitality industries, as well as a number of other areas. She is a versatile commercial transactions attorney who provides counsel on a number of issues, including but not limited to procurement, distribution, licensing, and technology and intellectual property transfer.

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