Prominent Houston attorneys will discuss breaking the glass ceiling in law and share how women have changed the legal field during a Sept. 22 Women in the Law event at South Texas College of Law Houston.
The panel discussion is part of the law school’s 2022 Reunion Week celebration, hosted by the South Texas alumni office. It will be moderated by STCL Houston Professor of Law Elaine Carlson ’79 and alumna Brittny Mandarino Curry ’20, assistant public defender at Harris County Public Defender’s Office. Participants can receive one hour of ethics CLE credit.
The event is scheduled from noon-1 p.m. — in person in Joe Green Auditorium at STCL Houston, and livestreamed. Participation is free and open to the public, but registration is required.
Below is more information about the distinguished panelists:
The Hon. Theresa W. Chang ’96 is an attorney and special commissioner of the eminent domain administrative hearing in Houston. Governor Greg Abbott appointed Chang to serve on the Texas Commission on the Arts in September 2019. She previously served as the Judge of Harris County Civil Court. In 2017, Chang was rated the top judge of Harris County Civil Courts by the Houston Bar Association in its judicial poll.
Commissioner Chang has tried hundreds of bench and jury trials during her legal career. She served on the Commission for Lawyer Discipline of the State Bar of Texas, as well as the Board of Directors of both the State Bar of Texas and the Asian American Bar Association.
Chang obtained her Master of Science degree in chemical engineering from the Texas A&M University System and was a registered professional engineer prior to earning her law degree from South Texas College of Law Houston. She was inducted into the Hall of Fame for the College of Engineering at Texas A&M Kingsville in October 2019.
Jackie Alvarenga Gerber ’12 is a partner at Mayer LLP in Houston. She is licensed to practice in the State of Texas and the U.S. District Court Southern District. Gerber began her career as a plaintiff’s personal injury attorney and transitioned to civil litigation defense in 2013. Since then, she has tried personal injury lawsuits to juries and obtained favorable verdicts in Houston, Corpus Christi, and Brownsville. Her experience includes personal injury, construction defect, and product defect claims. She has been recognized as a Super Lawyer Rising Star from 2017 to present.
Gerber is a Houston native who earned her law degree from STCL Houston in 2012. While at South Texas, she was managing editor of the Corporate Counsel Review and a moot court advocate, winning second-best speaker at the Hispanic National Bar Association tournament.
The Hon. Eva Guzman ’89, a former Texas Supreme Court Justice, is joining Houston civil trial and appellate firm Wright Close & Barger. She is an American attorney, politician, and jurist who served as a Republican member of the Texas Supreme Court from 2009 to 2021. Justice Guzman was previously a shareholder at Chamberlain Hrdlicka in the Houston and San Antonio offices.
She received a bachelor’s degree from the University of Houston, a J.D. degree from South Texas College of Law Houston, and an LL.M. degree from Duke University School of Law.
Regina Bynote Jones ’98 is chief legal officer of Baker Hughes. She joined the company in April 2020. Throughout her career, Jones has held global roles in complex legal environments, including assignments based in Europe, Southeast Asia, and across the United States.
Prior to joining Baker Hughes, Jones served as executive vice president, general counsel and corporate secretary for Delek U.S. Holdings, Inc., and Delek Logistics Partners LP. Jones previously worked with Schlumberger Limited, Dynegy Marketing & Trade, Shell Oil Company, and El Paso Energy in various legal and information technology roles. She earned her Bachelor of Business Administration degree in general business from Sam Houston State University and her law degree from South Texas College of Law Houston.
The Hon. Kim Ogg ’86 is the district attorney for Harris County. In 2016, DA Ogg was elected by a margin of more than 100,000 votes on a platform of criminal justice reform. She believes in equal justice, insuring a just process for the victim, the accused, and the community in every case and has focused her prosecutors on public safety by prioritizing prosecution of crimes against people and property.
Ogg’s legal career began in 1987 as a prosecutor for the Harris County District Attorney’s Office. While serving as a Chief Felony Prosecutor, she was appointed Houston’s first Anti-Gang Task Force Director by Mayor Bob Lanier in 1994. Under her leadership, Houston’s gang crimes declined by approximately 40%.
She earned a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Texas at Austin in 1981 and her law degree from South Texas College of Law Houston in 1986.
About South Texas College of Law Houston
South Texas College of Law Houston is one of America’s most diverse law schools in America’s most diverse city. In 1923, the YMCA established the law school to offer night classes for working professionals. Today, the ABA-accredited, independent law school in downtown Houston offers both full-time and part-time schedules to earn a J.D. degree. STCL Houston, recognized nationally as an advocacy powerhouse, provides an exceptional legal education featuring renowned faculty and nationally recognized, experienced-based learning. The law school’s 16,000-plus alumni lead and serve with distinction as Texas Supreme Court justices, Fortune 500 CEOs, Tier 1 attorneys, state and national officials, judges, law professors and more.
