Legal Eagle Honoree

Beth Maultsby has assisted families in the Dallas area for more than 25 years as a social worker, lawyer, and judge. Her impressive education began at North Texas State University in 1976 where she received her B.A. in Social Science, and she went on to graduate with honors from Texas Christian University in Fort Worth, Texas (1981) where she earned her M.P.A. After receiving her J.D. from St. Mary's University School of Law in San Antonio, Texas (1987) where she graduated with distinguished honors and served as Note and Comment Editor for the law review, Ms. Maultsby became a partner at Gardere & Wynne, LLP where she worked for 10 years.

She has served as an Associate Judge in the 301st Family District Court, and she went on to be appointed by Governor Rick Perry as a District Judge in the 303rd Family District Court. She is currently a partner at GoransonBain. Ms. Maultsby has authored numerous articles on family law for conferences, publications, and law courses. She is member of the Dallas Bar Association, Texas Family Law Foundation, Dallas Bar Fellow, and Texas Bar. She also serves on the Advisory Board of Faith & Liberty's Place. She previously served on the Board of Directors for the St. Mary's Law School Alumni and on the Dallas Family Law Board of Directors.

Beth's commitment to children and families has been recognized through her multiple honors including her nomination as one of the "Best Lawyers in America" by Family Law in 2007 and 2008, "Best Lawyers in America" by Family Law Mediation in 2008, and being named among the "Best Lawyers in Dallas" by "D" Magazine in 2007, and most recently as a Texas "Super Lawyer" 2008.

Political Science Alum Honoree

Troy Phillips received his B.A. from North Texas State University (1969) where he majored in government and minored in speech and history. He received his J.D. from the University of Texas at Austin (1974) where he was a member of the school's state champion moot court team.

Mr. Phillips is a trial lawyer and Managing Partner of Glast, Phillips & Murray, PC. He practices business litigation at the state and federal levels, and he is admitted to practice for the Northern and Eastern Federal Districts, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, and the United States Supreme Court. He specializes in bankruptcy related issued and is certified by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization for business bankruptcy law and by the American Bankruptcy Board of Certification. His clients are comprised of both creditors and debtors, and he works closely with clients to circumvent bankruptcy by refinancing, loan workouts, and additional pre-bankruptcy methods.

Mr. Phillips also has substantial corporate practice with reorganizations and leveraged buy-outs. As an expert on bankruptcy law, he has authored numerous articles and has served as speaker for seminars on a range of topics. Mr. Phillips was named a "Texas Super Lawyer" in 2006, 2007, and 2008.

Political Science Alum Honoree

Alton C. Todd has spent more than three decades pursuing diverse cases as a trial attorney after graduating from Southern Methodist University School of Law in 1971. Chosen as one of the Top Ten Texas Super Lawyers, an honor based on both balloting by attorneys and input from Texas Monthly magazine,he is among less than two percent of Texas attorneys who are Board Certified in Personal Injury and Civil Trial Law. Mr. Todd is a member and Diplomate of the American Board of Trial Advocates and is admitted to practice before the U.S. Supreme Court, the Fifth Circuit of the U.S. Court of Appeals, the U.S. District Court for the Northern and Southern Districts of Texas, as well as the Western District of Arkansas. A member of the Million Dollar Advocates forum, in 2007, Mr. Todd was inducted as a Fellow into the American College of Trial Attorneys whose membership is by invitation only to lawyers with a minimum of 15 years experience--less than one percent of the lawyers in Texas and the United States have been invited to join.

Sonia M. Rodriguez is a full equity partner in Branton & Hall, P.C., in San Antonio, Texas where she works on various types of civil actions cases. She is licensed for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit and the U.S. Supreme Court. Sonia received her B.A. in political science from UNT (1995) and went on to St. Mary's University Law School for her law degree (1999). She currently serves on the Board of Advisors of the San Antonio Young Women's Leadership Academy, Committee on Pattern Jury Charges of the State Bar of Texas (Malpractice, Premises, Products) and the Board of Directors of the Law Alumni Association of St. Mary's University School of Law. Sonia is the Director of the Texas Lawyers' Insurance Exchange and also President of the San Antonio Trial Lawyers' Association. This year Sonia was inducted into the San Antonio Women's Hall of Fame in the category of law.

Seagal Wheatley graduated with his B.A. in 1957 from North Texas State University and received his J.D. in 1960 from the University of Texas School of Law. He has been serving clients in Texas and the United States for almost forty years. His specialty is both public and private corporate litigation, after having previously served as U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Texas. He is past-President for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit with over 5000 members involved during his tenure, and he now serves on that Board of Governors. Mr. Wheatley has published in the ABA Law Journal and the St. Mary's Law Journal, and his memberships include the San Antonio Bar Association, the State Bar of Texas, the Federal Bar Association, the Association of Trial Lawyers of America and the International Society of Barristers, and he is a Fellow of the Texas Bar Foundation. In 2007, he was named a San Antonio "Best Lawyer" by Scene in SA Monthly for Business Litigation and a "Texas Super Lawyer" by Texas Monthly magazine.

Dave McClure serves as Associate Administrator of the Office of Citizen Services and Innovative Technologies. The Office connects the public to government information and services, through such websites as USA.gov, Data.gov, and Challenge.gov. In addition, he oversees the Federal Cloud Computing PMO. Dr. McClure previously served as the managing vice president for Gartner Inc. There, he worked on global governance, analyst support, and government IT practices. He also served on the Obama-Biden transition team. Before working at Gartner, Dr. McClure served as vice president for e-government and technology at the Council for Excellence in Government. Previously, he had an 18-year career with the Government Accountability Office.
Dr. McClure is a four-time winner of Federal Computer Week's "Top Federal 100," a winner of the Fed100 Government Eagle Award, was elected a Fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration, and was selected by InformationWeek as one of the top ten most influential people in government security.
Dr. McClure received his Bachelor of Arts and a master's degree in political science from the University of Texas, and a doctorate in public policy from the University of North Texas. He also completed post-graduate work in IT management at Harvard and George Washington universities.