Board of Directors

Our TLPP Board of Directors have been appointed through the State Bar of Texas, where several of the Board Members have served multiple terms.

Teri L. Danish

Board Chair

Appointed April 2006

Teri L. Danish received her law degree from the University of San Diego School of Law in 1990. Ms. Danish is Board Certified in Labor and Employment Law with the State Bar of Texas. Ms. Danish is a Partner with Rodriguez, Colvin, Chaney & Saenz, LLP in Brownsville, Texas where she defends clients in civil litigation, with an emphasis on labor and employment matters at trial and before administrative agencies. Ms. Danish is an active member of the Friendship of Women, Inc. where she has served on the Board of Directors from 2000-2006 and held the positions of Secretary from 2001-2002 and President from 2002-2004. Ms. Danish was appointed to the Board of Directors of Texas Legal Protection Plan in 2006 by the State Bar of Texas.

Patricia Hayes

Director

Appointed April 2007

Patricia V. Hayes is the Principal/Owner of PVH Consulting Group, a public affairs and management consulting firm in Austin, Texas. A licensed attorney in Texas since 1994, Ms. Hayes has practiced in the areas of education, legislative policy and administrative law. Ms. Hayes has a diverse professional background, addressing legislative and public policy matters in all areas of K-12 public and higher education in Texas. In the public sector, she most recently served as the Vice Chancellor of Governmental Relations and Education Policy at Texas State University System. She has also served as the Associate Commissioner for Educator Quality and P-16 Initiatives at the Texas Education Agency, the Special Assistant for Education to Lieutenant Governor Bill Ratliff and as a Director for the Subcommittee on Higher Education in the Texas Senate. In the private sector, Ms. Hayes has represented the interests of private colleges and institutions in Texas as well as those of classroom teachers and school personnel in both legal and legislative matters. Active in the legal profession, she has served on several bar association boards, including the Texas Young Lawyers Association, the Austin Bar Association and the Austin Young Lawyers Association, where she served as President in 2002. An avid supporter of community service, she has served on several non-profit boards, including the Center for Child Protection, Greenlights for Nonprofit Success and Law Focused Education Inc. She graduated from the George McConnell School of Law at Pepperdine University in Malibu, California and earned a Bachelor of Arts in Government from the University of Texas at Austin.

Romeo L. Rodriguez

Director

Appointed June 2006

Romeo Rodriguez received a Bachelor of Science degree from Pan American University in Edinburg, Texas and a Master of Business Administration from the University of Texas at Brownsville. Romeo is currently the Controller for Mobile Video Tapes, Inc. dba KRGV – TV in Weslaco, Texas and has served in this capacity since 1994. Romeo is the only Board Member of TLPP that is not an attorney. He brings diversity and a fresh perspective to TLPP’s Board of Directors.

Albert Betts, Jr.

Chair Elect

Appointed April 2010

Albert Betts, Jr. is a partner at the law firm of Thompson Coe Cousins and Irons, LLP, and practices in their Austin office as part of the firm’s Insurance law and Governmental and Legislative Advocacy Group. Albert received his undergraduate degree from the University of Texas at Austin and his law degree from the University of Texas School of Law and has been a licensed attorney since 1991.

Mr. Betts has extensive experience as a lawyer and public policy administrator including representing the Department of Insurance in litigation and serving as counsel for the State Office of Risk Management. Mr. Betts has advised the state risk management board, the commissioner of insurance, and political leadership on insurance and workers’ compensation matters. In 2005, Mr. Betts was appointed, by Texas Governor Rick Perry, as the first Commissioner of Workers’ Compensation for the State of Texas. Mr. Betts was reappointed in 2007 and served as Commissioner from 2005 through 2008. Prior to being appointed Commissioner, Mr. Betts served as Chief of Staff for the Texas Department of Insurance.

Mr. Betts law practice focuses on representing the interest of clients before the Texas Department of Insurance and other regulatory agencies, including representing and advising insurance trade associations, insurance companies, and other clients on insurance issues and matters before the Texas legislature and other government officials. He is currently General Counsel for the Insurance Council of Texas.

Janna Clarke

Director

Appointed April 2010

Janna Clarke, of counsel to Broude, Smith & Jennings, P.C., graduated from the University of Texas at Arlington with a BA in Political Science, (1972) and received her J.D. from Texas Tech University School of Law (1984) where she was an associate editor of the Texas Tech Law Review and a member of the Order of Barristers. She is an ad hoc member of the Tarrant County Bar Association where she has served in a number of capacities, including President in 2005-2006. She has served as the President of the Tarrant County Women’s Bar and is a Life Fellow of both the Tarrant County Bar Foundation and the Texas Bar Foundation. Clarke is a graduate of Leadership Fort Worth and the former Mayor Pro Tem of the City of Keller. She is a former police office and currently serves as the President of the Greater Keller Women’s Club Foundation. She serves on the Executive Committee for the Mahon Inn of Courts and just completed a three year term on the State Bar Board of Directors.

Robert Miller

Director

Appointed September 2009

Bob Miller is a private practitioner in Big Spring, Texas. He received his B.S. in economics from the University of Pennsylvania in 1968 and his J.D. from the University of Texas in 1972. Miller served in the U.S. Navy from 1968 to 1971 and is a private pilot. He is an active member of the Cirrus Owner Pilot Association (COPA) and the Aircraft Owners Pilot Association (AOPA), as well as a board member of the National Volunteer Airport Support Network of the AOPA. From 1981 to 1985, he served as Howard County Attorney. Mr. Miller is past chair of the State Bar College, served as a State Bar Director for District 16 for 2005-2008, a former member of the State Bar Leadership Committee, and a past grievance committee member and chair. He is a Pro Bono College sustaining member, past associate director of the Texas Trial Lawyers Association, and a sustaining life fellow of the Texas Bar Foundation. Mr. Miller is on the board of directors for the Hanger 25 Museum. He and his wife, Mary, have four children, Azure, Claire, Paula, and Michael, and four grandchildren. They are active in the Big Spring and Marfa Episcopal churches. They also have a second home in Marfa, Texas.

James C. Winton

Director

Appointed September 2006

James C. Winton has been involved in the oil and gas and maritime industries for over 30 years. During his career he has represented companies in these industries with a focus on pipeline, ocean, air and truck transportation. Mr. Winton has had extensive litigation experience in those areas, and has appeared in state or federal trial or appellate courts of Arkansas, California, Florida, Louisiana, New York, Ohio and Texas. Mr. Winton was elected to a three-year term on the State Bar of Texas Board of Directors in 2002. In 2005, he was selected Third Year Director of the Year and received a Presidential Citation for his work as chair of the Facilities and Equipment and Policy Manual Subcommittees. He has also served as an officer and member of the Board of Directors of the Southern District of Texas Chapter of the Federal Bar Association and in 2005 was the Chapter President. In 2006, Mr. Winton was appointed by the Board of Directors of the State Bar of Texas to serve on the Board of Directors for the Texas Legal Protection Plan. In 2007, he served as Secretary of the Lakewood Yacht Club and was elected to a three-year term on its Board of Directors in 2008. Mr. Winton was the State Bar of Texas Board Liaison to the Texas Disciplinary Rules of Professional Conduct Committee in 2002-2003 , has been an appointed member of that committee since 2003 and has served as Co-Vice Chair of the Committee from June 2007 – June 2009. Mr. Winton teaches the general maritime law course at the University of Houston Law Center and is the author of, “Corporate Representative Depositions in Texas—Often Used but Rarely Appreciated,” 55 Baylor Law Review 651 (2003), a definitive study of corporate representative depositions in Texas and, in some respects, under the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, as well. A shorter version of the article appeared as “Corporate Representative Depositions in Texas,” 28 The Advocate 34 (2004), the State Bar of Texas Litigation Section Report. Mr. Winton, in addition, has been a member of the Maritime Law Association of the United States for more than 15 years and a member of the Carriage of Goods by Sea and Limitation of Liability Committees. Mr. Winton is also active in various yacht club races. He has held an Advanced PADI scuba diving certification since 1988 and has been a certified scuba diver since 1967. He served on active duty with the United States Navy Judge Advocate General’s Corps from 1978 – 1981 and was a commissioned officer in the JAG Corps from 1975 – 1996, ending as a Lieutenant Commander.

Robert Avera

Secretary

Appointed June 2011

Robert Avera MS, JD earned his undergraduate and master’s degree from Colorado State University.  His law degree is from Baylor University.  He has practiced law in the Austin area since 2007. His practice includes Estate Planning, Business Entity Formation and Commercial Litigation. He has made over twenty presentations on the benefits of estate planning to groups throughout Central Texas including USAA, Texas Racing Commission, Texas Lottery Commission, Texas Finance Commission, Dripping Springs Rotary Club, “Federal Estate Tax Update” January 2011, and the Texas State Bar.

Prior to his law career Robert worked for the US Forest Service and was a member of the elite Pike Hot shots fire fighting team. For his master’s thesis Robert produced and directed a video on saving homes from the threat of forest fires.

Robert‘s commitment to public service is reflected in his diverse community volunteer service. Central Texas Lawyer Referral Board, Hays County Emergency Services Board, Dripping Youth Sports Association General Counsel and coach, board of his church

Robert co-authored an article for the State Bar of Texas related to the development of water resources

Robert has extensive experience in ranch management and he has owned and operated Helping Hand Printing, LLC, with his wife since 2004. He lives on a family ranch in Dripping springs with his wife and three boys.

Stuart Smith

Treasurer

Appointed June 2011

Stuart Smith is an attorney licensed to practice law in the State of Texas. He is the founder of The Stuart Smith Law Firm, a law firm based in Dallas, Texas that primarily focuses on estate planning, corporate transactions, and energy. Mr. Smith received his undergraduate degree from Baylor University in Waco, Texas and his law degree from South Texas College of Law in Houston, Texas. Stuart was licensed to practice law in Texas in 1995. During his fifteen years as a practicing attorney, Stuart has handled both transactional and litigation-related matters for numerous individual and corporate clients. As a litigator, he has worked on a variety of cases including those involving business disputes, probate, oil and gas, toxic tort, and products liability.

Mr. Smith’s transactional experience has involved working on various energy-related issues, including the formation of oil and gas entities and the drafting and negotiation of oil and gas leases and agreements. Stuart also served as general counsel of a computer consulting company where he oversaw all corporate legal matters and assisted in the strategic planning of the company. Much of Mr. Smith’s current practice involves assisting clients with their estate planning needs, including preparation of wills, trusts, and other estate planning documents. In addition to his membership on the TLPP Board of Directors, Mr. Smith is also a member of the State Bar of Texas, the Real Estate, Probate and Trust Law Section of the State Bar of Texas, the Dervish Club, the Petroleum Engineer’s Club of Dallas, and the ADAM Energy Forum.