Haynes Boone is pleased to announce the promotion of 14 lawyers to its partnership ranks, effective Jan. 1, 2026.
The 2026 New Partner Class includes:
- Heather Barger, Litigation, Dallas
- Calmann James Clements, Patents, Dallas-North
- Cody Cravens, Finance, Dallas
- Morgan Dennis, Finance, Charlotte
- Amanda Laurel Gayer, Litigation, New York
- Danielle Marr, Business Planning and Tax, Dallas
- Brian P. Matthews, Litigation, New York
- Mark Nesdill, Finance, Charlotte
- Rachel O’Donnell, Capital Markets and Securities, Dallas
- Geraldine Palfreman-Pigot, Real Estate, London
- Ryan Pitts, Appellate, Austin
- Laura Shapiro, Finance, Dallas
- Mordechai Sutton, Real Estate, New York
- Mei Zhang, Finance, Dallas
This year’s class reflects Haynes Boone’s practice-area growth as well as its Dallas roots, national presence and global reach. Seven of the 14 new partners are based in the Dallas metroplex – with the others spanning the firm’s largest and fastest-growing offices, including New York City, London, Charlotte and Austin.
The firm’s Finance Practice Group has the largest concentration of new partners this year, with multiple lawyers focusing their work on complex financing. The depth of talent in this department reflects the evolving needs of Haynes Boone’s clients as asset-based lending, acquisition activity and corporate restructurings accelerate. The group is positioned to anticipate client demand and provide strategic counsel in today’s evolving financial market.
“It is a privilege to recognize and welcome this exceptional group of attorneys into the firm’s partnership,” said Haynes Boone Managing Partner Taylor Wilson. “These lawyers bring remarkable talent, steady judgment and a deep understanding of our clients’ evolving needs, pushing Haynes Boone forward and strengthening our firm’s capabilities. We are especially proud of the leadership they have shown in their practice groups, across our offices and in the communities they serve, and I look forward to seeing their impact as partners.”
Read more about the 2026 New Partner Class below.
Heather Barger is a trial attorney with broad litigation experience. She frequently assists clients with complex disputes, such as trade-secret misappropriation, unfair competition, product liability and breach-of-contract claims. She is committed to helping her clients reduce conflict where possible and aggressively advocates for their interests in the courtroom, in settlement negotiations and to a jury.
Calmann James Clements represents clients in patent disputes, including post-grant proceedings before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board, patent litigation and patent licensing. He also advises on patent prosecution and strategic assessments. He has represented clients in over 80 post-grant proceedings across diverse technologies, leveraging a background in electrical engineering to craft strong invalidity and patentability positions.
Cody Cravens structures and negotiates complex corporate financing transactions for lenders and borrowers. He represents banks, private credit providers and companies in a wide range of financing arrangements, including asset-based lending, acquisition financing, restructurings and real estate transactions.
Morgan Dennis represents administrative agents, lead arrangers and lenders in a variety of syndicated and bilateral fund finance transactions, including subscription, net-asset-value and hybrid credit facilities.
Amanda Laurel Gayer maintains a broad complex commercial litigation practice and represents clients across the energy and renewables sectors, including lenders, investors and wind and solar developers. She brings expertise in navigating New York state and federal courts, as well as in arbitration and mediation, to resolve disputes efficiently for her clients. Her pro bono practice centers around civil rights matters.
Danielle Marr works on federal income tax aspects of complex business transactions, such as mergers and acquisitions, fund formations, joint ventures and corporate reorganizations. She advises a wide range of clients, including private equity funds, corporations and financial institutions, on tax planning and structuring as well as the drafting of intricate tax provisions for transactional agreements.
Brian P. Matthews handles complex commercial litigation at the state and federal levels with a focus on commercial real estate litigation. He also represents clients in high-profile disputes involving shareholder and partnership issues, business litigation and financial services litigation, and he has experience in mediation, arbitration, class actions and multidistrict litigation nationwide.
Mark Nesdill is a trusted advisor to lenders on the structuring, negotiation and documentation of complex and cross-border subscription credit facilities and other secured and unsecured fund finance lending arrangements, including management fee lines, GP lines, liquidity facilities, NAV and hybrid facilities.
Rachel O’Donnell primarily focuses on securities law and general corporate matters, including representing issuers, underwriters and institutional investors in a variety of public and private securities offerings. She also counsels public companies in a range of industries on Securities and Exchange Commission reporting, stock exchange compliance and corporate governance matters.
Geraldine Palfreman-Pigot advises United Kingdom-based and international clients on English law commercial real estate transactions, including acquisitions and disposals, joint ventures, leasing and due diligence. She has worked on high-profile matters across all asset classes and is committed to pro bono work supporting charitable organizations with their property needs.
Ryan Pitts represents major companies in high-stakes appeals, briefing and arguing their cases before appellate courts such as the Texas Supreme Court, United States Courts of Appeals and the Texas Courts of Appeals. He also assists trial teams on complex legal issues through motion practice and jury charges, drawing on his experience from federal clerkships.
Laura Shapiro represents borrowers, financial institutions and private equity in a wide range of commercial finance transactions. Her practice includes M&A and leveraged financings, general working capital facilities, commercial real estate loans and securitizations, construction lending, public company representations, restructurings and other corporate financing matters across diverse industries.
Mordechai Sutton focuses on commercial real estate finance transactions, including the representation of institutional lenders and borrowers in the origination and workouts of mortgage and mezzanine loans, as well as the representation of lenders in secondary-market transactions.
Mei Zhang focuses on fund finance, acquisition and corporate finance, real estate finance, energy finance, project finance and other commercial, secured and unsecured financial transactions. She represents international and domestic financial institutions and commercial lenders in structuring, documenting and negotiating various commercial financial transactions.
