Lisa McBride is a founding partner at Thompson & Horton LLP, where she represents public and private schools, charter schools, community colleges and other governmental entities in commercial disputes; labor and employment matters; internal and external investigations; trustee, bond, and voter-ratified tax elections; student discipline hearings; student privacy and constitutional law issues; appeals before the Commissioner of Education; and civil rights litigation. Ms. McBride also counsels governmental entities concerning their obligations under the Texas Public Information Act, the Texas Open Meetings Act, and the Texas Election Code. Ms. McBride is a frequent speaker on topics such as open government; elections; sexual harassment; civil rights; conducting meaningful employment investigations; student, parent, and teacher rights; and other labor and employment issues. Prior to joining Thompson & Horton, Ms. McBride was an attorney at Bracewell & Giuliani in the School & Public Law Section for eight years.
Sarah Orman inherited her interest in education law from her father, Jim Walsh. Sarah was born and raised in Austin, Texas. As a student at Hastings College of the Law in San Francisco, Ms. Orman served as a teaching assistant for Moot Court and productions editor of the Hastings Women’s Law Journal. In 2006, she was admitted to the State Bar of California. She then worked for two years as a school district attorney in Oakland, California, where her practice focused on labor and employment. Ms. Orman was also licensed to practice in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California, where she represented school district clients in appeals of special education due process hearings. Ms. Orman returned to Austin in 2009 and was admitted to the State Bar of Texas in 2011. From 2010-2013 she worked as an Associate Attorney in the Austin office of Walsh, Anderson, Gallegos, Green and Treviño in the areas of facilities and business, employment, and governance. In 2013, Ms. Orman joined the Texas Association of School Boards as a Staff Attorney. Ms. Orman serves on the advisory board of The Texas School Administrators’ Legal Digest and her articles have appeared both in the Digest and Texas School Business. Before attending law school, she received a Master’s Degree in Slavic Languages and Literatures from the University of Wisconsin and worked as an assistant literary agent in New York, New York.
David P. Thompson is Professor and Chair of the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies at The University of Texas at San Antonio. He received his Ph.D. in educational administration from Texas A&M University in 1993. David has over 20 years of experience in public education at both the PK-12 and higher education levels. David has authored or co-authored over 80 publications, and his works have appeared in such journals as West’s Education Law Reporter, the Journal of School Leadership, Educational Administration Quarterly, and the Texas School Administrators’ Legal Digest. David sincerely believes that there is no job more important than teaching, “I can still name every teacher I ever had and the subject they taught.”
Joe R. Tanguma is a shareholder in the Houston office of Walsh, Anderson, Gallegos,Green, & Trevino, P.C. In 1997, he earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in History from the University of Texas at Austin. In 2000, he graduated from the University of Texas School of Law. Since being licensed, he has practiced general school law, employment law and civil litigation. His work as an appellate litigator in the field of special education has helped create favorable law for public school districts throughout the state and nation. In 2004 and 2006 he was selected as a Texas Rising Star in Education Law and was recognized in Texas Monthly and the Texas Super Lawyers Rising Star Edition. Joe is a member of the State Bar of Texas School Law, Labor and Employment Law and Litigation Sections, the College of the State Bar of Texas, the Texas Association of School Boards’ Council of School Attorneys and the National Association of School Boards’ Council of School Attorneys. Joe has provided training for administrators and educators in a myriad of public education topics at the state and local level, and has provided continuing legal education for attorneys in the area of school law through the Texas State Bar.
Robb D. Decker is a 1998 cum laude graduate of Baylor Law School and a 1990 graduate of Trinity University. During law school, Mr. Decker was a managing editor of the Baylor Law Review and a member of the Order of Barristers. Following law school, Mr. Decker worked for a private law firm where he represented the Gwinnett County School system in suburban Atlanta, Georgia. Upon moving back to Texas, and prior to joining Walsh Anderson, Mr. Decker’s practice involved general business litigation, with a focus on employment law. Mr. Decker is licensed to practice law in both Georgia and Texas as well as various Federal Courts in both states.
Wayne D. Haglund was born in Galveston, Texas, and attended the public schools of Galveston and Beaumont, Texas. He received his B.A. from the University of Texas in Austin in 1974, and his J.D. from the University of Texas School of Law in 1975. Mr. Haglund’s statewide practice concentrates primarily on the representation of governmental entities and he serves as attorney for a number of Texas school districts, Angelina Community College and the Burke Center, a MHMR community center which serves (12) counties in East Texas. Mr. Haglund has practiced school law for more than (30) years. Mr. Haglund is a long time member of the School Law Section of the State Bar of Texas and served the School Law Section as Director from 1999-2006 and Chair from 2005-2006. He is a Life Fellow, Texas Bar Foundation; Past President of the Angelina County Bar Association (1995-1996) and the Angelina County Young Lawyers Association (1978-1979); Chairman and Executive Committee Member of Council of School Attorneys of the Texas Association of School Boards (Board of Directors, 1992-1996, Chair, 1996-1997); founding Director and President (2005-2009) of the Texas Association of Community College Attorneys; Director, TASB Legal Assistance Fund (TASB-LAF) (1995-1997); Member of National School Board Association Council of School Attorneys and Member of the the Education Law Association. Mr. Haglund has practiced law in Lufkin, Texas since 1975, and is a member of the College of the State Bar. He is a frequent speaker on school and public law issues.