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The Franklin Jones Best CLE Article Award

  • The Jim D. Bowmer Professionalism Award
  • The Franklin Jones Best CLE Article Award
  • The Steven G. Condos Award for Outstanding New Member to the College
  • The Patrick A. Nester Outstanding Achievement in CLE Award
  • The Merianne Gaston Award for Excellence in Legal Support
Home Awards The Franklin Jones Best CLE Article Award

A plaque is awarded to an author of an outstanding CLE article presented during the year. All articles must be submitted no later than December 31 of each year in order to be considered for the Best CLE Article Award. The award is named in honor of Franklin Jones, Jr. of Marshall, Texas, a co-founding father of the College.

2023 Recipient – Hon. Jhiela Mirdamadi Poynter

For 2023, the award goes to Jhiela Mirdamadi Poynter for Don’t Take Your Crypto to the Crypt: Estate Planning Strategies and Considerations for Cryptocurrency, NFTS, and Other Emerging Digital Asset Technologies.

Jhiela Mirdamadi Poynter is the County Judge of Refugio County, Texas and a practicing attorney. As the founding member of Poynter Law, PLLC, her practice focuses primarily on probate, estate planning, civil litigation, and personal injury.

Jhiela and her husband Tim live in Refugio, Texas with their two children, two dogs, and two cats. In her free time, she coaches youth soccer and likes to travel, having visited 20 countries and counting.

 

Professional Experience

  • COUNTY JUDGE, Refugio County (2023-Present)
  • ​OWNER AND ATTORNEY, Poynter Law, PLLC, Law Office of Jhiela M. Poynter (2020-Present)
  • ATTORNEY, Law Offices of Bernard T. Klimist (2012-2020)

Education

  • ​TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF LAW, ​Master of Laws in Wealth Management (2022)
  • PAUL M. HEBERT LAW CENTER, LOUISIANA STATE UNIVERSITY, Juris Doctor (2012), Graduate Diploma in Civil Law (2012)
    • LSU International Law Society: President (2011)
    • University of Missouri-Columbia Law School, Cape Town, South Africa (2011)
    • Santa Clara University Law School, Istanbul, Turkey (2010)
  • UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA AT LAFAYETTE, Bachelor of Arts, Double Major in Political Science & English, cum laude (2009)
    • President’s List and Honors Program Graduate
    • Phi Beta Delta Honors Society for International Scholars
    • Sigma Alpha Lambda National Honors and Leadership Organization
    • American Institute for Foreign Study, Florence, Italy (2008)​

​Certifications, Awards & Associations

  • ​TEXAS SUPER LAWYERS, Rising Star (2021, 2022, 2023)
  • COASTAL BEND’S 50 WOMEN OF DISTINCTION, Honoree (2022)
  • REFUGIO LIONS CLUB, Member (2021-Present)
  • REFUGIO COUNTY CHAMBER OF COMMERCE, Member (2021-Present)
  • JUNIOR LEAGUE OF VICTORIA, Treasurer (2021), Women Leaders of Tomorrow Chair (2018), Member (2014-Present)
  • COLLEGE OF THE STATE BAR, Member (2020-Present)
  • S. FEDERAL TAXATION CERTIFICATION, University of Illinois/Coursera (2020)
  • REAL ESTATE, PROBATE & TRUST LAW SECTION OF THE STATE BAR, Member (2020-Present)
  • 20 UNDER 30 YOUNG PROFESSIONALS OF THE CROSSROADS, Honoree (2018)
  • VICTORIA COUNTY BAR ASSOCIATION, President (2018), President-Elect (2017), Member (2013-Present)
  • CERTIFIED GUARDIAN AD LITEM (2017-Present)
  • TOP 50 VERDICTS IN TEXAS 2016, TopVerdict.com (2016)
  • LEADERSHIP VICTORIA, Victoria Chamber of Commerce, Participant (2013)

​Publications

  • ​”Too Little, Too Late: Dunbar v. Seger-Thomschitz and the Ongoing Challenge Posed by Prescriptive Periods in Holocaust-era Art and Cultural Property Restitution Matters.” Art Antiquity and Law 17.1 (2012): 69-89.
  • “Progress Report: Opening A New Practice.” Above the Law, Breaking Media, Inc., 27 May 2021, https://abovethelaw.com/2021/05/progress-report-opening-a-new-practice/.
Read the Article

Past Recipients

2022

Jerry D. Bullard, Grapevine
Looking over the 87th Lege: An Overview of Selected Bills That Passed and Those That Didn’t (But You Ought to Know About Anyway)

READ THE ARTICLE

2021

Brandon Marc Draper, Houston
And Justice for None: How COVID-19 Is Crippling the Criminal Jury Right

READ THE ARTICLE

2020

Michael J. Ritter, San Antonio
Texas’s Transitioning Judiciary: A Few Appellate & Ethical Considerations

READ THE ARTICLE

2019

Matthew Kolodoski, Dallas
Eliot Shavin, Dallas
Private Prisons: Constitutional Litigation Against Non-State Defendants

READ THE ARTICLE

2018

Hon. Mike Engelhart, Houston
Sarah Kathryn Foster, Houston
Procedure for Enforcing Foreign State, Federal and Foreign Country Judgments in Texas

READ THE ARTICLE

2017

Shelly L. Skeen, Dallas
State of Rights Post – Obergefell

READ THE ARTICLE

2016

Justice Jane Bland, Houston
Laura Prather, Austin
Bullies Beware: Bullies Beware: Safeguarding Constitutional Rights through Anti-SLAPP in Texas

READ THE ARTICLE

2015

Clyde J. “Jay” Jackson, III, Houston
Texas Supreme Court Update

READ THE ARTICLE

2014

Richard R. Orsinger, San Antonio
170 Years of Texas Contract Law

READ THE ARTICLE

2013

Lawrence M. Doss
Jeremy C. Martin
Chris Nickelson
Georganna L. Simpson
Rebecca Tillery
Jimmy Vaught
Appellate Practice From Every Angle

READ THE ARTICLE

2012

John G. Browning, Dallas
Social Media in the Jury Box

READ THE ARTICLE

2011

Pamela Stanton Barron, Austin
Supreme Court Docket Analysis

READ THE ARTICLE

2010

Richard R. Orsinger, San Antonio
Practicing Family Law In a Depressed Economy Part I: Your Law Practice and
Your Clients – Part II: The Economy

READ PART I
READ PART II

2009

Byron F. Egan, Dallas
Director Duties: Process and Proof

READ THE ARTICLE

2008

Hon. Patrick J. Garza, San Antonio
Police Interaction with Juveniles

READ THE ARTICLE

2007

James N. Hidgon, San Antonio
Stehanie J. Bandoske, San Antonio
War and Peace-Military Benefit Issues in War Time

READ THE ARTICLE

2006

Thomas M. Featherston Jr, Waco
What a Spouse Can Do To Unilaterally Protect That Spouse’s ‘Estate” From the Other Spouse and the Other Spouse’s Creditors and Heirs

READ THE ARTICLE

2005

David B. Young, Austin
Selected Consumer Bankruptcy Issues

READ THE ARTICLE

2004

Steve Akers, Dallas
Trustee Selection; Retaining Strings Without Getting Strung-Up

READ THE ARTICLE

2003

Thomas P. Goranson, Dallas
What Every Family Lawyer Should Know About the Civil Practices & Remedies Code, Property Code, and Business & Commerce Code

READ THE ARTICLE

2002

James E. Brill, Houston
Dealing With The Death Of A Solo Practitioner

READ THE ARTICLE

2001

Paula Sweeney, Dallas
Valerie Mosman, Dallas
Hon. John M. Marshall, Dallas

2000

Eric E. Sigsbey, Midland

1999

David H. Pace, Dallas

1998

David B. Young, Austin

1997

Kathryn Hinkel, Dallas

1996

Scott Rothenberg

1995

Walter P. Wolfram, Amarillo

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