David Drumm   |   Partner

With more than four decades of experience, David guides clients through every aspect of complex sales, leasing, and financing in real estate and oil and gas — and is regular outside counsel on commercial mortgage loans, foreclosures, workouts, and REO sales for hard-money lenders as well as borrowing-base line-of-credit transactions for oil and gas producers. He is known for moving quickly on time-sensitive loan packages — closing the loan, drafting documents, and cleaning title within 72 hours of receipt — which suits Simmons Bank’s deal calendars when timing cannot slip. Recognized in The Best Lawyers in America, Lawdragon 500 (Real Estate and Energy), and Legal 500 (Dallas Elite).

David Heidenreich   |   Partner

David, the firm’s Transactional Department Head, focuses on every stage of commercial real estate transactions — due diligence, financing, acquisition, development, stabilization, and disposition — and regularly represents energy lenders (including VPP transactions) and exploration and production companies. His representative deals include large oil and gas acquisitions and divestitures, multifamily and hospitality financings throughout the U.S., self-storage development financing, and complex SNDAs with landlords and their lenders, giving Simmons Bank a transactional partner who has seen the full range of secured lending structures. Recognized in Lawdragon 500 (Leading Dealmakers, Real Estate, Energy).

Bonnie Barksdale   |   Partner

With more than thirty years focused on real estate finance, Bonnie routinely represents real estate lenders throughout the financing process — drafting and negotiating loan documents, handling complex title issues, perfecting security, structuring workouts, and managing default and foreclosure work for institutional lenders. She has decades of mortgage-company lending experience, regularly assists lenders post-foreclosure, and represents buyers and sellers in distressed-property acquisitions including note purchases and foreclosure-related transactions. Recognized in Lawdragon 500 (Leading Dealmakers in America, Real Estate and Construction).

Phil Hecker   |   Associate

Phil supports clients across the full range of real estate transactions — purchase, sale, leasing, and financing — with experience on multimillion-dollar deals and the sale of a multi-family housing portfolio comprising 25 apartment complexes. His detail-driven approach and Texas Tech Law summa cum laude background make him a useful associate-level resource for Simmons Bank’s real estate lending docket, working under partner supervision on the documentation and diligence work that drives closings.

Chandler Webb  |   Associate

Chandler works in the firm’s transactional and real estate group with a focus on financial services and real estate matters, supporting lender-side transactions through documentation, due diligence, and closing — the workhorse function Simmons Bank needs from outside counsel on a steady deal volume. She is known for her meticulous attention to detail in reviewing and preparing loan documents, title work, and closing deliverables, ensuring that each transaction moves from commitment to funding without unnecessary delay. Her ability to manage multiple closings simultaneously and turn documents quickly makes her particularly well-suited to high-volume lending portfolios where responsiveness and accuracy are critical. She brings a finance background (BBA, Finance, TCU) that helps her communicate efficiently with the Bank’s credit and treasury teams.

Sarah Youssef  |   Associate

Sarah supports clients on real estate transactions with prior experience in private equity and M&A across buy-side, sell-side, and distressed deals— the transaction background that drives volume on Simmons Bank’s real estate finance and commercial transactional matters.

David Drumm  |   Partner

David regularly represents hard-money lenders on commercial mortgage workouts, foreclosures, and REO sales, and has handled workouts with lenders on multiple hotel/motel properties for a decedent’s estate as well as municipal workouts of publicly incentivized projects impacted by financial dislocation. He brings the speed, creativity, and risk-tolerance posture Simmons Bank’s special assets team needs when a credit must be restructured or moved off the balance sheet on a compressed timeline.

Mark Castillo  |   Partner

Mark has a diverse practice with deep bankruptcy and creditors’ rights experience, representing secured and unsecured creditors in significant Chapter 11 cases throughout Texas and beyond, including national lenders, factoring companies, and trade creditors. His engagements include defending against millions of dollars in preference and fraudulent-transfer demands, prosecuting claims for creditors, and protecting collateral and priority positions — the workload Simmons Bank’s special assets group needs from outside counsel. Currently, Mark is representing several lenders to protect and recover millions of dollars in debts secured by various forms of collateral, including real estate, manufacturing machinery, and hospital receivables and equipment. This April, Mark presented to a class of 75 bankers at the SW Graduate School of Banking at SMU Cox for a session on “Lender Liability & Bankruptcy.” Mark is recognized in The Best Lawyers in America (Bankruptcy and Creditor Debtor Rights / Insolvency and Reorganization Law) and Lawdragon 500 (Bankruptcy and Restructuring).

Robert Rowe  |   Associate

Robert works primarily in the firm’s bankruptcy and litigation practice groups, with experience defending creditors against preference and fraudulent-transfer claims under §§ 544, 547, and 548 — including a defense that resolved more than $1 million in claims against an engineering consultant for approximately 1% of asserted exposure and obtaining a take-nothing summary judgment against a trustee seeking to disgorge $16 million in alleged fraudulent transfers under a design and construction contract. Robert also has experience representing debtors and he recently confirmed a Subchapter V plan settling more than $150 million in contingent liabilities. Recognized in Lawdragon 500 (X — The Next Generation, Bankruptcy) and Best Lawyers’ Ones to Watch.

Phil Hecker  |   Associate

Phil’s transactional real estate practice extends into the documentation and execution work that supports lender workouts, distressed-asset acquisitions, and dispositions. He is positioned to support Simmons Bank’s special assets team on the contract, title, and closing work that often accompanies workouts of real-estate-secured credits.

Chandler Webb  |   Associate

Chandler supports the firm’s transactional and real estate group, including representation of financial services clients whose portfolios include underperforming or distressed assets. Her grounding in real estate finance and corporate work positions her to assist on the documentation and execution side of Simmons Bank’s special assets matters under partner supervision. She brings careful attention to detail in reviewing loan files, collateral documentation, and workout agreements, and her familiarity with the underlying real estate transaction structures allows her to quickly identify issues in the diligence and documentation that are unique to distressed and non-performing credits. Chandler’s ability to work efficiently under compressed timelines — common in forbearance negotiations, deed-in-lieu transactions, and foreclosure proceedings — ensures that the Bank’s special assets team receives responsive, reliable support when time-sensitive decisions need to be documented and executed without delay.

Sarah Youssef  |   Associate

Sarah brings real estate transactional experience and corporate-side fluency to the documentation work that supports Simmons Bank’s special assets group on the disposition and restructuring side, including asset sales, financing modifications, and ancillary corporate actions on workouts.

Monica Latin   |   Managing Partner

Monica is the firm’s Managing Partner with a national commercial litigation practice spanning a broad range of industries, including banking and financial services, professional services, real estate, technology, and retail, and legal issues from contract disputes and fraud to noncompetes and trade secrets. Her trial results include an arbitration award of more than $10 million, seven-figure injunctions, and take-nothing defense verdicts. She is also a Board-Certified Civil Appellate Lawyer with an equally impressive track record. Monica is rated by Chambers USA (Litigation: General Commercial), The Best Lawyers in America (Lawyer of the Year, Bet-the-Company Litigation, 2025), and Lawdragon 500, and was named one of the top 5 business litigators in Texas and has repeatedly been named one of the top 100 lawyers in the state. She brings senior trial and appellate firepower to bet-the-company matters Simmons Bank may face.

Brian Shaw   |   Partner

Brian is an experienced commercial trial and appellate lawyer whose practice includes representing banks and other commercial lenders in lawsuits on promissory notes, guaranties, deficiency actions, and bankruptcy adversary matters as well as bet-the-company disputes in all manner of business litigation, including those involving complex structured finance, secured transactions, partnership disputes, real estate, fraud, contract, employment, and energy. He obtained a complete defense judgment for a national lender at a bench trial and has led complex commercial appeals, including in the Fifth Circuit. He is also well-versed in commercial collection and creditor-side bankruptcy representation. Recognized in The Best Lawyers in America (Commercial Litigation) and Lawdragon 500 (Leading Litigators, Business/Financial Litigation).

Emily Owen   |   Associate

Emily represents individuals and businesses through all phases of litigation, with significant courtroom experience, including as a former Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas, where she defended federal agencies in Title VII, Administrative Procedure Act, Federal Tort Claims Act, and Whistleblower Protection Act matters. Her financial services industry focus and trial-level court experience translate directly to the commercial and regulatory litigation Simmons Bank regularly encounters.

Josh Sherman   |   Associate

Josh represents individuals and businesses in litigation, arbitration, and investigations, including SEC and DOJ inquiries, with a focus on the financial services industry among others. He has represented financial services companies both in litigation and investigations. He has served as lead counsel, taken depositions, managed discovery, drafted dispositive motions, and prepared corporate executives for government testimony — useful skills for the regulatory and commercial disputes that arise across Simmons Bank’s matters. Recognized as a Texas Rising Star and Best Lawyers Ones to Watch (Commercial Litigation).

Brandon Hurwitz   |   Partner

Brandon represents businesses and entrepreneurs across the full transactional life cycle — M&A, commercial transactions, lending and financing, capital raising, commercial real estate, joint ventures, entity formation, governance, and succession. His M&A docket includes representing owners and acquirers of manufacturing, construction, and services businesses, along with software, technology, payment-industry, and SaaS clients, giving him the deal experience Simmons Bank looks for when its commercial customers need transactional counsel on bank-financed acquisitions and refinancings. 

Andrea Perez   |   Partner

Andrea is a corporate and intellectual property partner whose practice covers M&A, corporate governance, and private equity and investments — areas regularly encountered by Simmons Bank’s commercial customers and by the Bank itself when advising on financed transactions. She has written and presented on anti-money laundering developments affecting non-bank financial channels (including the ENABLERS Act and the Bank Secrecy Act expansion to antiquities dealers), giving her useful perspective on AML/BSA regulatory currents adjacent to bank compliance. Recognized in The Best Lawyers in America (Corporate Law) and Lawdragon 500.

Joe Shamp   |   Associate

Joe is a corporate transactional attorney with hands-on experience in sophisticated transactions in the seven- and eight-figure range, focused on drafting and negotiating transaction documents, company and shareholders’ agreements, and limited partnership agreements. He advises clients on mergers and acquisitions, corporate governance, and commercial transactions, and has authored client alerts on FinCEN’s new anti-money laundering rules affecting RIAs and ERAs.

Christopher Pride   |   Associate

Christopher maintains a diverse transactional practice spanning mergers and acquisitions, entity formation, private investments, real estate, and contract negotiation, with experience preparing opinion letters for large financing transactions and assisting with substantial M&A matters. He has represented receivers with the disposal of multimillion dollar commercial properties as well as financial institutions in connection with major commercial foreclosures. And while financial services ranks among his core industry concentrations, complementing this work is a tax-focused estate planning practice for high-net-worth individuals and families. Christopher designs creative, tax-efficient wealth-transfer structures and brings particular expertise to families with individuals of special needs. Because sophisticated planning so often intersects with corporate matters, this combined skill set positions Christopher to support Bank customers on transactions involving integrated wealth-transfer, tax, or other unique considerations.

Jason Katz   |   Partner

Jason’s commercial litigation and bankruptcy practice includes judgment collection, business divorces, adversary proceedings, and lender-side litigation, with representative experience representing banks in lawsuits on promissory notes, guaranties, fraud, and deficiency actions. He has successfully collected on accounts, contracts, and judgments — including recovering on a ten-year-old judgment — and his AV Preeminent rating reflects the disciplined approach Simmons Bank looks for on recovery work. Recognized in Lawdragon 500 (Leading Litigators, Commercial Litigation) and The Best Lawyers in America (Bankruptcy and Creditor Debtor Rights).

David Campbell   |   Senior Counsel

David focuses on bankruptcy, creditor rights, and real estate title litigation, representing institutional lenders, pension funds, landowners, asset managers, receivers, and bankruptcy debtors and trustees. He was an editor of the ABA’s Foreclosure & Related Remedies (2009) and served as an advisor to the Uniform Law Commission Home Foreclosure Procedures Act Committee — credentials that align directly with Simmons Bank’s needs on judgment collection, foreclosure, and title-related recovery litigation. His industries include financial services and real estate.

Val Cronin   |   Senior Counsel

Val is a Certified Public Accountant and tax attorney whose practice covers federal taxation, M&A, asset protection, and estate planning. He has taken small businesses from initial creation through equity and asset sales valued at over $100 million, performed complex estate and asset protection plans for clients with net worths exceeding $100 million, and successfully represented clients in the United States Tax Court — credentials that align with the work Simmons Bank’s private banking and wealth management group draws on when serving high-net-worth customers.

Christopher Pride   |   Associate

Recognized by Super Lawyers as a Texas Rising Star for his estate planning practice, Christopher performs significant tax-focused estate planning and wealth-transfer work for high-net-worth individuals and families, specializing also in custom plans for individuals with special needs. Christopher designs and prepares creative, tax-efficient structures and pairs his estate planning practice with corporate transactional work, including M&A, entity formation, private investments, contracts, commercial finance, and real estate. This dual fluency makes him especially well-suited to guide Simmons Bank borrowers and wealth-management customers through transactions where sophisticated tax planning intersects with corporate execution.

Mike Birrer   |   Partner

Mike’s thirty-year national employment practice covers every aspect of the employer/employee relationship — hiring policies, wage and hour compliance, mass layoffs, ERISA fiduciary issues, trade secret protection, discrimination and retaliation defense, and arbitration and litigation. He has obtained defense verdicts and favorable summary judgments in retaliation, multi-plaintiff discrimination, and ERISA fiduciary lawsuits across multiple industries, making him a useful resource when Simmons Bank’s HR or ERISA exposure escalates into litigation. Recognized in The Best Lawyers in America and Lawdragon 500 (Leading Corporate Employment Lawyers).

Christie Newkirk   |   Partner

Christie advises employers on the full range of human-resources issues — discipline and terminations, reductions in force, executive compensation and severance agreements, confidentiality, as well as non-solicitation and non-competition agreements.  From time to time, she also serves as a neutral investigator when executives or Human Resources is accused of misconduct and provides employee and management training on a wide array of topics.  Christie’s financial services-adjacent industry experience (including health care, hospitality, retail, and technology) maps closely to Simmons Bank’s HR pressure points. Christie has been recognized in The Best Lawyers in America, Lawdragon 500 (Leading Corporate Employment Lawyers), the College of Labor and Employment Lawyers and D Magazine.

Parker Graham   |   Partner

Parker practices business and employment litigation across the country, with extensive experience defending employers in discrimination and retaliation cases in Texas, Louisiana, Colorado, Georgia, Florida, Iowa, and Oklahoma, as well as in OSHA whistleblower and DOL wage-and-hour investigations. He has obtained eight- and seven-figure arbitration awards, including in non-competition and non-solicitation disputes, which is directly relevant to Simmons Bank’s needs around departing employees and trade-secret protection. Recognized in Best Lawyers (Ones to Watch), Lawdragon 500, and D Magazine’s Best Lawyers Under 40.

Jordan Perry   |   Associate

Jordan focuses on employment and workplace-related litigation and compliance, representing employers nationwide in Title VII, Section 1981, ADA, ADEA, TCHRA, and wage and hour matters under the FLSA and state-specific laws. Her counseling work on wage and hour compliance and her litigation experience in federal and state court align with the typical employment risks Simmons Bank faces across multi-state operations. Recognized as a Texas Rising Star by Super Lawyers.

Shelby Taylor   |   Associate

Shelby advises and represents employers on the full range of HR matters — discipline, terminations, leaves and accommodations, reductions in force, non-compete and confidentiality agreements, employee handbooks — and represents clients before the EEOC, DOL, NLRB, Texas Workforce Commission, and in mediation, arbitration, and litigation. She has worked for financial-institution clients on employment counseling/advice work, and she represented a bank on Section 1981 matters at the Fifth Circuit, useful experience when Simmons Bank’s employment matters reach the appellate stage. Named to Lawdragon 500 (X — The Next Generation) and D Magazine’s Best Lawyers Under 40.

Ashley McMillan   |   Partner

Ashley represents high net-worth individuals and families across multiple generations on estate planning, trust administration, wealth succession and protection, probate, and guardianship — the full menu of work Simmons Bank’s trust and private wealth group encounters in serving its clients. She handles dynastic family wealth planning, business succession, and estate administration with an emphasis on responsive, organized execution, which fits the cadence trust officers need when corporate or individual fiduciaries are coordinating with outside counsel. She is recognized in The Best Lawyers in America and serves on the Board of Governors of the Dallas Estate Planning Council.

Zach Stubblefield   |   Counsel

Zach’s practice is dedicated to trust and estate matters — estate planning, probate, trust administration, and related litigation — for Texas families, including the planning, administration, and litigation that frequently intersects with Simmons Bank’s role as corporate trustee, executor, administrator (dependent/independent), or agent including, but not limited to, will contests, title disputes, partitions, real estate disputes, landlord/tenant disputes, recovery of estate/trust assets, breach of fiduciary duty, and actions to remove executor/administrator/trustee. He takes a tailored approach across the spectrum: creative estate and business planning on the front end, mediation and informal resolution when family disputes surface, and courtroom advocacy when needed. Recognized as a Texas Rising Star by Super Lawyers.

Amanda Saunders   |   Associate

Amanda focuses her practice on estate planning, asset protection planning, and business planning for high net-worth individuals and families — the constituency that drives demand for Simmons Bank’s trust, fiduciary, and wealth-management services. She also advises clients in matters of probate and trust administration, often counseling Trustees and Executors regarding their fiduciary duties and other obligations, making her a useful resource for the Bank’s trust officers coordinating with outside counsel on trust and estate matters. Recognized as a Texas Rising Star (Estate Planning & Probate) and a Best Lawyers Ones to Watch (Trusts and Estates).

Ryan Vayner   |   Associate

Ryan is a trust and estates attorney focused on helping high net-worth individuals and families customize their estate planning to best protect and transfer their wealth, with particular attention to minimizing gift and estate tax exposure in lifetime transfers and generational succession.  Her experience and practice area make her a natural fit to collaborate with Simmons Bank’s trust department in supporting customers with taxable estates. She also assists families through probate and estate administration following a death, working alongside corporate and individual fiduciaries to keep matters moving efficiently. She is a member of the Dallas Bar Association Probate, Trusts & Estates Section, Texas State Bar Real Estate, Probate and Trust Law Section, and the Dallas Estate Planning Council.

Steve Levine   |   Partner

Steve has more than 35 years of experience in trademark counseling, filings, prosecution, and enforcement — the practice most relevant to Simmons Bank protecting its name, logos, marketing assets, and consumer-facing brand. He has served for more than a decade as sole outside U.S. trademark counsel for a Fortune 250 technology company, coordinating with foreign counsel on a global portfolio, which mirrors the disciplined, long-term brand stewardship a national banking institution’s marketing and legal teams require. Recognized in The Best Lawyers in America (Patent Law) and Lawdragon 500 (Intellectual Property Litigation, Esp. Trademark).

Andrea Perez   |   Partner

Andrea handles the IP and marketing-side issues that arise for financial institutions and their customers — trademark portfolios, brand protection, licensing, and marketing-related intellectual property — and is a sought-after voice on intellectual property in the financial and asset-based context (including leveraging art collections as collateral). She combines IP fluency with corporate transactional experience, useful when Simmons Bank or a commercial customer needs an attorney who can see brand and IP issues in the context of a larger deal. Recognized in The Best Lawyers in America and Lawdragon 500.

Chandler Webb   |   Associate

Chandler is a transactional associate with hands-on experience in handling intellectual property matters. She has assisted in various trademark matters, drafted naming rights agreements for facilities, and assisted in the negotiation of licensing agreements.

Wade Emmert   |   Partner

Wade advises healthcare providers, technology companies, and investors on data privacy, cybersecurity, and artificial intelligence governance, helping clients leverage data-driven innovation while protecting patient information and maintaining regulatory compliance. He counsels clients on HIPAA compliance and breach response, the development and deployment of AI tools in healthcare settings, and the design of governance policies that address emerging privacy and technology risks. Wade holds industry-leading credentials in the field, including dual certifications from the International Association of Privacy Professionals as a Certified Information Privacy Professional (CIPP/US) and an Artificial Intelligence Governance Professional (AIGP), and he is also Certified in Cybersecurity (ISC2 CC), giving him technical fluency alongside his legal expertise. He has spoken on Texas privacy law for TexasBarCLE’s Essentials of Business Law Course and was recognized in the 2025 Lawdragon 500 Leading Dealmakers in America for Data Privacy & Emerging Technology.

Kate Morris   |   Counsel

Kate’s practice sits at the intersection of law, data, and technology — AI governance and strategy, data law, privacy, cybersecurity, commercial technology transactions, and information governance — exactly the issues Simmons Bank confronts on consumer privacy and vendor management. She regularly speaks on privacy and cybersecurity in financial services contexts (including for the Southwest Association of Bank Counsel and the Texas Association of Bank Counsel) and serves on the IAPP Privacy Law Specialist Advisory Board. Recognized in Texas Super Lawyers (Top Women Attorneys) and D Magazine’s Best Lawyers in Dallas.

Russ Pearlman   |   Counsel

Russ combines 25-plus years as a C-suite technology executive and current Chief Information Officer at Dallas College, one of the largest community college systems in the country, with an active legal practice focused on technology transactions, AI governance, privacy/cybersecurity, and emerging technology risk. That rare dual perspective benefits Simmons Bank when navigating vendor due diligence, AI deployment, data privacy regulation, and information security. He holds a J.D. and an M.S. in Artificial Intelligence and has spoken on the Texas Responsible AI Governance Act (TRAIGA) and its impact on regulated industries. Recognized as a Texas Rising Star in Technology Transactions for six consecutive years and the 2026 DFW CIO of the Year ORBIE Award winner.

David Drumm   |   Partner

David has more than four decades of complex real estate experience covering acquisition, leasing, financing, development, and disposition for hotel owner/operators, real estate developers, owners and managers of office and mixed-use properties, and inbound non-U.S. investors. His representative deals include construction of a Baylor Medical Center-adjacent medical office building, hotel and conference center projects with public-private incentives, and large multi-use developments. Recognized in The Best Lawyers in America (Real Estate Law) and Lawdragon 500 (Leading Global Real Estate Lawyers).

David Heidenreich  |   Partner

David serves as the firm’s Transactional Department Head and focuses on every aspect of commercial real estate transactions — due diligence, financing, acquisition, development, stabilization, and disposition — for owners, institutional investors, developers, advisors, and lenders. His matters include national self-storage development programs, multifamily acquisitions, hotel and resort developments in California, Utah, and Mexico, a million-square-foot industrial distribution facility, and continuing-care retirement community work. Recognized in Lawdragon 500 (Leading Dealmakers, Real Estate, Energy).

Bonnie Barksdale  |   Partner

Bonnie has more than thirty years of real estate experience across the full range of work Simmons Bank touches — complex purchases and sales, financing, entity formation, development and construction contracts, supply agreements, environmental issues, leasing for landlords and tenants, and HOA/POA development matters. Her client roster includes Fortune 500 companies, family businesses and investment groups, and nonprofits, and she is recognized in Lawdragon 500 (Leading Dealmakers in America, Real Estate and Construction).

Phil Hecker  |   Associate

Phil supports clients across the full range of real estate transactions — purchase, sale, leasing, and financing — with experience on multimillion-dollar deals across a variety of transactions. His attention to detail and disciplined execution support Simmons Bank’s real estate transactional pipeline at the associate level.

Chandler Webb  |   Associate

Chandler supports the firm’s real estate group across acquisitions, financings, leasing, and dispositions for financial services, real estate, and hospitality clients. She has developed a strong command of title and survey review, entity structuring, and the coordination of third-party diligence that keeps transactions on schedule. Her finance background equips her to handle the diligence and documentation work that drives deal velocity for Simmons Bank’s real estate matters, and her attention to detail in drafting and reviewing purchase agreements, loan documents, and lease abstracts ensures that issues are identified and addressed early in the process rather than at closing. Chandler works efficiently under tight timelines and is adept at managing the moving parts of a real estate transaction — from LOI through post-closing — so that the Bank’s internal team can focus on relationship management and credit decisions rather than chasing deliverables.

Sarah Youssef  |   Associate

Sarah’s practice centers on real estate transactions and has prior M&A and corporate governance experience that adds breadth when real estate matters intersect with corporate restructuring or entity-level actions.