Abbott reappoints all 10 judges to second terms on new Texas Business Court

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(The Center Square) – Gov. Greg Abbott on Wednesday reappointed all 10 Texas Business Court judges to their respective divisions to new two-year terms beginning Sept. 1, 2026. He first appointed them in September 2024, when the court first convened.

The legislature established the Texas Business Court in 2023 as the first-of-its-kind specialized trial court in Texas to oversee complex business-to-business litigation. Within less than a year of its inception, it began hearing cases. 

Last year, the legislature passed a series of reforms to make the court more efficient and help streamline lengthy and complicated business cases, The Center Square reported. Since then, companies have cited the new court, its judges and Texas’ corporate legal framework offering “the right mix of efficiency, predictability, and fairness to be our home for incorporation” as reasons for redomiciling in Texas.

“Businesses choose Texas in record numbers because Texas delivers results,” Abbott said in a statement. “The Texas Business Court has resolved complex commercial disputes with unmatched speed and expertise. Hundreds of cases already filed and scores resolved prove these judges fuel Texas’ status as the economic engine of America. I have reappointed these skilled judges to protect that success and to ensure that Texas’ business jurisprudence is on steady ground for years to come.” 

Since its inception, the court “has delivered monumental success,” he added. “Specialized judges now handle the most complex commercial matters with the expertise and speed Texas businesses demand. Cases move forward efficiently, which gives companies the certainty they need to invest, expand, and create jobs.” 

The judges he reappointed “have strengthened Texas’ position as the top state for business and drawn national attention as models for commercial dispute resolution,” he added.

The court is divided into five geographical divisions. Abbott reappointed each of the judges currently serving in their respective divisions. 

First Business Court Division, McKinney, Judges Andrea Bouressa and William Whitehall 

Bouressa previously served as judge presiding over the 471st Judicial District Court and as a Local Administrative District Judge for Collin County. Whitehill was a member of Condon Tobin Sladek Thornton Nerenberg PLLC, where he led its appellate and special issues practice group. He is also a former justice of the Texas Fifth Court of Appeals in Dallas. 

Third Business Court Division, Austin, Judges Melissa Andrews and Patrick Sweeten 

Andrews was an equity partner at Holland & Knight and served as an attorney for Texas Supreme Court Justice Jeff Boyd and First Court of Appeals Justice Harvey Brown. She also clerked for Judge Don Willett when he served on the Texas Supreme Court.

Sweeten previously served as the principal deputy general counsel to the governor and as deputy attorney general for Special Litigation in the Office of Texas Attorney General.

Fourth Business Court Division, San Antonio, Judges Marialyn Barnard and Stacy Sharp 

Barnard previously served as judge of the 73rd Judicial District Court in Bexar County, as Bexar County Commissioner for Precinct 3, and spent 10 years as a justice on the Fourth Court of Appeals. Sharp owned and was an attorney with Sharp Appellate PLLC and was a University of Texas-Austin adjunct professor.

Eighth Business Court Division, Fort Worth, Judges Jerry Bullard and Brian Stagner 

Bullard previously served as a shareholder and attorney with Adams, Lynch & Loftin, P.C. He has more than 30 years of experience in state and federal court litigation, including both trial and appellate law. Stagner was former partner and counsel at Kelly Hart & Hallman LLP and taught business law at Texas Christian University as an adjunct professor.

Eleventh Business Court Division, Houston, Judges Sofia Adrogué and Grant Dorfman 

Adrogué was a partner at Diamond McCarthy LLP and founded and edited the Texas Business Litigation Treatise (ALM). Now in its 6th Edition, the ALM is dedicated to the Texas Business Court. At the beginning of her career, she clerked at the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals.

Dorfman previously served as a judge presiding over the 334th Judicial District and the 129th Judicial District, both in Harris County, and as a visiting judge. He was also former counsel for Sheehy, Ware, Pappas & Grubbs, P.C., and former Senior In-House Counsel to Nabors Industries. He also served as former Deputy First Assistant Attorney General in the AG’s office. 

Dorfman was elected by his colleagues to serve as the Administrative Presiding Judge over the Texas Business Court. Sharp serves as the Administrative Presiding Judge Pro Tempore.