Awards & Honors Archives

Laura Roach and Ty Sheaks Named to 2021 Best Lawyers in Dallas List

McCathern is proud to announce that Partners Laura Roach and Ty M. Sheaks were named to the D Magazine 2021 Best Lawyers in Dallas list. This is Laura’s seventh year to be named to the prestigious list and it is Ty’s fourth consecutive year to be receive the honor. Laura is included as one of […]

Five McCathern Attorneys on 2021 Super Lawyers Texas Rising Stars List

McCathern, Shokouhi, Evans, Grinke is proud to announce that five attorneys from the firm’s Dallas and Frisco offices were named by Super Lawyers as Texas Rising Stars for 2021. In addition, three McCathern attorneys were included in the Top 100 Texas Rising Stars and one made the Up-And-Coming Top 50 Women list. The McCathern attorneys […]

Jesse Cromwell Named a Fellow of the Construction Lawyers Society of America

McCathern, Shokouhi, Evans, Grinke is proud to announce that Dallas attorney Jesse L. Cromwell was recently selected as a Fellow of the Construction Lawyers Society of America (CLSA). The CLSA is an invitation-only honorary association of construction lawyers from the U.S. and around the world who practice in all transactional and litigation aspects related to […]

Three Attorneys Named to D Magazine 2021 Best Lawyers Under 40 List

McCathern Partner Stephanie M. Almeter and Associates Erin R. Clegg and Jesse Cromwell were recently named to the 2021 edition of D Magazine’s Best Lawyers Under 40 list. The list is published in the January 2021 issue of D Magazine, and it recognizes many of the best young attorneys in the North Texas region. D […]

Ty Sheaks Joins Levi McCathern on Top Bet-the-Company Litigators List

McCathern Partner Ty Sheaks was recently invited to be included on the America’s Top 100 Bet-the-Company Litigators for 2020, a list of many the country’s highest regarded high-stakes litigators. Ty joins Founding Partner Levi McCathern on the site’s list of this class of commercial litigators in the North Texas region. To be considered for this […]

McCathern Attorneys Named to Houston’s Top Lawyers 2020 List

The Fall 2020 issue of H Texas Magazine includes their annual list of Houston’s top lawyers and McCathern is proud to have five attorneys included this year. The attorneys and the practice areas listed are: Rodney L. Drinnon – Business Litigation Ronald Wright – Corporate Finance: Mergers and Acquisitions Andrew Green – Business Litigation Isaac […]

McCathern Attorneys Selected to 2021 Best Lawyers and Ones to Watch Lists

Three McCathern attorneys from the Dallas and Frisco, Texas offices were recently selected by their peers for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America® 2021 and the new 2021 Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch. Levi McCathern, founding partner of the firm, was named to the Best Lawyers list for Litigation – Labor and Employment. Among […]

Seven McCathern Attorneys Make 2020 Texas Super Lawyers List

McCathern is proud to announce that seven attorneys from the firm’s Dallas, Frisco and Houston offices have been named by Super Lawyers to its Texas Super Lawyers list for 2020: Rodney Drinnon – Houston Paul Grinke – Frisco Levi McCathern – Dallas Laura Roach – Frisco Ty Sheaks – Frisco Isaac Villarreal – Houston Ronald […]

McCathern Partners Profiled in Modern Luxury Dallas Magazine

The October issue of Modern Luxury Dallas magazine features a special section titled “Modern Man of Dallas” which includes a profile of the four founding partners of McCathern: Levi McCathern, Arnold Shokouhi, Paul Grinke, and Carl Evans. The magazine’s feature presents “Some of the most distinguished men that are taking Dallas by storm. These outstanding […]

Attorney Kristin Hecker Participates in DAYL Leadership Retreat

McCathern Dallas associate attorney Kristin Hecker recently participated in a virtual weekend retreat as part of the Dallas Association of Young Lawyers (DAYL) 2020 Leadership Class. The retreat is a key element of an annual program that promotes leadership development within the bar association and Dallas’ non-profit and civic communities. Each year, DAYL Leadership Class […]

PROSPER ISD PARENTS QUESTION DISTRICT RESPONSE TO BUS DRIVER ACCUSED OF SEXUALLY ASSAULTING STUDENTS

December 15, 2025

Author: Rebecca Lopez with WFAA Watch the interview here. PROSPER, Texas — Parents of two young girls who say they were repeatedly sexually assaulted by a Prosper ISD school bus driver are speaking out about what they describe as serious failures by the district — including delayed notification to families and promised safety changes they say were never fully implemented. The parents asked that they not be identified to protect their children, who were just elementary school age at the time of the abuse. In a lawsuit filed in 2023, the girls — identified only as Jane Doe 1 and Jane Doe 2 — allege former bus driver Frank Paniagua assaulted them repeatedly during the 2021–2022 school year. According to the lawsuit, Paniagua would wait until other students exited the bus, then assault the girls, sometimes holding one child back so he could take her to the rear of the bus. Attorneys say the abuse occurred over several months and was captured on bus surveillance video. How the abuse was discovered The girls’ mother said the abuse came to light after their grandmother noticed troubling comments about gift cards offered by the bus driver. When the mother later questioned the girls again, they disclosed what had been happening. Prosper ISD police reviewed surveillance video from the bus in May 2022. Paniagua was arrested two days later and charged with aggravated sexual assault of a child, continuous sexual abuse of a child under 14, and indecency with a child. Paniagua later died after jumping from the second floor of the Collin County Jail while awaiting trial. Concerns about delayed notifications Attorneys for the family say more than 100 days passed after Paniagua’s arrest before Prosper ISD publicly acknowledged the allegations — a delay parents say may have prevented other potential victims from being identified. At a packed school board meeting, Prosper ISD parent Morgan Grahovec, a child psychologist whose daughter attended the same school as the victims, told trustees that delays in notifying parents can have serious consequences. “Children who are victims of abuse need to be identified and interviewed as soon as possible because memory fades over time,” Grahovec said. “The longer you wait, it’s harder to get a child to report abuse accurately.” Parents at those meetings called for Superintendent Holly Ferguson’s resignation, arguing district leaders should have acted sooner and communicated more transparently. Ferguson did not step down, instead promising changes to safety protocols. District response and former statement In an earlier written statement to WFAA, Prosper ISD said it took appropriate action once allegations surfaced: “We are horrified that an employee violated the trust of our families and students, as Prosper ISD’s foremost priority is to protect our students’ safety and well-being at all times. We strongly condemn the actions of any adult who would cause mental or physical harm to a child, and we do not tolerate such behavior.” The district has declined additional comment, citing pending litigation. Disputed claims about safety changes Prosper ISD previously told parents it would implement additional safeguards, including increased supervision during bus drop-offs, a volunteer “bus buddy” program, and improved monitoring of bus surveillance video. But the parents and their attorneys say those changes were not consistently put in place. Attorney Levi McCathern says the district does not regularly review bus surveillance footage — even though video captured the alleged abuse in this case. “You would think the first thing you would do after this happens is change your monitoring program,” McCathern said. “They don’t monitor them at all.” McCathern and co-counsel Kristin Hecker say the lawsuit is aimed at forcing policy changes rather than seeking financial gain. Questions about oversight and leadership The case has also raised broader concerns about district leadership and oversight. Prosper ISD’s school board president later resigned in an unrelated child abuse case, further shaking confidence among some parents. Families have also questioned the independence of the district’s internal review, noting that the law firm hired to investigate the district’s response is also defending Prosper ISD in the lawsuit. “All we want is an independent investigation,” McCathern said. Parents push for accountability and change The parents say their children remain enrolled in Prosper ISD, but they continue to press for reforms they believe could prevent similar abuse. “We want justice for our kids,” the girls’ mother said. “But we also want changes to happen at the district so that this doesn’t happen to other children.”

Category: Awards & Honors