Awards & Honors Archives

McCathern Names Dallas Attorney to Partner

Law firm McCathern, PLLC is proud to announce the promotion of attorney, Stephanie M. Almeter, to partner of the firm’s Dallas office. McCathern is a full-service law firm with offices in Dallas, Frisco, Houston, and Los Angeles. It’s not an easy task to be promoted to partner. A partnership with McCathern is the result of hard work, […]

McCathern Attorney Comments on Counsel for President Donald Trump

McCathern attorney Jim Sherry was recently mentioned in an article on his former colleague, John Dowd, who is currently serving as counsel for President Trump. See the article below. John Dowd and Ty Cobb were brought onto President Donald Trump’s legal team in part because of their long-standing ties with Special Counsel Robert Mueller — and […]

McCathern Reaches 100% Membership With HYLA

McCathern’s Houston office was recently recognized as a “100% Membership Firm” within the Houston Young Lawyers Association (HYLA). This honor is achieved when a firm has all of its eligible attorneys become a member of the Houston Young Lawyers Association. HYLA is one of Houston’s local bar associations with a membership of nearly 2,000+ young […]

McCathern Celebrates 19 Years of Business

On Sunday, October 1st, McCathern celebrated the beginning of its 20th year in business. After 19 full years, McCathern is stronger than ever with four offices located in Dallas, Houston, and Frisco, Texas as well as Los Angeles, California. McCathern employs over 65 attorneys and staff – all working together to reach the firm’s goal […]

McCathern Names Two Texas Attorneys to Partner

The McCathern law firm is proud to announce the promotion of two attorneys, Isaac Villarreal and Eric Van Horn, to partner of the firm’s Dallas and Houston offices. McCathern is a full-service law firm with offices in Dallas, Frisco, Houston, and Los Angeles. Being promoted to partner is not a task easily achieved. A partnership […]

McCathern Ranks Among Texas Lawyers’ 2017 Texas 100

McCathern Ranked 50th on Annual “Texas 100” List of Largest Law Firms in Texas McCathern, PLLC a Dallas-based law firm, is excited to announce that it has been ranked among the 2017 “Texas 100,” a list compiled by Texas Lawyer of the largest law firms in the state of Texas. Each year Texas Lawyer conducts […]

McCathern Attorneys Named Among Dallas’ Best

McCathern Partners Levi McCathern, Arnold Shokouhi, Paul Grinke, Carl Evans, and Jennette DePonte, as well as Of Counsel Attorney Eric Van Horn, were selected to D Magazine’s list of the 2017 Best Lawyers in Dallas. An elite group of top-notch lawyers in Dallas received D Magazine’s “Best Lawyer” honor this year. McCathern’s selected attorneys […]

Twelve McCathern Attorneys Selected to 2017 Texas Rising Stars List

Law firm McCathern, PLLC is pleased to announce that eleven attorneys from the firm’s Dallas and Houston offices have been named to the 2017 Texas Rising Stars list of exceptional young lawyers. McCathern’s 2017 Texas “Rising Stars” include: McCathern Dallas: Arnold Shokouhi, Commercial Litigation & Banking Stephanie M. Almeter, Civil Litigation Brett M. Chisum, Business Litigation Farbod […]

McCathern named among largest firms in TX

Last year, McCathern made The Texas 100 list by Texas Lawyer at #68. This year, we have moved up to #59! Congratulations to our firm on this huge achievement! Click here to see the full list of this year’s largest firms in Texas from Texas Lawyer.

Congratulations, McCathern Houston Attorneys

McCathern Houston Attorneys Rodney Drinnon, Ronald Wright, Andy Green, Isaac Villarreal, Veronica Montemayor, and Nick Zugaro selected as Top Lawyers by H-Texas Magazine Rodney L. Drinnon is an experienced litigator who handles complex civil litigation in both federal and state courts. He has served as the lead trial lawyer on matters, including antitrust actions, contested […]

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