Tenured | Other Faculty | Adjunct Professors
Johnny Rex Buckles
Professor of Law
B.S., Oklahoma State University; J.D., Harvard Law School; M.A., Dallas Theological Seminary. Previously: Attorney, Thompson & Knight, Dallas, Texas; Visiting Professor, Washington and Lee University School of Law. Contributor to Westfall & Mair, "Estate Planning Law and Taxation," and numerous tax articles. Tax subjects: Federal Income Taxation, Estate Planning, Taxation of Exempt Organizations, Tax Aspects of Charitable Giving, Tax Policy Seminar (also teaches Contracts and Law & Theology Seminar).
Bret Wells
Professor of Law
Bret Wells. B.B.A., Southwestern University; J.D., The University of Texas School of Law. Previously: Vice President-Treasurer & Chief Tax Officer, BJ Services Company; Assistant Vice President and Asst. General Tax Counsel, Cargill, Inc.; Associate Attorney, Baker & Botts, L.L.P. Book author: Lowell, Donahue, Martin, & Wells, "US International Taxation: Agreements, Checklist, and Commentary," (WG&L Treatise and available on RIA Checkpoint), and author, numerous tax articles. Tax subjects: Federal Income Taxation, Corporate Taxation, U.S. International Taxation (also teaches Corporate Finance and Oil & Gas Law).
Denney L. Wright
Professor of Practice
Denney Wright was appointed a Professor of Practice at the University of Houston Law Center in 2017, having retired from Exxon Mobil Corporation in November 2016 with over forty-two years of service. In his role as a Professor of Practice, Mr. Wright is teaching Oil and Gas Tax and International Petroleum Transactions. He is also organizing and implementing continuing education in the tax and energy areas supporting various degree-granting programs and CLE programs at the Law Center. A new permanent program rolled out in 2019 is the University of Houston Law Center Denney L. Wright International Energy Tax Conference, an annual international energy tax symposium that will focus on international energy tax issues of note. The third annual conference was held virtually and attracted over 300 participants with speakers from six countries including Australia, Brazil, Canada, Mexico, the UK and the US. Mr. Wright also serves as a faculty advisor to the Houston Business and Tax Law Journal and to the UHLC Student Chapter of the Association of International Petroleum Negotiators.
Mr. Wright comes to the Law Center with significant experience in an energy tax practice. He started initially at Exxon Mobil Corporation in the Controller’s Department but served most of his career in the Tax Department as a tax accountant and a tax lawyer. Mr. Wright served in many positions over the years, primarily in the United States but also in the United Kingdom. In his final assignment with ExxonMobil, Mr. Wright was Senior Tax Counsel - Global Training and Development, where he oversaw worldwide U.S. tax training and development for Exxon Mobil Corporation tax personnel.
Mr. Wright has taught Oil and Gas Taxation for over twenty years as an Adjunct Professor of Law at the University of Houston Law Center and internally at Exxon Mobil Corporation. Over the past ten years he has also taught Oil and Gas Taxation as an Adjunct Professor of Law at New York University School of Law, the University of Texas School of Law and Southern
Methodist University School of Law. Mr. Wright also serves as a lecturer on international tax issues in the University of Calgary Law School International Energy Law Study Abroad Program held at the London School of Economics, planned as an annual program in August of each year in London.
Mr. Wright is a member of the Texas Bar, a member of the American Bar Association and has been a participant in many oil and gas industry groups throughout us long career. Mr. Wright serves on the Parker Fielder Oil & Gas Tax Conference Advisory Committee and has appeared as a panelist at the Parker Fielder Tax Conference as well as numerous other conferences and symposiums addressing oil and gas tax issues during his ExxonMobil career and now as a Professor of Practice at UHLC. Mr. Wright is a member of the Advisory Board of the Texas Federal Tax Institute and serves on the Education Board of the Association of International Petroleum Negotiators. Mr. Wright published “Understanding the Windfall Profits Tax Act” in the Petroleum Landman in 1980 and Co-Chaired the United States/China Oil and Gas Tax Joint Government/Industry Biennial Conference in Beijing, China in 1998. Mr. Wright published an oil and gas tax casebook for use in law school and graduate business school classes – Oil and Gas Taxation: A Comprehensive Study -- published by CCH Wolters Kluwer(November, 2019). Mr. Wright is now also a co-author of the Bloomberg BNA Tax Management Portfolio (No. 512-2d) on energy titled Tax Incentives for Production and Conservation of Energy and Natural Resources which is updated annually. Mr. Wright received the Parker Fielder Lifetime Achievement Award in 2017 in recognition of his long-standing energy tax practice and teaching.
Mr. Wright is married, has three children, three grandchildren and is active in his church as well as in scouting and community service activities.
Publications
Denney L. Wright, Oil and Gas Taxation: A Comprehensive Study, CCH Wolters Kluwer, 1st Ed. November, 2019
Denney L. Wright, 512-2d T.M., Tax Incentives for Production and Conservation of Energy and Natural Resources, Bloomberg BNA, 2020
Denney L. Wright, Understanding the Windfall Profits Tax Act, PETROLEUM LANDMAN (1980)
Degrees
LLM in Tax, University of Houston (May, 1993)
JD, South Texas College of Law (May, 1978)
BBA in Accounting, Texas Tech University (May, 1974)
Craig Bergez, B.A., University of California at Berkeley; J.D., University of California Hastings College of Law; LL.M.-Taxation, New York University School of Law. Partner, Porter & Hedges, LLP, Houston. Subjects: Partnership Tax and Business Planning.
Mark A. Bodron, B.S., Louisiana Tech University; J.D., Louisiana State University. Partner, Baker Botts LLP. Previously, Senior Tax Attorney, ExxonMobil Corporation. Fellow, American College of Employee Benefits Counsel. Subject: Taxation of Compensation.
Larry Campagna, B.A., University of Texas at Austin; J.D., University of Texas at Austin. Partner, Chamberlain, Hrdlicka, White, Williams & Aughtry. Co-author, tax casebook, with John A. Townsend, Steve Johnson and Scott A. Schumacher, "Tax Crimes: Cases & Materials," Lexis-Nexis. Fellow: American College of Tax Counsel. Subject: Tax Fraud & Money Laundering.
Jay M. Chadha, B.S., University of New Orleans; J.D., Tulane University; LL.M - Taxation, New York University. Senior Counsel, Fulbright & Jaworski, Houston. Subject: State and Local Taxation.
Mickey R. Davis, B.B.A., University of Arizona; J.D., University of Texas School of Law. Partner, Davis & Willms, PLLC. Co-author: Streng & Davis, "Retirement Tax Planning," Thomson Reuters (WG&L), RIAG/Checkpoint. Board Certified, Estate Planning and Probate Law, Texas Board of Legal Specialization. Subjects: Income Taxation of Estates and Trusts; Post-mortem Estate Planning.
Christopher Dykes, B.A., University of Tennessee-Knoxville; J.D., University of
Baltimore School of Law; LL.M.-Taxation, Villanova University; M.S.-
Information Sciences, University of Tennessee-Knoxville. Associate Librarian,
University of Houston Law Center. Author, "Federal Income Tax Law: A Legal
Research Guide," William S. Hein & Co., Inc.; Author, "International Tax Law: A
Legal Research Guide," William S. Hein & Co., Inc. Subject: Tax Research.
Eleanor Haynes, B.A., M.A., The Ohio State University; J.D. Capital University
School of Law; LL.M. in Taxation, Capital University School of Law. Attorney,
Haynes & Haynes, LLC. Previously, Adjunct Instructor in Tax, Capital
University School of Law; Assistant Professor of Business Law, Eastern
Kentucky University. Subject: Tax Ethics.
Mark Hoose, B.S., University of Illinois; J.D., George Washington University School of Law; LL.M. -Taxation, Georgetown University. Managing Tax Counsel, Phillips 66. Formerly a professor at University of San Diego School of Law. Subject: Tax Accounting.
Daniel H. Kroll, B.B.A., University of Oklahoma; J.D., University of Oklahoma College of Law. Partner, Baker Botts LLP. Formerly, Peat, Marwick, Main & Co., Subject: Real Estate Taxation. Significant practice experience concerning real estate projects and ventures.
Peter A. Lowy, B.A., Hobart and William Smith Colleges; J.D., Tulane Law School; LL.M.-Tax, New York University School of Law. Partner, Caplin& Drysdale, New York City; Former Senior Tax Counsel and Global Dispute Resolution Manager, Royal Dutch Shell Company. Author: "U.S. Federal Tax Research," Bloomberg BNA Tax Management Portfolio No. 100-2nd. Subjects: Tax Research and Tax Controversy & Litigation.
Shawn O'Brien, BBA, Millsaps College; J.D. Loyola New Orleans College of Law; LL.M.
Taxation, New York University School of Law. Partner, Mayer Brown, LLP, Houston; former partner, Fulbright & Jaworski, Houston. Subject: Taxation of Property Transactions.
Edward C. Osterberg, Jr., B.A., Northwestern University; J.D., Northwestern University School of Law; LL.M. - Taxation, Southern Methodist University School of Law. Partner, Mayer Brown, LLP, Houston; Former Partner, Vinson& Elkins, LLP, Houston. Fellow, American College of Tax Counsel; President- Elect, USA Branch, International Fiscal Association. Subject: Business Planning.
Richard Sherry, B.S., New York University; J.D., Fordham Law School; LL.M. - Taxation, New York University School of Law. General Counsel, Enventure Global Technology, Houston. Formerly Vice President Tax, Conoco/Phillips, Inc.; Manager of U.S. and International Taxes, DuPont Corporation; Vice President Tax, Consolidated Coal Corporation. Subject: Business Planning.
Juan F. Vasquez, Jr., B.B.A., University of Texas at Austin; J.D., University of Houston Law Center; LL.M - Taxation, New York University. Partner, Chamberlain, Hrdlicka, White, Williams & Aughtry. Also: Adjunct Professor of Law, Thurmond Marshall School of Law, Texas Southern University. Subject: Tax Controversy and Litigation.
David Winston, B.A. Texas A&M University; J.D., Harvard Law School. Senior Counsel, Shell Oil Company. Previously, Vinson & Elkins, LLP. Subject: Taxation of Compensation.