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GERRY W. BEYER is the Governor Preston E. Smith Regents Professor of Law at Texas Tech University School of Law and recipient of the 2010 Chancellor's Council Distinguished Teaching Award. He is a frequent contributor to both scholarly and practice-orientated publications and has authored and co-authored numerous books and articles focusing on various aspects of estate planning. Professor Beyer earned his B.A. degree, summa cum laude, from Eastern Michigan University and his J.D. degree, summa cum laude, from The Ohio State University, where he was inducted into the Order of the Coif. He also earned his LL.M. and J.S.D. degrees from University of Illinois. Professor Beyer is a member of the American Law Institute, an Academic Fellow of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel (ACTEC), and maintains membership in numerous organizations, including the American and Texas bar foundations and the College of the State Bar of Texas. He currently serves as a member of the Real Estate, Probate, and Trust Law Council of State Bar of Texas; member of the advisory board for 2nd Chance for Pets; secretary of the State Laws Committee of ACTEC; Recent Developments Coordinator of the Legal Education Committee of ACTEC; and the editor of the Keeping Current column of Probate and Property magazine. STEVE A. CLAUS is an attorney and accountant in Lubbock, Texas. Mr. Claus graduated from the University of Cincinnati, magna cum laude, and from Chase College of Law, Northern Kentucky State University. After spending 13 years with several of the international Certified Public Accounting firms at various locations in the United States, Europe, and Saudi Arabia, he started a sole practitioner CPA firm and then a partner in a CPA firm in Lubbock. Once admitted to the State Bar of Texas, capitalizing on his CPA background, and his business and tax experience, Mr. Claus established a legal firm focusing in tax planning, estate planning, probate, business planning, and tax compliance. MICHELE N. DODD is an attorney with Field, Manning, Stone, Hawthorne & Aycock, P.C. in Lubbock, Texas. She graduated from McMurry University, summa cum laude, and worked for Chase Bank for several years as a corporate trainer and financial planner. Ms. Dodd attended Texas Tech University School of Law graduating, magna cum laude, and was admitted to practice by the State Bar of Texas in 2005. While in law school she received the CALI Awards for Professional Responsibility and Environmental Law and the Jurisprudence Award for Interviewing, Counseling and Negotiation. After graduation from law school Ms. Dodd joined Field, Manning, Stone, Hawthorne & Aycock, P.C. She practices primarily in the areas of wills and trusts, estate planning and probate administration, elder law and general business. Ms. Dodd is the 2011 president of the South Plains Trust and Estate Council and is a member of the State Bar or Texas, Lubbock County Bar Association and Lubbock County Young Lawyers Association. CHASITY W. THOMAS is an attorney with Craig, Terrill, Hale & Grantham, L.L.P. Ms. Thomas' experience involves planning both simple and taxable estate plans, administering estates, and assisting nonprofit organizations to obtain tax exempt status. She is a member of the American (Trust & Estate Law sections) and Lubbock County bar associations, and Lubbock Young Lawyers Association, Texas Young Lawyers Association, Lubbock County Women Lawyers Association, and South Plains Trust and Estate Council. Ms. Thomas attended Texas Tech University School of Law, where she earned her B.A. and J.D. degrees, and served as Symposium Editor of the Texas Tech Law Review. She also earned her Masters of Law degree from the University of Miami School of Law.
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