Stephen S. Mims, J.D.
Executive Director
Houston, Dallas and Austin

713-439-0911

Steve specializes in senior level, retained legal search. He received his B.A. degree from Tulane University and both a M.A. degree in Economics and a J.D. degree (1974) from Southern Methodist University, where he was elected to the Order of the Barristers and the Southwestern Law Journal (Publications Editor, 1973-1974). He practiced general corporate law for 10 years, both in private practice and as a senior counsel with a Fortune 100 corporation, before entering the search industry with Prescott in 1984. Steve later served as vice president of two of the largest U.S. executive search firms prior to forming Mims & Associates, a retained attorney search firm, in 1991. He has additional, senior level search experience with assignments in non-legal functional areas, including finance, human resources, sales and marketing, engineering, information technology and general management. Steve has been a Houston legal recruiter since 1984.

Tonda R. Hyde, CLA
Senior Placement Director

713-439-0911

Tonda Hyde received a B.A. degree in 1990 from The University of Texas at Dallas, and received her paralegal certificate in 1991. She worked as a paralegal for five years before joining Prescott Legal Search in 1996. After joining Prescott, Tonda was awarded the designation of Certified Legal Assistant, recognized by the National Association of Legal Assistants. Since 2000, Tonda has served on the Board of Advisors for the Southwestern Professional Institute, an ABA-approved paralegal program. With six years of sales and five years of experience as a paralegal prior to joining Prescott, Tonda is responsible for permanent and temporary paralegal recruiting. Tonda has been a Houston paralegal recruiter since 1996.

Anne Sparks, J.D.
Attorney Search Director

713-439-0911

Anne Sparks received her B. A. degree from Rice University in 1985 and her law degree from The University of Texas in 1989. She practiced law for seventeen years and served as General Counsel of two large companies, Smith & Associates, and most recently, NextiraOne. As an attorney, her practice focused primarily on complex commercial litigation and corporate management in the technology sector. She also has written and spoken at the Texas State Bar Annual Convention, Rice University and the University of Houston Continuing Legal Education seminars on numerous topics and is a recognized expert on E-Discovery. Anne is a member of the Houston Bar Association and Texas General Counsel Forum and previously served on the State Bar of Texas Intellectual Property Committee. Anne joined Prescott in 2006 as a Houston legal recruiter and provides permanent and contract staffing advice and assistance in the Houston market.

Beth Marshall Walker, J.D.
Attorney Search Director

713-439-0911

Beth graduated from Texas Tech University School of Law, magna cum laude, in 2004, after receiving her B.A. from Saint Cloud State University in 1999, summa cum laude. At Texas Tech, Beth was a member of the Order of the Coif and served as the Student Writing Editor for the Texas Tech Law Review.

Beth practiced in the litigation section of the Houston office of Winstead Sechrest & Minick P.C., with a focus on general commercial litigation and dispute resolution. At Prescott Legal Search, Beth's primary focus is permanent attorney recruiting for law firms and corporations in the Houston area.

Marguerite Johnson, J.D.
Attorney Search Director

713-439-0911

Marguerite received a Political Science degree from The University of Texas in 1998 and received her law degree from the University of Houston Law Center in 2001. Upon her graduation, Marguerite joined the highly-regarded Houston litigation boutique of Powers & Frost. She subsequently moved to Coats, Rose, Yale, Ryman & Lee, where she continued her complex litigation practice until January of 2007. She is a member of the State Bar of Texas, the Houston Bar Association, and the Houston Young Lawyers Association.

At Prescott Legal Search, Marguerite’s primary focus will be on permanent attorney recruiting for corporations and law firms in the Houston area.

Julia Walton
Senior Placement Director

713-439-0911

Julia Walton has been a legal recruiter in the Houston area for over thirteen years. She received her B.A. from Louisiana State University and her Paralegal Certificate from The Institute for Paralegal Training in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. After completing her education, Julia practiced as a paralegal at Vinson & Elkins and with Shell Oil Company.

At Prescott Legal Search, Julia’s primary focus will be on contract attorneys, as well as temporary and permanent paralegal recruiting for corporations and law firms in the Houston area.

Holly Sherman Peña, J.D.
Attorney Search Director

214-210-2930

Holly Sherman Peña received her B.A. in 1987 from Vanderbilt University and her J.D. in 1990 from The University of Texas. Following law school, Holly interned with the Commission of the European Communities in Brussels, Belgium, then joined Strasburger & Price in 1991, where she practiced for seven years, focusing on cross-border transactions and trade. While primarily practicing in the firm's Dallas office, Holly also worked in the Austin office and opened the Mexico City office in 1993, serving as the firm's foreign resident attorney for nearly two years before returning to the Dallas office. Holly is fluent in Spanish and English. Holly is actively involved in her daughters’ school, The Hockaday School, and her church, Saint Michael and All Angels Episcopal Church; she is a past board member of the Boards of Directors of the Girl Scouts of Northeast Texas and Big Thought; and she was a member of the Leadership America Class of 2002. Holly has been a Dallas legal recruiter since 2000.

Electra T. Harelson
Senior Placement Director

214-210-2930

Electra Harelson received her B.A., cum laude, from Duke University in 1986. Before joining Prescott, Electra spent twelve years as a recruiting coordinator in Dallas, first with Locke Purnell (now Locke Liddell & Sapp), then with Vinson & Elkins, where she handled recruiting and client services. She also started her own executive career consulting firm. Electra is a past officer of the Recruiting Administrators of Dallas and currently serves as a member of the Duke Alumni Interviewing Committee and the Dallas Junior League. Electra is responsible for contract attorneys and permanent and contract paralegals, and has been a Dallas legal recruiter since 2000.

Cortland Kelly Grynwald, J.D.
Attorney Search Director

214-210-2930

Cortland Kelly Grynwald received her B.F.A. summa cum laude, with an emphasis in Theatre, from Virginia Commonwealth University in 1993, and her J.D. from the University of Virginia in 1999, where she served as the 1997-98 Treasurer for the Student Bar Association and the producer of the 1999 Libel Show. She first worked for three years with Lowndes, Drosdick, Doster, Kantor & Reed, P.A. in Orlando, Florida, practicing in various areas including land use, commercial real estate/ leasing, commercial and real estate litigation, bankruptcy, creditors' rights, and commercial loan workouts. Cortland then moved to Dallas, Texas and worked with Carrington, Coleman, Sloman, and Blumenthal, L.L.P., with a focus on bankruptcy and commercial litigation. She currently serves as one of the UVa Law Class Managers for the class of 1999 and is a member of the State Bar of Texas, the Dallas Bar Association, and the Dallas Association of Young Lawyers. Cortland joined the Dallas legal recruiting team in 2005.

Mark Prescott
Attorney Search Director

214-210-2930

Mark Prescott received his B.S. degree in 1997 from Vanderbilt University. After graduating, Mark lived in Santiago, Chile and Buenos Aires, Argentina where he became fluent in Spanish and worked for Internet Securities, a Boston-based provider of emerging markets financial information. Upon returning home to Texas in 2000, Mark joined Korn/Ferry International's Houston office and became part of its Energy practice. He spent nearly five years with Korn/Ferry, conducting over 60 searches in the Consumer, Energy, Healthcare, Industrial and Technology practices. In 2005 Mark joined AT Kearney's Washington, D.C. office and its Higher Education and Life Sciences practices. With nearly six years of executive search experience, Mark joined Prescott in 2006. His primary focus is on the Dallas - Fort Worth attorney market and serving as a member of Prescott’s National Energy Team. Mark is a member of the Texas General Counsel Forum Board of Directors, Dallas Chapter.

Amber Shockey, J.D.
Attorney Search Director

214-210-2930

Amber Shockey received her B.B.A. degree from the University of Oklahoma with a major in Finance and Economics and her J.D. degree, cum laude, in 2001 from Southern Methodist University. At SMU, Amber was a finalist in the Jackson Walker Moot Court competition and served as the Comments Editor for the International Law Review and a research assistant to Professor Roy Ryden Anderson. After law school, Amber joined the litigation section of Jenkens & Gilchrist, P.C. before moving to Thompson & Knight, LLP to concentrate her practice on energy transactions and energy litigation. Amber is currently a member of the Texas State Bar Energy Section, the Dallas Association of Young Lawyers, the Texas Association of Defense Lawyers, and the Junior League of Dallas. She joined Prescott in 2006 and handles permanent attorney searches in the Metroplex area, as well as serving as a member of the National Energy Team.

Tish Hinojosa Elliott, J.D.
Attorney Search Director

512-482-9442

Tish Hinojosa Elliott received her B.A. degree in 1991 from the University of Texas at Austin and graduated from the University of Houston Law Center in 1996 where she was on the Mock Trial Team. Tish was a litigation associate with Clark, Thomas & Winters, Austin's largest firm, for two years prior to becoming a legal search consultant and joining our Austin office. She is involved in various community and political projects and is active in the Hispanic Bar Association of Austin and the Austin Young Lawyers Association where she is Committee Co-Chair for the Children and Youth Services Committee. She also is a member of the Texas General Counsel Forum Board of Directors, Austin Chapter. Tish has been an Austin legal recruiter since 1998.

Jane Fields Pollard, J.D.
Attorney Search Director

512-482-9442

Jane Pollard is in her seventh year as a legal recruiter. Prior to joining the legal search profession, Ms. Pollard was an associate with the law firm of Thompson & Knight, where she focused on commercial litigation. She obtained her Juris Doctorate in 1993 with honors from the University of Texas School of Law. While there she was an Associate Editor for The Texas Law Review and a member of Order of the Coif. Ms. Pollard obtained her undergraduate degree in Accounting with High Honors and shortly afterward became a licensed CPA in the tax group of Price Waterhouse.

In her free time, Ms. Pollard enjoys long distance cycling and the company of her husband and young son on a ranch near Austin.

Mary Alice Naiser
Senior Placement Director

512-482-9442

Mary Alice, an Austin native, was a Liberal Arts major at The University of Texas, then served as the Director of Attorney Hiring at Brown McCarroll & Oaks Hartline for ten years, where she was also responsible for coordinating the Firm's recruiting program state-wide. From 1992 to 1995, Mary Alice was the President of the Recruitment Administrators of Austin. In 1996, she joined Cochran & Company in Austin, as a legal recruiter, then joined Prescott Legal Search in 2000 when Prescott acquired Cochran & Company. Mary Alice has a wide range of recruiting experience including the placement of attorneys, paralegals, contract administrators, legal secretaries and litigation support personnel. She is currently responsible for permanent and temporary paralegal, legal secretary and administrative personnel placements, as well as temporary attorneys. Mary Alice has been an Austin legal recruiter since 1996.

Holly E. Coe
Senior Placement Director

512-482-9442

Holly received her B.A. from the University of Texas at Austin in 1983 and paralegal certificate from Southwest Texas State University in 1984. After more than 10 years of experience as a senior litigation paralegal for McGinnis Lochridge & Kilgore and 3M Company's Office of General Counsel and Intellectual Property Counsel, Holly founded The Paralegal Source, Inc., a legal recruiting firm, which was acquired by Prescott Legal Search in 2000. Holly now oversees permanent and temporary paralegal and legal nurse recruiting and placement for our Austin office, as well as temporary attorneys. She is active in the Capital Area Paralegal Association and serves on the board of Circle of Friends, a fundraising organization for Austin Children's Hospital. Holly has been an Austin paralegal recruiter since 1994.

Kathy Kraft, RN, LNCC
Consultant

512-482-9442

Kathy Kraft attended Texas A&M University and The University of St. Thomas. She graduated cum laude with a Bachelor of Science degree in Nursing and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology. With over 22 years of nursing experience in Critical Care, Post Anesthesia Care and Ground and Air Critical Care Transport, Kathy became a Legal Nurse Consultant in 1995 and joined the law firm of Fulbright & Jaworski in Austin. She has worked in medical malpractice and products liability for both plaintiff and defense. Her legal experience includes PPA, Fen-Phen, breast implant, vaccines and Baycol litigation matters. In 2001, Kathy joined Prescott Legal Search as an LNC Supervisor and now serves as Director of Legal Nurse Services. Kathy is Board Certified as a Legal Nurse Consultant and has served as past President of the Austin chapter of Legal Nurse Consultants. In addition, Kathy has been the Charge Nurse at the Volunteer Healthcare Clinic for the past eight years and teaches CEU classes in legal documentation for nurses.