Butler Snow is pleased to announce that attorneys Mary T. Henderson, Abbott Marie Jones, Charity W. Karanja, Christi R. Moore, Carolyn E. Shellman and Amanda G. Taylor have all been accepted into the NAWL’s 2025 Leadership Program. This program is a virtual 6-week intensive cohort that seeks to strengthen participants’ leadership skills and build their professional networks through impactful presentations, small-group discussions, and community-building exercises. The mission is to help participants prioritize themselves and advance their careers.
Mary Henderson is a member of Butler Snow’s Tort, Transportation and Specialized Litigation group. She is board-certified in Civil Appellate Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization and possesses many years of experience representing state agencies, individuals, corporations, and the public interest in state and federal courts across Texas. Having served as a briefing attorney to a state appellate justice and as Deputy Chief of Consumer Protection and Senior Attorney for Charitable Trusts and General Litigation for the Office of the Texas Attorney General, she has a knack for evaluating, developing and implementing strategies through all phases of representation that lead to the best outcomes for the client.
Abbott Jones is a member of the firm’s Pharmaceutical, Medical Device and Healthcare Litigation group and focuses her practice on appeals and written advocacy. Prior to joining the firm, Abbott practiced with the appellate litigation group of a Birmingham firm, where she handled briefing for numerous major motions and more than 40 appeals in federal and state courts. She has been recognized by several publications, including Thomson Reuters Super Lawyers®, B-Metro, Birmingham Magazine, About Town Magazine and theBirmingham Bar Association. Additionally, Abbott was previously selected as a Fellow in the inaugural Women’s Policy Institute, an advocacy and public policy bootcamp created by the Women’s Foundation of Alabama in 2021.
Charity Karanja is a member of Butler Snow’s Public Finance, Tax Incentives and Credit Markets group, where she focuses her practice on public finance, economic development incentives, and government relations. She has served in multiple roles on public, private, and public-private finance transactions and economic development matters. Charity has the distinction of being one of six women in the nation named to the 2024 Class of the Caren S. Franzini Fellowship, a merit-based program by the Council for Development Finance Agencies (CDFA) Foundation, which recognizes outstanding women in development finance for their leadership and dedication to advancing the industry. She has also been featured in a Member Spotlight by the National Association of Bond Lawyers, celebrating her career and accomplishments in public finance.
Christi Moore is a member of Butler Snow’s Products, Catastrophic and Industrial Litigation group in Atlanta, GA. Christi has experience representing companies against personal injury, premises liability, negligent security cases, as well as wrongful death claims. She has litigated cases for clients from start to finish with favorable resolutions for clients. She is a member of several professional organizations, including the State Bar of Georgia, the Georgia Association of Black Women Attorneys, the Georgia Association of Women Lawyers, and the American Bar Association.
Carolyn Shellman is a member of Butler Snow’s Specialized Advocacy group. She is experienced at developing regulatory and legislative policy strategies for renewable and disruptive technologies in the energy industry and provides advice on complex energy transactions. Carolyn also has experience with governance and compliance issues and possesses deep subject matter expertise in the electric utility industry and in navigating energy market issues. Carolyn has litigated administrative cases of all kinds at the Texas Public Utility Commission and has held senior legal executive positions at the Commission, as well as at ERCOT and the nation’s largest municipally owned electric and gas utility. She has been recognized by the San Antonio Business Journal and BL Rankings, The Best Lawyers in America® for her expertise.
Amanda Taylor is a member of the firm’s Specialized Advocacy group and serves as the Practice Group Leader in Austin, TX. As a Board-Certified Civil Appellate specialist, Amanda helps to shape successful case strategy from the outset of litigation through the end of an appeal. She has experience handling complex civil disputes regarding contracts, fraud, tax, insurance, products, employment, real property, trust and estates. She has served as appellate counsel in nearly 200 matters before the Texas Supreme Court, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth, Seventh, Ninth, and Eleventh Circuits, and appellate courts across Texas and other jurisdictions. She also regularly appears in district court to assist with dispositive motions, legal issues, and preservation of error. She has developed expertise related to the Texas Citizens Participation Act (a/k/a, anti-SLAPP statute). She frequently represents clients, writes, and presents legal education on this topic and other topics related to Texas appellate law. Amanda has been recognized by Chambers USA, America’s Leading Lawyers for Business in Litigation: Appellate since 2022, and recognized as a Thomson Reuters Texas Super Lawyer® in Appellate practice every year since 2014.
