South Texas College of Law Houston (STCL Houston) will honor three exceptional graduates Sept. 28 at its 2021 Alumni Association Annual Luncheon at Hotel ZaZa-Houston Museum District.

Houston’s oldest law school will recognize Mary-Olga Lovett ’93 with its Distinguished Alumni Award, the Honorable Kyle Carter ’00 with its Public Service Award, and Derek Pershing ’13 with its Young Alumni Award.

“STCL Houston has a reputation for graduating exceptional lawyers,” said Michael F. Barry, law school president and dean. “We are proud to select Mo Lovett, Judge Kyle Carter, and Derek Pershing as remarkable graduates who truly embody our mission of service to the community and to the legal profession. Known equally for their notable professional accomplishments and their civic contributions, they set a standard of excellence for our students and for their fellow alumni. I am proud to call them graduates of STCL Houston.”

Darcy Douglas ’07, vice president for advancement and alumni engagement at STCL Houston, added: “The STCL Houston Alumni Association is proud to honor these distinguished individuals with our most esteemed awards.”

Mary-Olga Lovett, Distinguished Alumni Award

Lovett, a member of STCL Houston’s board of directors, will receive the highest award presented by the law school’s Alumni Association. The Distinguished Alumni Award acknowledges outstanding civic contribution

To the community in which the recipient lives. Honorees must demonstrate significant leadership to South Texas College of Law Houston and to the legal profession. A sixth-generation Texan, Lovett is senior vice president of Greenberg Traurig LLP, with operational responsibilities for the firm’s Texas offices, and she serves as a member of the firm’s Executive Committee.

She is a proven first-chair trial lawyer who concentrates her practice in intellectual property and commercial and complex litigation. Lovett has served as national trial counsel for Fortune 500 companies in a broad range of industries, including entertainment, software, hardware, energy, hedge funds and financial institutions, health care, oilfield services, medical devices, pharmaceuticals, and automotive components. She has been recognized among The Best Lawyers in America in commercial litigation since 2012, she currently is listed as one of the Top 50 Women Lawyers in Texas and one of the Top 100 Attorneys in Houston by Super Lawyers Magazine/Texas Monthly, and she was named among the Top 100 Lawyers in Texas in 2016. In addition to a law degree, Lovett earned a bachelor’s degree from Stephen F. Austin State University.

Judge Kyle Carter, Public Service Award

As the recipient of the Public Service Award, Carter — judge of the 125th District Court in Harris County — will be honored for his significant and sustained accomplishments in a public service position. A native Houstonian, he has served as general counsel to the state’s legislative committees on General Investigations and Ethics, and the committee on Urban Affairs.

Carter is skilled in civil trial law, personal injury trial law, tax law, and negotiations. He serves as the current president of the Texas Association of District Judges. He is an active Mason and Shriner, and he was honored to serve as a 2008 “Man of Style” benefiting sickle cell research. Carter is a member of the University of Texas Chancellor’s Council, and he is a life member of the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, where he serves on the International Committee. He is the founder and president of Judges at Work in Schools, a charitable organization dedicated to teaching students of all ages about the judicial system. He also is the founder and president of Join Inc., a nonprofit that brings judges together to address specific community needs. In addition to a law degree, Carter earned a bachelor’s degree in government and philosophy from The University of Texas at Austin.

Derek Pershing, Young Alumni Award

As the recipient of the Young Alumni Award, Pershing — an adjunct professor at STCL Houston — will be recognized for his significant leadership and service contributions to STCL Houston and the legal profession in

the eight years since his graduation from law school. Pershing is a shareholder at Wilson Cribbs + Goren, where he has counseled clients with real estate transactions since 2013. He is the youngest lawyer — and one of only 42 practicing attorneys in Texas — to hold three board certifications from the Texas Board of Legal Specialization in Commercial Real Estate Law, Residential Real Estate Law, and Farm and Ranch Real Estate Law.

Pershing was a highly decorated combat medic in the U.S. Army from 2002 to 2006, where he attended the Army Airborne School, the Army Air Assault School, and obtained a private pilot license from the Federal Aviation Administration. He deployed to Afghanistan for more than a year to provide emergency care to fellow soldiers, and Afghan children and elders. He was recognized as one of the American Bar Association’s Top 40 Young Lawyers, the Houston Business Journal’s

40 Under 40 honorees, and with REDnews’ 2021 Real Estate Lawyer of the Year Award. In addition to a law degree, Pershing earned a B.B.A. in finance, summa cum laude, and an M.B.A. in finance from the University of St. Thomas.