School: School of Law

Catherine Deyarmond

Associate Director of Law Communications

Biography

Catherine Deyarmond joined St. Mary’s University in April 2024 as Associate Director of Law Communications. In this role, she promotes the interests of the School of Law, primarily through electronic communications, web-based and printed publications, and social media.

Deyarmond came to St. Mary’s with 16 years of higher education experience at UT Health San Antonio and Our Lady of the Lake University. During her time at these universities, she worked in media relations, communications, publications, social media, marketing and advancement.

After graduating with a Bachelor of Journalism from UT Austin, Deyarmond began her career in print journalism, working as a reporter and section editor for The Huntsville Item and the McKinney Courier-Gazette. During her college years, she worked part time at the San Antonio Express-News and the Austin American-Statesman.

When she moved back to her hometown in the 1990s, San Antonio had become a one-newspaper town. With no writing jobs available, she became Executive Producer of KTSA 550 AM News Talk Radio. Deyarmond scheduled and prepared guests for the talk show hosts to interview on air.

She later worked in new home marketing, where she expanded her marketing and advertising skillset, but her love of higher education drew her back to marketing the product that benefits all – higher education.

She knows firsthand the benefits of a college degree, and the professional career it has afforded her. After graduating from Highlands High School in San Antonio, Deyarmond was fortunate to receive a four-year endowed scholarship to attend college.

Deyarmond is particularly excited to be able to share the achievements and impactful stories of the School of Law. With its dedication to celebrating inclusivity, valuing the dignity of all of its members, and assisting community members battling social and economic injustices, she is proud to continue to grow the school’s reputation.

Catherine Deyarmond

Associate Director of Law Communications

Contact Information

Education

  • B.J., The University of Texas at Austin, 1990

Joan Laybay-Marquez

Practicing Faculty

Biography

Joan Laybay-Marquez is the Graduate Studies Coordinator for the Dreeben School of Education at the University of Incarnate Word. She is a member of the State Bar of Texas and is admitted to practice law in the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas. Prior to her entry into Higher Education Administration, she maintained a general solo practice focusing on employment law, family law, school law, wills, probate and estate planning, mortgage lending, oil and gas, corporate law and consumer bankruptcy. She served as a Municipal Court Prosecutor for the cities of San Antonio and Kirby. She is Vice President for the Women in Cybersecurity San Antonio Affiliate, Board Member for Young Professionals of the Editorial Board for the NASPA Journal of Women and Gender in Higher Education (JWG), Member of the Advisory Committee for the Space and Engineering Technologies Academy (SETA) of NEISD and Former Director of the UIW Young Women’s Global Leadership Program. She is a member of Holy Spirit Catholic Church and enjoys music, reading and traveling with her family.

Joan Laybay-Marquez

Practicing Faculty

Education

  • J.D, St. Mary’s School of Law, 1990
  • M.Jur, St. Mary’s University School of Law (summa cum laude) 2022
  • B.A, St. Mary’s University (cum laude) 1987

Contact Information

License to Practice

  • Texas

Specialties and Courses

  • Employment & Human Resources Law Core;
  • Employment & Human Resources Law Capstone & Special Education.
  • Higher Education Law
  • Legal Issues in Student Affairs
  • Law and Ethics in Cybersecurity, Risk Management and Policy in Cybersecurity.
  • Texas School law.

Publications

  • Love, A. S., Labay-Marquez, J., & Valadez, R. (2023). Understanding Adult Learners’ Needs and Integrating Technology for Effective Online Education: Adult-Centered Approaches for Teaching and Learning. In J. Keengwe (Ed.), Handbook of Research on Innovative Frameworks and Inclusive Models for Online Learning (pp. 172-193). IGI Global. https://doi.org/10.4018/978-1-6684-9072-3.ch009.

Awards

  • CCVI Grant Recipient “Sisters Supporting Women for a Better World” 2021
  • UIW Connelly Leadership Award, 2020
  • American Institute of Aeronautics & Astronautics (AIAA) Harry Staubs Award 2018
  • AIAA Foundation Educator Achievement Award, 2013

Jacqueline Calvert

Staff Attorney

Biography

Jacqueline is the staff attorney for the Housing Rights Project at the Center for Legal and Social Justice at St. Mary’s University School of Law. Jacqueline assists clients with eviction defense and advises clients on remedies for tenant’s issues. She also assists the supervising attorney with seminars, trainings, and other community outreach events on behalf of the Housing Rights Project.

Prior to her role at St. Mary’s, Jacqueline practiced family law, probate law, and estate planning in San Antonio. She continues representing children as an ad litem in Child Protective Services cases. She still assists with estate planning through her non-profit, Cindy’s Angels. Jacqueline is a St. Mary’s University School of Law graduate and was a staff writer on The Scholar: St. Mary’s Law Review on Race & Social Justice.

Jacqueline grew up in San Antonio, Texas. She attended Incarnate Word High School and graduated from The University of Texas at San Antonio in 2013. She has been published locally and nationally in The San Antonio Report (formerly The Rivard Report), San Antonio Magazine, and the Indiana Journal of Law and Social Equality.

Publications

Articles in a Periodical

  • State Bar of Texas Poverty Law Conference Presenter 2023; Defending Tenants in Justice Court from A-Z
  • Indiana Journal of Law and Social Equality (2020)
  • Battle of the Sexes: A History of Social Change and a Solution for Maintaining a Child’s Best Interest in Light of the #MeToo Movement

Jacqueline Calvert

Staff Attorney

Contact Information

Education

  • J.D. St. Mary’s University School of Law, 2020
  • B.A. University of Texas at San Antonio, 2013

License to Practice

  • Texas

Specialties and Courses

  • Consumer Protection Law
  • Landlord-Tenant Law

Honors and Awards

  • Scene in S.A. 2022 Best Family Law Attorney
  • Scene in S.A. 2022 Best Women in Law Attorney (Family Law, Estate Planning, and Probate)
  • Scene in S.A. 2023 Outstanding Women in Law Attorney (Consumer Protection)

Bruce Anderson

Practicing Faculty

Biography

Anderson focuses his practice predominantly in the area of medical malpractice litigation. He is a diplomate with the American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA), having tried over a hundred cases to verdict in virtually every part of Texas. Since 2003, he has served as an adjunct professor of law at the St. Mary’s University School of Law, teaching medical malpractice litigation.

Over the last 30 years, he has practiced primarily in Central and South Texas and has tried a number of dangerous medical malpractice cases in Laredo, winning almost all of them. He has also had the unique experience of receiving two unanimous defense verdicts in the same week. In 2019, he joined his dear friends at PGM where he continues to represent healthcare providers and commercial businesses.

After completing his undergraduate degree in political science at the University of Missouri, at Columbia, and a brief stint in the United States Navy, he earned his J.D. from the University of Missouri, Columbia School of Law. He served on the school’s law review and was awarded the American Jurisprudence Prize in Constitutional Law, the Judge Roy W. Harper Price for Best Work in Federal Courts and the Russell Castile Scholarship.

He was admitted to the Missouri Bar in 1975. He clerked for a judge on the Missouri Court of Appeals from 1975 to 1976. Thereafter, he served as an Assistant Attorney General in the Criminal, Anti-Trust and Administrative Law Divisions of the Office of the Missouri Attorney General.

When his wife Cheryl completed her Ph.D. and was offered a position at the University of Texas in Austin, he moved his practice to support her career. She reciprocated in 1990 when he was offered a position in San Antonio to work alongside George Brin. Cheryl then joined Incarnate Word University where she served as a Professor and as Dean of the School of Media and Design and the IWU Library. They both fell in love with Texas and have thoroughly enjoyed their time here.

Anderson was admitted to the Texas State Bar in 1980, and was also admitted to practice before the U.S. District Court, Western District of Texas and the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.

Honors and Awards

  • Diplomate-ABOTA (signifying over 100 Jury Trials)
  • Martindale Hubble – AV Preeminent
  • Top Texas Lawyer – Texas Monthly Super Lawyers 2006-2019

Publications

Presentations

  • Thota v. Young: The Casteel Problem and Contributory Negligence Instructions (2012)
  • “Update on ‘Paid or Incurred’ – Haygood v. Escobedo (2011) Texas Medical Liability Trust Biannual Seminar
  • Update on Suing Governmental Employees
    (2011) Advocate MD seminar
  • An exception to the Physician – Patient Relationship
    (2010)
  • Winning the Causation Defense with Foreseeability
    (2009) Texas Medical Liability Trust Seminar
  • “Paid or Incurred” Practice and Problems in Limiting Damages for Medical Expenses (2008) Texas Medical Liability Trust Biannual Seminar.
  • Analysis of Damage Caps before and After Tort Reform (2006) Medical Malpractice Tort Law Seminar-Sponsored by Brin & Brin for our Insurance Clients, Certified for Continuing Education Credits by the State Board of Insurance.
  • Preservation of Harm – A New Approach To An Old Problem (2005) Medical Malpractice Tort Law Seminar-Sponsored by Brin & Brin for our Insurance Clients, Certified for Continuing Education Credits by the State Board of Insurance.
  • Recent Significant Cases (2004) Medical Malpractice Tort Law Seminar-Sponsored by Brin & Brin for our Insurance Clients, Certified for Continuing Education Credits by the State Board of Insurance; Certified by the State Bar of Texas for CLE Credits.
  • Standards of Care — Issues, Proof (2003) Medical Malpractice Tort Law Seminar-Sponsored by Brin & Brin for our Insurance Clients, Certified for Continuing Education Credits by the State Board of Insurance.
  • Voir Dire in Healthcare Liability Cases (2002) Medical Malpractice Tort Law Seminar-Sponsored by Brin & Brin for our Insurance Clients, Certified for Continuing Education Credits by the State Board of Insurance.
  • The Physician/Patient Relationship (2000) Medical Malpractice Tort Law Seminar-Sponsored by Brin & Brin for our Insurance Clients, Certified for Continuing Education Credits by the State Board of Insurance.
  • Res Ipsa Loquitur (1998) Medical Malpractice Tort Law Seminar-Sponsored by Brin & Brin for our Insurance Clients, Certified for Continuing Education Credits by the State Board of Insurance.
  • The Implications of Managed Care in Medical Malpractice Litigation (1997) Medical Malpractice Tort Law Seminar-Sponsored by Brin & Brin for our Insurance Clients, Certified for Continuing Education Credits by the State Board of Insurance.

Bruce Anderson

Practicing Faculty

Education

  • JD University of Missouri-Columbia 1975
  • BA-Political Science University of Missouri-Columbia 1970

License to Practice

  • Texas

Specialties and Courses

  • Litigation
  • Medical Malpractice
  • Medical Board Administrative Law

Mark W. Cochran

Professor of Law

Biography

Professor Cochran was a tax attorney with Boult, Cummings, Conners & Berry in Nashville (now Bradley Arant Boult Cummings) from 1981 until 1985, when he joined the St. Mary’s faculty. He has taught as a visiting professor at the University of Texas, the University of Georgia, and Vermont Law School, and he served for a year as Professor In Residence at the Office of Chief Counsel for the Internal Revenue Service in Washington, D.C.

During his tenure at St. Mary’s, Professor Cochran has served in various administrative positions, including Director of Evening Studies and Co-Director of the summer program in Innsbruck, Austria. He has chaired the faculty appointments committee for several years.

Professor Cochran and his wife have two adult sons and two grandsons. In his spare time, he enjoys international travel, college football, blues guitar, and single malt Scotch. In the pre-COVID era, his trivia team advanced to the citywide championship, placing fourth.

Highlights

  • Phi Beta Kappa
  • Order of the Coif
  • Distinguished Faculty Award, 2001
  • Professor-in-Residence, IRS Chief Counsel’s Office, Washington D.C., 1988-89

Publications

Articles in a Periodical

Teaching Materials

  • Transnational Litigation (2004) (Self-published teaching materials.)
  • Federal Income Taxation: Law and Policy (2003). (Self-published teaching materials.)

Others

  • Commentary: Give Tax Collectors Tools to do Their Job, San Antonio Express-News  (May 30, 2021).
  • Comparison of S Corporations and Partnerships: Tax Treatment of Formation, Report to American Bar Association Tax Section, Committee on S Corporations (1985).
  • Unrelated Business Income Problems of Churches and Other Religious Organizations  (coauthor), PRENTICE HALL TAX EXEMPT ORGANIZATIONS SERVICE, pg. 3649 et seq (1983).

Mark W. Cochran

Professor of Law

Contact Information

Education

  • LL.M. in Taxation, University of Florida, 1981
  • J.D., Vanderbilt University, 1980
  • A.B.J., University of Georgia, 1977

License to Practice

  • Tennesee
  • United States Tax Court

Specialties and Courses

  • Conflict of laws
  • Federal income taxation
  • Taxation of business entities

Nicole Monsibais

Director of Law Career Strategy

Biography

Nicole Monsibais (M.P.A. ’11, J.D. ’12) is the Director of Law Career Strategy in the Office of Career Strategy (OCS). In this role, she advises and encourages law students and alumni as they explore career opportunities, including preparing them for potential challenges. As a first-generation law graduate, Monsibais understands the transformative impact that staff can have on a student’s career trajectory. With a passion for individualized student support, she is eager to be part of their career development journey.

Prior to attending law school, Monsibais worked in the public sector, serving as a Luna Scholar at the Texas State Capitol, an Archer Fellow in Washington, D.C., and as staff at nonprofit organizations. As a law student, Nicole served as a Senator on the Student Bar Association, as Vice President of the Women’s Law Association, as a Staff Writer on The Scholar: St. Mary’s Law Review on Race & Social Justice, and as a Teaching Assistant for the Civil Justice Clinic.

Upon graduation, Monsibais was a Clinical Administration Fellow at the St. Mary’s University Center for Legal and Social Justice. This unique role allowed her to spearhead initiatives, develop partnerships, manage external grants, and coordinate outreach programs that provided opportunities for law students to engage in legal services while serving the community.

Subsequently at other institutions of higher education, she oversaw compliance, specifically regarding university policy and laws related to campus security, equal opportunity, disability access, anti-harassment, non-discrimination, sexual misconduct, and sexual violence. Monsibais led the investigation, adjudication, and resolution of complaints, and provided training and consultation regarding compliance, regulations, and best practices.

She has presented at numerous local and national conferences on topics ranging from student services to contract management. Monsibais also chaired a university-wide inclusion, diversity, equity, and accessibility council, and served as the president of staff assembly.

Nicole Monsibais

Director of Law Career Strategy

Professional portrait of Nicole Monsibais

Contact Information

Education

  • J.D., St. Mary’s University School of Law, 2012
  • M.P.A., St. Mary’s University, 2011
  • B.S., The University of Texas at Austin, 2007

Awards

  • Sr. Jane Anne Slater Leadership Award for Staff, Our Lady of the Lake University, 2021
  • Key to Success Award, Our Lady of the Lake University, 2016 and 2018
  • Educating for Justice Award, St. Mary’s University School of Law, 2012
  • Adele Advocate for the Poor Award, St. Mary’s University School of Law, 2011

Tracy Almanzan

Assistant Professor of Practice of Law

Biography

Tracy earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Management with a minor Communications Management from Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas in 2002. She also earned a Juris Doctorate Degree from St. Mary’s University School of Law in San Antonio, Texas in 2006.

Tracy began her career with the El Paso County Attorney’s Office in 2006 as the Community Prosecutor. During her time at the County Attorney’s Office, she received training in representing clients in protective orders applications, handling mental health commitments, prosecuting juvenile cases, and eventually, representing Child Protective Services. In 2016, she went into private practice, where she practiced in child welfare law, juvenile law, family law, and some probate law.

Tracy has been a part of several committees through the State Bar of Texas throughout her career, to include the Racial Diversity in the Profession Committee and the Child Abuse Committee. For two years, she was the Chair of the Diversity in the Profession Committee and is now still a member. In addition, she recently served on Former State Bar President Sylvia Borunda-Firth’s State Bar Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Task Force. She is now a member of newly created Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion State Bar Committee.

Tracy joined the University of Texas at El Paso in February 2023 as a Professor of Practice for the Law School Preparation Institute in the Patti and Paul Yetter Center for Law. Tracy taught classes to include legal writing and legal research.

Finally, Tracy married attorney, Alex Almanzán, in 2006 and they have two beautiful children, Noa and Paloma, and a dog named Frida. In her free time, she enjoys supporting her children’s love of theater arts, sports, and music, reading, traveling, and working out on her Peloton.

Tracy Almanzan

Assistant Professor of Practice of Law

Contact Information

Education

  • J.D., St. Mary’s School of Law, 2006
  • B.S., Trinity University, 2002

License to Practice

  • Texas

Joaquin Gonzalez

Assistant Professor of Practice of Law

Biography

Joaquin Gonzalez is a San Antonio native and civil litigator. Prior to joining the St. Mary’s faculty, he was the Senior Supervising Attorney in the Voting Rights Program at the Texas Civil Rights Project.

He has played a leading role in some of the most significant Texas voting rights cases in recent years. This includes halting an attempt to improperly purge nearly 100,000 naturalized citizens from the voter rolls and forcing Texas to fully comply with the federal motor voter law, which has led to over 2,000,000 voter registrations. He helped design Bexar County’s S.M.A.R.T. Elections initiative in 2020, which successfully expanded access and ensured safe and effective elections during the COVID pandemic.

One of Gonzalez’s focus areas has been redistricting. He has served as the redistricting counsel for the Mexican American Legislative Caucus, and recently argued a major Voting Rights Act case in front of the En Banc Fifth Circuit.

Prior to becoming an attorney, Gonzalez worked in policy and campaign positions for a number of state and local elected officials.

Publications

Media Highlights

Joaquin Gonzalez

Assistant Professor of Practice of Law

Contact Information

Education

  • J.D., Yale Law School, 2018
  • B.Sc., University of London, 2015

License to Practice

  • Texas

Specialties and Courses

  • Legal Research and Writing
  • Election Law

Shem Vinton

Assistant Professor of Practice of Law

Biography

Originally from Pearsall, TX—like many of his current students—Professor Vinton was a non-traditional law student. Before attending the SMU Dedman School of Law, Professor Vinton enlisted in the U.S. Army Reserves and completed several active-duty tours, including one supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom/New Dawn. After graduating from law school, Professor Vinton served as an Assistant District Attorney in Nueces County, representing the State of Texas in misdemeanor and felony prosecutions, as well as representing his office on the Veterans’ Court treatment staff.

In 2022, Professor Vinton returned to his law school to work as a policy attorney for the Deason Criminal Justice Reform Center, where his research focused on early-stage criminal procedure and prosecutorial discretion. As part of his work with the Deason Center, Professor Vinton had the opportunity to meet with elected prosecuting attorneys across the country and discuss their charging policies, and to work closely with the Dallas County District Attorney’s Office on several research projects.

Most recently, and before joining the faculty at St. Mary’s, Professor Vinton served as an Assistant Public Defender in Bexar County, representing indigent defendants charged with misdemeanor offenses.

When not preparing asynchronous materials for his class at either his office or home studio, Professor Vinton enjoys word puzzles, reading, running, and spending time with his friends and family.

Shem Vinton

Assistant Professor of Practice of Law

Contact Information

Education

  • J.D., SMU Dedman School of Law, 2018
  • B.A., University of Texas, 2008

License to Practice

  • Texas

Specialties and Courses

  • Legal Writing
  • Research
  • Criminal Law

Publications

“The Difference a D.A. Makes,” Ohio State Journal of Criminal Law, Forthcoming (with Prof. Pamela Metzger and Dr. Victoria Smiegocki)

“Charging Decisions, Pretrial Detention, and the Defense Attorney’s Duty to Enforce,” American Society of Criminology Annual Meeting, November 17, 2022, Atlanta, GA

“Weeding Out Racial Disparity: Dallas DA Declination Policies,” Deason Criminal Justice Reform Center: Criminal Justice Reform Workshop, February 9, 2023, Dallas, TX (with Prof. Pamela Metzger and Dr. Victoria Smiegocki)

“Roundtable: Challenges and Innovations in Courts Research and Practice” presenting on “Innovations in Prosecutorial Screening and Charging,” American Society of Criminology Annual Meeting, November 15, 2023, Philadelphia, PA (with Prof. Pamela Metzger and Dr. Victoria Smiegocki)

Monesca Smith

Director of Law Student Affairs

Biography

Smith’s background is comprised of strong leadership and diverse experiences that has played an integral role in her career.

Smith, J.D., Ed.D., is well-versed in many facets of higher education which includes student conduct, disabilities services, Title IX, student activities, and internal compliance reviews.

She attended the University of Southern Mississippi and obtained her Bachelor’s degree in Sociology and Master’s degree in Counseling Personnel Services with an emphasis on College Student Personnel. She obtained her certificate of graduate study in Conflict Management from Lipscomb University, a Doctorate in Higher Education (Ed.D.) from AU-Atlanta. Smith recently earned her Juris Doctorate (J.D.) from WMU-Cooley Law School.

Prior to joining St. Mary’s University School of Law, Smith served as an Associate Dean of Residence and Student Life at Kentucky State University, Associate Dean of Student Affairs at South University-Savannah, Adjunct Faculty, and an Area Coordinator for Housing and Residential Education at Vanderbilt University.

Presentations

  • Conflict Management, Professional Development Presentation, Virtual, Savannah, GA, 2023, 2012
  • Ole Miss Way: Excellent Customer Service, Candidate Presentation, Oxford, MS, 2016
  • Eagles Engaged: Enhanced Pathway Experiences, Candidate Presentation, Hattiesburg, MS, 2016
  • The Power of Social Media, Student Leadership Training, Savannah, GA, 2013, 2015, 2016
  • Faculty & Student Engagement, Professional Development Presentation, 2012
  • Got Leadership? Student Leadership Training, Savannah, GA, 2012
  • The Student Leadership Challenge, Student Leadership Training, Savannah, GA, 2012
  • College Student Success: Formula for Student Persistence, Doctoral Coursework, Atlanta, GA, 2012
  • Advising Student Groups & Organizations, Professional Development Presentation, Savannah, GA, 2011
  • Driving Education with a Purpose: A Roadmap to creating a Living Learning Community, NASPA Conference, 2011
  • The Price of the Privilege, Professional Development Presentation, Nashville, TN, 2010

Monesca Smith

Director of Law Student Affairs

Contact Information

Education

  • Juris Doctor (J.D.), WMU-Cooley Law School, 2020
  • Doctor of Education (Ed.D.), Higher and Postsecondary Education, AU-Atlanta, 2017
  • Certificate of Graduate Study, Conflict Management (Rule 31 Mediator), Lipscomb University, 2012
  • Master of Education, (M.Ed.) Counseling Personnel Services, University of Southern Mississippi
  • Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) in Sociology (Psychology minor) with honors, University of Southern Mississippi
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