2020 Lifetime Achievement Award Recipients

John F. Bergner, '82

Photograph: John Bergner. John Bergner graduated from Washburn Law in 1982. Mr. Bergner is currently a shareholder in the Dallas, Texas office of Winstead PC while also teaching in Miami Law's Heckerling LL.M. Graduate Program in Estate Planning. Mr. Bergner has been with Winstead for more than 30 years and serves as chairman of the wealth preservation practice group. Mr. Bergner is a specialist in estate planning and probate law certified by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization. His practice involves complex tax, estate and business succession planning as well as administration of estates.

Mr. Bergner is active in the American Bar Association, currently serving as a Council Director, and is past chair of the Estate and Gift Tax Committee and the continuing Legal Education Committee of the ABA's Tax Section. He is a Fellow of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel. He has lectured at numerous tax and estate planning seminars and is a visiting adjunct professor at the University of Miami Law School. He serves on the Editorial Board of the Practical Tax Lawyer, published by the American Law Institute. (Watch video, 6:31)

The Honorable Eric Melgren, '85

Photograph: Eric Melgren. The Honorable Eric Melgren graduated from Washburn Law in 1985. While attending Washburn Law, he was active in the prestigious Law Review Journal program. Upon graduating from Washburn, he served as a law clerk for Judge Frank G. Theis of the United States District Court for the District of Kansas from 1985 to 1987. Melgren was nominated by former President George W. Bush on July, 23, 2008 to fill a seat in the District of Kansas where he formerly clerked for Judge Theis. The Honorable Eric Melgren was also appointed as the Tenth Circuit representative to the Defender Services Committee of the Judicial Conference for the United States. (Watch video, 6:14)