Holland & Knight announced two partner hires from the public sector on Thursday, bringing on the former general counsel for the Texas A&M University System in Austin and a former policy adviser to Speaker of the House Mike Johnson in Washington, D.C. Ray Bonilla, who joins as a partner in Austin, bolsters the firm's education practice, while Christopher M. Jaarda, who joins in Washington, adds to its public policy and regulation practice. As general counsel for the Texas A&M University System, Bonilla served 11 universities across the state with over 170,000 students. He said his firsthand experience in identifying and managing the legal issues that universities deal with gives him a valuable perspective. "The firm already provides valuable service to universities around the country, and I look forward to working with them and bringing my perspective to the table as a former [general counsel]," Bonilla said. "And perhaps providing some tweaks or judgment ways that we can improve and enhance our service even more." For Bonilla, the firm's education team contains a broad and deep group of attorneys with expertise on the variety of issues that face higher education institutions today, including federal research funding matters, Title IX questions, freedom of speech, faculty affairs and more. Before joining Texas A&M, Bonilla was a founding partner at Ray, Wood & Bonilla LLP from 1998 to 2011, and served as general counsel for the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts, according to a news release. “Ray’s breadth of experience serving as general counsel for the Texas A&M University System will significantly enhance the Firm’s litigation, labor and employment, and education practices, while also deepening our capabilities in sports law,” said Eddie Diaz, co-leader of Holland & Knight’s Labor, Employment and Benefits Practice Group, in a statement. “His addition creates new opportunities for collaboration across our Texas offices as we continue to grow in the state, and we are excited to welcome him to the team.” Jaarda joins the firm from the Office of the Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-Louisiana, where he served as senior policy adviser and counsel. In his role with the Republican congressional leader, Jaarda advised on issues including privacy, information technology, homeland security, foreign intelligence, economic policy, supply chain and production issues and innovation, which included fostering more than 100 bills through the legislative process, including the Reforming Intelligence and Securing America Act and multiple continuing resolutions, according to a news release. He also led legislative and oversight strategies across several committees including Energy and Commerce, Oversight and Reform, Judiciary, and Homeland Security. Prior to his work with Johnson, Jaarda served as deputy chief of staff and legislative director to Senator Ted Cruz, R-Texas, now chairman of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation. "Holland & Knight has an outstanding reputation for its government relations practice, and I'm thrilled to join this talented team," said Jaarda in a statement. "The rules of Washington are changing, and legislative strategies need to change as well. I’m excited to leverage my recent experience working at the highest levels of Congress to help corporate and institutional clients adapt to this new environment and shape future policy.”