Top Rated Business Litigation Attorney in Houston, TX

Pro bono/Community Service

• Past Board Member and Presidential Appointee, United States Naval Academy Board of Visitors; Co-Chair, Mayor's Hispanic Advisory Board;  Past Mayor's Transition Committee for the City Legal Department;  Past Board Member, Executive Committee, Harris County-Houston Sports Authority;  Board Member,  Greater Houston Partnership;  Board Member, Memorial Hermann Health System;  Chairman, Children's Memorial Hermann Hospital; Board Member, Harris County Hospital District Foundation; Commissioner, Board of Pilot Commissioners of the Harris County Ports;  Vice Chairman, Pilot Board; Chairman, Transition Committee, Pilot Board; Past Board Member, Houston Arts Alliance;  Past Trustee, Houston Independent School District Foundation; Past Advisory Board, Aspiring Youth of Houston;  Past Advisory Board, Taipei Society;  President, Houston YET Center, Inc.;  Past Member, Houston Super Bowl Host Committee;  Past Committee Member, Houston Challenge 2000;  Leadership Houston;  American Leadership Forum;  Center for Houston's Future;  Past President,  Association for the Advancement of Mexican Americans (AAMA);  Past Board, Mental Health Association;  Past Member, HISD Task Force on Magnet and Vanguard Programs;  Past Member, Community Commission of the Houston Community College System; active in local, state and national politics, served on numerous finance and steering committees of office holders and candidates

Honors/Awards

• Recipient, Texas Lawyers Hall of Fame of Highest Grossing Verdicts from 2014 to 2018; Recipient, "Top 25 Latino Lawyers," Latino Leaders Magazine, 2016; Recipient, "Appellate Lawyer of the Week," Texas Lawyers Magazine, 2015; Recipient, "Leadership in Action Award," Leadership Houston, 2013; Hispanic Bar Association Lifetime Achievement Award 2010;  Men of Style Honoree, 2008;  Diversity First Award, Texas Diversity Council, 2007;  Alumni of the Year, South Texas College of Law, 2006;  Leadership Houston 25 Distinguished Alumni, 2006 Cadillac Legends Award 2005;  AAMA Hero Award, 2004International Brotherhood Award, Bikur Cholim Hospital Jerusalem 2003;  Texas Monthly Super Lawyers Award 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009;  Savvy Award 2003;  Honorary Family, March of Dimes, December 2002;  Dorothy F. Caram Leadership Award, United Way, Project Blueprint, 2002;  Commendation for Meritorious Service, Houston Independent School District 2002;  NAACP Houston, ALEX Award, Award in Legal Excellence, 2002;  Volunteer of the Month, Aspiring Youth of Houston, 2001;  Leadership Award, Center for Houston's Future, September 13, 2001;  Outstanding Volunteer of the Year Award, National Philanthropy Day, Greater Houston Chapter of the National Society of Fundraising Executives 1999;  Commendation for Meritorious Service, Houston Independent School District 1999;  Baylor University Outstanding Young Alumni Award 1998;  AAMA (Association for the Advancement of Mexican Americans) Achiever Award, 1997;  One of the Most Influential Hispanics in Texas Award, Texas Hispanic Magazine, 1996;  Certificate of Citation, the State of Texas House of Representatives, 1993;  Five Outstanding Young Houstonians, Houston Chamber of Commerce and Houston Junior Chamber of Commerce, June 10, 1993;  Outstanding Board Member, Association for the Advancement of Mexican Americans, January 14, 1993;  Presidential Citation, State Bar of Texas, 1992;  Profile of the Week, KTMD TV Channel 48 and The Houston Chronicle,  April 8, 1992;  Texas Young Lawyers Association Certificate of Outstanding Achievement - 1991;  Houston Bar Association's President's Award - 1990;  Texas Young Lawyers Association President's Award - 1988;  David Donnelly Memorial Award - 1986;  Who's Who in Law School - 1986;  Moot Court First Place Best Brief Award, South Texas College of Law - 1985;  Who's Who in American Colleges and Universities - 1979-80, 1980-81 

Special Licenses/Certifications

• United States Supreme Court;  Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals;  United States District Court, Southern District of Texas; United States District Court, Northern District of Texas; United States District Court, Western District of Texas;  United States District Court, Eastern District of Texas; United States District Court, Northern District of New York, Pro Hac Vice

Bar/Professional Activity

• Past President, Houston Bar Association; Past President, Texas Young Lawyers Association; Past President, Hispanic Bar Association;  Past President, Dispute Resolution Center; Past Director, State Bar of Texas; Past Trustee, Texas Bar Foundation; Advisory Board, Public Interest Law Program and Blakely Advocacy Institute; Fellow, American Bar Foundation;  Fellow, Texas Bar Foundation;  Fellow, Houston Bar Foundation; Fellow, Houston Young Lawyers Foundation, Texas Supreme Court's Judicial Selection Task Force; Texas Supreme Court's Gender Fairness Task Force; Supreme Court Rules Advisory Committee

Educational Background

• South Texas College of Law, J.D., May 1986, Assistant Editor, South Texas Law Review, Phi Delta Phi Honorary Fraternity, First Place Moot Court Best Brief Award, 1986
• BBA, Baylor University, Graduate of the Honors Program with Distinction, cum laude,  Beta Gamma Sigma, Gamma Beta Phi, Beta Alpha Psi, Omicron Delta Epsilon, Phi Eta Sigma Honorary Fraternities, 1981

Scholarly Lectures/Writings

• Author, "Texas Judges, Tough Choices: System Needs Changing-Now," Houston Chronicle § C,1, March 24, 1996;  Co-Author, "Contribution and Indemnity in Maritime Litigation, 30 South Texas Law Review 215, 1989;  Co-Author, "The New Discretionary Review Powers of the Texas Supreme Court," 50 Texas Bar Journal 1201, 1987;  Presenter, "Path to Leadership in the Law," State Bar of Texas, Minority Attorneys Conference, April 27, 2012;  Presenter, "Ethical Consideration When Preparing a Witness," Harris County Attorney's Office, Houston, November 12, 2009;  Presenter and Author, "Testimony From Your Own Witnesses: Direct Examination Strategies," University of Houston Law Foundation, The Jury Trial, Houston, Texas, August 7, 2008, Dallas, Texas, August 14, 2008, Houston, August 6, 2009, Dallas, August 13, 2009;  Presenter and Author, "Direct Examination Strategies: Getting Testimony From Your Own Witnesses So That It Is Clear and Persuasive," University of Houston Law Foundation, The Jury Trial, Houston, November 29, 2007, Dallas, December 6, 2007;  Presenter and Author, "Direct Examination Strategies," University of Houston Law Foundation, Litigation and Trial Tactics Seminar, December 1, 2006, Dallas, December 8, 2006, Houston;  Presenter and Author, "How to Win the Big Case," State Bar of Texas, Minority Lawyers Conference, April 28, 2006, Houston;  Presenter and Author, The Intersection of Law, Business and Ethics, Leadership Houston, November 14, 2002;  Presenter and Author, Discovery About Experts, Litigation and Trial Tactics, University of Houston Law Foundation, Dallas, December 7, 1995, Houston, December 14, 1995;  Presenter and Author, Discovery Strategy Under the New Rules - How to Get Information; How to Protect It, Litigation and Trial Tactics, University of Houston Law Foundation, Dallas, July 2, 1999, Houston, July 9, 1999;  Presenter and Author, "Federal Civil Reform Act of 1990 and Federal Court Practice," South Texas College of Law Advanced Litigation Course, Houston, Texas, June 8, 1992;  Presenter and Author, "Update on Texas Indemnity Law," Hispanic National Bar Association, San Antonio, Texas, September 13, 1991;  Presenter and Author, "Ethics in Corporate Law," American Corporate Counsel Association, Houston, Texas, August 16, 1988, 1988

Verdicts/Settlements

• Lead trial lawyer for CDM Smith in a successful jury verdict resulting in a judgment of $15.7 million against the City of Galveston in Galveston County, Texas.  It was a major trial with 19 witnesses, 10 experts, thousands of exhibits, millions of documents, and complex and landmark issues of state and federal CDBG Disaster Recovery regulations, pay-if-paid clauses, and various immunity and “Prompt Pay” issues.  There were related appeals which we won in the Fourteenth Court of Appeals and Texas Supreme Court prior to the trial. There have been several articles reported on the case, including ones in Law360, The Galveston Daily News, and in VerdictSearch.  The case was featured by Texas Lawyer Magazine as a Top 20 Verdict in Texas for 2018, and was the No. 2 Contract case verdict for 2018.  The jury verdict was also selected for inclusion in the Texas Lawyer’s Hall of Fame as one of the highest grossing verdicts in Texas from 2014 to 2018., 2018