Archive for 2024
AZA Wins Take-Nothing Judgment from Jury for Ex-Directors of Chinatown Plaza
HOUSTON – AZA lawyers convinced a Harris County jury to award nothing on a million-dollar claim against former board directors of the largest shopping plaza in Houston’s Chinatown. The former directors of Dun Huang Plaza Association Inc. were sued by their largest tenant Lily He and her company Sun9028 Inc. The claim was for fraud […]
AZA Files Golf Course Lightning Strike Wrongful Death Lawsuit
ATLANTA – A greater Atlanta area golf course negligently failed to warn golfers of an approaching storm in any of the regularly accepted ways and let a golfer tee off before he was struck by lightning trying to run back to the clubhouse. The September lightning strike death of 29-year-old Raymond Baxter Jr. at […]
Firefighter Settles with City of Houston in Revenge Porn Case
HOUSTON – Houston City Council today approved an $850,000 settlement with a female firefighter whose supervisor obtained an intimate video made for her husband and secretly watched it for years. The vote settled the city’s portion of the litigation filed by former Houston Fire Department Capt. Melinda Abbt. In November 2023, a jury awarded her […]
AZA Social Media Influencer Case Featured in The New York Times
In The New York Times story “Can You Copyright a Vibe?” reporter Sandra E. Garcia writes about two Texas influencers, one an AZA client, fighting an unprecedented legal battle in Austin federal court over their online similarities. AZA lawyers represent Alyssa Sheil, who was sued by another Instagram and TikTok poster who alleged that their […]
AZA Names Bai, Poelker and Turkevich as New Partners
HOUSTON – Weining Bai, Kyle Poelker and Paul Turkevich have been named new partners at AZA. All three have been named Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch by The Best Lawyers in America, as Texas Rising Stars by Thomson Reuters’ Super Lawyers, or were named to both lists. “This is a talented trio of new […]
Ben & Jerry’s Sues Corporate Parent Over Gaza Stance Censorship
NEW YORK – The board of the Vermont-based premium ice cream company Ben & Jerry’s has once again sued its corporate parents for breaching contractual agreements by censoring and blocking the board’s efforts to support a cease fire and peace for the crisis in Gaza. In 2022, the brand known for its social awareness confidentially […]
AZA Honored by Best Law Firms for 13th Year and in Multiple Categories
HOUSTON – AZA is being recognized for the 13th year among the Best Law Firms in Houston by The Best Lawyers in America. This year, it is honored as a Tier 1 Houston firm for its appellate work and in five categories of litigation – commercial, intellectual property, employment law for management, construction and personal […]
Benchmark Litigation 2025 Honors AZA and Three Partners for Excellence
HOUSTON – Benchmark Litigation, a legal rating service which has recognized AZA since 2016, once again has honored the firm and partners Joe Ahmad, Jason McManis and John Zavitsanos. Messrs. Ahmad and Zavitsanos are listed as “Litigation Stars,” Mr. Ahmad for his work primarily representing executives in employment issues and Mr. Zavitsanos for his trial […]
AZA’s $41M Verdict Makes Another National List of Top 100 Verdicts for 2023
HOUSTON – An AZA unanimous jury verdict for a Houston-based energy company was named among the 2023 Top 100 Verdicts in the United States complied by TopVerdict.com. The $41.8 million win from a South Texas jury in an oil and gas trespass case against Energy Transfer was also on The National Law Journal’s Top 100 […]
Eleven AZA Lawyers Named Super Lawyers, Two in Top 100 for Texas
HOUSTON – Eleven AZA lawyers earned 2024 recognition by Texas Super Lawyers for excellence largely in business litigation, general litigation and appellate work. Firm co-founders Joe Ahmad and John Zavitsanos were once again listed among the Top 100 lawyers in Texas and in Houston. Mr. Zavitsanos is listed for business litigation expertise. Mr. Ahmad, who […]
AZA Once Again Named Among the Nation’s ‘Most Feared’ Law Firms
HOUSTON – On a list dominated by national and international law firms, Houston’s litigation boutique AZA was named by this country’s legal decision makers as one of the top firms they do not want to see on the other side of a lawsuit. The 2025 list was compiled by BTI Consulting, a group that annually […]
Eleven AZA Lawyers Named Lawdragon Leading Litigators
HOUSTON – Eleven partners at AZA were named by Lawdragon among the 500 top litigators in the nation, who they have called “the advisors you want to send into battle.” Lawyers named in the 2025 Lawdragon 500 Leading Litigators in America were selected based on journalistic research, submissions and vetting. Lawdragon said of these top […]
AZA Wins $25.6 Million Jury Verdict for Healthcare Client
HOUSTON – AZA won a $25.6 million breach of contract jury verdict in Harris County court today in a case pitting AZA client doctors’ group Fondren Orthopedic Ltd. against healthcare giant HCA Healthcare. Fondren and HCA (which took over for Columbia Hospital Corporation) were in a limited partnership that owns and operates Texas Orthopedic Hospital, […]
More than half of AZA’s attorneys honored as Best Lawyers and Ones to Watch
HOUSTON – Twenty-nine AZA lawyers were honored in the 2025 edition of The Best Lawyers in America, the nation’s oldest lawyer peer review guide. Once again, this represents more than half of the law firm being honored. Fourteen AZA lawyers were named Best Lawyers, and fifteen were named as Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch, an […]
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