News Archive - AZA Law

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Prestigious International IP Guide Counts AZA Among Top Texas Patent Trial Firms for Sixth Year in a Row

HOUSTON – AZA, for the sixth consecutive year, has been named in the top Texas patent litigation law firms by London-based intellectual property publisher IAM. Three AZA partners were also recommended by IAM Patent 1000 – The World’s Leading Patent Professionals 2020. The new guide said of the AZA lawyers: “They keep the whole case in view and get great results. Its lawyers work […]

AZA Ranked Among Top 10 Houston Intellectual Property Law Firms for 2020

HOUSTON – AZA is again on the Houston Business Journal’s list of the top 10 Houston intellectual property law firms. The HBJ’s 2020 list of the largest Houston-area intellectual property law firms (subscription required) recognizes AZA as the ninth–largest IP firm in Texas’ largest city. AZA has 14 lawyers in its IP stable, including experienced trial lawyers and lawyers with technical backgrounds in chemistry, electrical engineering, software and biochemistry. […]

Judge Stops Specialty RTP Employee from Stealing Permian Basin Customers of FlexSteel Pipeline Technologies

HOUSTON – A state district judge has issued an injunction to stop spoolable reinforced thermoplastic pipe salesman Jeremy Joy at his new employer Specialty RTP, LLC from approaching certain existing and potential customers of Mr. Joy’s former employer FlexSteel Pipeline Technologies Inc. This injunction is a response to a lawsuit charging Mr. Joy with breaching his contract with his former employer FlexSteel and using FlexSteel’s Permian Basin confidential customer information to try to lure them to buy instead from FlexSteel’s competitor, Specialty RTP. […]

Sammy Ford IV is Named AZA Partner

HOUSTON – Sammy Ford IV has been named a new partner at AZA. A highly acclaimed lawyer, Mr. Ford has tried more than two dozen cases before judges, juries and arbitrators around the United States. He has successfully represented businesses and individuals, both plaintiffs and defendants, in a wide range of civil litigation including in cases worth more than $40 million. “Sammy is a superb lawyer, bringing intelligence, creativity and deep experience to every […]

AZA Health Care Client Sees Administrative Judge’s Order Overturned

HOUSTON – A federal district judge reversed an administrative law judge’s ruling that could have excluded an AZA health care client from participating in federal health care programs, including Medicare or Medicaid, for 15 years. U.S. Magistrate Judge Andrew Edison granted the summary judgment motion AZA filed on its client’s behalf. He reversed the administrative judge’s exclusion order requested by the Office of the Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Health […]

For Seventh Year, Prestigious Chambers USA Ranks AZA Among Top Texas Commercial Litigation Firms

HOUSTON – For the seventh year, Houston commercial litigation and intellectual property boutique AZA has been named among Texas’ top general commercial litigation firms in the Chambers USA guide. Four of the firm lawyers are recognized in the 2020 edition individually for their legal prowess. Partners John Zavitsanos and Todd Mensing are ranked for their general commercial litigation experience. Partner Demetrios Anaipakos is ranked for his intellectual property expertise, and partner Joe Ahmad is ranked for his labor and employment work for […]

Nine AZA Lawyers Earn 2020 Texas Rising Stars Accolades

HOUSTON – AZA is proud to announce that nine of its attorneys have been named to the 2020 Texas Rising Stars list, which recognizes the state’s leading young lawyers. For the fourth straight year, AZA associate Sammy Ford IV was named a “Top 100 Texas Up & Coming” lawyer for his business litigation skills. Also recognized in the business litigation practice area this […]

John Zavitsanos Earns Recertification by the National Board of Trial Advocacy

HOUSTON – AZA co-founder John Zavitsanos has been recertified in civil trial advocacy by the National Board of Trial Advocacy after completing a rigorous review process. Mr. Zavitsanos is also board certified in civil trial law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization. The state and national certifications are awarded based on a review process that results in only a small percentage of lawyers earning certification. The national trial advocacy board’s screening criteria includes demonstration of substantial trial experience; submission of judicial […]

AZA Beats the Odds for Energy Company in Tragic Oklahoma Explosion

McALESTER, Okla. – Following three weeks of grisly testimony about a tragic 2018 oil rig explosion that killed five, jurors nevertheless found that AZA client National Oilwell Varco (NOV) was only 10 percent responsible. The jury found other companies that had already settled out of the case for significant amounts were 90 percent at fault. The devastating accident was the industry’s deadliest since the Deepwater Horizon explosion […]

International ‘Who’s Who Legal’ Honors Demetrios Anaipakos Among Top Litigators in Texas

HOUSTON – AZA partner Demetrios Anaipakos has again been named by the international publication Who’s Who Legal as one of the top litigators in Texas. Mr. Anaipakos was included among 18 high-level trial lawyers in Houston honored in the respected publication’s most recent listing. Established in 1996, Who’s Who Legal is an international listing of legal practitioners in business law. Those selected by […]

AZA Again Ranked Among 30 Largest Law Firms and Top Intellectual Property Law Firms by Houston Business Journal

HOUSTON – AZA was included among the 30 largest law firms and the top 10 intellectual property law firms in the Houston Business Journal’s Book of Lists 2019-2020. The newspaper’s annual list names the largest companies in Houston in a variety of sectors, including the legal industry. AZA was ranked the eighth largest IP law firm and the 30th […]

AZA Wins Another Appellate Ruling for Businesswoman Defamed and Threatened by Facebook Posts

HOUSTON – In a significant ruling upholding the ability of courts to protect individuals from threatening online speech, the Texas First Court of Appeals affirmed an earlier decision by a Harris County judge ordering two defendants to delete social media posts that had encouraged violence against a Houston businesswoman and her family. The ruling stems from a temporary injunction obtained by AZA in August 2018 on behalf of a Vietnamese-American businesswoman who was […]

AZA Gets Turkey Leg Hut Restaurant Lawsuit Dissolved in Two Weeks

HOUSTON – Residents who had filed a lawsuit against a popular local restaurant named Turkey Leg Hut dropped their case just two weeks after AZA lawyers put up an aggressive defense on behalf of the restaurant owners. The lawsuit had alleged health problems from barbecue pit smoke. But AZA lawyers discovered emails that showed the residents’ real goal was simply to get the establishment […]

Two More AZA Lawyers Elected Fellows of the Texas Bar Foundation

HOUSTON – Two associates of AZA, or Ahmad, Zavitsanos, Anaipakos, Alavi & Mensing P.C., have been elected fellows of the invitation-only philanthropic Texas Bar Foundation. Jason McManis and Jordan Warshauer join 12 other AZA lawyers who already are fellows with the charitable group that was founded in 1965 to assist the public and improve the profession of law. Fellows of the foundation […]

AZA Named to Best Law Firms List for Eighth Year by US News – Best Lawyers

HOUSTON – For the eighth year in a row, commercial litigation and intellectual property firm AZA is being recognized among the nation’s Best Law Firms by U.S. News & World Report and The Best Lawyers in America. One of the firm’s clients, the general counsel of a global manufacturer, called the AZA team “the very […]