IN THIS NEWSLETTER
- AZA Does Dallas
- We Have a New Class Action Group
- Just a Few Big Wins From 2025
AZA Does Dallas
In early 2026, AZA will break its 32-year tradition and open a second office. AZA is branching out to Dallas offices in the Trammell Crow Center downtown.
The plan is to have 10 lawyers there within 12 months, although the office will launch with two partners and two associates. Intellectual property and patent work, a significant practice at AZA, will be one of the mainstays of the Dallas office.
We Have a New Class Action Group
AZA convinced a Missouri judge to certify a class action lawsuit for thousands of patients whose protected health information was illegally shared with Facebook and Google by their hospital system.
The judge’s order states that more than 90,000 patients could potentially be involved in the class, which deals with using password-protected patient portals maintained by their healthcare provider.
Just a Few Big Wins From 2025
High stakes jury win for KBR
This $289 million high-stakes case for global technology and engineering giant Kellogg Brown & Root (KBR) came to AZA well after it was filed and when it was headed to trial. When AZA took the helm, the team had only a few months to get thousands of documents in Spanish translated and to the court 45 days before the new trial date.
A Harris County jury ruled in favor of AZA client KBR in May 2025 in the breach of contract case over $289 million in alleged lost profits and damages on a bid for a Mexican refinery build.
We Don’t Just Follow The Law
At AZA we help clients who’ve hit a legal dead end find new ways to win. Our appellate team is headed by Chambers USA rated Daryl Moore, who before joining AZA earned recognition as one of Harris County’s best judges.
A few ways our appellate team helped AZA clients in the last year:
- Supreme Court of Texas win – Court held that Texas barratry statute does not reach out of state conduct, adopting AZA’s extraterritoriality arguments
- U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals win – Court affirmed our trial court recovery of damages for nationwide refinery products marketer and held that trial court’s denial of our client’s request for $4 million in attorney’s fees was in error
- Eleventh Court of Appeals win – First time an appellate court in Texas has held that defendants are entitled to discovery into the relationships between funding entities, medical providers, and plaintiff’s firms
- Fourteenth Court of Appeals win – Obtained interlocutory affirmance of trial court’s exercise of personal jurisdiction over law firm sued for malpractice by our client
Our Impressive Dozen New Hires
AZA is growing. We’ve added a dozen fantastic lawyers to our bench this last year. Eight laterals bring the firm vast experience and four lawyers coming from law school or clerkships have brought new energy and promise to the firm.
Our Experienced Laterals
Ethan Carlyle – With more than two decades of trial experience, his recent focus includes complex commercial litigation and personal injury and property damage litigation. Read more here
Jennifer Davidow – Bringing trial and appellate prowess, she has 25 years’ experience, six of those as an appellate court staff attorney for the Fourteenth Court of Appeals. Read more here
Thomas DelRosario – Mr. DelRosario joined AZA from a leading global firm where he advised clients on a variety of issues related to intellectual property and patent infringement. Read more here
Sara Fatima Dhanji – She focuses on complex civil litigation, including multidistrict litigation and government investigations. She has represented businesses, nonprofits and individuals. Read more here
Mark Holden – A trial lawyer who focuses on complex commercial litigation, class action litigation and white-collar investigations. He has handled cybersecurity/data privacy, healthcare and energy litigation. Read more here
Sean Keller – A trial attorney and a registered patent attorney, he has helped clients from startups to multi-national corporations enforce and defend their intellectual property rights in courts across the U.S. Read more here
Nick Petree – He handles high-stakes litigation in federal and state courts and before arbitration panels across the country on issues including breach of contract, fraud and breach of fiduciary duties. Read more here
Brittainie Zinsmeyer – A former clerk for a federal judge, she is trial lawyer experienced in a wide variety of litigation, ranging from complex commercial contract disputes to personal injury. Read more here
Talented Additions from Law School or Clerkship
Grace Darrah – A decorated graduate of the University of Texas School of Law, including being named a member of the Order of the Barristers, she is a trial lawyer. She’s clerked at the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Texas. Read more here
Ali Hamza – He is a trial lawyer and graduate of the University of Texas School of Law where he worked on the law review. He interned at the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas. Read more here
Anders Huizenga – An honors graduate of the University of Texas School of Law and Order of the Barristers member, he worked in the legal and compliance group at Goldman Sachs before going to law school. Read more here
Maha Husseini – A trial lawyer and a graduate of Harvard Law School, she is fluent in Spanish and has a professional working proficiency in French and Portuguese. Read more here
The Lawyer Who Actually Saves Lives — Karina Sanchez-Peralta
Lawyers can alter someone’s finances, freedoms and rights, but only a few actually save lives at the office. AZA associate Karina Sanchez-Peralta is an exception.
In the spring of 2024, Angie Townsend, an executive secretary who served as a backbone of AZA for 27 years, collapsed in the office and went into cardiac arrest.
Karina, an emergency room nurse before she attended law school, came to her aid, calmly talked to her and performed CPR for about 15 minutes before EMTs arrived and shocked Angie’s heart four times to bring her back to life. The EMTs said Angie would have died without Karina’s help.
Monica Uddin, who was with Angie when she collapsed, said Karina’s calm, controlled demeanor in a life-threatening emergency situation was amazing to watch. It is the way Karina is in court, too, Monica said.
The Top 10 Trial Mistakes That You Didn’t Know Were Mistakes
Our managing partner and co-founder John Zavitsanos authored a valuable list of mistakes some lawyers may be making in trial.
He is a highly regarded trial lawyer who loves trying cases and loves winning. Rated Band 1 in both trials and commercial litigation by Chambers, he is the primary author of O’Connor’s Texas Rules * Civil Trials 2018-2025.
Read the Texas Lawbook feature
A Terrific, Exceptional,
Very Good Week at AZA
With 16 trials by early November, AZA is having a normally busy year. We live at the courthouse. This video is about one particularly good week there and what our talent, determination and teamwork can do for our clients.
A Little Play Time
AZA is serious about work and occasionally about play. Join us for a quick puzzle break.
Another Superlative
Year of Awards
AZA Again Named to BTI’s National Most Feared List
A national survey of general counsel and top-level legal counsel consumers once again put AZA on the list of BTI Consulting’s Most Feared Law Firms.
AZA’s Presence on Chambers USA Grows
Chambers USA, the gold standard of legal ratings, gave AZA top ratings in Texas for two practice areas and ranked seven lawyers. This is the 12th year AZA was rated.
AZA Ranked Highly Again in Vault Survey
AZA associates responding to the Vault Annual Associate Survey anonymously praised the firm for quality of work, a collegial atmosphere and an egalitarian work environment.
Monica Uddin Named a Top National Lawyer for Client Service
Monica Uddin was one of only 240 lawyers nationwide named a BTI Client Service All-Star. This is in a survey of GCs and those who extensively use top-drawer legal services.
Shahmeer Halepota Wins Multiple Honors
Shahmeer Halepota was named Rising Star/Best Lawyer Under 40 by Texas Lawyer, the South Asian Bar Association of North America, the National Association of Muslim Lawyers and the Asian Pacific Interest Section of the State Bar. This is in addition to accolades from Best Lawyers, Super Lawyers and Lawdragon and the honor of speaking at the United Nations.
And of course:
- AZA was named to the Best Law Firm list for the 14th year
- 26 AZA attorneys were honored as 2026 Best Lawyers and Ones to Watch
- 25 AZA lawyers named 2025 Texas Super Lawyers & Rising Stars
- Two AZA lawyers were once again in the Top 100 Texas Super Lawyers in the state
- AZA lawyers racked up dozens of Lawdragon awards