Attorneys
Ali, Dean, Foreman, McMichael, Sima and Tate Join Chamberlain Houston Office
Six attorneys joined the Houston office of Chamberlain Hrdlicka in recent months, adding to the Commercial Litigation; Labor & Employment; Appellate; Intellectual Property; Insurance Litigation; Tax Planning & Business Transactions and Trusts & Estates practices. The attorneys joining Chamberlain Hrdlicka include Amber Ali, Timothy Dean, Amy Jo "AJ" Foreman, William McMichael, Damon Sima and Karen Tate. The firm has added a total of 10 new attorneys to its Houston office since January 2021, representing a 15 percent growth, including the former Texas Supreme Court Justice Eva Guzman, as it continues to expand in Texas and nationally.
Earlier this year, the Houston Business Journal named the firm among its 2021 Middle Market 50 in recognition of the firm’s growth. In the past two years, Chamberlain Hrdlicka has also expanded its services by adding Bankruptcy, Restructuring & Creditor Rights, Data Security & Privacy, Technology & IP Transactions, and Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) Audits & Investigations practices, adding 27 new attorneys in Texas.
“In the increasingly competitive legal job market, we are gratified to be able to continue adding talented attorneys to our team,” said Larry Campagna, managing shareholder for Chamberlain Hrdlicka. Thanks to our midsize, entrepreneurial structure, we provide our new attorneys with an accelerated opportunity to develop their practices under the mentorship of experienced attorneys. These exceptional new lawyers know that our clients expect the sophistication of a big law firm with the personal service that our mid-size firm allows.”
Ali joined Chamberlain Hrdlicka’s Commercial Litigation practice an associate, where she will focus on litigating and arbitrating contractual disputes between businesses. She brings several years of experience in litigating and resolving contractual disputes; and matters involving products liability, premises liability, and personal injury, having represented a wide variety of clients, from Fortune 500 companies to small businesses and individuals. Prior to starting her legal practice, she interned for former Justice Evelyn Keyes of the Texas First Court of Appeals.
Ali received a bachelor’s degree in political science, cum laude, from the University of St. Thomas, where she was also in the Honors Program. She earned her law degree from South Texas College of Law Houston. She is a member of the State Bar of Texas, the Houston Bar Association, the Houston Young Lawyers Association and the South Asian Bar Association.
Dean joined Chamberlain Hrdlicka’s Tax Planning & Business Transactions practice as an associate, having previously worked as a summer associate with the firm. Prior to joining Chamberlain Hrdlicka, he also worked as a student extern at the Internal Revenue Service.
Dean graduated from the University of the Incarnate Word with a bachelor’s degree in biology. He has received his law degree, cum laude and as a member of the Order of Coif, from Loyola Law School, where he also earned a master of laws degree in taxation. When at law school, he received the Gregory W. Goff Award for superior academic achievement in the Tax Law curriculum. He is a member of the State Bar of Texas.
Foreman joined the firm as an associate in the Commercial Litigation practice, where she focuses primarily on commercial litigation, labor & employment and appellate matters. Prior to joining Chamberlain Hrdlicka, Foreman clerked for The Honorable Juan F. Alanis in McAllen, Texas. Before embarking on her legal career, she worked in fundraising for several esteemed arts organizations, including NPR and the Smithsonian.
Foreman graduated from the University of Houston with a bachelor of fine arts degree and received a master’s degree in arts management from American University. She earned her law degree from the University of Houston Law Center, where she was an active member of the mock trial team, winning awards for her advocacy at local and national competitions. While in law school, she defended many students in their Honor Board proceedings. She was also the chief notes & comments editor for Houston Journal of Health Law & Policy.
William McMichael
William McMichael joined Chamberlain Hrdlicka’s Commercial Litigation practice as an associate. He is a trial lawyer who maintains a nationwide practice with an emphasis on complex insurance coverage and bad faith litigation, having successfully represented both insurance carriers and policyholders in state and federal courts in more than a dozen states across the nation. He also represents a variety of clients in commercial litigation matters throughout the State of Texas.
McMichael graduated with a bachelor’s degree, with honors, in history from the University of Texas at Austin, and went on to graduate with Special Distinction from Baylor Law School. While at Baylor Law, McMichael served as a member of the Baylor Barrister Society and the Baylor National Mock Trial Team, earning recognition as the top trial advocate in his class. He is a member of the State Bar of Texas - Litigation and Insurance Sections, the Houston Bar Association, the Bar Association of the Fifth Circuit, and the Baylor Law Alumni Association. He is also a Life Member of the Texas Exes.
Damon Sima
Sima joined Chamberlain Hrdlicka’s Intellectual Property practice as an associate, bringing experience in civil litigation in federal courts and Patent Trial and Appeal Board, where he represented plaintiffs and defendants in disputes involving patent litigation matters. He has also helped clients obtain patent licenses and evaluate the strength of infringement allegations. Prior to starting his legal career, Damon was a professor at Lamar University’s College of Engineering, where he taught courses at both undergraduate and graduate level. He also has years of experience in different industries as a design engineer and technical manager.
Sima has earned a bachelor’s in mechanical engineering from Amirkabir University of Technology; a master’s degree in mechanical engineering from Khaje Nasir Technical University; as well as a master’s degree in industrial systems and engineering and a PhD in advanced manufacturing processes from Rutgers University. He received a law degree from the University of Houston Law Center, where he served as an article editor at Houston Business and Tax Law Journal. He has been published in numerous research publications and has received a considerable number of citations.
He is a member of the Houston Intellectual Property Lawyers Association; Atlas IP Inns of Court, Houston Chapter; Licensing Executive Society, Executive Committee Member (Houston Chapter); Intellectual Property Student Organization; the American Intellectual Property Law Association; Houston Young Lawyers Association; the American Society of Mechanical Engineers and the Society of Manufacturing Engineers.
Tate joined Chamberlain Hrdlicka’s Trusts & Estates practice as Senior Counsel. She focuses her practice primarily on estate, gift and income tax planning for high net worth individuals.
Tate graduated from Texas A&M University. She received her law degree, magna cum laude, from the Texas Tech Law School. She has also earned a master of laws degree in taxation from the University of Houston Law Center.