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AREAS OF PRACTICE Litigation - Commercial Healthcare Class Actions Arbitration and ADR Sofia handles complex commercial litigation and multi-party proceedings in state and federal courts as well as in ADR proceedings throughout the United States and abroad. She represents clients in all industries, ranging from entrepreneurs in rural Texas to multinational conglomerates with diversified worldwide business holdings. She also represents parties in peer review proceedings and/or before state regulatory or licensing agencies in the healthcare arena.AV-rated by Martindale-Hubbell Law Directory and a member of Who's Who in American Law and Who's Who of American Women, Sofia has been profiled by a litany of publications, including: Texas Lawyer (one of Texas' Top "40 Under 40"); Texas Monthly and Law & Politics Magazine (2007 Texas Super Lawyer); H Texas magazine (one of 2005, 2006 & 2007; Houston's Top Lawyers and one of Houston's Professionals on the Fast Track); Texas Monthly (2005 Texas Rising Star); The Houston Lawyer ( "Houston's Lawyers are Houston's Leaders"); and Intown Magazine (At A Glance) & (Success In Business); Dinastia Latina ( Achievement of the American Dream); & Houston Woman (Cover Story). Sofia has been accepted into the Harvard Business School Owner/President Management (OPM) Program. The OPM 37 curriculum includes courses in the following areas: accounting and control; financial management; management and strategy; operations, information technology and innovation; leadership and organizational effectiveness (including ethics generally); marketing strategy; as well as negotiation and decision-making strategies. Composed of three units, she will complete OPM 37 in 2008, and become an alumna of the Harvard Business School.Sofia is a 2007 Houston Chronicle, Channel 11 Texas Legend, an ABC Channel 13 2005 "Woman of Distinction," a Houston Jaycees "Outstanding Houstonian," a Texas Jaycees "Outstanding Texan," as well as a U.S. Jaycees "Outstanding American". She is a recipient of a "Barbara Jordan Legacy Award" bestowed by the National Council of Negro Women, Barbara Jordan Houston Section, a 2005 YWCA Woman of Achievement, and a 2005 Neuhaus Education Center "Icon." The City of Houston has recognized Sofia with a proclamation of July 10, 2004 as "Sofia Adrogué Day." Sofia has been chosen as a Texas Bar Foundation and Houston Bar Association Life Fellow. She is a graduate and Senior Fellow of the American Leadership Forum as well as a graduate of Leadership Texas and Leadership Houston. Sofia is a frequent CLE speaker (over 100 speeches since 1997) on topics such as business torts, the selection, retention and use of experts, managing complex litigation, as well as joint ventures in litigation. She speaks throughout Texas, including for the Houston Bar Association, the State Bar of Texas, South Texas College of Law, the University of Houston Law Center, and the University of Texas School of Law. She has also spoken for the American Trial Lawyer’s Association, Georgetown Law Center in Washington D.C. as well as the Hispanic National Bar Association. Sofia has chaired Continuing Legal Education programs for institutions such as the Houston Bar Association, the State Bar of Texas, South Texas College of Law, and the University of Houston Law Center.Sofia is also a prolific author (over 60 publications since 1997) on an array of topics, including business litigation, expert testimony, and mass torts class actions, for such journals as the ABA Business Torts Journal, The Houston Law Review, The Houston Lawyer, The Review of Litigation, The Texas Lawyer, The Trial Diplomacy Journal, and The Trial Lawyer. She publishes quarterly an article on business torts for the Fifth Circuit Reporter and annually for the Texas Tech Law Review. Additionally, Sofia is the Fifth Circuit Reporter for the ABA Section of Litigation. Sofia has taught Mass Torts as an Adjunct Professor at the UH Law Center, and clerked for the Honorable Jerre S. Williams, U.S. Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit. REPRESENTATIVE EXPERIENCE The general character of Sofia's practice has been a diverse docket of complex commercial litigation in state and federal courts across the country, albeit primarily in Texas. Throughout her career, together with the more traditional "contort litigation," she has always handled at least one significant multi-party class action matter with several millions at issue. Sample representation includes as follows: Represented Plaintiff in a multi-party litigation involving fraud, conversion and misrepresentation of property in Puerto Rico. Federal litigation reflective of diversity of jurisdiction business cases involving citizens of United States and Mexico and transnational disputes generally. Represented Defendant management group (including CEO & CFO) in a breach of contract/fraud case. State litigation reflective of cases involving shareholder litigation against senior management and officers of a privately held corporation. Represented Claimant in business tort dispute between president of newly formed subsidiary and parent corporation. State litigation reflective of emerging disputes arising from innovative employment agreements between key officers and corporations which emphasize performance-based incentive stock option packages. Represented Plaintiff in a breach of contract/fraud/misrepresentation case. State litigation reflective of business torts cases where investment bankers are sued subsequent to unsuccessful mergers and acquisitions. Represented Defendants in a breach of contract/fraud/misrepresentation matter. State litigation reflective of business torts/"contort" cases in which all entities (corporation, president, etc.) are sued under a myriad of causes of action. Represented Defendant in a multi-party trademark counterfeiting, infringement and unfair competition case. Federal litigation reflective of the emerging area of trademark/counterfeiting infringement/unfair competition in interstate commerce, including transnational commerce. Represented Plaintiffs (thousands) in various proceedings in state and federal court throughout Texas in cross-border, multi-party commercial and personal injury litigation involving numerous national and international companies. Complex litigation reflective of diversity of jurisdiction cases involving citizens of United States, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Panama, the Philippines, and the Ivory Coast as well as transnational disputes generally. Represented Plaintiffs (approximately 1000 investors) in various proceedings throughout Texas in cross-border, multi-party commercial litigation and bankruptcy involving numerous national and international companies and law firms. Complex litigation reflective of diversity of jurisdiction business cases involving citizens of United States and Mexico and transnational disputes generally. Represented Defendant, a multinational diversified conglomerate of businesses owning, through its subsidiaries and associates, real estate, hotels and resorts across the country, in a litigation involving typical "contort" causes of action. Represented an independent oil and gas company in a business dispute. State case reflective of oil and gas litigation involving issues in core exploration and production operations in the Western Gulf of Mexico. Represented Defendant in multi party asbestos proceeding, culminating in global settlement resolving over 4,000 matters. PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES / MEMBERSHIPS / AFFILIATIONS Alumni Association of Rice University, Former Member of Board of Directors. American Leadership Forum, Houston/Gulf Coast Chapter, Member of Board of Directors, Chair Selection Committee and Fellow (Class XX). CHRISTUS Health Gulf Coast, Former Member of Board of Directors. Girls, Inc. of Greater Houston, Advisory Board Member & Former President & Chairman of Board of Directors. Houston Bar Foundation & Texas Bar Foundation Fellow. Houston Downtown Alliance, Chair, Inaugural Heart of the City Gala (May 2004). Houston Law Review Alumni, Former President & Former Member of Board of Directors. Leadership Houston Graduate (Class XVIII). Leadership Texas Graduate (1999). Memorial Hermann Healthcare System Foundation, Member of Board of Directors. Merit Selection Panel for U.S. Magistrate (2002). Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Member of Board of Trustees; Chair, Inaugural MFA Latin American Arts Gala (Feb. 2005) & MFA Latin American Art Subcommittee Member. RICE-TMS, Member of Board of Directors. Theatre Under The Stars, Member of Board of Directors & TUTS 2006 Gala Chair. The Chinquapin School, Member of Advisory Board of Directors. University of Houston Law Alumni, Former Member of Board of Directors. United Way of Greater Houston, Member of Board of Trustees. PUBLICATIONS / SPEECHES Select Publications The Texas Medical Board: Safeguarding the Public through Professional Accountability, Sofia Adrogue', 45 The Houston Lawyer 32 (July/August 2007). Representing Docs Before the Medical Board, Sofia Adrogué, 22 Texas Lawyer 18 (July 24, 2006) Texas lawyer Article on Healthcare (pdf) Doctors face Texas Medical Board’s watchful eye, Sofia Adrogué, Houston Business Journal 23 (Week of July 7-13, 2006) HBJ Article(pdf) The Care and Feeding of Experts: Accountants, Lawyers, Investment Bankers, and Other Non-Scientific Experts, Sofia Adrogué & Alan Ratliff, 47 South Texas L. Rev. 881 (Summer 2006) The Care and Feeding of Experts: Accountants, Lawyers, Investment Bankers, and Other Non-Scientific Experts 2006 (pdf) Business Torts, 33 TEX. TECH L. REV. 635 (2002) & Business Torts, 34 TEX. TECH L. REV. 513 (2003) & Business Torts, 35 TEX. TECH L. REV. 555 (2004) & Business Torts, 37 TEX. TECH L. REV. 607 (2005) & Business Torts, 38 TEX. TECH L. REV. 623 (2006) & Business Torts, 39 TEX. TECH L. REV. 587 (2007). Texas Tech Law Review Spring 2007 (pdf) Texas Tech Law Review Spring 2006 (pdf) Texas Tech Law Review Spring 2005 (pdf) Texas Tech Law Review Spring 2004 (pdf) Business Torts Update, THE FIFTH CIRCUIT REPORTER, 1997-Present (Quarterly) (circulation 5,000 in 34 states) Fifth Circuit Reporter July 2007 (pdf) Fifth Circuit Reporter January 2007 (pdf) Fifth Circuit Reporter October 2006 (pdf) Fifth Circuit Reporter May 2005 (pdf) HANDBOOK OF TEXAS EVIDENCE, Chapter 7 Opinions and Expert Testimony by Sofia Adrogué & Alan Ratliff (2005) Handbook of Texas Evidence 2005 (pdf) Civil RICO - "Is It The Time of Reckoning?" American Bar Association Vol. 11 No. 3 BUSINESS TORTS JOURNAL 1 (Spring 2004) Civil RICO - Is It the Time of Reckoning (pdf) The Independent Expert Evolution: From the "Path of Least Resistance" to the "Road Less Traveled," Sofia Adrogué & Alan Ratliff, 34 TEX. TECH L. REV. 843 (2003) The Independent Expert Evolution Texas Tech Law Review 2003 (pdf) Kicking the Tires After Kumho: 2001 Update, Part 1 & 2, 24 The Trial Lawyer 252, 319 (July/Aug./Sept./Oct. 2001), Sofia Adrogué and Alan Ratliff, 2001-2002 Update, THE TRIAL LAWYER (2002-2003) Kicking the Tires After Kumho: The Bottom Line on Admitting Financial Expert Testimony, Sofia Adrogué & Alan Ratliff, 37 HOU. L. REV. 431 (2000) Mass Tort Class Actions in the New Millennium, 17 THE REVIEW OF LITIGATION 427 (Summer 1998) The Review of Litigation Mass Tort Class Actions in the New Millennium UT Law School (pdf) For a complete listing of Sofia's publications, click here. SA Publications and Presentations LRM Website 2007 (pdf) Select Presentations 2005 Annual Conference of the National Association of Women Judges, Houston (October 2005) NAWJ 27th Annual Conference Experts Paper with Ratliff (pdf) South Texas College of Law, Annual Advanced Civil Trial Conference, Business Torts: Jurisprudence and Judicial Dialogue - Houston (Feb. 2001) (Speaker); (Feb. 2002) (Speaker and Co-Chair); (Feb. 2003) (Speaker); (Feb. 2004) (Speaker); (Feb. 2005) (Chair) ; (Feb. 2006) (Speaker and Chair) (pdf) UH Law Foundation Advanced Business Litigation: Selected Business Torts and/or Experts - Houston and Dallas (May 1995); (Apr. 1996); (Oct. 1997); (Sept.-Oct. 1998); (Sept. 1999); (Aug. 2000); (March 2001); (Sept. 2001); (March 2002); (Aug. 2002); (June 2004); (May 2005); (May 2006)(pdf);(Jan.-Feb. 2007)(pdf); (Apr.- May 2007)(pdf) UH Law Foundation, Experts Course: Kicking the Tires After Kumho: 2004 Expert Update, Houston and Dallas (June 2004) Federal Bar Association, Kicking the Tires After Kumho: 2004 Expert Update, Houston (May 2004) Main Event 2004, WomenFuture.com, Panelist, The Day The World Listens, Houston (April 2004) UT Law CLE Conference on State and Federal Appeals, Commercial Litigation Update - Austin (June 2002) (co-author) TADC/LADC 2002 Commercial Litigation Seminar, Around the Fifth Circuit in 30 Minutes - Recent Developments in Fifth Circuit Business Torts Jurisprudence - San Antonio (June 2002) (author) State Bar of Texas Advanced Expert Witness Courses: Experts: Recent Jurisprudential and Procedural Developments in Texas State & Federal Courts - Houston (Feb. 2002), and Recent Fifth Circuit & Texas Jurisprudence on Experts - Houston (Dec. 2002) Federal Bar Association, The Federal Practice Seminar, Limiting and Striking Expert Testimony - Houston (Sept. 2000) Houston Bar Association, The Ultimate Trial Advocacy Institute, Challenging and Busting Experts - Demonstration - Houston (May 2000) For a complete listing of Sofia's presentations, click here. SA Publications and Presentations LRM Website 2007 (pdf) EDUCATIONAL BACKGROUND 1988 - Rice University (Board of Governors' Scholarship; James H. Durbin Scholarship) (magna cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa; President, Brown College) 1991 - University of Houston Law Center (competitive full scholarship) (magna cum laude; Order of the Coif; Order of the Barons; Houston Law Review (Chief Articles Editor; Executive Board)) 1992 - Law Clerk, Hon. Jerre S. Williams, U.S. Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit Licensed by the Supreme Court of Texas and the District of Columbia 2006 - Harvard Business School Owner/President Management (OPM) Program Participant. |
