HOUSTON – Nearly half of all AZA lawyers were named to the 2026 The Best Lawyers in America and Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch lists.
AZA lawyers were cited for excellence in the following practice areas: commercial litigation, intellectual property litigation, appellate practice, patent law, personal injury litigation, intellectual property law, employment law for management, construction litigation, construction law, antitrust litigation, mass tort/class action and arbitration.
Best Lawyers awards are based entirely on peer review. “Our process is designed to capture, as accurately as possible, the consensus opinion of leading lawyers about the professional abilities of their colleagues within the same geographical area and legal practice area,” the website states. Ones to Watch awards go to lawyers earlier in their careers.
Read more about the awards here: www.bestlawyers.com.
AZA lawyers named as Best Lawyers are:
- Joe Ahmad for commercial litigation and employment law – management
- Shawn Bates for commercial litigation
- Sammy Ford IV for commercial litigation, personal injury litigation – defendants and personal injury litigation – plaintiffs
- Foster Johnson for commercial litigation
- Kevin Leyendecker for commercial litigation
- Jason McManis for intellectual property litigation
- Todd Mensing for commercial litigation and construction litigation
- Daryl Moore for commercial litigation, appellate practice and arbitration
- Tim Shelby for commercial litigation
- JoAnn Storey for appellate practice
- Monica Uddin for commercial litigation
- David Warden for intellectual property litigation and patent law
- John Zavitsanos for commercial litigation
Firm co-founders Messrs. Ahmad and Zavitsanos have been named Best Lawyers for decades, since 2003 for Mr. Ahmad and 2006 for Mr. Zavitsanos.
The AZA lawyers named as Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch are:
- Weining Bai for commercial litigation and intellectual property litigation
- Cameron Byrd for commercial litigation
- Nathan Campbell for commercial litigation
- Michael Gorrell for commercial litigation
- Shahmeer Halepota for commercial litigation
- Ab Henry for commercial litigation and intellectual property litigation
- Justin Kenney for commercial litigation, antitrust litigation and mass tort litigation/class action – defendants
- Michael Killingsworth for commercial litigation and intellectual property litigation
- Louis Liao for intellectual property litigation and intellectual property law
- Alfredo Montelongo for commercial litigation, construction litigation and construction law
- DJ Ringquist for commercial litigation
- Jordan Warshauer for commercial litigation
- Kelsi Stayart White for commercial litigation
AZA, or Ahmad, Zavitsanos & Mensing, is a Houston-based law firm that is home to true courtroom lawyers with a formidable track record in complex commercial litigation, including energy, healthcare, intellectual property and business dispute cases. AZA was recognized again by Chambers USA 2025 as among the best in Texas in commercial law and intellectual property; the firm has been listed by Best Lawyers’ Best Law Firms as one of the country’s best commercial litigation firms for 13 years; has been named Litigation Department of the Year by Texas Lawyer three times; and was previously dubbed a Texas Powerhouse law firm by Law360.