HOUSTON – Twenty-nine AZA lawyers were honored in the 2025 edition of The Best Lawyers in America, the nation’s oldest lawyer peer review guide. Once again, this represents more than half of the law firm being honored
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Fourteen AZA lawyers were named Best Lawyers, and fifteen were named as Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch, an honor for lawyers who have been practicing for fewer than 10 years. AZA was also “top listed” for having the most Ones to Watch in the Houston market in the commercial litigation category.
Best Lawyers says its list includes “the best legal talent in the world, reviewed and approved by their professional peers.”
“To have the most young lawyers recognized for commercial litigation of any Houston law firm is especially gratifying. We work hard to give our young lawyers significant trial opportunities early and let them build on their skills quickly. And it shows,” said John Zavitsanos.
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, antitrust litigation, mass tort/class action and arbitration
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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
- Jane Langdell Robinson for appellate practice
- 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
- Edward “Ward” Goolsby 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, 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 construction litigation
- DJ Ringquist for commercial litigation
- Harrison Scheer for commercial litigation
- Jordan Warshauer for commercial litigation
- Kelsi Stayart White for commercial litigation
Best Lawyers states it “employs a sophisticated, conscientious, rational and transparent survey process designed to elicit meaningful and substantive evaluations of the quality of legal services.” You can read more about the awards at www.bestlawyers.com.
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 is recognized by Chambers USA 2024 as among the best in Texas in commercial law and intellectual property; has been listed by Best Lawyers’ Best Law Firms as one of the country’s best commercial litigation firms for 12 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.