Susana Herrera

Ms. Herrera has over 30 years’ experience as a licensed Texas attorney. She has gained extensive experience in civil litigation while working at various law firms in the private sector and in the public sector working for governmental entities.

Most recently, as Chief Legal Officer, Ms. Herrera directed all legal affairs for one of the largest appraisal districts in the United States that appraises real and personal property for ad valorem tax purposes. She managed the district’s in-house legal department consisting of eight lawyers and six support staff handling over 6,800 active lawsuits with a value of over $28 billion. In her role as Chief Legal Officer, she provided a variety of legal services including:

·        Serving as a strategic partner to various department heads by supporting and interfacing with project teams within the organization along with vendors, governmental entities, the media, and outside counsel.

·        Providing legal counsel to executive staff and senior management to ensure compliance with applicable laws, rules, and regulations.

·        Assisting board of directors with monthly meetings, executive sessions, agenda items, elections, formal resolutions, and policy and procedures.

·        Drafting, reviewing, revising, advising, and approving a wide variety of commercial contracts and legal documents, including software licensing agreements, consulting agreements, nondisclosure agreements, non-compete agreements, independent contractor, professional service agreements, vendor agreements, construction contracts, professional agreements, MOU’s and interlocal agreements.

·        Providing legal analysis of bills filed during the legislative session and overseeing implementation and compliance with new legislation by providing training to an organization of over 650 employees.

After becoming a licensed attorney in 1991, Ms. Herrera began working as a sole practitioner, then went on to work for law firms and governmental entities. During her career she has handled a wide range of civil litigation matters, including:

·        Defending lawsuits involving medical malpractice, personal injury and wrongful death, products and premises liability, construction defects, and auto accident lawsuits while working at law firms.

·        Handling civil lawsuits under the Deceptive Trade Practices Act and other consumer protection and public health statutes while working for the Texas Attorney General.

·        Extensive experience in all aspects of civil litigation including drafting briefs, pleadings, motions, and written discovery, depositions, bench trials, jury trials, and mediation.