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(915) 541-1542   

Mr. Safi’s principal areas of practice are Appeals, Litigation and Education Law.

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(915) 541-1535   

Mr. Birkelbach is a native El Pasoan. His practice is focused in the areas of Real Estate Law (commercial and residential), Banking Law; Commercial Lending, and General Corporate.

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(915) 541-1569   

Born and raised in El Paso, Kurt Paxson maintains an active trial practice with particular experience in catastrophic injury claims involving complex issues and multiple parties. His successful verdicts include claims of traumatic brain injury and wrongful death. "Trial Lawyer" for many is merely a title, not a description of what they do for a living. Mr. Paxson is a trial lawyer because he has tried well over 150 cases to jury verdict in the State and Federal Courts of Texas.

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(915) 541-1506   

Mr. Pine's principal areas of practice are Commercial Litigation, Business/Real Estate Law, Bankruptcy Law, and School Law. By choice, Mr. Pine maintains a broader legal practice than many attorneys. Such a broad understanding of various legal areas has proven to be a significant benefit to his practice (e.g.- since he is retained to handle lawsuits where contracts have gone bad, he is more attuned to avoid such problems for his clients when he is drafting contracts). Mr. Pine is licensed to practice in both Texas and New Mexico, and conducts an active practice in west Texas and southern New Mexico. His clients include local companies and individuals, as well as many regional, national, and international companies. In his career, Mr. Pine has handled individual matters with amounts at issue ranging from hundreds of millions of dollars down to mere hundreds of dollars (i.e.- where principle is at stake for a participant), with a similar level of service to each. Mr. Pine has also made presentations and has authored articles and papers over his decades of practice for a variety of legal and industry seminars and publications, including national ones. Mr. Pine is a Shareholder, and continues to serve as President, of the Firm.

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(915) 541-1513   

Mr. Koehler’s practice includes all aspects of employment law and commercial litigation. His daily practice involves employment litigation, including ADEA, Title VII, ADA, workers' compensation retaliatory discharge, employment contracts and wage suits and commercial litigation. His trial experience in this area includes lead counsel in litigation of discrimination, retaliation, breach of employment contract and FLSA cases. He has also served as lead counsel in trials in deceptive trade practices, breach of contract, environmental and personal injury cases. Mr. Koehler routinely handles charges filed with EEOC and Wage & Hour Division and the Department of Labor. He has also handled a variety of OSHA matters, including contests of OSHA citations. He is very experienced in a variety of labor law matters, including collective bargaining agreement negotiations and union campaign defense.

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(915) 541-1509   

Mr. Almanzán is a third-generation native and bilingual El Pasoan. For the last 26 years, he has been licensed and has maintained an active, civil defense litigation practice in both Texas State and Federal Courts, and more recently, in New Mexico State and Federal Courts as well. His clients include local companies and individuals, as well as regional, national, and international companies. Mr. Almanzán maintains a broader legal/litigation practice than many other attorneys, which entails a more diverse and thorough understanding of an exposure to various legal areas and venues which has proven to be a significant benefit to his trial practice and professional development. He has successfully litigated/defended State and Federal cases involving Personal Injury/Wrongful Death, Construction Litigation, Trucking/Transportation, Professional Liability/Malpractice Defense, Premises Liability, Products Liability, Insurance Defense, Employment Law, Probate/Estate Litigation, Environmental Remediation/Cost Recovery (per the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act/ "CERCLA" or "Superfund"), Civil Rights (Defense of Section 1983 Claims against Law Enforcement), Governmental Entity Defense, Commercial/Contractual Disputes (occasionally involving Mexican Law), Education/School Law, Residential/Homebuilder Litigation and Real Estate Transactions. Mr. Almanzán is the Chief Executive Officer and a Vice-President of the Firm. He also serves as the Chair of the Firm's Recruiting Committee.

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(915) 541-1531   

Merwan N. Bhatti is a partner in the Firm and serves as a Vice-President and member of the Board. He practices in the areas of business law, real estate law, bankruptcy, lending, and commercial litigation. Mr. Bhatti has extensive experience representing financial institutions, corporations, and other business entities. He approaches his clients and legal matters with a business “mindset,” and aims to handle legal matters strategically, proactively, and cost-effectively.

In the banking and lending practice, Mr. Bhatti represents institutional and private lenders. Mr. Bhatti’s experience includes the documentation and negotiation of commercial loans, handling foreclosures, and pursuing creditors’ rights. In the real estate practice, Mr. Bhatti has handled the sale and purchase of numerous commercial projects, and has also worked in land development matters. He also has experience in commercial leasing, and landlord/tenant disputes. In the corporate practice area, Mr. Bhatti handles day to day entity issues, including the formation of entities, termination of entities, and maintenance of business entities.

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(915) 541-1501   

Ms. Perez is a Shareholder who maintains a trial practice in employment and personal injury litigation in Texas and New Mexico. Employment litigation of exclusive management representation before state and federal agencies, arbitrations, and state and federal courts in Texas and New Mexico. Advise clients on employment policies, handbooks, employee on-boarding forms, employment contracts, employee trainings in both English and Spanish, and day-to-day employee relations issues. Personal injury litigation includes first-chair defense of insurance carriers and/or their insured entities or individuals and case management from inception to disposition.

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