BROTHERS ALVARADO, P.C. - Key Persons
Amman Waheed was born in Texas and raised overseas. He graduated from The University of Texas at Austin with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in History and minors in Economics and Government. He received his Doctor of Jurisprudence from South Texas College of Law Houston, where he pursued the Transactional Law - Real Estate program. Amman was also a member of Mock Trial and the Real Estate & Construction Law Society.
Amman is licensed to practice law in the state of Texas, and he began his career in corporate and transactional law before shifting to civil litigation. His current practice focuses on defending businesses and individuals across a variety of industries in the matters of construction litigation, premises liability, workplace injuries, commercial vehicle accidents, and related claims involving breach of contract and negligence.
Prior to joining the firm, Amman worked at a midsize firm in Houston representing clients in a wide range of general corporate matters and commercial real estate transactions, including acquisitions, development, and financing. Before that, Amman also served as associate legal counsel at a real estate company in Asia, where he drafted and reviewed contracts, researched and analyzed laws and regulations affecting cross-border deals, as well as reviewed title policies and land surveys.
During his free time, Amman is a volunteer at various educational and faith-based organizations, including pro bono matters. Amman enjoys motorcycle and bicycle riding, photography, and telescope astronomy.
Andrew "A.J." James Garceau is a rising trial lawyer licensed in the State of Texas. His focus is on cases involving commercial and general liability, commercial vehicle accidents, premises liability, actions involving the Texas Deceptive Trade Practice Act, and appellate matters. In these cases, he helps his clients understand Texas law and its application in their case.
Andrew Martinez was born and raised in South Texas - his family is from the small town of Crystal City, Texas. Mr. Martinez graduated from Baylor University in 2009 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism and Political Science. He continued his education and earned a law degree from South Texas College of Law in 2012. While pursuing his law degree, he spent a semester in Santiago, Chile, studying through the California Western School of Law. Throughout law school, Mr. Martinez held various clerkships, including with the First Court of Appeals of Texas in Houston and the Fort Bend County District Attorney's Office.
Mr. Martinez began his career mainly handling criminal defense matters. For the last eight years, he has mainly devoted his law practice to defending individuals and companies in lawsuits. Mr. Martinez has experience handling various matters including personal injury, trucking accidents, industrial accidents, construction litigation, premises liability, and other types of civil lawsuits.
On his free time, Mr. Martinez is an active member of Saint Cecilia Catholic Church in Houston and a volunteer at the Christian Community Service Center. Mr. Martinez has recently handled some pro bono landlord-tenant matters through Lone Star Legal Aid. He enjoys reading, jogging, watching sports, and spending time with his wife and son.
Bianca D. Martinez was born in Chicago, Illinois and raised in Houston, Texas where she graduated from Bellaire High School. She received her undergraduate degree from The University of Texas at Austin where she graduated in less than three years with a double major and a business certificate. After graduation, Bianca lived and volunteered in South America before returning to Texas to work for a major oil and gas company. She then went on to earn her law degree from South Texas College of Law. While attending school full-time. Bianca worked and interned as a law clerk with a criminal defense firm. She also took the opportunity during law school to volunteer for non-profits and participate in the school's legal clinics and advocacy classes.
Bianca has experience in personal injury, premises liability, and other types of civil suits. She enjoys defending lawsuits in all different venues across the State of Texas. Bianca is licensed to practice law in the State of Texas and is fluent in Spanish.
For more than twenty years, Creighton Carr has represented clients in litigation and arbitration proceedings arising from automobile accidents, product defect claims, and commercial, contract, premises liability, construction, toxic-tort, and landlord/tenant disputes, consistently obtaining favorable results at both the trial and appellate levels. Mr. Carr's practice is built on understanding his clients' goals and developing strategies to ensure that those goals are achieved, all while ensuring his clients are thoroughly advised so that they can move forward together as partners towards resolution.
Mr. Carr was born in Houston, but grew up abroad, graduating from high school at the International School of Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia. Mr. Carr completed his undergraduate studies at Creighton University and Texas A&M University and subsequently obtained his law degree from Baylor Law School. Mr. Carr then returned to Houston, where he began his law career and practiced for twenty years at Manning, Gosda & Arredondo, L.L.P., a boutique litigation defense firm. In 2022, Manning, Gosda & Arredondo, L.L.P. merged with Brothers, Alvarado, Piazza & Cozort, P.C., where Mr. Carr is an equity shareholder.
Mr. Carr is admitted to practice before all Texas state courts, The United States District Courts for the Southern, Eastern and Northern Districts of Texas, and the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals.
Since 2002, Frank Piazza has been trial counsel for private and public corporations in various industries. After graduating law school, he chose the fastest path to the courtroom … by prosecuting cases for plaintiffs. Although many lawyers rarely go to court, he tried his first lawsuit within his first year of practice. Frank has taken cases to trial for plaintiffs as well as for defendants. His trial experience, gained from both sides of the bar, helps achieve the advantage in the early stages of litigation, and keep it through verdict. From the inception of a lawsuit, he methodically develops a litigation strategy with the client and maintains a course of action to prepare the case for trial by jury. This strong work ethic and attention to detail not only results in a more favorable position at trial, it frequently results in a favorable settlement thereby sparing the client litigation costs.
Frank's business background is rooted in the restaurant business. For several generations, his family and extended family have been in the restaurant business. He grew up in the business, starting by washing dishes, and then worked his way up through the kitchen and to management. Frank received a B.B.A. in Operations Management from Loyola University of Chicago in 1997. Interestingly enough, now in his legal practice, he has represented many restaurants and food service establishments.
The majority of his practice involves representing clients at various hearings, legal proceedings, and mediations in the Federal and State District Courts throughout Texas. Corporate clients from various industries, including industries in the construction (industrial, commercial and residential), manufacturing/distribution, transportation, hospitality, and oil & gas drilling and exploration businesses call upon Frank's legal counsel. Drawing upon his business background, communications skills, and legal education. Frank works with his clients to effectively accomplish their goals, whether the task involves transactional work, resolving disputed issues between multiple parties, negotiating a settlement, preempt litigation, or trying a lawsuit to a jury.
Frank has been recognized by the Texas Super Lawyers magazine as a "Rising Star" and is Rated AV® PreeminentÔ by Martindale‑Hubbell® 2018 to the present. Whether as plaintiff's counsel fostering a million-dollar settlement or as defense counsel protecting public and private corporations, he works hard for his clients.
He attributes much of his success to a strategic mind-set, analyzation and communications skills, and quite simply just good judgment and business sense. But most importantly, Frank attributes his success to his family and friends. When not working, Frank enjoys spending time with his wife and children. He enjoys cooking, fishing, and competing in endurance events and Ironman 5i50 and 70.3 triathlons.
Karen Kacir Alvarado is an experienced trial lawyer who is licensed to practice law in Texas, as well as before the federal courts in Texas. She handles cases involving probate litigation, personal injury, construction law, commercial disputes, premises liability, products liability, general liability, and personal injury litigation. In the trusts and probate area, Karen represents parties involved in will contests; conflicts involving heirs and beneficiaries of an estate or trust; parties who involved in questions of misconduct by an executor or administrator of an estate, trustee or guardianship; parties involved in fiduciary duty litigation; guardianships.
Along with Karen's experience of more than 30 years of practicing in Texas state and federal courts, she brings to the table her belief that practicing law requires many attributes, not the least of which is hard work, perseverance, and integrity.
Karen has represented a diverse group of clients from Fortune 500 companies to individuals. She routinely appears in state and federal courts throughout Texas - from El Paso to Orange and from the RGV to the panhandle.
Lucia Zhan has a broad litigation practice representing defendants in personal injury, property damage, and premises liability matters. Lucia also has experience with commercial disputes including contractual, insurance coverage, and professional liability claims. She partners with her clients to gain a deep understanding of their objectives and excels at finding innovative and cost-effective solutions to resolve the complex issues presented.
Lucia received her bachelor's degree in Economics and minor in Business Administration from The University of Texas at Austin and her law degree from the University of Houston Law Center. During law school, Lucia interned for the Honorable Kenneth M. Hoyt of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas and served as a clinic student attorney advising local businesses on regulatory compliance, contract risk management, and employment practices. Lucia is fluent in Mandarin Chinese.
Maryse Rodriguez was born and raised in Del Rio, Texas. She graduated from The University of Texas at Austin with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Population Health & Society and a minor in Sociology. She then went on to obtain her Doctor of Jurisprudence from the University of Houston Law Center. During her time in law school, Maryse served as the Vice-President for the Hispanic Law Students Association, Senior Articles Editor for the Houston Journal of Health Law & Policy, SBA Mentor for First-Year Students, and had her comment selected for publication in the Houston Journal of Health Law & Policy. Maryse also clerked for various law firms throughout her time in law school. Maryse is licensed to practice law in the state of Texas and focuses her practice on civil litigation defense, including personal injury, product liability, construction litigation, and premises liability claims. During her free time, Maryse enjoys working out, trying new coffee shops around Houston, and hanging out with her two Bernedoodles.
Matt Maddox is a native of Rosehill, Texas and graduate of Tomball High School. He received his undergraduate in Business from Texas A&M and is a graduate of the University of Houston Law Center. While at Texas A&M, Matt was active in the business school, serving as the business school representative in student government, winning the inaugural business idea competition hosted by the Department of Entrepreneurism and eventually earning certification in international business through study abroad experience in Mexico with a focus on NAFTA strategies and the maquiladora business model. Matt has a heart for small and not-so-small businesses, and he not only knows that frivolous litigation can be a costly distraction from your corporate mission, but understands that effective representation in these matters can actually be a competitive advantage in our litigious society.
Matt is an experienced trial lawyer with first chair trial experience. He prides himself on devoting an unmatched attention to detail to your case. This dedication results in less time spent by you dealing with lawsuits, getting you back to the business of running your business faster.
Matt is active in Houston's First Baptist Church and currently serves on the board of Project Delta, a sports evangelism organization that uses soccer to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ. Matt is also an annual participant in the BP MS 150. In his free time, he is a triathlon enthusiast and avid home improvement do-it-yourself-er.
William J. Cozort has represented clients in commercial, construction, transportation, industrial accident, toxic tort, and products and premises liability disputes for more than twenty-six years. Before joining Brothers Alvarado, P.C. in January 2014, Mr. Cozort served as a shareholder with the firm of Bair Hilty, P.C. and prior to that as a partner with the Houston firm of Manning, Gosda & Arredondo, L.L.P. for more than ten years. Mr. Cozort has successfully defended electrical utilities and contractors, trucking and transportation concerns, petrochemical companies, oilfield services companies, banks and other lenders, general contractors and road construction firms, manufactured housing retailers and manufacturer, manufacturers of recreational vehicles, and premises owners and product manufacturers of all types in federal courts, state courts and other forums throughout the State of Texas. Mr. Cozort has years of experience in the field of mass and toxic tort litigation, having served as trial counsel and Assistant Regional Manager for a major asbestos defendant's eight state Southwest Region - a position including direct responsibility for the day to day management of tens of thousands of asbestos claims.
Mr. Cozort is a native Houstonian and graduated with honors from Bellaire Senior High School and the University of Texas at Austin's College of Liberal Arts prestigious honors program (Plan II). Mr. Cozort was among the inaugural group of five students to receive the Texas Excellence Award from the Ex-Students Association of the University of Texas. Mr. Cozort earned his Doctor of Jurisprudence from the University of Texas School of Law in 1989. Mr. Cozort has served as Faculty Member for the Texas Association of Defense Counsel's Trial Academy and the National Institute of Trial Advocacy's Deposition Skills Program. Mr. Cozort is admitted to practice before all Texas state and federal courts, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals and also has been licensed to practice law in Colorado. Mr. Cozort has maintained an A.V. rating from Martindale Hubbell since 2004.
Mr. Cozort relishes practicing complex high states litigation, and particularly enjoys the challenges presented by trying catastrophic loss cases in adverse jurisdictions. Mr. Cozort recognizes that tireless preparation followed by a powerful but nuanced trial presentation, timely and informative communication and creative and cost efficient solutions to vexing problems are the keys to courtroom success and client satisfaction.