VIDAURRI - Key Persons
Christian is a Rio Grande Valley native, born in McAllen and raised in Alamo, Texas. His interest in the legal field began when he was a young child. After graduating from PSJA Memorial ECHS and South Texas College, he attended The University of Texas at Austin, where he double- majored and received a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Government and History.
After graduating from UT Austin, Christian returned to the Rio Grande Valley as an AmeriCorps College Advisor. Serving his high school alma mater, he assisted fellow PSJA Memorial High School students in navigating the intricate path to higher education, providing invaluable support with college and scholarship applications, driven by a desire to reciprocate the support he had received from his community. His tenure as a college advisor played a pivotal role in confirming his choice to pursue law school.
Christian went on to obtain his Juris Doctorate from St. Mary's University School of Law, where he served as President of the Longhorn Bar Association and was a member of the National Trial Team. Christian was inducted into the Order of Barristers, a national honorary organization whose purpose is to encourage oral advocacy and brief writing skills through effective law school oral advocacy programs. The Order provides national recognition for individuals who have excelled in advocacy and service at their respective schools.
Education
D., St. Mary's University School of Law, 2023
A., The University of Texas at Austin, 2017
A., South Texas College, 2014
Glenn's roots began in Florida, where his parents were native Floridians. He was born and raised in Tampa, Florida and was a local businessman before graduating from the University of Tampa in 1982. Glenn made Texas his home when he moved to Houston to attend the South Texas College of Law, where he obtained his law degree in 1986. Licensed to practice in the State of Texas since 1986, Glenn built a successful trial practice representing individuals and businesses in a wide variety of personal injury torts, including medical malpractice, catastrophic personal injury, and business transactions. Glenn is licensed to practice in state courts in Texas and in the federal court for the Southern District of Texas.
Glenn's practice is now focused on the defense of catastrophic personal injury and wrongful death cases.
Education
J.D., South Texas College of Law, 1986
B.S. Kinesiology, University of Florida Tampa, 1982
Born in Las Vegas, Nevada while his father as stationed in Nellis Air Force Base, Joe arrived in what would become his hometown, Donna, Texas, at the age of 2 years in 1970. He learned the value of hard work at an early age from his parents and siblings. His interest in law began early on while he served as Student Body President at Donna High School.
Upon graduating from Donna High School, Joe attended the University of Texas at Austin where he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in 1991 with a major in government. He served as an active member of the Hispanic Business Student Association and Mexican American Student Leadership Counsel.
Joe went on to obtain his Juris Doctor from St. Mary's University School of Law in 1994. As a second-year law student, he co-coordinated a state wide conference, "Forjando Una Comunidad: Forging One Community" bringing in speakers from across the country to discuss matters relevant to the Hispanic Community with regards to the practice of law. He was an original member of the school's first Criminal Law Clinic and was able to try his first case as a third-year law student. He was also selected to intern at the Court of Criminal Appeals.
Joe began his career as a solo practitioner handling cases in all areas of law. He then joined the Hidalgo County District Attorney's Office in 1999 where he tried first chair cases from misdemeanors to murders. He gained valuable trial experience which served him well in his private practice from 2001-2022, when he joined Vidaurri, Rodriguez & Reyna. Joe is fluent in Spanish and settled and tried cases to verdict in both criminal and wrongful death cases. He has been a certified mediator since 1996 and has valuable negotiations skills. His ability to understand the needs of the people in deep South Texas is evident by the strong ties he has built in the community as he assisted thousands of clients through his practice.
Education
J.D. St. Mary's University School of Law
B.A., University of Texas
Lorissa Pena is a Rio Grande Valley native, born and raised in Edinburg, Texas. Lorissa graduated from Texas A&M University in 2020 with a Bachelor of Science in Agricultural Economics. While at Texas A&M University, Lorissa was a member of the Agricultural Economics Society and Pre-Law Society.
Lorissa received her law degree from Baylor University School of Law in 2023. During law school, Lorissa was a member of the Baylor Business Law Society, Baylor Public Interest Legal Society and Texas Aggie Bar Association. Lorissa also participated in the Baylor Law Estate Planning Clinic where she helped prepare wills for central Texas veterans and first responders. She participated in Baylor Law's The Academy of the Advocate, School of Trial at St. Andrews University in Scotland where she developed advocacy skills that she utilizes in practice every day.
Education
D., Baylor University School of Law, 2023
S., Texas A&M University, 2020
Tamara has a broad civil defense practice. Tamara has over 20 years of experience defending personal injury and fatality cases involving commercial carriers (bus and truck companies) and businesses (hotels, pool service companies, commercial garage door service companies, restaurants, movie theatre, warehouses, food packing company, ambulance, courier, crane, and construction subcontractors) under commercial general liability policies. Tamara also represents doctors in Texas Medical Board investigations, OIG/AG/QIC/ZPIC overpayment audits, hospital peer review and credentialing matters and malpractice cases. Because of her experience in the insurance industry, Tamara provides insurance coverage opinions as well as handle first party litigation and dec actions involving coverage disputes.
Tamara defends Mexican and US trucking companies operating in the US/Mexican border zone, an area she calls home. She develops a rapport with her clients early in the ligation process. Communication and contact with her clients are key factors to her success in obtaining no negligence/zero verdicts for her clients in federal and state courts along the border. She and her staff are bilingual. She has the resources and experience to safely travel into the Mexican border when the need arises to better understand her client's operations to best represent her client. As a result, she and her team of experienced lawyers and paralegals have represented the largest trucking companies from Brownsville/Matamoros, McAllen/Reynosa, Rio Grande City/Rio Bravo, Laredo/Nuevo Laredo to Eagle Pass/Piedras Negras. In addition to representing FMCSR governed carriers, Tamara also defends cases involving non-tractor trailer commercial vehicles for a wide range of businesses that operate in South Texas.
Tamara understands and appreciates the importance of addressing damages early and aggressively in personal injury lawsuits. She is uniquely suited to use her Master of Law in healthcare and 25+ years of medical litigation background in all of her personal injury cases, particularly now that medical expenses are egregiously inflated and financial relationships between physicians providing care and the lawyers who refer patients to them are an aberration from traditional payment methods in medical practices.
Education
J.D., South Texas College of Law, 1994
B.A., Florida State University, 1990
LLM in Healthcare Law, Loyola University Chicago, 2015