BOJORQUEZ LAW FIRM, PC - Key Persons
Alan serves as City Attorney or Special Counsel to cities across Texas. He graduated from Texas Tech University with his Bachelor of Arts in English, Master of Public Administration, and Doctor of Jurisprudence. Alan served as a staff attorney for the Texas Municipal League. He has Merit Certification in Municipal Law from the Texas City Attorneys Association and is a Past-President of TCAA. Alan is a Board Member for the International Municipal Lawyers Association, an IMLA Local Government Fellow, and received IMLA's Glick Award in 2017 (for Outstanding Local Government Lawyer in Private Practice). He was named Outstanding Government Lawyer for 2018 by the State Bar of Texas (Government Law Section). September 2018, Alan was named an Honorary Member of the International City/County Management Association (ICMA). In 2020, Alan was designated an Honorary Member of the Texas Municipal Clerks Association. He authors the Texas Municipal Law & Procedural Manual (7th Ed.).
Alan has served as City Attorney or Assistant City Attorney for New Braunfels, Grand Prairie, Plano, Arlington, North Richland Hills, Galveston, Garland, Hurst, Bedford, Westlake, Argyle, and Marshall Creek, representing the Cities in all aspects of municipal law. Alan has also been special counsel for Irving and White Settlement. He received his Bachelor of Arts degree in Government from the University of Texas at Austin and a juris doctor in law from St. Mary's University School of Law in San Antonio. Alan has represented municipalities and special districts in open meetings, public information, ethics, conflicts, annexation, land use planning, request for proposals/bids, grants, contracts, eminent domain, employment, utilities, purchasing, engineering/public works, open records, emergency management, municipal court, environmental issues, council of government, legislative drafting and agendas, ordinances, economic development, civil service, and litigation.
Alessandra is the firm's expert on Small Cell Nodes and municipal tree preservation regulations. She helps the team by: conducting legal research and reviewing current law, drafting memoranda and pleadings, drafting ordinances and resolutions, responding to public records requests, handling assignments involving land use, water and other municipal issues. She is one of our top prosecutors and helps handle Code Enforcement cases. Alessandra received her undergraduate degree from The University of Texas at Austin and her Doctor of Jurisprudence from St. Mary's University in San Antonio.
Andrew Quittner acquired valuable municipal government experience serving as the City Attorney for Seguin, where he oversaw all legal matters and prosecuted municipal court. Prior to taking the position in Seguin, he served as an assistant City Attorney and interim City Attorney in San Marcos, and Assistant City Attorney in Corpus Christi. He has also served as an Assistant County Attorney, Assistant District Attorney, and a Law Clerk for the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas. Andrew is a mediator, has taught mediation, and has served on the Board of Directors for the Nueces County Dispute Resolution Center. He has a Bachelor's Degree in Biology from Louisiana State University, and a Master's Degree in Chemistry and a Doctor of Jurisprudence from the University of Texas.
Ben represents municipal clients on a range of matters, including land use, real estate acquisitions, drafting ordinances, contract drafting and review, and legal research. Prior to joining the Firm, Ben clerked with the City of Austin Law Department, the Travis County Attorney's Office, and the Texas Association of School Boards (TASB). He received his Doctor of Jurisprudence from the University of Texas School of Law and his undergraduate degree from Trinity University in San Antonio.
Bertha has over 30 years experience in a broad range of municipal and local government law. Most recently, she served as Senior Assistant City Attorney with the City of El Paso. During her 8 year tenure, she provided legal assistance in real estate, tax and budget, financial services, procurement (both for goods and services and construction), employee benefits and risk management, information technology, utility regulation, including telecommunications, as well as general municipal law matters such as public information and open meeting laws. Bertha received her Doctor of Jurisprudence from the University of California, Berkeley, Boalt Hall School of Law and graduated from Yale University with a Bachelor of Arts.
For 20 years, Chris served as a night prosecutor for the City of El Paso. Previously, he served in a seven-year position as the city's Assistant City Prosecutor. During this time, Chris also worked as a professor teaching social studies for the El Paso and Socorro School Districts. Chris received his Doctor of Jurisprudence from the University of Texas School of Law in Austin and his undergraduate degree from the University of Texas in El Paso. While working for the City of El Paso, Chris performed trial work, responded to motions, answered appeals, conducted training for Code Enforcement Officers, and worked directly with environmental services, the fire department, and general code enforcement.
Denise has over 20 years of municipal government experience. Prior to joining the firm, Denise served as City Attorney for the City of Leon Valley, as an Assistant City Attorney for the City of San Antonio, and as an Associate Attorney for the firm of Brown & Hofmeister. Denise has extensive experience in complex contracts, grant-funded public works, elections, open meetings and open records, land use, development and zoning. As a Municipal Prosecutor, her expertise extends to law enforcement, code enforcement, and the prosecution of Class C misdemeanors. Denise received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Communications from the University of the Incarnate Word in San Antonio, and her Doctor of Jurisprudence from Texas Southern University-Thurgood Marshall School of Law.
Dottie advises city councils, city officials, boards and commissions and prepares legal documents in all areas of municipal law with a primary concentration in Land Use, Utility Franchise Fee, Gas Well Development and Legislation. She graduated from South Texas College of Law with a Doctor of Jurisprudence and Arizona State University with a Masters in Education. She was a registered lobbyist as Assistant General Counsel for the Texas Municipal League from 1994 to 2000, primarily responsible for drafting and passing legislation. Dottie has been a Board Member of the Texas City Attorneys Association since 2009. She has also served as faculty chair, panel moderator and speaker for the UT Land Use Conference. She has served as City Attorney or Assistant City Attorney for Abilene, Midland, Garland, Denton, Galveston, and Highland Village.
Job Titles:
- Attorney at Law
- Legal Writer
Erin is an accomplished legal writer and advocate with experience in municipal and appellate court. She focuses predominately on prosecutorial services for the firm's clients. Erin earned her Doctor of Jurisprudence from St. Mary's University School of Law and a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology from the University of Texas. In law school, she served as Editor in Chief of the St. Mary's Law Journal. Erin later served as briefing attorney to the Honorable Sandee Bryan Marion. She also clerked for Judge W. Royal Furgeson with the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas. Prior to joining our team, Erin gained experience in prosecution, City Attorney work, and litigation with the firm Denton, Navarro, Rocha, Bernal, Hyde & Zech, P.C.
Garrett represents municipal clients in the Lubbock and South Plains area. His municipal services include advising cities regarding purchasing, personnel, and Open Government. His experience includes energy and utility matters. Prior to joining the Firm, Garrett was a staff attorney for Lubbock Power & Light, the City of Lubbock's municipally-owned utility. Garrett's practice also includes representing clients in real estate transactions, oil and gas matters, civil litigation and estate planning. He received his Doctor of Jurisprudence from Texas Wesleyan School of Law in Fort Worth (now Texas A&M University School of Law) and his undergraduate degree from Texas Tech University.
Gary offices out of Tyler, Texas. Gary served the City of Tyler as City Attorney for 28 years and later served as Attorney of Counsel from 2013 to 2014. His legal duties included ensuring compliance with the Texas Open Meetings Act and preparing and/or reviewing ordinances, resolutions, and contracts. He received his Doctor of Jurisprudence from the University of Texas Law School and received his Bachelor of Arts in History from McMurry University. Gary's experience also involved working on the budget, grant, bond elections, franchise review/audits for all utilities, and other financial projects. He supervised litigation in federal and state courts using either in-house attorneys or outside counsel. Gary served on the Texas Municipal League Board of Directors from 2002 to 2006.
During his 30+ year career in government and private law practice, John has provided public and private sector clients with a wide range of environmental, health and safety compliance counseling and enforcement defense services under most state and federal environmental and natural resource laws, as well as general municipal law counseling. John served as an enforcement attorney with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and as the senior staff attorney in the Superfund legal program. He subsequently joined a large national law firm where he provided environmental legal counseling, compliance auditing, and enforcement defense services. After several years with the region's highest-regarded environmental law boutique, John changed the focus of his practice to municipal law. At the Bojorquez Law Firm, John has assisted clients in formulating and implementing communication strategies, developing permit and compliance oversight strategies for municipal utilities, effectively challenging state environmental permitting actions, defending municipalities in environmental enforcement actions, and securing or amending certificates of convenience and necessity for municipal water and wastewater services before the Texas Public Utilities Commission. John also provides training programs. He received his BA in Classics and Renaissance Studies at the Johns Hopkins University and his law degree at the University of Maryland School of Law.
Jon has nearly 30 years of experience practicing law, more than 20 of which were spent at the City of San Antonio where he was an Assistant City Attorney. Jon has advised city departments and public officials on a wide range of municipal law issues. He has experience serving as a municipal court prosecutor, counsel to Planning & Zoning Commissions, and an advisor to Zoning Boards of Adjustment. Jon has guided municipalities through compliance with the Texas Public Information Act (Open Records) Intellectual Property/Information Technology procedures, compliance, procurement and other legal matters. He negotiated and drafted IT and IP transactions, technology system implementation agreements, statements of work, IT consultancy agreements, technology proposals, and hardware / software / maintenance and support contracts. He also prepared trademark filings. Jon earned his undergraduate degree from the University of Texas and his Juris Doctorate from St. Mary's University School of Law.
Joseph acquired valuable municipal government experience while serving as assistant city attorney with the City of Houston Attorney's Office. His experience also includes commercial and residential real estate, corporate finance, and intellectual property law. In 2017, he received the Edward A. Cazares award for "Excellence and Professionalism in Municipal Law" from the City of Houston Attorney's Office. He received his Doctor of Jurisprudence from the University of Houston Law Center and an undergraduate degree in Government from the University of Texas at Austin.
Marc has represented clients on a wide range of specialties. His experience includes entertainment law, family law, business affairs, and international sales and acquisitions. He is currently licensed in Texas and California. He has served for the City of Buda as a Member of the Main Street Advisory Board, Construction Board of Appeals, and the Zoning Board of Adjustments, and as the President of Dupre LGC. Marc received his Doctor of Jurisprudence from the University of Texas School of Law and an undergraduate degree from Ithaca College in New York.
Marianne has over 30 years' experience in the fields of municipal and government law. She served as city attorney and assistant city attorney for a number of municipalities including Georgetown, College Station, and Springfield, Missouri. She received her Doctor of Jurisprudence from St. Mary's University in San Antonio and her Bachelor's in Mathematics from the University of Texas at Austin. Marianne's municipal law experience includes real estate, estate planning and probate, land development, economic development, finance, contract drafting, planning, zoning, environmental law, conflict resolution, and litigation in state and federal court. Marianne has served on the International Municipal Lawyers Association Board of Directors from 2010 to 2016 and the Missouri Municipal Attorneys Association Board of Directors from 2013 to present.
Marianella Céspedes Joseph ("Nella") has over 20 years of legal experience as an international attorney and paralegal. For the last 11 years, she has focused on working with governmental entities, specifically with cities and public school districts. Her focus is on Open Records, Purchasing, Human Resources, Litigation, Policy Review, and Grievances. Prior to joining the Bojorquez Law Firm, Nella worked in the Legal Department of Leander ISD. She also worked for notable Texas law firms as a senior litigation paralegal on matters in state and federal court with an emphasis on employment law, constitutional law, construction law, and contractual disputes. She clerked for the Texas Association of School Boards (TASB). Nella obtained her law degree from the Universidad Escuela Libre de Derecho in San José, Costa Rica, and earned a Master of Law degree (LLM) from the University of Texas School of Law. She is licensed to practice law in Costa Rica and Texas.
Pete is an experienced civil, criminal, and bankruptcy litigator in federal and state courts with substantial experience negotiating and drafting complex agreements, as well as conducting investigations and representing witnesses and targets in investigations. He has supervised other litigators and maintained his own docket of high-stakes cases as an Executive Assistant City Attorney and Chief of General Litigation for the City of Dallas. Pete often speaks and assists lawyers on diverse litigation subjects such as police and firefighter pension system disputes, civil litigation procedure, evidence, pretrial discovery including electronic discovery, bankruptcy, criminal investigations, and paper terrorism. Past experience includes serving as an officer in the U.S. Navy JAG Corps, an assistant district attorney in New York County, supervising inspector general for New York City, deputy chief of the Texas Attorney General Office's Financial Litigation Division, leader of the Texas Attorney General's paper terrorism task force, special assistant U.S. attorney in the Western District of Texas, and special prosecutor in several Texas counties. He served as chair of the International Municipal Lawyers Association's Technology Law Section and its eDiscovery Working Group and has lectured nationwide on technology law issues. He is a past member of the State Bar of Texas' Administration of Rules of Evidence Committee and is a member of the Texas State Bar College. He received his Doctor of Jurisprudence from Columbia University Law School in New York City and his Bachelor of Arts in American History at Columbia College.
Rezzin is an Associate Attorney who acquired valuable municipal government experience while serving as an attorney (and previously an intern) with the City Attorney's Office for the City of Tyler. Rezzin has served as a Municipal Court Prosecutor. He has handled a range of municipal work such as responding to public records request, drafting ordinances and policies, land use, and legal research. Rezzin served as the Presiding Judge in General/Special Elections for Harris County. He excels at drafting a high quality work product having been a Student Writing Advisor for the Lawyering Process class in law school. Rezzin earned his undergraduate degree from the University of Houston and his Doctor of Jurisprudence from Texas Southern University-Thurgood Marshall School of Law.
Steve has more than 40 years of experience as an attorney and he has spent the last 24 practicing municipal law, both in a private practice and as in-house counsel for cities. He worked for more than two decades as the Assistant City Attorney for the City of Grand Prairie, and he also worked as an Assistant City Attorney in north Texas for the cities of Fort Worth and Garland. Steve also served as the Municipal Prosecutor for the City of Benbrook for 35 years, and he served for two years as the Pro Tempore Municipal Judge for the City of Fort Worth. Before law school, Steve worked as an Assistant to the City Manager of Schertz for two years, and while in law school, he interned in the Dallas City Attorney's Office. Steve earned his Juris Doctorate from The University of Texas School of Law.
Sylvia Borunda Firth is the Past-President of the State Bar of Texas. Prior to joining our Firm, she was employed by the City of El Paso for nearly 20 years, including serving as City Attorney. As an Assistant City Attorney she supported the Department of Economic Development and advised the city council regarding economic development initiatives, including tax increment financing, (TIFs), tax abatements, 380 agreements and public improvement districts (PIDs). She negotiated and drafter complex resolutions, ordinances and contracts. Sylvia gained experience in legislative matters as the City of El Paso's Director of Intergovernmental Affairs. Sylvia is a Past-President of the Texas City Attorneys Association. She graduated from University of Texas School of Law with a Doctor of Jurisprudence and Saint Mary's University with a Bachelor's in Business Administration (Magna Cum Laude).