I  have always loved the courtroom. My first job after becoming a lawyer was in the Texas Attorney General's Office. I was assigned to what was then called the State and County Affairs Division. There, I learned from many very talented lawyers.

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My caseload was made up mostly of medical malpractice cases filed against state facilities. I represented The University of Texas Health Sciences Centers in San Antonio and Houston, MD Anderson Cancer Center and The University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston, and the Texas Tech Health Sciences Center in El Paso.

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Medical malpractice cases were detailed and complicated with many big name lawyers involved. The process was a slow one. To gain trial experience faster, I volunteered to handle workers' compensation cases as well.  In fact, the first trial I was ever involved with was a workers' compensation trial in Del Rio.

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After my stint with the Attorney General's Office, I moved back home to Alpine and accepted a position in the 83rd District Attorney's Office. Being a prosecutor sparked my subsequent interest in crime victims' rights and criminal justice policy. It was a very rewarding experience.

 

I had to leave the District Attorney's Office subsequent to my election to the Texas Legislature. I went into private practice on my own. During my legislative service, I also had the privilege of working for two law firms, Davis & Wilkerson, PC, and Brown McCarroll, LLP. 

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Since leaving public office, I've gone back into the criminal justice arena to serve as an Assistant Criminal District Attorney and Chief of the Litigation Support Division in the Bexar County Criminal District Attorney's Office. Working with and for one of the more progressive district attorneys in Texas, Joe Gonzales, was extremely rewarding. He is reshaping the office into the 21st Century prosecutor's office that the people of Bexar County deserve.

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At present, I'm a lawyer in private practice again. I recently agreed to help out on a case involving farm workers and pesticides. Farm workers have long been near and dear to my heart.  Wish me well as I work to bring them better working conditions and a safer work environment.

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