Ajamie LLP’s attorneys are all world-class trial lawyers who have earned for our clients some of the largest judgments and settlements in history.
Thomas R. Ajamie
Managing Partner
Tom Ajamie is an internationally recognized trial lawyer who has successfully represented clients in complex commercial litigation and arbitration. The authoritative Chambers USA has described Tom as “a stupendous litigator with a winning attitude and work ethic.” Tom has won two of the largest awards ever handed down by an arbitration panel for investors, including a $429.5 million award. He has also won a record $112 million civil RICO jury verdict. He is the co-author of the book Financial Serial Killers: Inside the World of Wall Street Money Hustlers, Swindlers, and Con Men, and his work on behalf of investors in the Bre-X gold scandal is featured in Brian Hutchinson’s book Fools’ Gold: The Making of a Global Market Fraud.
P: 713-860-1600 E: tajamie@ajamie.com Download vCard Read Full Bio
David A. Bickham
Of Counsel
David Bickham has more than 24 years of experience in complex commercial litigation, including business torts, maritime law claims, industrial accidents, products liability and medical malpractice matters. He has tried more 20 cases to verdict as lead counsel, and his results include judgments awarding damages ranging from several million dollars to more than $110 million.
P: 713-860-1600 E: dbickham@ajamie.com Read Full Bio
John W. Clay
Partner
As a skilled litigator, John Clay has represented individuals and multinational corporations at both the state and federal court level. His proficiency in constitutional, statutory and common law claims and defenses has enabled him to succeed in both jury and bench trials, evidentiary hearings and appeals. John’s experience extends to cross-border commercial litigation, including representation of Mexican corporations and Brazilian plaintiffs in state and federal court proceedings. He has also participated in many appellate proceedings in private practice and has assisted appellate courts with literally hundreds of appellate proceedings as a law clerk and staff attorney.
P: 713-860-1613 E: jclay@ajamie.com Download vCard Read Full Bio
John S. “Jack” Edwards, Jr.
Senior Counsel
Jack Edwards has handled a wide variety of civil and criminal matters in state and federal courts nationwide. His appellate experience includes the representation of a civil rights group in seeking certiorari from the U.S. Supreme Court on a First Amendment issue. He has defended software companies in multibillion-dollar civil action and the corresponding federal criminal complaint case involving the collection, production and analysis of over 10 TB of electronic data and helped an oil field services company get its case dismissed on forum non conveniens against claims arising from the Gulf of Mexico’s deadliest offshore oil accident.
P: 713-860-1619 E: jedwards@ajamie.com Download vCard Read Full Bio
David W. Engstrom
Of Counsel
David Engstrom has successfully represented clients in a wide variety of business litigation for more 15 years. He is an accomplished advisor to clients on business law matters, including business agreements, corporate compliance, internal investigations and risk management. He has also represented professionals, including lawyers, investment managers, officers and directors, in litigation alleging breach of the standard of care and fiduciary duty.
With regard to business law counseling, David has advised clients on confidentiality, noncompetition and nondisclosures agreements, distribution agreements, as well as various issues arising under the Uniform Commercial Code. He has assisted startup and established businesses in Europe with entering the U.S. market and has been selected for inclusion in Pennsylvania Super Lawyers from 2010 to 2015.
P: 713-860-1600 E: dengstrom@ajamie.com Read Full Bio
Esteban A. Leccese
Counsel
Esteban Leccese’s practice includes advising clients regarding their investment claims in arbitration proceedings under the rules of major arbitration institutions such as the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) and the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), and ad hoc arbitrations under the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) Arbitration Rules. His practice also includes advising on commercial arbitration under several arbitration rules. He has experience in advising clients on the structuring of their international investments so as to maximize protection provided for in bilateral investments treaties. He also advises clients on strategic issues regarding dispute resolution clauses and procedures.
P: 713-860-1616 E: eleccese@ajamie.com Download vCard Read Full Bio
Courtney D. Scobie
Senior Counsel
Courtney Scobie’s practice focuses on complex commercial litigation in state and federal courts and federal government investigations. Her experience includes a fraud and theft case on behalf of a large technology company, a breach of fiduciary duty and legal malpractice case on behalf of a real estate investment trust, copyright infringement and trade secret misappropriation cases against a leading enterprise software company, an SEC investigation and a securities class action involving alleged accounting improprieties, several CFTC investigations involving the crude oil and natural gas liquids markets, contract and insurance disputes in the energy and petrochemical industries, product liability and toxic tort litigation and Fair Credit Reporting Act disputes.
P: 713-860-1617 E: cscobie@ajamie.com Download vCard Read Full Bio
Wallace A. Showman
Of Counsel
Wallace A. Showman has litigated dozens of successful class actions and derivative cases involving securities, corporate transactions and consumer protection over the past thirty years. Wallace’s federal practice is nationwide, and he is a member of the federal bars in New York and Colorado, as well as the appellate bar in the Second Circuit (New York) and Fifth Circuit (Texas). He is also admitted to practice in the U.S. Supreme Court.
P: 713-860-1600 E: wshowman@ajamie.com Download vCard Read Full Bio
David S. Siegel
Partner
David Siegel has helped thousands of people obtain redress through the court system. He has nearly 25 years of experience advising businesses and individuals in commercial disputes, product liability suits, mass tort actions, consumer class actions, securities fraud and bankruptcy litigation. His cross-border work includes arguing on behalf of clients located in the Philippines and Latin America, among other regions. His successes include litigating and settling for seven figures an unliquidated and unsecured general creditor litigation claim in the New York Lehman Brothers bankruptcy proceeding and serving as a member of the legal team that recovered a $70 million settlement from Securities America, Inc., the broker-dealer subsidiary of Ameriprise Financial, Inc., for investors who lost money in the Medical Capital Ponzi scheme.
P: 713-860-1601 E: dsiegel@ajamie.com Download vCard Read Full Bio
Dona Szak
Partner
Dona Szak represents foreign and domestic clients in business and commercial matters. She has taken cases through all stages of litigation: pre-lawsuit investigation, trial, appeal and judgment collection. She has designed and implemented strategies for resolving complex commercial problems. By conducting preventive counseling, she has helped her clients achieve favorable resolutions to their business controversies, often without the necessity of filing or defending lawsuits. Her successes include as co-counsel in an ERISA action alleging that plan fiduciaries breached duties of loyalty and prudence by selecting and maintaining inappropriate funds for a company’s 401(k) plan and in negotiating a business resolution of on behalf of an automotive parts supplier facing a lawsuit against a major automobile manufacturer for misrepresentation and breach of contract.
P: 713-860-1614 E: dszak@ajamie.com Download vCard Read Full Bio
Ryan van Steenis
Associate
Ryan van Steenis provides his clients with extensive litigation experience to resolve complex commercial litigation and business disputes efficiently and effectively. He has represented clients in insurance defense litigation and coverage matters, class action defense and copyright infringement, trademark, social media, fraud, fiduciary duty, partnership dissolutions, landlord-tenant, contract, entertainment and real estate disputes, frequently handling the case from its inception to its conclusion, including enforcement of judgment. He has experience in both federal and state court, having won a bench trial in the U.S. District Court, Northern District of California on behalf of Unionamerica Insurance as well as a two-week jury trial in California state court on behalf of a real estate developer against a national bank for breach of a commercial lease, successfully resolving the claims against the bank.
P: 713-860-1625 E: rvansteenis@ajamie.com Download vCard Read Full Bio