Norma is a seasoned litigator with more than 15 years of litigation experience. She focuses her practice on product liability, commercial litigation, intellectual property and bankruptcy matters, appearing before state and federal courts in Texas and elsewhere. Norma has defended clients in product liability-related matters involving thousands of plaintiffs. She has also represented clients in complex commercial litigation matters, handling a range of business disputes including breach of contract, covenants not to compete, business dissolutions and fraud and fraudulent misrepresentation claims. She has participated in employment litigation and policy matters. Additionally, she has defended clients in intellectual property and personal injury matters, and she has created strategies for clients seeking bankruptcy protection.
Norma has conducted all phases of litigation, including case strategy, written discovery, eDiscovery, depositions, expert witness preparation, damages, motion practice, trials and appeals. She also has considerable experience in representing clients in arbitration before the American Arbitration Association.
She also has significant experience in managing, directing and coordinating complex litigation, including supervising and directing teams of associates, paralegals, technical analysts and staff. She has also coordinated complex litigation through joint-defense groups and local counsel across jurisdictions. Additionally, she brings more than two decades of management and leadership experience to her roles in litigation.
Before joining Shook, she was a shareholder at McFall, Breitbeil & Eidman, P.C. in Houston.
Before entering the legal profession, Norma was a captain in the U.S. Air Force and a sales representative for Ethicon, Inc., a leading maker of medical devices, surgical equipment and wound closure products.
Presentations
Data Security Risks in the Litigation Supply Chain: Protecting Documents, Depositions, and the Courthouse, Webinar, April 23, 2023.
Benchmarking DEI Post Pandemic and What Does Success Look Like, Centerforce Diversity in Law Series, March 1, 2023.
2021 Pandemic Employment Issues: A National Perspective for Missouri Practitioners, Missouri Bar, August 2021.
Intellectual Property Law Practice, Intellectual Property Law Society of Texas Southern University Law School, Houston, Texas, October 2009.
Careers in IP, Intellectual Property Law Students Society, University of Houston Law School, Houston, Texas, March 2009.
Careers in Law, Louisiana State University Law School and the Undergraduate Honors College, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, November 2008.
Pluses and Minuses of Reexamination, Houston Intellectual Property Law Association 24th Annual Institute on Intellectual Property, Houston, Texas, October 2008.
Eastern District Patent Practice, Enron Legal Group, Houston, Texas, July 2006.
Publications
Combating Pharmaceutical Counterfeiting: Practical Solutions, Best Approaches and Winning Tactics, American Intellectual Property Law Association 2010 Spring Meeting, New York City, May 2010.
Lucent v. Gateway and Georgia-Pacific—Back to the Future, University of Texas School of Law 2009 Advanced Patent Law Institute, Austin, Texas, October 2009.
Protecting Confidential Information: Non-Disclosure and Non-Compete Agreements, Houston Commerce Magazine, April/May 2004.
Companies Can Benefit by Taking Steps to Protect Their Trade Secrets, Houston Business Journal, January 17, 2003.