A View from the Texas Business Court
\n\n< p>The Inaugu ral Year: Progress &\; Momentum\n\nJudges: Sofia Adrogué\; and Grant Dorfman \;
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\n\nHon. \;Sofia Adrogué\;
\n\nGovernor Greg Abbott appoin ted Sofia Adrogué\; to be one of the inaugural judges of the Elevent h Business Court Division\, effective September 1\, 2024. The Eleventh Bus iness Court Division is composed of the counties of Brazoria\, Fort Bend\, Galveston\, Harris\, Matagorda\, Montgomery &\; Wharton. A native of A rgentina\, Sofia is a former Senior Trial Partner with Diamond McCarthy LL P\, a 10-year+ Texas Super Lawyer\, Best Lawyer\, &\; Latino Leaders &l dquo\;U.S. 25 Most Influential Hispanic Lawyer&rdquo\; &\; &ldquo\;Most Powerful Woman in Law.&rdquo\; She envisioned &\; serves as the Editor of the TEXAS BUSINESS LITIGATION treatise (5th Edition) &\; has publis hed and/or spoken on over 250 occasions. She is a graduate of Harvard Busi ness School Owner/President Management Program\, an alumna of HBS (U.S. Ke ynote Graduation Speaker for HBS OPM 37\, ostensibly the first woman\, &am p\; U.S. Class Representative)\, &\; a graduate of the University of Ho uston Law Center\, magna cum laude\, &\; Rice University\, magna cum la ude\, Phi Beta Kappa\, both on full academic scholarships.
\n\n< p>Having handled matters arising in Texas\, across the U.S. as well as in Buenos Aires\, M exico City\, Puerto Rico\, among other venues\, she has obtained favorable judgments and settlements on behalf of both plaintiffs and defendants in U.S. state and federal courts and in alternative dispute resolution (ADR&m dash\; mediation &\; arbitration) proceedings. Sofia has served on THE ADVOCATE Editorial Board\, the Texas Supreme Court Advisory Committee\, th e CLE\, Mentor &\; Professionalism Committees of the State Bar of Texas as well as the CLE\, HOUSTON LAWYER &\; the Professionalism Committees of the Houston Bar Association\, among others. She is a fellow of the Ame rican Bar Foundation\, the Texas Bar Foundation &\; the Houston Bar Fou ndation. She has also served as a Member of the Houston First Board of Dir ectors as well as the City of Houston Mayor&rsquo\;s Hispanic Advisory Boa rd.\n\nShe has received over 40 awards\, including the `2025 Greater Houston Woman&rsquo\;s Chamber of Commerce Pioneering Leadership in Justice Award \; the 2024 L.I.F.E. Mother&rsquo\;s Day Award\; the 2023 UHLC Hispanic La w Heritage Wall of Honor recognition\; the 2022 Top 30 Women in Houston Aw ard\; 2021 World Affairs Council of Greater Houston Global Leader of Influ ence\; 2020 Comcast Hispanic Heroes Award\; a Greater Houston Women'\;s Chamber &ldquo\;Hall of Fame&rdquo\; Inductee\; a HOUSTON CHRONICLE Chann el 11 &ldquo\;Texas Legend&rdquo\; &\; 10 &ldquo\;Extraordinary Latinos &rdquo\; (Inaugural List) \; National Diversity Council &ldquo\;Most Power ful and Influential Woman of Texas&rdquo\; &\; one of the &ldquo\;Top 5 0 Women Lawyers&rdquo\;\; a UH Law Center Immigration Clinic Arrival Award &\; a Houston Jaycees &ldquo\;Outstanding Houstonian&rdquo\;\; a Texas Jaycees &ldquo\;Outstanding Texan&rdquo\;\; and a U.S. Jaycees &ldquo\;Ou tstanding Young American&rdquo\;\; among others. Sofia has been recognized for her public service by the City of Houston with a proclamation of July 10\, 2004 &\; December 18\, 2018\, as &ldquo\;Sofia Adrogué\; Da y.&rdquo\; \;
\n\nHon. Grant Dorfman
\n\n< span style="font-family:times new roman\,times\,serif\;">Governor Abbott a ppointed Grant Dorfman to the new Eleventh Business Court Division in Hous ton on June 14\, 2024\, and he has been elected by his colleagues to serve as the Administrative Presiding Judge for the initial two-year term of th e Court. Judge Dorfman previously served as Judge of the 129th and 334th D istrict Courts of Harris County. In between his terms of judicial service\ , Judge Dorfman worked as Senior In-House Counsel in charge of litigation for Nabors Industries\, the world&rsquo\;s largest land-based drilling con tractor\; an Of Counsel attorney with Sheehy\, Ware &\; Pappas\; a medi ator and arbitrator\, and state court visiting judge\; and\, most recently \, as the Deputy First Assistant to the Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton.
\n\nA native Texan\, Judge Dorfman graduated from Brown University with an A .B. in Honors History magna cum laude and was admitted to Phi Beta Kappa. He also obtained a Master of Studies (M.St.) in History and Political Phil osophy from Oxford University and a J.D. from the Yale Law School. After l aw school\, he served as a law clerk to the Honorable Jerry E. Smith of th e United States Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals and\, prior to taking the b ench\, practiced commercial litigation for ten years with two Houston law firms: Susman Godfrey and Ogden\, Gibson\, White &\; Broocks.
\n\nJudge Do rfman currently serves on the boards of the University of Houston Law Revi ew\, HSPVA Friends (supporting the High School for the Performing and Visu al Arts)\, and the Texas Association of Retired\, Senior and Former Judges . He has in the past served as a member of the faculty of the National Jud icial College and as an adjunct faculty member of the University of Housto n Law Center. A life fellow of the Houston Bar Foundation and a sustaining life fellow of the Texas Bar Foundation\, Judge Dorfman is also a member of the Federalist Society and the American Law Institute\, and served as a n officer on the Houston Bar Association&rsquo\;s Communities in Schools a nd Professionalism Committees\; an ASTAR (Advanced Science and Technology Adjudication Resource) Judge\; judicial liaison to the HBA Securities Liti gation &\; Arbitration Section\; and served on the State Bar Pattern Ju ry Charge Committee and the Supreme Court Code of Judicial Conduct Advisor y Committee.
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