February 2016
by Barbara M. Pelaez and Andy Jones

Zara Najam is this month’s well-deserved One to Watch.  When Zara speaks, people listen, and it is that strength and commitment that make her a tremendous advocate for her clients and leader in the legal community.

She graduated with honors from the University of Texas at Austin in 2008 earning her B.A. in Philosophy.  Zara then continued her education at Baylor Law School, where I had the pleasure of first meeting her.  While presenting a reserved, unassuming, and (dare I say) quiet demeanor in class, Zara stood out from the crowd through her successes in numerous advocacy competitions. Her well-reasoned answers, creative ideas, and intriguing personality demonstrated to all around the depth of intelligence that Zara possesses.

Zara’s dynamic personality and intelligence serve her well in her active trial practice.  She is an associate attorney at Howie Law, P.C. where she represents clients in a variety of catastrophic personal injury cases including medical malpractice, as well as class-action consumer protection actions, and suits against abusive debt collectors. Personally, my favorite of Zara’s practice areas is her work through the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program.

Outside of dominating the competition in her active litigation practice, Zara is active in serving our profession.  She is an integral part and co-chair for the Solo & Small Firm Committee as well as the DAYL Judicial Intern Committee.  Zara is also a founding co-chair for an exciting collaboration between the Dallas Women Lawyer’s Association and DAYL. This new initiative is a mentoring program to bring together women attorneys into “Mentoring Circles” to develop connections and opportunities for women attorneys in Dallas. She is also the Dallas Mentoring Coordinator for the American Bar Association’s Judicial Internship Opportunity Program.

Zara’s commitment to serving the legal profession and her clients, as well as her strength and intelligence leave me no doubt that she will continue to shape the Dallas Legal community for years to come.

It is with great joy that ZARA NAJAM IS THIS MONTH’S ONE TO WATCH!