Honors and Awards:

• William E. Collins Clerk to the Honorable Craig T. Enoch of the Texas Supreme Court. SMU Honors: Sarah T. Hughes Scholar (full tuition scholarship and stipend). Honors: ABA Legal Opportunity Scholarship (one of only 20 students selected nationwide). Honors: Articles Editor, Computer Law Review & Technology Journal.  Honors: Chief Counsel, SMU School of Law Legal Clinic. Honors: Vice President, Student Bar Association. Honors: Vice President, Hispanic Law Student Association. Honors: Executive Board Member and Master Level Advocate, Board of Advocates.
• 2010 Greater Dallas Hispanic Chamber's Quality & Excellence in Entrepreneurship Award Recognizes "leading Hispanic entrepreneurs who have taken great risk to break new ground, demonstrated innovation and trend making in their entrepreneur ventures, set an exemplary pace for others to follow, and are building companies that contribute to the economic well-being of the Dallas community.  Q&E Award winning companies have also elevated themselves among their peers through their distinctive products and services, outstanding execution, notable financial growth and excellence in customer service.", 17th Annual Quality & Excellence Entrepreneur Groundbreaker Award, Greater Dallas Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, 2010

Bar/Professional Activity:

• Dallas Hispanic Bar Association: Advisory Board Member;  Dallas Bar Association Leadership Positions: Minority Participation Committee, Mentoring Committee, Law in the Schools Committee;   Dallas Bar Foundation, Fellow;   Dallas Association of Young Lawyers, Member;  Greater Dallas Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, Board Member; Southeast Dallas Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, Chairman of the Board of Directors;  Greater Grand Prairie Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, General Counsel and Member of Board of Directors;  Bea’s Kids, Board of Directors; Easfield College Community Advisory Council; City of Dallas Mayor's Southern Dallas Task Force; Southern Methodist University's Hispanic Youth Institute Advisory Council.

Pro bono/Community Service:

• Greater Dallas Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, Board Member; Southeast Dallas Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, Chairman of the Board of Directors;  Greater Grand Prairie Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, General Counsel and member of Board of Directors;  Bea’s Kids, Board of Directors; Easfield College Community Advisory Council; City of Dallas Mayor's Southern Dallas Task Force; Southern Methodist University's Hispanic Youth Institute Advisory Council.

Scholarly Lectures and Writings:

• Presenter, The Art of Ethical Rainmaking, Dallas Bar Association Minority Attorney Program, 2011
• Presenter, 5 Most Common Small Business Mistakes, Mountain View College; Greater Dallas Hispanic Chamber Of Commerce, 2011
• Presenter, Common Sense Tips for Choosing Your Business Entity, Mountain View College; Greater Dallas Hispanic Chamber Of Commerce, 2011

Verdicts and Settlements:

• Mr. Valdez settled a hard-fought case against a large North-Texas city.  That case involved the drowning death of two teenagers back in 2004 when they were swept away in a flood.  After intensive discovery and investigation, Mr. Valdez's trial team discovered that there were numerous similar drowning deaths in the same location due to a lack of adequate warning signs.  Mr. Valdez's team litigated the case for several years, and the case made its way all the way up to the Texas Supreme Court, which ruled in favor of Mr. Valdez's trial team.  The case ultimately settled for a confidential amount.   As part of the settlement, (1) the City condemned a significant amount of property (worth millions) near the flood plain to keep this from happening again, and (2) they installed over 2,000 “flood warning” signs throughout the City., 2009
• One day arbitration resulting in an award of $172,875.  Mr. Valdez represented a plaintiff employee against her former employer for wrongful termination.  Mr. Valdez's client was an older Hispanic lady who signed a 3-year employment contract with the Defendant Employer.  Although she had a three year contract, she was fired after only 3 months.  Defendant refused to honor her employment agreement offerered "nuisance value" in response to Plaintiff's demand.  The six-figure arbitration awared ended up costing them much more., 2009
• Unanimous jury trial in a business dispute that resulted in a unanimous defense verdict for Mr. Valdez's client, and a $3.5 million award for his side.  Case involved the purchase and sale of a surveying business.  Two Defendants (one of whom was Mr. Valdez's Client) purchased a surveying business for $1.4M.  Defendants paid $700,000 in cash, up front.  Mr. Valdez's client executed a promissory note for the remaining $700,000, which included a personal guarantee.   Defendants soon realized that the surveying company was not what the sellers represented it to be.  Defendants, therefore, refused to pay the remaining $700,000 after realizing that they had been duped into buying a worthless business.  The sellers sued Mr. Valdez's client for payment of the $700,000 remaining balance on the promissory note.   The jury returned a unanimous verdict for Mr. Valdez's client.  The Jury concluded that sellers had fraudulently induced Mr. Valdez's client into personally guaranteeing the remaining balance.  They also found that the Sellers had breached the representations and warranties in the sale agreement, and they awarded the purchasers $2.4M.  The final judgment exceeded $3.5 after court costs and attorneys fees were added., 2010

Educational Background:

• Southern Methodist University Dedman School of Law, Juris Doctor Honors: Sarah T. Hughes Scholar (full tuition scholarship and stipend) Honors: ABA Legal Opportunity Scholarship (one of only 20 students selected nationwide) Honors: Articles Editor, Computer Law Review & Technology Journal Honors: Chief Counsel, SMU School of Law Legal Clinic Honors: Vice President, Student Bar Association Honors: Vice President, Hispanic Law Student Association Honors: Executive Board Member and Master Level Advocate, Board of Advocates Honors: Phi Delta Phi Honors: ABA National Moot Court Team – nationally recognized oral advocate University of Texas at Arlington, Bachelor of Arts in Political Science Honors: U.T. – Arlington Academic Scholarship Honors: Dallas City Mayor’s Award (one of four scholarships awarded citywide) Honors: LULAC Academic Scholarship Honors: Honor Roll, 1995-1999 Honors: Pi Sigma Alpha, National Political Science Honor Society Honors: Phi Alpha Theta, International History Honor Society