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Ileana M. Blanco

Ileana M. Blanco

Of Counsel
National Leader, Disputes Training
About

Ileana Blanco has more than 35 years' experience representing financial institutions and global energy companies in complex litigation.

Before assuming her current role of advocacy training for hundreds of lawyers, Ileana was a partner at DLA and served as the Office Managing Partner of the Houston Office for eight years, responsible for its steady growth and profitability. Ileana served two separate terms as the President of the Houston Association of Women Attorneys (1999 – 2000, 2012 – 2013), guiding the organization and its Foundation through financial hurdles to maximize its endowment.

Additionally, Ileana taught as an adjunct professor on Legal Negotiations at the University of Houston Law Center. She regularly teaches trial practice and procedure to lawyers throughout the country through the National Institute of Trial Advocacy. As the Houston Pro Bono Coordinator, Ileana conducts pro bono mediations for the Harris County Dispute Resolution Center and manages the office's pro bono projects. Born in Cuba, Ileana is fluent in Spanish.

Bar admissionsTexas
CourtsUnited States Court of Appeals for the Fifth CircuitUnited States District Court for the Northern District of TexasUnited States District Court for the Southern District of TexasUnited States District Court for the Eastern District of TexasUnited States District Court for the Western District of TexasSupreme Court of the United States

Representative Matters

Energy Company Cases
  • Javier Alvarez del Castillo, et al. v. P.M.I. Holdings North America, Inc., et al.; Civil Action No. 4:14-cv-03435; United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas, Houston Division
  • Pemex Exploración y Producción v. BASF Corporation, et al., No. 4:10-cv-01977; United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas, Houston Division
  • Petrobras America Inc. et al. v. Vicinay Cadenas, S.A.; United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas, Houston Division
  • Laguna Tubular Products Corporation and LTP Real Estate, LLC f/k/a LTP Real Estate, Inc. v. O.C.T.G., L.L.P. and Sojourn Partners, L.L.C.; Cause No. 2013-44749; In the 190th Judicial District Court, Harris County, Texas
  • Fairways Offshore Exploration, Inc. v. Patterson Services, Inc. and Cudd Pressure Control, Inc.; No. 2007-59388; 215th Judicial District Court, Harris County, Texas
  • New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection and The Administrator of the New Jersey Spill Compensation Fund v. Occidental Chemical Corporation, Tierra Solutions, Inc., Maxus Energy Corporation, Repsol YPF, S.A., YPF, S.A., YPF Holdings, Inc. and CLH Holdings; No. L-009868 05; Superior Court of New Jersey, Law Division, Essex County
Financial Institutions Cases
  • Prosperity Bank v. ETS Oilfield Services, L.P., ETS Services Management, L.L.C., and Devin Nevilles v. Roy E. Aguilar; No. 2017-DCV-5030-B; 117th Judicial District Court, Nueces County, Texas
  • David & Sharae Pettit, et al. v. Texas Capital Bank, N.A., et al.; No. 2015-13583; 281st Judicial District Court, Harris County, Texas
  • Patrick Finn and Lighthouse Management Group, Inc., as Receiver for First United Funding, LLC and Corey N. Johnston v. Alliant Bank, et al., No. 19HA-CV-11-2212; First Judicial District Court, Dakota County, Minnesota
  • FH Partners, L.L.C. v. Superior Funding, Inc., Wave Tec Pools, Inc., Nations Pool Supply, Inc., Jason B. Herring, and Kimberly McCormick a/k/a Kimberly A. Herring, No. D-1-GN-07-003455; 53rd Judicial District Court, Travis County, Texas
  • Superior Funding, Inc., Wave Tec Pools, Inc., and Nations Pool Supply, Inc. v. Prosperity Bank, et al., No. D-1-GN-07-00366; 98th Judicial District Court, Travis County, Texas
Arbitrations
  • Successfully represented an international cement manufacturer in American Arbitration Association (AAA) arbitration involving a construction dispute arising from the modernization and expansion of an existing facility
  • Successfully represented two global engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) contractors in a confidential US$120+ million arbitration against the owner resulting from delays to the project and increased project costs
Languages
  • English
  • Spanish
Education
  • J.D., Georgetown University Law Center, 1984
    cum laude
  • B.A., University of Miami, 1981
    summa cum laude

Awards

The Legal 500 United States

  • Recommended, Energy: Litigation, (2015)

The Legal 500 Latin America

  • Recommended, International Arbitration, (2015 – 2018)
Additional Recognitions

Ileana has been named a Texas Super Lawyer every year since this recognition was introduced and named by Texas Monthly to its list of Top Attorneys in 2012. Martindale-Hubbell rates her AV, its highest available ranking. In 2003, she was a recipient of the Women on the Move award.

Seminars

  • Panelist, "Pound Sand: The Art of Negotiating," Region XII Summit, Hispanic National Bar Association, May 18, 2023 
  • Moderator, Implicit Bias Panel, Annual Advanced Civil Trial Course, Texas State Bar, Houston, July 6, 2022; Dallas, August 17, 2022
  • Opening Speaker, DLA Piper Trial Practice Conservatory Webinar, October 27, 2020
  • Speaker, "Oral Advocacy Best Practices," DLA Litigation Practice Group Training Webinar, May 6, 2020
  • Presenter, "Lump Sum Contracts: The Whole Pie and Some Avoidable Crumbles," October 1, 2019
  • Speaker, "Texas Supreme Court Updates: Contract Clauses Transactional Lawyers Should Kill and Contract Clauses Transactional Lawyers Should Love," April 11, 2019
  • Presenter, "Lump Sum Contracts: The Whole Pie and Some Avoidable Crumbles," April 4, 2019, February 2, 2019, October 18, 2018
  • Speaker, "Professional Liability: Updates on Attorney and Accountant Liability in Texas," January 24, 2017

Teaching Experience

  • Course Instructor, "Online Deposition Skills," National Institute for Trial Advocacy (NITA), March 27-28, 2025
  • Instructor, "Trade & Development Bank (TDB)," New Perimeter International Business Transactions Training, Nairobi, Kenya, April 29 – May 3, 2024
  • Course Instructor, "Online Deposition Skills," NITA, March 28, 2024
  • Course Instructor, "Online Deposition Skills," NITA, December 13, 2023
  • Adjunct Professor, "Legal Negotiations," University of Houston Law Center, (2021 – 2022)
  • Judge, Semifinal and Championship Rounds, National Mediator Competition, University of Houston Law Center, October 2022
  • Instructor, TIPS/ABOTA Trial Academy, American Bar Association, September 2022
  • Course Instructor, "Online Deposition Skills, NITA, February 16-18, 2022
  • Instructor, TIPS/ABOTA Trial Academy, American Bar Association, September 2021
  • Course Instructor, "Building Trial Skills Online: Module 2-Exhibits and Impeachment," NITA, August 13, 2021
  • Course Instructor, "Deposition Skills: Houston," NITA, Thurgood Marshall School of Law, July 22-23, 2021
  • Instructor, "Legal Services Trial Skills+," Center of Arkansas, NITA, May 18-19, 2021
  • Judge, Bilingual Dispute Resolution Competition, University of Houston, April 7-8, 2021
  • Course Instructor, "Deposition Skills," NITA, April 3-5, 2020
  • Trainer, "Legal Ethics & Professional Responsibility and Trial Advocacy," Nepal Bar Association International Training for Women Lawyers, November 17-22, 2019
  • Instructor, TIPS/ABOTA National Trial Academy, American Bar Association, April 12-17, 2019

Memberships And Affiliations

  • American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA)
  • State Bar of Texas
  • Life Fellow, Texas Bar Foundation
  • Houston Bar Association
  • Sustaining Life Fellow, Houston Bar Foundation
  • President, Association of Women Attorneys, (1999 – 2000, 2011 – 2012)
  • Director, Hispanic Bar Association of Houston

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