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Ileana M. Blanco

Ileana M. Blanco

Of Counsel

Co-National Leader, Disputes Training

Houston
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) and (2012-2013), guiding the organization and its Foundation through financial hurdles to maximize its endowment. As a director on the Houston Hispanic Bar Association ("HISBA"), she continues to apply her board and managing partner experience to promote HISBA’s goals and to mentor law students. 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. She is the Local Leader for the firm's Diversity & Inclusion Committee in charge of events that recognize and promote diversity in the workplace. Born in Cuba, Ileana is fluent in Spanish.

Areas of FocusEnergy and Natural ResourcesLitigation, Arbitration and InvestigationsAntitrust and Competition
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

EXPERIENCE

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 AAA arbitration involving a construction dispute arising from the modernization and expansion of an existing facility
  • Successfully represented two global 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

She 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.

  • The Legal 500 United States
    2015 - Recommended, Energy: Litigation
  • The Legal 500 Latin America
    2018 - Recommended, International Arbitration
    2015-17 - Recommended, International Arbitration

Seminars

  • Panelist at Hispanic National Bar Association Region XII Summit on "Pound Sand: The Art of Negotiating," May 18, 2022 
  • University of Houston Law Center, Adjunct Professor, Legal Negotiations, 2021-2022
  • Judge for Semifinal and Championship Rounds of the University of Houston Law Center National Mediator Competition, October 2022
  • American Bar Association, TIPS/ABOTA Trial Academy Instructor, September 2022
  • Moderator for Implicit Bias Panel, Texas State Bar Annual Advanced Civil Trial Course, Houston, July 6, 2022; Dallas, August 17,2022
  • National Institute for Trial Advocacy (NITA) Course Instructor for Deposition Skills: Online, February 16-18, 2022
  • American Bar Association TIPS/ABOTA Trial Academy Instructor, September 2021
  • National Institute for Trial Advocacy (NITA) Course Instructor for Building Trial Skills Online: Module 2-Exhibits and Impeachment, August 13, 2021
  • National Institute for Trial Advocacy (NITA) Course Instructor for Deposition Skills: Houston, Thurgood Marshall School of Law, July 22-23, 2021
  • National Institute for Trial Advocacy (NITA) Course Instructor for Center of Arkansas Legal Services Trial Skills, May 18-19, 2021
  • University of Houston Bilingual Dispute Resolution Competition Judge, April 7-8, 2021
  • DLA Piper Trial Practice Conservatory Webinar: Opening Statement Pointers, October 27, 2020
  • DLA Litigation Practice Group Training: "Oral Advocacy Best Practices" webinar, May 6, 2020
  • National Institute for Trial Advocacy (NITA) Course Instructor for Deposition Skills: Online, April 3-5, 2020
  • "Legal Ethics & Professional Responsibility and Trial Advocacy," Trainer for Nepal Bar Association International Training for Women Lawyers, November 17-22, 2019
  • Client presentation "Lump Sum Contracts: The Whole Pie and Some Avoidable Crumbles," October 1, 2019
  • American Bar Association 2019 TIPS/ABOTA National Trial Academy Instructor, April 12-17, 2019
  • "Texas Supreme Court Updates: Contract Clauses Transactional Lawyers Should Kill and Contract Clauses Transactional Lawyers Should Love," April 11, 2019
  • Client presentation "Lump Sum Contracts: The Whole Pie and Some Avoidable Crumbles," April 4, 2019, February 2, 2019, October 18, 2018
  • "Professional Liability: Updates on Attorney and Accountant Liability in Texas," January 24, 2017

Memberships And Affiliations

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

My latest insights

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New Perimeter conducts sixth training for women lawyers in Nepal

10 January 2022 .6 minute read

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DLA Piper, Pfizer Inc. deliver training in legal writing and analysis to Zambian law...

16 August 2021 .4 minute read

Connect

Phone

+1 713 425 8435
(Work, Houston)
+1 713 857 0946
(Work)
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