Kinan H. Romman

Kinan Romman represents both plaintiffs and defendants in a wide range of complex commercial litigation matters, including business contract disputes, oil & gas litigation, high-stakes employment litigation and technology-centered cases. He’s also currently representing several clients in high-value shareholder disputes and in qui tam cases. He regularly appears on behalf of individuals and businesses in state and federal court, as well as in international proceedings.

Mr. Romman was named on the 2012 Texas Rising Stars list. This honors the best and brightest Texas lawyers under age 40 and those in practice fewer than 10 years. He was selected based on nominations made by attorneys from across the state who were previously honored in the annual Texas Super Lawyers list.

A former software engineer for Hitachi Consulting, Mr. Romman wrote software for Fortune 500 companies like Schlumberger and Southwest Airlines before deciding to become a lawyer. Following law school, he practiced at Fulbright & Jaworksi where he focused on international disputes. Mr. Romman then joined AZA in 2010.

Mr. Romman has worked on several high-profile international cases, including some of the largest commercial and investor-state arbitrations ever filed. Mr. Romman has written on international law, especially on Middle East law. He has also commented on technology law in the Houston Chronicle and the TheStreet.com.

His representative clients include Versata Software Inc., Everest Software Inc., Mercedes Benz and individuals including oil lease holders, an NBA starter in a shareholder case and a sheriff’s deputy’s son in a defamation case. Mr. Romman also represents relators in healthcare- and employment-related qui tam lawsuits.

REPRESENTATIVE MATTERS

Mr. Romman is currently representing Trilogy Software Inc. in an international bankruptcy and software case that involves multiple nations’ laws and several different international forums, including Italian bankruptcy and intellectual property courts, the Dubai emergency court and Japanese bankruptcy courts.
Mr. Romman is currently representing a quantitative research scientist in a multi-million dollar copyright and trade secret dispute concerning high-volume automated trading software.
In 2011, Mr. Romman helped settle an 8-figure oil and gas dispute in connection with the plaintiff’s rights to a number of corporate entities operating mineral leases in East Texas. This was a Harris County District Court case with a confidential settlement, mediated by Daryl Bristow.
In 2011, Mr. Romman tried a defamation case against a Fort Bend newspaper and one of its reporters. The jury returned a remarkable $1.1 million verdict for his client over an article that made false allegations about his behavior and falsely claimed his father, a law enforcement officer, covered for him. Wade Brady v .Lea Anne Klentzman and Carter Publications
In 2010, Mr. Romman represented a former news director of KPRC Channel 2 News in a high-stakes executive employment dispute where $3.2 Million in damages were claimed. Mr. Romman assisted in securing a total victory for his client, as all of the plaintiff’s claims were dismissed.
In 2009, Mr. Romman represented a Canadian drilling rig fabricator in a million-dollar dispute with a Texas oilfield equipment manufacturing company. Mr. Romman played a key role in negotiating a settlement where his client, the defendant, obtained significant assets from the plaintiff while securing the dismissal of all the plaintiff’s claims.
In 2009, Mr. Romman represented a Middle Eastern power plant corporation in a $25 million international tax controversy with a state-owned Latin American energy company. Mr. Romman assisted in securing a very large sum for his client, the claimant.
In 2008, Mr. Romman represented a California software company in a complex technology/securities dispute with Texas investors, which included breach of fiduciary duty allegations and myriad securities claims. Mr. Romman assisted in securing a favorable settlement for his client, the defendant.
In 2007, Mr. Romman represented a Turkish drilling rig contractor in a $10 million dispute with a Georgian oil & gas exploration company in an international arbitration before the ICDR. Mr. Romman assisted in the successful filing of an emergency application for interim relief under Article 37 of the ICDR Rules—the fourth-ever successful application of its kind. He also assisted in obtaining a favorable settlement for his client, the respondent.
Mr. Romman has acted as the Secretary to the Tribunal in a number of arbitrations, including an international sports dispute where the eligibility of an athlete to compete in the Olympics was at stake, and several complex business cases before the AAA.

EDUCATION

University of Houston Law Center, J.D., magna cum laude, 2007
- Order of the Coif
- Notes & Comments Editor, Houston Law Review
- Highest Grade in the Class: Contract Law, International Commercial Arbitration, and Complex Comparative Litigation

The University of Texas at Austin, B.B.A. in MIS, with honors, 2001
- University of Texas College Scholar

PUBLICATIONS

“The Middle East Year in Review: Turkey,” 45 The International Lawyer 576, 2011
Co-Author with C. Mark Baker, “Court Assistance in Obtaining Discovery in International Arbitration Proceedings: Applications Under 28 U.S.C. § 1782,” 26 DIS Series of the German Institution of Arbitration 9, 2010
Co-Author with C. Mark Baker, “The Role of the Institution in Taming Electronic Disclosure, ”Between East and West: Essays in Honour of Ulf Franke, 2010
“The Middle East Year in Review: Turkey,” 44 The International Lawyer 733, 2010
“Section 1782 Applications to Obtain Discovery in International Arbitration: Are U.S. Courts Beginning to Take a More Conservative Stance?,” 2009 Fulbright International Arbitration Report – Issue 2
“The Middle East Year in Review: Egypt,” 43 The International Lawyer 1148, 2009
Co-Author with C. Mark Baker, Jonathan Sutcliffe, and Kirsten Wilson, “Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards in Russia: Improving, But Still Uncertain,” Oil, Gas & Energy Law Intelligence, Vol. 7 – Issue 2, OGEL special issue on EU-Russia relations, 2009
“Applications Under Section 1782 to Obtain Discovery in International Arbitration: An Update,”2009 Fulbright International Arbitration Report – Issue 1
Co-Author with C. Mark Baker, “Due Process Begins with the Constitution of the Tribunal: Are Parties, Counsel, and Arbitrators on the Right Track?,” International Bar Association Conference Publication, 2009
Co-Author with C. Mark Baker, “The Unequal Playing Field: Companies Subject to Section 1782 in International Arbitration,” Benchmark Litigation, 2009
“The U.S. Arbitration Fairness Act of 2007,” 2008 Fulbright International Arbitration Report
“The Middle East Year in Review: Qatar,” 42 The International Lawyer 1072, 2008
“The Google Book Search Library Project: A Market Analysis Approach to Fair Use,” 43 Houston Law Review 807, 2006 (Awarded Best Houston Law Review Student Paper on Intellectual Property by Howrey L.L.P and Best Student Paper on Computer Law by the State Bar of Texas in a state-wide writing competition in 2006)

SPEAKING

Forthcoming: Speech to Taxpayers Against Fraud in Houston Covering Healthcare and Employment-related Qui Tam cases with Joseph Ahmad and Dan Hargrove
Speech on International Arbitration to the International Institute for Conflict Prevention & Resolution
Speech for Houston Volunteer Lawyers Program explaining the law to students at Reagan High School

PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS

State Bar of Texas
Houston Bar Association
Houston Young Lawyers Association
College of the State Bar of Texas
American Bar Association
ICDR Young & International
ICC Young Arbitrators Forum

CIVIC INVOLVEMENT

Houston Bar Association, AIDS Outreach Committee Member, Legal Lines volunteer
Houston Volunteer Lawyers Program, Volunteer worker, Volunteer speaker
Houston Heights Association
Rotaract Club of River Oaks, sponsored by Rotary Club
The Arab American Institute

LANGUAGES

Mr. Romman is proficient in spoken Arabic

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**Nothing on this web page is intended to represent that Ahmad, Zavitsanos, Anaipakos, Alavi & Mensing P.C. currently represents any particular clients mentioned because matters and client relationships naturally terminate from time to time.