Mr. Mensing is Board Certified in Civil Trial Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization, a distinction reserved for Texas trial lawyers with a high degree of trial experience and expertise. During the last ten years, an average of fewer than ten attorneys per year statewide has earned the distinction.

Mr. Mensing was put on the Texas Super Lawyers list in only his fifth year of practice. Mr. Mensing was one of the youngest attorneys in Texas to be named a Super Lawyer. He was named to the “Who’s Who in Energy” lists of energy industry leaders in seven major U.S. cities published in 2011 and in 2012. Mr. Mensing has also been named one of Houston’s Best Lawyers by H Texas Magazine and also was put on the Texas Rising Stars list. Mr. Mensing is also a member of the Million Dollar Advocates Forum, whose members include attorneys who have secured verdicts in excess of one million dollars. Fewer than one percent of U.S. lawyers are members, and Mr. Mensing is one of the youngest attorneys in Texas to earn this distinction.

Mr. Mensing has represented both large companies and individuals, collecting significant verdicts for plaintiffs as well as take-nothing judgments for defendants. Prior to joining Ahmad, Zavitsanos, Anaipakos, Alavi & Mensing P.C., Mr. Mensing graduated with honors and in the top ten percent of his class at the University of Texas School of Law. He obtained his undergraduate degree from Stanford University. He was named a Partner in the Firm in 2006.

• Mr. Mensing and John Zavitsanos defended a Houston petrochemical inspection company in a $10 million dollar trademark infringement suit in federal court in Houston.  At the close of the evidence, the Court dismissed the plaintiff’s trademark infringement claim against Mr. Mensing’s client.  The jury then deliberated on Mr. Mensing’s client’s counterclaim for invalidation of the plaintiff’s trademark.  The jury awarded a verdict in Mr. Mensing’s client’s favor by invalidating the plaintiff’s trademark after an hour of deliberations.
• Mr. Mensing is currently lead counsel representing an international gas storage and pipeline company in a $100 million environmental contamination dispute against the State of New Jersey as well as several other international energy companies.
• Mr. Mensing, along with John Zavitsanos of the Firm, represented a man defamed by The Fort Bend Star and a reporter at the paper, and won both an interlocutory appeal and a $1.1 million jury verdict. Prior to trial, the Houston Court of Appeals unanimously affirmed the trial court’s denial of the paper’s summary judgment motion and rejected the Star’s argument that Texas should expand the “limited purpose public figure” doctrine.
• Mr. Mensing served as lead counsel representing Harris County in a lawsuit against an international chemical company that resulted not only in a historic fine against the company, but also a series of groundbreaking concessions requiring the company to provide notice of pollution events to Harris County.
• Mr. Mensing represented a Houston medical group in a medical malpractice trial in which the child patient alleged the doctor’s negligent care resulted in severe and long-term injuries. The jury returned a defense verdict in less than twenty minutes.
• Mr. Mensing served as lead counsel representing a national pipeline company in a $30 million pipeline construction dispute filed in federal court in Utah. The case settled favorably before trial.
• Mr. Mensing served as lead counsel defending a national automotive manufacturing company in a trade secret dispute filed in Arizona federal court in which the plaintiff sought over ten million dollars in damages. The case settled favorably prior to trial.
• Mr. Mensing was lead counsel representing a Fortune 100 distribution company in an eight-figure breach of contract and business tort lawsuit. Mr. Mensing’s client brought the action against its former product suppliers in federal court in Atlanta. The case settled favorably in 2010.
• Mr. Mensing was lead defense counsel representing a major Houston real estate developer in a complex breach of fiduciary suit in which the plaintiffs sought up to $30 million in damages. The case settled favorably in 2010.
• Mr. Mensing was the lead trial lawyer in the defense of a former Chief Financial Officer for the Texas operations of a publicly-traded company. The CFO’s former employer sued Mr. Mensing’s client for breach of fiduciary duty and sought punitive damages, claiming the CFO had participated in an embezzlement scheme, engaged in self-dealing, and conspired to bring litigation against the company while still an officer. The jury delivered a unanimous defense verdict.
• Todd Mensing was the lead trial lawyer in a commercial real estate dispute. Mr. Mensing defended the owners of the Lancaster Hotel located in downtown Houston. The Plaintiff, a prominent Houston chef and restaurateur, alleged that the property owners had breached their lease contract and caused the demise of his business. At the conclusion of the two-week trial, the jury deliberated for only two hours before unanimously rejecting each of the Plaintiffs’ claims. The jury also found against the Plaintiffs on counterclaims for statutory theft and conversion, and also entered a finding of malice.
• Mr. Mensing was the lead lawyer in the defense of a $150 million breach of contract lawsuit related to the joint operation of a pipeline system located in offshore Louisiana. A national energy corporation brought the case against Mr. Mensing’s client, a multi-state pipeline company. Mr. Mensing’s client achieved a walk-away settlement.
• Mr. Mensing was the lead trial lawyer in a discrimination lawsuit brought in federal court on behalf of an executive of a seismic equipment manufacturer. The jury returned a verdict that the employer discriminated against Mr. Mensing’s client when it terminated him, and did so willfully, resulting in a $1.27 million judgment.
• Mr. Mensing was the lead lawyer for one of the nation’s largest pipeline companies in a plaintiff’s suit alleging fraud and breach of contract against a multinational energy provider. The suit involved the $75 million dollar purchase of a pipeline system in the Gulf of Mexico. The case settled favorably for a confidential sum.
• Mr. Mensing was the lead attorney representing a Fortune 100 distribution company in a multimillion dollar breach of contract lawsuit filed against two of the company’s former business partners. The case settled favorably for a confidential sum.
• Mr. Mensing was lead counsel in a complex employee compensation dispute filed in federal court on behalf of a former executive of a Fortune 100 company. After Mr. Mensing’s client prevailed in the district court, the case settled for a confidential sum.
• Mr. Mensing was lead lawyer in the defense of a national real estate development firm in a bet-the-company lawsuit filed in federal court. Closely monitored by lawyers, trade groups, and legislators across Texas, the case involved the application of a new series of legislative reforms that had not yet been interpreted by any court, and held industry-wide implications for Texas real estate developers. The Court issued a take-nothing judgment in favor of Mr. Mensing’s client. In the same year, Mr. Mensing defended the same client in a seven-figure fraud lawsuit filed in state court. Although the plaintiffs pled over sixty causes of action, Mr. Mensing was able to successfully obtain summary judgment on every one of the plaintiffs’ claims.
• Mr. Mensing was lead trial counsel in the defense of a Houston university professor indicted on charges of assaulting a female student. After deliberating for less than an hour, the all-female jury acquitted Mr. Mensing’s client.
• Mr. Mensing was lead counsel in a dispute involving several million dollars between two Houston energy companies. Mr. Mensing obtained a dismissal of his opponent’s counterclaims in their entirety, and won judgment in favor of his clients awarding them their full damages.
• Mr. Mensing was a member of a team of lawyers litigating a dispute with a large Florida construction company that involved hundreds of millions of dollars. Prior to trial, Mr. Mensing achieved dismissal of all of the defendants’ counterclaims, and also successfully defended all of his client’s claims against summary judgment. After the court’s rulings, Mr. Mensing’s client received a multi-million dollar settlement.

Mr. Mensing was born in Modesto, California. In 1994, he earned an A.B. in English, with Honors, from Stanford University. In 1999, Mr. Mensing graduated in from the University of Texas School of Law, where he was a four-time recipient of the Dean’s Achievement Award. After graduating from law school, Mr. Mensing began his career in the litigation section of Vinson & Elkins, L.L.P. In March of 2001, Mr. Mensing joined Ahmad, Zavitsanos, Anaipakos, Alavi & Mensing P.C.

EDUCATION

• Stanford University (A.B., with Honors, 1994)
• University of Texas School of Law (J.D., with Honors, Order of the Coif, 1999)

PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS

• State Bar of Texas
• United States District Courts for the Southern, Northern,Eastern, and Western Districts of Texas
• The Association of Trial Lawyers of America
• Federal Bar Association
• American Bar Association
• Houston Bar Association