Associated Practice Areas

• Litigation
• School Law

Biography

Catherine Than is admitted to practice law in Texas and Florida. She received her Doctorate of Jurisprudence cum laude from the University of Miami, School of Law in 2000, where she was inducted into Iron Arrow, the highest honor attained at the University of Miami. Before attending law school, she studied Political Science and Biology at the University of Houston and received her Bachelor of Science in the Winter of 1996. During law school, she interned with the Honorable Joseph Nesbitt at Florida's Third District Court of Appeal. She also interned with the United States Department of Justice, Office of the United States Trustee, where she worked with senior attorney advisors to manage and oversee Chapter 11 reorganizations and Chapter 7 liquidations. Additionally, Ms. Than worked in the legal department at American Bankers Insurance Company providing compliance and regulatory advice on advertisements and insurance products.

Professional Organizations and Community Involvement

2008 National Asian Pacific American Bar Association's Best Lawyers Under 40 Award (designation given to 20-25 attorneys in the country each year)

Texas Super Lawyer, Rising Star; 2007, 2008, 2009

Asian American Bar of Houston: Board of Directors, 2009 and 2010; President, 2008; President-Elect, 2007; Corporate Counsel Committee Co-Chair, 2006; Vice President of Membership & Mentorship, 2005; Gala and Silent Auction Co-Chair, 2004

Asian American Bar Foundation of Houston, Inc.; Co-Founder, Vice Chair, and Member, Board of Trustees, 2004-2010

Miami Alumni Group, Houston Chapter; Recruiting and Scholarship Chair, 2007, 2006

Mayor's International Affairs and Development Council/Asia-Australia, Member 2008

State Bar of Texas, Appointed Member, Standing Committee on Women in the Profession

Representative Experience

Ms. Than practices commercial litigation, creditors' rights, banking law, and school law. She has a wide range of legal experience in commercial matters. She has represented and advised small businesses and large corporations in a variety of industries including banking, financial, accounting, mortgage brokering, manufacturing, healthcare, distributorships, construction, oil and gas, and insurance. She has experience in advising and assisting clients with commercial contract negotiations and documentation. She also has experience in conducting internal investigations for corporate clients and advising clients regarding corporate malfeasance and white collar crime. She has worked on complex commercial litigation, general civil litigation, employment and bankruptcy matters. She is admitted to practice before the United States District Courts for the Eastern, Southern, and Northern Districts of Texas, and the Northern, Middle and Southern Districts in Florida.
Some recent examples of Ms. Than's work include:

* Representing petroleum company in review of crude oil sales contracts;

* Defending national bank against DTPA, wrongful dishonor, negligence, breach contract claims in 3 day AAA arbitration and obtained take nothing verdict and was awarded fees and costs;

* Defending electric company in jury trial and obtained take nothing verdict against 20 individual condominium owner plaintiffs;

* Representing charter schools in claims regarding the National Lunch Program; and

* Defending national loan servicer against DTPA, fraud, negligence, and breach of contract claims; obtained dismissal of all claims with prejudice.

Contact Information

Ms. Than can be reached at the firm's Houston office:

Houston Office
950 Echo Lane
Suite 357
Houston, TX 77024
(713) 984-9997
(713) 984-2894 fax
CThan@bickerstaff.com