Greenberg Traurig’s Annapoorni Sankaran Appointed Minority Director of the State Bar of Texas Board of Directors

Annapoorni Sankaran, a shareholder in the Houston office of the international law firm Greenberg Traurig, has assumed a new role as Minority Director on the State Bar of Texas Board of Directors. Appointed by Board President Trey Apffel, Sankaran is the first South Asian American member on the Board. Her term begins Sept. 18, 2014 and extends through June 2016.

“We are proud of all of Anna’s achievements, not only in the courtroom, but also in the legal community,” said Mary-Olga Lovett, Greenberg Traurig co-regional operating shareholder for Texas and Houston co-managing shareholder. “She is a talented, highly-regarded litigator who is as committed to client service as she is to promoting diversity and inclusion in our profession.  Her legal career, which began at Greenberg Traurig’s Boston office, has taken her around the world on behalf of her clients, and yet she has always made time for critical leadership efforts, such as her service as the president of the National South Asian Bar Association and her tireless commitment to associate mentoring in our firm. Anna is the consummate servant leader and will be a true asset to the Board of Directors and the entire State Bar.”

“I am honored to serve as Minority Director and help achieve the State Bar’s strategic goals,” said Sankaran. “I look forward to continuing my efforts to facilitate opportunities for diverse attorneys and to increase minority leadership in legal organizations. Promoting an environment where all attorneys are empowered to thrive and make a positive impact is important to me.”

According to its website, the State Bar of Texas is among the top five largest organizations of lawyers in the United States. As one of four Minority Directors and a voting member of the governing body, Sankaran will make decisions that affect all State Bar members. Board members develop State Bar policy, address significant member and professional issues, advise State Bar sections and serve on two additional Board committees or subcommittees.

Recognized as a Texas Super Lawyer, Sankaran has been a member of the Texas Minority Counsel Program (TMCP) Steering Committee for the past three years. Working to introduce diverse students to legal careers and develop the pipeline of future attorneys, she recently designed a new outreach initiative, “Networking Through Service,” which was launched this month at TMCP’s annual conference. Sankaran was also selected to membership in the State Bar’s Leadership Class of 2011 – 2012, where her team project concentrated on increasing the number of attorneys with disabilities in the profession and State Bar leadership.

Sankaran focuses her practice on commercial litigation and bankruptcy litigation. She handles trial and appellate matters before federal and state courts around the United States. Sankaran has wide-ranging experience with complex litigation and the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. She represents institutional and individual clients and achieves innovative, business-focused solutions for clients.

In addition to her contributions to the State Bar of Texas, Sankaran is actively involved in local and national legal associations. She previously served as President of the South Asian Bar Association (SABA), one of six national affinity bar organizations in the United States and is currently a national advisory council member. She helped launch and revitalize several local SABA chapters of the national organization, including the Austin, Dallas, Greater Boston and Houston chapters. In recognition of her work, she received the SABA 2013 Cornerstone Award and SABA Greater Boston Annapoorni R. Sankaran Award for Excellence in Leadership and Service, which was created in her honor. Sankaran was named as one of the top “40-under-40” by the Houston Business Journal and the Boston Business Journal. She holds a J.D. degree and a B.A, cum laude, in Political Science from Boston University.

About Greenberg Traurig, LLP – Texas

Greenberg Traurig has more than 100 attorneys in Texas, serving clients from offices in Austin, Dallas and Houston.

About Greenberg Traurig, LLP

Greenberg Traurig, LLP is an international, multi-practice law firm with approximately 1750 attorneys serving clients from 36 offices in the United States, Latin America, Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. The firm is among the “Power Elite” in the 2014 BTI Client Relationship Scorecard report, which assesses the nature and strength of law firms’ client relationships. For additional information, please visit www.gtlaw.com.