Audrey F. Momanaee joined Blank Rome’s Houston office as partner in the firm’s commercial litigation group.
Momanaee focuses her practice on matters involving business disputes, commercial and contract claims, catastrophic property claims, construction defects and delays, and matters involving trade secret protection and litigation. She joined Blank Rome from Balch & Bingham, where she led the firm’s litigation practice in Texas.
“We are excited to welcome Audrey to the firm and our nationally recognized litigation practice,” Grant S. Palmer, chair and managing partner of Blank Rome, said. “Audrey has handled a wide range of complex business disputes and litigation, including counseling clients through arbitration in the United States and internationally. We are pleased to have another talented litigator like Audrey on our team of seasoned trial attorneys.”
Momanaee handles commercial litigation matters for clients across various industries, including those in energy, chemical refinin, and manufacturing. She practices primarily in Texas state and federal courts, as well as domestic and international arbitrations.
Outside of the courtroom, Momanaee has handled multiple internal investigations and regularly provides pre-litigation counseling for clients. In addition to her experience handling disputes and investigations, Momanaee has counseled clients about allocating risk in agreements and is a regular speaker on the issue of contractual risk allocation and indemnities.
“I am thrilled to welcome Audrey to our Houston office,” Susan L. Bickley, partner and co-chair of the Blank Rome’s Houston office, said. “The energy sector is critical to the Houston market and Audrey’s experience representing oilfield service, pipeline, chemical, and solar and renewable energy companies will provide value to our energy clients navigating business disputes and managing risk. Her addition will also be advantageous to the broad swath of litigators and transactional lawyers that make up our energy industry team.”
“I was impressed by Blank Rome’s collegial, collaborative culture, as well as the firm’s prominent litigation bench,” Momanaee said. “I am excited to join this fantastic group of trial attorneys and draw upon the firm’s wide range of industry teams and practice areas to serve my clients. I also strongly believe that as lawyers we have an obligation to help underrepresented members of our communities and look forward to supporting Blank Rome’s pro bono and community service initiatives.”
Momanaee dedicates significant time to pro bono representation, devoting hundreds of hours to guardianship cases. She has also handled immigration matters and lease agreements for nonprofits and has helped create partnerships with in-house legal teams to expand interest in pro bono opportunities. Momanaee is a member of the Houston Volunteer Lawyers board of directors, the largest provider of pro bono legal services in Harris County, TX. The State Bar of Texas celebrated Momanaee for her pro bono work by naming her a 2022 Pro Bono Excellence Award Winner.
Audrey is also president of the Houston Independent School District School Board and is a member of the Community Family Centers board of directors and the Houston Association of Women Attorneys board of directors. She is also a member of the Houston Association of Corporate Counsel and the Women’s Energy Network.
As part of Blank Rome’s commitment to expanding in Texas, the Houston office recently added private equity veteran Kelly Williams as senior counsel in the corporate, M&A and securities group. In July 2023, the firm opened a Dallas office with the addition of seven corporate, real estate and finance attorneys with national practices and has since added partners Jason C. Ray and Barrett R. Howell and of counsel Donald G. Ainscow.