(Houston, Texas) August 8 – Attorney Benny Agosto Jr., a partner at Abraham, Watkins, Nichols, Agosto, Aziz & Stogner of Houston, Texas, was named one of the 101 Most Influential Leaders in the Latino community in the June 2011 edition of Latino Leaders Magazine.
The list celebrated attorney Agosto for his recent victory at the First Court of Appeals in Houston for an undocumented worker’s right to compensation when injured at work. The court’s ruling set the standard for Texas courts in refusing to allow the immigration status of a plaintiff to prejudice a jury. It also affirmed the relief granted to the deceased man’s family by the district court’s verdict.
In its groundbreaking opinion in Republic Waste Services, Ltd., et al. v. Martinez, et al, the Court of Appeals explained that the employer’s assertions of the victim’s undocumented status required too much speculation and brought with it a highly prejudicial effect on the members of the jury. This historic ruling creates a new standard in Texas law, ensuring that undocumented workers now have the same chance as all other workers in Texas to receive compensation for their injuries.
Attorney Benny Agosto Jr. is president-elect of the Hispanic National Bar Association (HNBA) and a past president of the Mexican American Bar Association of Texas (MABATx). As head of the HNBA, he oversees the interests of more than 100 Hispanic attorneys, judges and law students around the country. He also serves as co-editor in chief of the HNBA Journal of Law and Policy and previously chaired the board of editors for the Texas Bar Journal. Mr. Agosto founded the MABATx Scholarship Foundation and most recently co-founded the HNBA Legal Education Fund, both of which benefit Hispanic law students. He received the state Bar of Texas 2006 President’s Certificate of Merit.
For 70 years, the law firm of Abraham, Watkins, Nichols, Agosto, Aziz & Stogner has built a reputation as a well-respected plaintiffs’ firm in Houston, Texas. Since 1951, the firm has protected the rights of thousands of catastrophically injured individuals in cases involving motor vehicle and trucking accidents, workplace injuries, defective products, medical malpractice, aviation crashes and other personal injury accidents.
To contact attorney Benny Agosto Jr. or any of the other personal injury lawyers at Abraham, Watkins, Nichols, Agosto, Aziz & Stogner call (713) 222-7211.
Latino Leaders Magazine, founded by brothers Raul and Jorge Ferraez, promotes a simple mission, “Connecting Leaders. Inspiring the Future.” The magazine strives to showcase nonmainstream Latino stories in the national media, as well as demonstrate the influence Latinos have in the United States. For more than 10 years, it has featured the top influential Latino leaders across the nation, including politicians, business owners and other community leaders. For more information, visit www.latinoleaders.com.