Doanh “Zone” T. Nguyen
City Attorney
956-791-7319
dnguyen@ci.laredo.tx.us

An employment and litigation attorney with over thirty years of experience handling cases at the administrative, trial, and appellate levels.  Also, extensive general counsel experience for public, private, and military organizations.

Specialization, Certifications, and Recognitions

• Board Certified – Labor & Employment Law, Texas Board of Legal Specialization

  (since 2002)

• Society for Human Resource Management – Senior Certified Professional

  (SHRM-SCP^®) (since 2015)

• Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR^®), HR Certification Institute

  (since 2014)

• Certified mediator (since 2021)
• Certified family mediator (since 2021)
• Martindale-Hubbell^® AV^® Preeminent^TM 5.0 out of 5.0 Peer Review Rating (top 5% of attorneys ranked by legal ability and ethical standards, vetted by Houston judges and counsels, since 2007)
• Named to the list of “Texas Super Lawyers” for 2019-2023 by Texas Monthly Magazine (5% of Texas lawyers recognized, only Webb County lawyer selected in 2019)
• Named to the list of “Texas Rising Stars” for 2007-2010 by Texas Monthly Magazine
• Named to the list of “Texas Top Rated Lawyers” for 2014-2017 by Legal Leaders
• Named to list of “America’s Most Honored Lawyers” for 2022 by the American Registry

Litigation Experience

• First-chair trial experience before federal and state courts across Texas with amounts in controversy up to $12 million
• Argued before the United States Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals and the Texas First, Fourth, and Fourteenth Circuit Courts of Appeals
• First-chair binding and non-binding employment and contract arbitrations, administrative hearings, and civil service hearings
• Won numerous summary judgment awards with amounts in controversy up to $5 million
• Successfully resolved hundreds of cases through mediations and settlements

   

  Reported Cases

• City of Laredo v. Buenrostro, 357 S.W.3d 118 (Tex. App.—San Antonio 2011, no writ)
• City of Laredo v. Negrete, No. 04-08-00737-CV, 2010 WL 454921 (Tex. App.—San Antonio February 10, 2010, pet. denied) (mem. op.)
• United States v. Marmolejo, 106 F.3d 1213 (5^th Cir. 1997), app. after remand, 139 F.3d 528 (5th Cir. 1998), cert. denied, 525 U.S. 1056 (1998)
• Trinh v. State of Texas, 974 S.W.2d 872 (Tex. App.—Houston [14th Dist.] 1998)
• Doe v. Duncanville ISD, 70 F.3d 402 (5th Cir. 1995)
• Texas Educ. Agency v. Goodrich ISD, 898 S.W.2d 954 (Tex. App.—Austin 1995, writ denied)

   

  Notable Jury Trials

• Castro et al. v. Muller et al. – won breach of fiduciary duty case (with burden on plaintiff) for 450+ homeowners against 2 developer-controlled homeowners’ associations
• Viera v. Medrano – won competing fraud claims in case with $450,000 of amount in controversy
• State of Texas v. Rivera, Jr. – tried first-degree murder trail
• State of Texas v. Gonzalez – tried first-degree murder trail
• City of Laredo v. Laredo Lomas Properties, Ltd. – won against City’s condemnation action regarding old Mercy Hospital
• LISD v. Wright – won take-nothing defense verdict in $2 million breach of fiduciary duty case (with burden on defense to prove that defendant did not breach)
• Corf v. Laredo Health Services – won $100,000 breach of consulting contract award for medical services firm
• Negrete v. City of Laredo – won largest verdict ($715,000) for sexual harassment case in Webb County, Texas
• Johnson v. METRO Transit – won take-nothing defense verdict in rare “regarded-as” Americans with Disabilities Act case

   

  Notable Deals, Arbitrations, and Hearings

• Won indefinite suspension for City of Laredo against Police Officer for misconduct 2012
• Won arbitration for City of Laredo against Firefighters for random drug testing over weekends and holidays 2012
• Finalized agreements for joint City of Laredo/UISD Natatorium 2014
• Drafted MOU for Police compressed work week pilot and permanent programs 2014
• Legal advisor to City of Laredo for Police collective bargaining agreement 2012
• Legal advisor to City of Laredo for Firefighter collective bargaining agreement 2014, 2023
• Legal negotiator and drafted financing agreements for the Outlet Mall for City of Laredo 2015
• Won workers’ compensation contested case hearing for Laredo Police Officer in West Command for knee injury while playing basketball 2018
• Legal advisor to Laredo Fire Fighters Association, Local 872, collective bargaining agreement 2018
• Called bonds for construction funding to finalize Houston light rail 2002
• Won added restrictions in arbitration for METRO Transit against bus driver despite failed split sample of positive test 2001

Professional Memberships

• Admitted to practice before the United States Supreme Court
• Admitted to practice before the United States Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals
• Admitted to practice before the Northern, Southern, Eastern and Western United States District Court Divisions of Texas
• Member of the State Bar of Texas Litigation and Labor & Employment Law Sections
• Member Society of Human Resource Management

Education

• Georgia Tech, Master of Science in Analytics expected 2028
• Syracuse University, MPA 2024
• University of Florida, DBA 2022
• Dissertation: Do traders front-run news?Evidence from form 8-K disclosures of class action lawsuit settlements – published Journal of Accounting and Finance, 23(4), 223-236

• University of Houston, MBA – Finance 2005

 

• Candidate for Level II of the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) Exam
• University of Texas School of Law, JD 1993
• Manuscript Editor of The American Journal of Criminal Law
• Author of “A call for a liberalized Sixth Amendment, book review of The Sixth Amendment in Modern American Jurisprudence by Alfredo Garcia,” 20 Amer.J.Crim.L. 385 (1993)
• University of Houston, BA, cum laude - Philosophy 1991

   

  Civic Activities

• Retired Major (Staff Judge Advocate) in the United States Army Reserve (20 years)
• Mobilized in support of Operation Enduring Freedom – one of the first 13 prosecutors for the Office of Military Commissions against al Qaeda and Taliban members in the War Against Terrorism (six months during 2004)
• Mobilized in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom to perform special work for the Chief of Staff of the United States Army Reserve Command (eight months during 2005)
• Operation Law Planner for JFCOM (2009-2010)
• Observer/Trainer for JFCOM and Joint Chiefs of Staff (2011-2012)
• Mobilized to serve as Soldiers’ Counsel for Medical Evaluation Boards and Physical Evaluation Boards (15 months during 2013-14)
• Command Judge Advocate for the 75th TC Southern Training Division HQ, Houston, Texas (boarded position 2014-2017)
• Staff Judge Advocate for the 1394th US Army Transportation Surface Brigade, Camp Pendleton, CA (boarded position 2017-2020)
• Former instructor at Texas A&M International University – accounting, finance, marketing, business law (2007-2016)
• Panel Chair for the State Bar of Texas District 12A Grievance Committee (2006 - 2012)
• Assistant coach for the Texas A&M International University men’s golf team (2010-11)
• Member of the Defense Research Institute Employment Law Committee and Lawyers’ Professionalism & Ethics Committee (2006-07)
• Leadership Houston, Class XXIII

Publications

• Nguyen, D. & Vemala, P. (2023).Do traders front-run news?Evidence from form 8-K disclosures of class action lawsuit settlements.Journal of Accounting and Finance, 23(4), 223-236.
• Vemala, P. & Nguyen, D.(2013).Is the effect of ownership structure on firm value truly measured?The case of Asia.International Journal of Business Research, 13(4), 161-166.
• Vemala, P. & Nguyen, D.(2013).Joint effects of ownership structure, agency costs, and liquidity on firm value.The case of India.Journal of International Business and Economics, 13(4), 117-122.
• Keynote speaker at the Department of Homeland Security’s National Disability Employment Awareness Month in Laredo, Texas – Oct 2011.
• Sagafi-nejad, T., Smith, L.M., Byrne, S., Gaskins, L., Nguyen, D., & Sexton, S.(2010). Moving toward international financial reporting standards (IFRS) in North America. Internal Auditing, Vol. 25, No. 1 (January): 3-9.
• Sagafi-nejad, T., Smith, L.M., Byrne, S., Gaskins, L., Nguyen, D., & Sexton, S.(2010). Moving toward international financial reporting standards (IFRS) in North America. American Accounting Association Southwest Region Annual Meeting (March), Dallas, Texas.
• “Credit Counseling” – July 2009 speaker for Texas A&M International University Student in Free Enterprise (SIFE) community presentation.
• Powell, K.S. & Nguyen, D.(2008).Determinants of out-of-region sales in the consumer electronics industry.4^th Annual PhD Consortium, CSWHT 13^th Annual Conference: “Western Hemispheric Trade: Facing New Global Challenges” (April), Laredo, Texas.
• Vemala, P & Nguyen, D.(2008).Joint effects of ownership structure, agency costs, and liquidity on the firm value of Indian firms.4^th Annual PhD Consortium, CSWHT 13^th Annual Conference: “Western Hemispheric Trade: Facing New Global Challenges” (April), Laredo, Texas.
• “Military Tribunals: Perspective From One of the First Prosecutors” – May 2007 presentation to Laredo Gateway Rotary Club.
• Employment law speaker for Texas Young Lawyers Association “Legal Guide for Cancer Patients” Laredo, Texas rollout – April 2007.
• “Documenting and Terminating Underperforming Employees From A Litigator’s Perspective And The Uniform Service Employment and Re-Employment Rights Act From a JAG’s Perspective” – Feb. 2007 presentation to the Laredo Association of Human Resource Managers.
• “Employment Law” – Oct. and Dec. 2006 presentations to local business owners in Laredo, Texas.
• “Military Tribunals: Perspective From One of the First Prosecutors” – May 2006 presentation to Laredo Rotary Club.
• “The Challenges of Defending the Corporate Representative for Deposition” – Paper for Defense Research Institute CLE: Big Wheels Keep on Rollin’, March 2006.
• “The Lawsuit has Landed – Prepare Yourself” – Paper for State Bar of Texas CLE: Representing Small Business Course, March 2006.
• “Jury Duty Scam” – United States Army Reserve Command: The Legal Double Eagle, February 2006.
• “Premises Liability” – May 2005 CE presentation to Aon Insurance Company.
• “Texas Tort Claims Act” – Apr. 2005 CE presentation to the Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County, Texas.
• “School Law and Employment Law” – Dec. 2004 CE presentation to the Hartford Insurance Group.
• “Dealing with Alcoholism and Drug Abuse in the Transportation Workplace:Walking the Tightrope Between the Omnibus Transportation Employee Testing Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act” – The American Bar Association, Transportation Section Journal, Fall 1998.
• “NAFTA Trucking Regulations:The Opening of the US-Mexican Border” – The Texas Trucking Law Subcommittee Newsletter, Fall 1997.
• “ARD Meetings in a Nutshell” – Oct. 1996 presentation to Edgewood ISD.
• “Sexual Harassment in Schools” – Oct. 1995 presentation to Italy ISD.
• “The Right to Privacy:Back-Packing the Fourth Amendment into Our Schools” – The Report Card, July 1995 and Texas School Law News, July 1995.
• “Constitutional Challenges to Sex Education” – The Report Card, May 1995 and Texas School Law News, June 1995.
• “From A to Z, The Open Meetings Act and the Open Records Act:All that an Educator Needs to Know in Order to Comply” – Eight Annual University of Texas School Law Conference, March 1995.
• “The Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993:Procedures for Compliance” – The Report Card, Jan. 1995 and Texas School Law News, Feb. 1995.
• “Student to Student Sexual Harassment” – The Report Card, Jan. 1995 and Texas School Law News, Jan. 1995.
• “Unilateral Alternative Education Setting for Disabled Students Who Bring Weapons to School:An Inroad to the “Stay-Put” Provision” – The Report Card, Dec. 1994 and Texas School Law News, Dec. 1994.
• “A Chink in the Armor:School Officials’ Liability in Physical Sexual Abuse Cases” – Texas School Law News, April 1994.
• “Sovereign Immunity:The School District as a Political Subdivision” – Texas School Law News, Dec. 1993.
• “Opening Communications with Law Enforcement Officials:Understanding the New Legislation” – Texas School Law News, Nov. 1993.
• “ADHD Students and the §504 Evaluation Process:Educational Determinations Versus Medical Diagnoses” – Texas School Law News, Nov. 1993.
• “Gangs in School” – Texas School Law News, Sept. 1993.
• “How to Comply with the Family Leave Act of 1993” – Texas School Law News, Aug. 1993.
• “An Exception to the Nineteen-Year-Old Age Rule for High School Varsity Athletic Competition” – Texas School Law News, Extra Issue 1993.
• “Senate Bill 7:School Finance” – Texas School Law News, May 1993.
• “The Role of Insurance Companies in Residential Placement Cases” – Texas School Law News, April 1993.
• “Sexual Harassment of Students” – Texas School Law News, March 1993.
• “Section 1983 Liability and Special Education” – Texas School Law News, Feb. 1993.
• “Child Abuse Reporting and the School District” – Texas School Law News, Jan. 1993.
• “Student Transportation According to the Law” – Texas School Law News, Dec. 1992.
• “Competitive Bidding Requirements” – Texas School Law News, Sept. 1992.
• “Highlights of the ADA Accessibility Guidelines for Public School Construction Facilities:What’s Required?” – Texas School Law News, June 1992.