FILEMON VELA, American Lawyer, Partner of SOUTHERS & LYONS, Incorporated., specializing in the field of Malpractice Law, General Civil Practice. Workers Compensation. Products Liability, Negligence and Commercial Trials.
Background
Vela was born in Harlingen, Texas and raised in Brownsville, Texas. His father, Filemon Bartolome Vela, Senior, was a long-serving United States federal judge. His mother, Blanca Sanchez Vela, served as Brownsville’s first female mayor from 1999 to 2003.
Education
Lovola University; Georgetown University (Bachelor of Arts, 1985). University of Texas (Juris Doctor, 1988). Spoken languages: Spanish.
Career
The Reynaldo G. Garza-Filemon B. Vela United States Courthouse in Brownsville is named in Judge Vela"s honor. During his time at Georgetown, he served as an intern at the Federal Judicial Center – the research and education agency of the federal judicial system. He also served as an intern in Congressman Solomon P Ortiz’s Washington, District of Columbia office.
Vela earned his Juris Doctor from University of Texas at Austin School of Law in 1987.
Foreign more than 20 years, Filemon practiced law in South Texas, helping countless individuals seek justice in state and federal courts across the country. His legal practice focused on complex civil litigation.
As a trial attorney, Filemon successfully represented clients who were the victims of racial discrimination, consumers who had been severely injured by defective products, and employees injured during work. Some notable cases include Earl Shinhoster v.
Ford Motor Company where Vela represented the family of deceased Director of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People who was killed in a car rollover accident in what was the largest wrongful death settlements in Alabama history and Robert Trevino v.
Walmart where Vela represented a group of American farm workers who were told they could not shop in a Mississippi store because of discrimination against Hispanics. As an attorney, Vela also represented several South Texas school districts. In Edinburg School District v.
Landmark, Vela represented Edinburg to fight for more funding and in Pharr-San Juan-Alamo Independent School District v.
Landmark, he represented the district in fighting contractors accused of building another poorly constructed school facility. 2012 election
Vela decided to run in the newly created Texas"s 34th congressional district as a Democrat.
In the May 29 primary, Vela ranked first in an 8-candidate field with 40% of the vote. In the July 31 run-off primary, Vela defeated Denise Saenz Blanchard 67%-33%.
In the general election, Vela defeated Republican Jessica Bradshaw 62% - 36%, winning the election.
Tenure
In July 2013, he decided to quit the Congressional Hispanic Caucus because of his opposition to the Hoeven-Corker Amendment that tied border security with a pathway to citizenship. He said “erecting more border fence drives a wedge between border communities which are culturally united.”
Committee assignments
Committee on Agriculture
Subcommittee on General Farm Commodities and Risk Management
Subcommittee on Livestock, Rural Development, and Cr
Committee on Homeland Security
Subcommittee on Cybersecurity, Infrastructure Protection, and Security Technologies.
Views
Quotations:
“erecting more border fence drives a wedge between border communities which are culturally united.”.
Membership
State Bar of Texas; Nueces County and Mexican-American Bar Associations. The Association of Trial Lawyers of America. Texas Trial Lawyers Association.
San Antonio Trial Lawyers Association.