Samantha Garza
Samantha is a member of Vinson & Elkins’ Appellate section. She has experience assisting clients across a range of industries with complex business disputes and constitutional and statutory issues.
Prior to joining Vinson & Elkins, Samantha served as a law clerk to the Honorable Ferdinand F. Fernandez of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, Chief Justice Nathan L. Hecht of the Supreme Court of Texas, and the Honorable Jane N. Bland of the Supreme Court of Texas. She graduated first in her class from Loyola Law School, where she served as Technical Editor of the Loyola of Los Angeles Law Review.
The following are matters in which Samantha assisted.
Experience Highlights
(D.D.C.) – Successfully moved to dismiss lawsuit challenging ongoing operation of a major interstate oil pipeline
(N.D. Tex.) – Currently representing midstream pipeline company in a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of an administrative enforcement proceeding brought against it by PHMSA
(Tex. Dist. – Harris Cnty.) – Representing construction company in a seven-figure breach of contract dispute
(C.D. Cal.) – Successfully enforced website terms to compel arbitration in a putative consumer class action against a major media company
(U.S.) – Co-drafted certiorari- and merits-stage amicus briefs on behalf of an immigration services provider regarding the applicable standard of review for whether a set of undisputed facts demonstrate persecution
Credentials
- Loyola Law School, J.D., summa cum laude, 2019 (Order of the Coif; Technical Editor, Loyola of Los Angeles Law Review)
- University of Southern California, B.A., International Relations, 2007
- Judicial Law Clerk to the Honorable Jane N. Bland, Supreme Court of Texas, 2023–2024
- Judicial Law Clerk to the Honorable Nathan L. Hecht, Chief Justice, Supreme Court of Texas, 2022–2023
- Judicial Law Clerk to the Honorable Ferdinand F. Fernandez, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, 2021–2022
- Texas
- California
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
- U.S. District Court for the Central District of California
- U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas
- InsightOctober 20, 2025
V&E Texas Business Court Quarterly Update
- InsightApril 14, 2025
- InsightMarch 11, 2025
News & Insights
V&E Texas Business Court Quarterly Update