Shalon Allen

Shalon Allen, BSN, RN, JD, CNOR, CSSM

Shalon brings a rich blend of healthcare and legal expertise to our medical practice and personal injury teams, offering over 24 years of nursing experience. Her unique combination of nursing, healthcare management, and legal skills allows her to navigate complex medical malpractice and personal injury cases with precision and empathy. Shalon’s extensive background in the surgical services area, coupled with her experience in regulatory healthcare compliance, makes her a formidable advocate for injured clients.

Shalon began her career in healthcare by earning a Bachelor of Science in Nursing, becoming a Certified Perioperative Nurse (CNOR), and helping develop the national credential for Certified Surgical Services Manager (CSSM). She has been recognized as a national nursing expert through her work as a consultant for major healthcare organizations, an author for nursing credential development, and a speaker at prominent nursing conferences. Shalon has experience in surgical services, endoscopy, sterile processing, anesthesia services, hospital administration, and regulatory compliance. Shalon completed her legal education while still practicing as a nurse, graduating cum laude, making the Dean’s List, and earning a certification in healthcare compliance. Shalon is a member of the American Health Law Association and the American Association of Nurse Attorneys. This background prepares her with the knowledge to defend clients in medical malpractice cases and to navigate the complex regulatory landscapes of healthcare organizations.

Beyond her professional accomplishments, Shalon is a proud mother of two and a “Gigi” of two, balancing her career with her passions of running and yoga. This dedication to both her family and personal well-being mirrors her commitment to clients, ensuring they receive comprehensive and compassionate representation.

  • Personal Injury
  • Products Liability
  • General Negligence
  • Automobile Collisions
  • Medical Malpractice
  • Birth Injuries
  • Wrongful Death
  • 100% of Practice Devoted to Litigation
  • Texas, 2024

Mitchel Hamline School of Law – Juris Doctor

  • Dean’s List (4 semesters)
  • Cum Laude
  • Douglas Heidenreich Scholarship Recipient
  • Certification in Healthcare Compliance

Lamar University (Beaumont, TX), 2000

  • Magna Cum Laude
  • President’s List
  • Registered Nurse

American Sentinel University. 2015

  • Bachelor’s in Nursing
  • Magna Cum Laude
  • Sigma Theta Tau Honor Society
  • American Association for Justice
  • American Health Law Association
  • American Association of Nurse Attorneys
  • Houston Association of Women Attorneys
  • Texas Trial Lawyers Association 
  • Houston Trial Lawyers Association 
  • Houston Bar Association 
  • Medical Malpractice
  • Personal Injury
  • Products Liability
  • Premises Liability
  • General Negligence
  • Truck and Automobile Collisions
  • Commercial Litigation
  • Maritime Accidents
  • Birth Injuries
  • Wrongful Death
  • Appellate Law
  • Arbitration
  • University of Texas School of Law, Juris Doctor with Honors
    • Associate Editor Texas Law Review
    • Order of the Coif (top 10% of class)
  • University of Texas at Austin, Bachelor of Business Administration, with Honors
    • Major Finance, Minor Marketing
    • Beta Gamma Sigma National Business Honor Society
    • Kappa Kappa Gamma, service and social sorority
  • Top 100 – The National Trial Lawyers
  • Multi Million Dollar Advocates Forum
  • Texas Law Review, Associate Editor
  • Order of the Coif
  • Carrington, Coleman Sloman and Blumenthal Academic Excellence Award
  • Bankston, Wright and Greenhill Award in Tort Law
  • Highest overall GPA at UT Law first year
  • Dean’s Achievement Award for highest achievement in the study of Contracts
  • Dean’s Achievement Award for highest achievement in the study of Torts
  • State Bar of Texas
  • State Bar of Arizona
  • Supreme Court of the United States
  • United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
  • United States District Court Southern District of Texas
  • Pro Hac Vice admissions to Colorado, Florida, Iowa, New Mexico and Utah
  • Texas Trial Lawyers Association
  • Houston Trial Lawyers Association
  • American Bar Association
  • Houston Bar Association
  • Federal Bar Association
  • Fulbright and Jaworski (Norton Rose Fulbright)
  • Mayor Day Caldwell and Keaton
  • Andrews Kurth
  • Hunton Andrews Kurth
  • The Ammons Law Firm
  • The Newsome Law Firm

Recognized as a Rising Star in 2019, 2020 and 2021 by Texas Super Lawyers, Phil is also a Fellow in the Texas Bar Foundation. Prior to becoming a lawyer, taught in the Houston Independent School District at an inner-city middle school. He also served as a bandmaster and musician on Norwegian, Celebrity, Holland America and Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines. He is admitted to the Fifth Circuit, Southern District of Texas and Western District of Texas in the federal court system.

Phil lives in Houston with his wife and their two young boys. When not working, Phil can be found coaching or assisting with his kids’ sports, enjoying Houston’s vibrant arts scene with his wife, or cheering on the Astros.

J.D., University of Virginia School of Law

  • Order of the Coif (Top 10% of Class)
  • National Trial Advocacy Team
  • National Trial Competition (National Finalist)
  • National Trial Advocacy College (Graduate)

M.A., The Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies

  • Highest Honors
  • Dual concentrations in International Economics and U.S. Foreign Policy

B.A., Washington & Lee University, Politics

  • Summa cum laude
  • Phi Beta Kappa
  • American Bar Association
  • American Association for Justice
  • Texas Trial Lawyers Association
  • Houston Bar Association
  • Top Scorer, Texas Bar Exam
  • Fellow, Texas Bar Foundation
  • Fellow, Houston Bar Foundation
  • Houstonia Magazine’s “Top Personal Injury Lawyers”
  • Texas Super Lawyers “Rising Star”
  • U.S. Inspector Generals’ Council’s “Top Financial Crimes Investigation”
  • “Legal Article of the Year,” Houston Bar Foundation
  • National Trial Competition, National Finalist
  • Order of the Coif, Virginia Chapter
  • Phi Beta Kappa National Honor Society
  • Sorrels Law Adds Litigation Muscle with Ex-Prosecutor, Law360 (April 20, 2023) (profiled) Read More…
  • Did Texas Rangers miss a key fact in probe of Lina Hidalgo’s office?, Houston Chronicle (April 3, 2022) (quoted)
  • Hidalgo Aides Are Accused of Steering a Contract to an Ally. Internal Communications Paint a Murkier Picture, Texas Monthly (March 29, 2022) (quoted)
  • Supreme Dilemma: Handling Conflicts Between State Medical Privacy Laws and Federal Investigative Subpoenas, 31 The ABA Health Lawyer 6 (Aug. 2019) (co-author)
  • Lessons in Due Diligence Seen in Case of Jailed Fraudster Whose History Hid in Plain Sight, Regulatory Compliance Watch (Dec. 3, 2018) (quoted)
  • Seeking Justice for Victims, UVA Lawyer (Spring 2018) (profiled)
  • Woman Who Ordered ‘Colombian Necktie’ Hit from Pinellas Jail Tells Judge She Has ‘Bad Judgment,’ Gets 65 More Years, Tampa Bay Times (Jan. 4, 2018) (quoted)
  • Case Study in International Money Laundering, Financial Crimes/Inspectors General Conference(Tampa, Aug. 2017) (speaker)
  • Emerging Trends in Securities Enforcement, Hillsborough Bar Assoc. (Tampa, April 2017) (speaker)
  • Effective Opening Statements, Goldberg Inn of Court (Tampa, Jan. 2017) (speaker)
  • The Benefits and Costs of the Joint Venture, 79 Texas Bar J. (Nov. 2016) (co-author)
  • Timely Disclosure Requirements of Texas’s RTP Statute, Texas Lawyer (Nov. 2, 2015) (co-author)
  • Joint Venturing the Case, 52 Houston Lawyer (July/Aug. 2015) (co-author)
  • Called to the Bar, 77 Texas Bar J. (July 2014) (author)
  • Address on Behalf of New Inductees, Texas Bar Induction Ceremony (Austin, June 2014) (speaker)
  • Waiting in the Wings? Assessing the Admissibility of Neuroimagery, 27 Dev. Mental Health L. 1 (2008) (author)
  • Prosecuting Opportunistic Hate Crimes, Anti-Defamation League (Boston, July 2008) (speaker)
  • Gerger, Hennessy & Martin (Partner)
  • Kessler Topaz Meltzer & Check (Partner)
  • U.S. Department of Justice (Assistant U.S. Attorney)
  • Abraham, Watkins, Nichols, Sorrels, Agosto & Aziz (Associate)
  • Hogan Lovells (Associate)
  • Manhattan District Attorney’s Office (Assistant District Attorney)

Randy is the past President of the Texas Association of Civil Trial and Appellate Specialists, and past Chair of the Fellows of the Texas Bar Foundation.  He has served as the President of the Houston Bar Association, President of the Houston Trial Lawyers Association, President of the Houston Trial Lawyers Foundation, Vice President of the Texas Trial Lawyers Association, Trustee of the Texas Bar Foundation, Director of the State Bar of Texas (two terms), Commissioner of the Equal Access to Justice Commission, Trustee of the Texas Supreme Court Historical Society, and is currently on the Board of Directors at South Texas College of Law Houston.

Randy started his legal career at Fulbright & Jaworski, where he represented doctors, hospitals, insurance companies, and businesses in the state of Texas who were accused of civil wrongdoing.  He graduated Magna Cum Laude from South Texas College of Law Houston in 1987, where he was on the Law Review and was a member of the nationally recognized Board of Advocates.  South Texas College of Law Houston has honored Randy with its highest honor— the Dean’s Medal, as well as its Public Service Award (the inaugural award).  South Texas College of Law Houston has renamed its legal clinics The Randall O. Sorrels Legal Clinics, which represents 15,000 square feet of new, state-of-the-art facilities to bring together clients with unmet legal needs and students who are eager to work with those clients under the direct supervision of their professors.  In 2018, South Texas College of Law Houston honored Randy with the Distinguished Alumni Award.

Prior to law school, Randy graduated Magna Cum Laude from Houston Baptist University— where he was recognized as an NCAA Academic All-American in 1984.  He attended HBU on a soccer scholarship, and the soccer field at the university now carries his name— Randall O. Sorrels Field.  While at school, he was recognized as the Outstanding Student in both Political Science and Speech Communications.  In the greatest honor, the university gives to alumni, Randy was named as HBU’s Outstanding Alumnus of the Year for 2009, and he continues to be involved in alumni events and meetings.

Randy is married to his law partner, Alex L. Farias-Sorrels, and considers her one of the smartest lawyers he knows.  He is also a father of five children and one granddaughter.  His oldest daughter is a teacher and helps with the Sorrels Law communications efforts.  His second daughter is a speech language pathologist in New York.  His twin son and daughter are law students at the University of Texas.  And his youngest son is in a Montessori program.

  • State Bar of Texas, 1984
  • United States Supreme Court
  • United States Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit
  • United States Court of Appeals, Seventh Circuit
  • United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit
  • United States Court of Appeals, Eleventh Circuit
  • United States Court of Appeals, Federal Circuit
  • United States District Court, Southern District of Texas
  • American Association for Justice
  • Houston Bar Association, Appellate Section Member
  • State Bar of Texas, Appellate Section Member
  • Texas Association of Board Certified Trial and Appellate Specialists
  • Texas Trial Lawyers Association

He has published numerous articles, including:

  • “False Claims Act Actions—The Developing Case Law Regarding If and When Opinions of Medical Necessity Can Be Fraudulent”, The Health Lawyer, April 2015.
  • “In BP Gulf Oil Spill Litigation, the District Court Decided Important Legal Questions that will Likely be Appealed, including the Standard for “Gross Negligence” and “Willful Misconduct” under the Clean Water Act and the Standard for Vicarious Liability for Punitive Damages under Maritime Law”, The Energy Newsletter, October 1, 2014.
  •  “New York’s Highest Court Holds that Zoning Laws of New York Towns Banning Fracking Are Enforceable — A Brief Analysis of the Oral Arguments and the Court’s Opinion”,Pratt’s Energy Law Report, September 2014.
  •  “New Silica Exposure Standard Likely to Impact Fracking”, Energy, Employment and Project Finance Law360, September 17, 2014.
  •  “New Trial Orders in Texas Now Subject to Appellate Review”, Texas and Appellate Law360, September 9, 2013.
  •  “Unsettled Questions of Texas Law—Claim for Exemplary Damages Against an Insured Employer for a Work-Related Death”, 53 South Texas Law Review 787, Summer 2012.
  •  “Cellphones can be perilous to employers,” Houston Business Journal, August 12, 2011.
  •  “Tortious Interference Arising from Filing or Threatening to File a Lawsuit: The Privilege Defense in Flux,” The Houston Lawyer; September/October, 2003.
  •  “The 1979 Amendments Revolutionized the Texas Statutes of Limitations. But it was Not Recognized Until Almost 11 Years Later,” Texas Bar Journal, Vol. 54, No. 4, April, 1991.
  • Served on the Board of the Texas Association of Civil Trial and Appellate Specialists.
  • Served as the President of the Houston Chapter of the Christian Legal Society.
  • Performed significant pro bono legal services for many clients who could not afford to pay an attorney.
  • Mentored underprivileged high school students through Breakthrough Houston.

He lives in Bellaire, Texas with his wife Carol, and has two adult children. He is an avid cyclist and consumer of political news. He and Carol are active members at Christ the King Presbyterian Church.