LAWYER LIMELIGHT: WALLACE A. SHOWMAN

Of Counsel Wallace A. Showman of Ajamie discusses how his practice has changed since the beginning of his career.

Name: Wallace A. Showman

Firm: Ajamie LLP

Position: Of Counsel

Practice Areas: Securities Litigation, Class Actions, Corporate Transactions, and Consumer Protection

Location: Houston

Law School: J.D., New York University School of Law, 1988

Undergraduate: B.A., Queens College, 1985

Lawdragon: What cases are keeping you busy these days?

Wallace A. Showman: For most of my career I did securities and corporate class action litigation.  Currently, my time is taken by business litigation involving healthcare facility operators and their lenders and a competitor, and representing an investment advisory firm in an SEC administrative proceeding.

LD: Can you describe for us their current procedural posture, or resolution?

WS: The competitor’s complaint for antitrust violations was dismissed and is being appealed by the competitors; the litigation with the lender is in discovery.  The SEC matter very recently settled.

LD: Is this the type of practice you imagined yourself practicing while in law school?

WS: It’s close.  I knew by my third year I wanted to do securities litigation.  I’ve grown into other areas of litigation, but the bulk of my career has been securities litigation.

LD: How has your practice changed since the early part of your career?

WS: The change from paper discovery to electronic discovery has been the most important change generally in complex litigation in the last 25 years, in my opinion.  The changes in securities litigation since the 1995 Reform Act have also vastly changed that specific field of practice.

LD: Tell us about your career path. Did you start at your current firm? If so, what kept you there? If not, what persuaded you to join your current firm?

WS: No.  My long association on several cases with my current firm’s chairman persuaded both of us that we were a good fit.