Experience

Lucci Smith Law, PLLC / Managing Member / 2013- Present

Practice areas: Real Estate, Condemnation, Appellate, Alternative Dispute Resolution
• Founder and Managing Member
• Represent clients in all types of real estate transactions and litigation; primary focus in Condemnation matters
• Appellate law
• Mediator and Arbitrator
• Commercial Litigation

Winstead, P.C. / Of Counsel / 2012 – 2013

Practice areas: Condemnation, Appellate, Mediations
• Segment Leader for pipeline project
• Represented Winstead at various political events
• Coordinator for Winstead sponsorship of the Houston Realty Business Coalition
• Member of the Judicial PAC

Harris County Civil Court-at-Law 2 / Judge / 2007 – 2012

• Completed 100 jury trials in first 12 months of office
• Disposed of over 15,000 cases, including 4,000 bench trials, 250 jury trials and
600 appeals from JP courts
• Implemented new procedures to reduce docket from 5500 to 3200 cases
• Developed internship program with Spring Branch ISD
• Implemented standards for guardian ad litems in cases involving minors
• Developed new condemnation guidelines to implement SB 18 changes
• Frequent featured speaker for continuing legal education seminars on SB 18
• Developed pro bono program for county courts
• Administrative Judge 2010 & 2011

Harris County Tax Office / Director & Legal Counsel / 2001 – 2006

• Operational director and member of executive staff
• Managed and reported on activities of various departments
• Oversaw all litigation, collection activities, foreclosure sales, condemnations,
and bankruptcy
• Supervised outside litigation firms
• Representative of Tax Office on Interlocal Committee
• Managed and responded to all public information requests and media inquiries
• Advised officeholder on various legal, administrative, and operational issues
• Frequently handled media inquiries on behalf of Paul Bettencourt
• Proposed, drafted, and lobbied legislation
• Developed new tax foreclosure procedures

Harris County Attorney / Assistant County Attorney / 1998 – 2001
Appellate and General Counsel Divisions

• Assisted in drafting legislation
• Presenter for in-house CLE on new discovery rules
• Liaison to Harris County Tax Office and Paul Bettencourt
• Developed and implemented new procedures for organizing foreclosure sales
• Member of Open Records Committee
• Member of Opinion Committee

Colton Investment Corporation / General Counsel / 1998

• Managed all warranty issues with homeowners and contractors
• Managed all arbitrations
• Negotiated various contracts

Jacqueline Lucci, P.C. / President, Attorney / 1993 – 1998

• Appellate practice, with a concentration in commercial litigation
• Lead appellate counsel, successfully briefed and argued several cases to various Courts
of Appeals
• Prepared brief and presented oral argument in precedent-setting case to the Supreme
Court of Texas

Education

South Texas College of Law / Juris Doctorate, 1992

• Dean’s List and Order of the Lytae
• Board of Advocates, Director
• Delta Theta Phi, Exchequer
• National Moot Court Team, final pen and oralist

Lynn University, f/k/a College of Boca Raton / BS – Business Administration, 1987

• Summa Cum Laude
• Completed 2-year curriculum in 13 months

Lectures and Publications

Ethics in Mediation: Tools, Tactics and Techniques
Basic Mediation Course, Institute for Mediation, October 2012

Senate Bill 18 Panel: Procedure, Access and Unanswered Questions
CLE International Eminent Domain Conference, Houston, Texas June 2012

Dealing with the Legislative Changes Recently Enacted via Senate Bill 18:
Judicial Perspective
CLE International Eminent Domain Conference, Austin, Texas February 2012

Featured Presentation: Judicial Panel on Changes in Condemnation Law
CLE International Eminent Domain Conference, Houston, Texas June 2011

Perspectives from the Bench
CLE International Eminent Domain Conference, Houston, Texas, June 2009

Perspectives from the Bench
CLE International Eminent Domain Conference, Houston, Texas, June 2010

Voir Dire in a Condemnation Proceeding
South Texas College of Law Eminent Domain Conference, Houston, Texas May 2008

Changes in Courtroom Procedures for Harris County Civil Court-at-Law 2
North Harris County Bar Association, Houston, Texas, November, 2007

Debt Collection Cases from Service of Process to Judgment
Friday Afternoon in Court, Houston, Texas, June 2007

Tax Foreclosure Sales and Procedures in Harris County
Downtown Pachyderm, Houston, Texas. September 2002

Property Tax Refunds
2001 Texas Association of Assessing Officers, Gulf Coast Chapter, Houston, Texas, October 2001

Changes in Tax Refunds
Tax Assessors-Collectors Association, College Station, Texas, November, 2001

Selling Tax Foreclosed Properties; So I Have a Judgment, Now What Do I Do?
Texas Association of Assessing Officers, Gulf Coast Chapter, Houston, Texas, October 2000

Written Discovery Under the New Rules
Harris County Attorney Continuing Legal Education, Houston, Texas, February 1999

Parent Abuse: How to Get to the Hiding Parent Company Through the Subsidiary: “Piercing the Corporate Veil”
Texas Trial Lawyers Association, Dynamic Advocacy Seminar, July, 1994

Federal Preemption in Products Liability
South Texas College of Law Continuing Legal Education Seminar, Houston, Texas, June, 1993

Professional

State Bar of Texas, 1993
Federal Bar for the Southern District of Texas, 1993
United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, 1994
Houston Bar Association
College of the State Bar, 1999
Mexican American Bar Association of Houston
Harris County Republican Party, Leadership Council since 2004

Personal

Boys & Girls Harbor, Board of Directors, 2008
United Who’s Who of Professionals, Selected 2005
St. Pius School Board, Chairman 2003-05; Vice Chairman 2002-03
Texas Association of Assessing Officers, Legislative Committee Chair 2002-04
Member of Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem
Catechist for Catholic Faith Formation at Epiphany of the Lord Catholic Community

Achievements

2003: Successfully lobbied to pass 3 bills during Regular Session of the Texas Legislature

2006: Republican Primary Election: Defeated incumbent with 67.5% of vote
– Consistently ranked over 70% approval rating in HBA Judicial Bar Polls

2010: West Houston Chamber of Commerce Business Partner Award

In representing a landowner, negotiated the highest price per rod to date ever in Liberty County, Texas*

– *Believed to be the Record High at the time

Current: Frequent guest speaker and lecturer at legal education conferences