Aliaquanda "Alia" Adkins-Derrick

Aliaquanda “Alia” Adkins-Derrick is the managing partner of Adkins Lawyers, PLLC (a premier boutique law firm in Dallas and Houston, Texas), a certified mediator, and an adjunct law school professor who educates tomorrow's attorneys.   Known for her fierce written and oral advocacy, Ms. Adkins is a dedicated legal advocate who serves a diverse client-base of businesses and individual executives and professionals across various industries.  In her law practice, she handles employment law cases as well as matters involving business law, contracts, civil litigation, and personal injury.  As a mediator, she focuses on putting control back into the hands of the parties by identifying workable solutions to help parties reach settlement.  Ms. Adkins offers clients the smart legal defense, solutions, and representation they need at the exceptional value they deserve.Ms. Adkins attended Rice University, where she majored in Spanish and history with an emphasis in education. In 2003, she received her Bachelor of Arts and Texas Teacher Certification. At the University of Texas at Austin School of Law, she then obtained a Juris Doctor in 2007 and under the Texas Civil Practices and Remedies Code became certified as a mediator. Previously, she was a briefing attorney for a Texas Supreme Court Justice and gained a wealth of experience in the interworking of the judiciary and how to best advocate for her clients.Admitted to practice in the State of Texas and before the U.S. District Courts for the Eastern, Northern, Western and Southern Districts of Texas, Ms. Adkins represents the rights of her clients by minimizing legal risks with quality representation and foresight. A regular speaker at business conferences, she counsels clients across industries and professions and helps them prepare for changes to laws that affect their business policies, procedures, or practices. In 2023, she made history as the first ever Black American 101 Course Director of the Texas Bar's Civil Appellate Practice 101 CLE Course.Ms. Adkins advocacy has been repeatedly recognized within the legal community with numerous awards and honors.  She has been selected for inclusion in the 2024, 2023, 2022, & 2021 Editions of "Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch” Lists.  She has been named to various honorary attorney lists including Super Lawyers' Up & Coming Top 50 Female Attorneys and Top 100 Attorneys' lists as well as the National Black Lawyers' "Top 40 Under 40" attorney list and the the Lawyers of Color Hot List.  Ms. Adkins has been Recognized by Super Lawyers as a Texas Rising Star for six consecutive years (2016-2022). In 2017, she was recognized as one of the Best Lawyers in Dallas by D Magazine. Ms. Adkins is a Texas Bar Association Life Fellow and is a Life Fellow of the Dallas Bar Foundation.  She also joined the College of the State Bar of Texas, an honorary society of attorneys and judges, in 2013.