Texas Fellow Yvette Ostolaza is 2009 Louise B. Raggio Award Recipient

Cite as 3 Litigation Commentary & Rev. 28 (March 2010)

Texas Fellow Yvette Ostolaza, the 2009 recipient of the Louise B. Raggio Award, is everything the honor embodies.  The Raggio Award, named in honor of the legendary “Texas Tornado” Louise B. Raggio, a legal pioneer who fought doggedly for the rights of women in Texas, is presented annually by the Dallas Women Lawyers Association (DWLA) to a person who has demonstrated the highest level of professionalism and contributed significantly to the advancement of women attorneys.

A true leader in her profession, Ms. Ostolaza is a partner at the internationally renowned law firm Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP, where she is also the co-head of the firm’s 160-lawyer Complex Commercial Litigation practice, providing legal counsel to leading businesses around the world.  Her practice concentrates in the trial and supervision of complex civil litigation in state and federal courts throughout the U.S., as well as high-stakes arbitrations.  She also specializes in representing companies, board committees, and individual board members in internal investigations and reviews, including whistleblower, accounting, and executive issues.

She has also published numerous articles and delivered presentations on alternative dispute resolution, arbitration of consumer financial services contract cases, international arbitration issues, multi-district disputes, and discrimination in the workplace.

In 2009, the State Bar of Texas selected Ms. Ostolaza to serve on its board of directors, recognizing her leadership role within the legal profession.  She has also been recognized by her peers as a Texas “Super Lawyer” from 2005-2009 and has repeatedly been honored by Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business as a top lawyer in the Litigation: General Commercial category.  In 2008, she was named one of the “Defenders,” honoring the top 15 business defense attorneys in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex, by the Dallas Business Journal and the Association of Corporate Counsel.  Most recently, she was selected for inclusion in the Benchmark Litigation 2010 guide, a publication of Euromoney/Legal Media Group that focuses exclusively on the leading U.S. law firms and attorneys, which designated her a “national star” for General Commercial Litigation. She is a Fellow in the Litigation Counsel of America.

But her contribution doesn’t stop at being a world-class attorney.  Ms. Ostolaza has been one of the foremost pioneers in advancing the cause of women and minorities in the legal profession.  As a Latina whose parents emigrated to the U.S. from Cuba, she recognized early in her career the invaluable role that mentors can have in nurturing the development of young professionals.  At Weil Gotshal, she has been instrumental in helping the firm establish one of the most innovative and successful diversity initiatives in the legal industry, serving on the firm’s Diversity Committee, helping the firm establish groundbreaking recruitment programs for women and minorities, and also mentoring associates to ensure their professional development.  Ms. Ostolaza is a founding member of the firm’s Women@Weil affinity group, which connects the firm’s women attorneys with women clients and other business and community leaders with a stake in nurturing the professional development of other women.

In the community, Ms. Ostolaza is a 2004 graduate of the Dallas Regional Chamber’s prestigious “Leadership Dallas” program and has served on community boards, including for the Baylor Health Care Foundation and the Dallas Concilio of Hispanic Service Organizations.  The Dallas Concilio recognized her service to the organization as a board leader and past gala event co-chair by presenting her with the organization’s 2009 “Outstanding Individual Award.” She is a sustaining member of the Junior League of Dallas after years of volunteer service, a sustaining member of Attorneys Serving the Community, and a volunteer for countless pro bono cases benefiting the most disadvantaged and traditionally underrepresented members of society.

On top of all this, Ms. Ostolaza is a wife and mother to three children.  She is also a role model to many Weil Gotshal attorneys who have had children and subsequently returned to practice with the firm.

Receiving the Louise B. Raggio Award is a true testament to the full spectrum of contributions Ms. Ostolaza has made to the legal community and to the community at large.  Just as Ms. Ostolaza was inspired by her early-life mentors and the example of Louise Raggio, she now serves as an inspiration to those around her, offering her counsel to clients, Weil Gotshal colleagues, and the Texas community.