KRISTINE CRUZ

president

Berry Appleman and Leiden, LLC

Kristine is an Associate in the Dallas office of Berry Appleman & Leiden LLP. She works on all aspects of employment-based immigration, including nonimmigrant and immigrant visa matters.

Prior to joining BAL, Kristine served as the Legal Program Director at Mosaic Family Services, a nonprofit dedicated to serving survivors of human rights abuses in North Texas, including domestic violence and human trafficking.

Kristine attended law school at SMU School of Law and obtained her B.A. in International Affairs from the George Washington University. In her spare time, Kristine enjoys cooking (and more importantly, eating), traveling, and hiking with her dog Oscar

ashley yen

president-ELECT

Methodist Health System

Ashley is Assistant General Counsel at Methodist Health System. She earned her undergraduate degree from Rice University and her law degree from SMU Dedman School of Law.  Ashley served as the Chair of DAABA’s 2019 Annual Awards Night.  Outside of DAABA, Ashley enjoys snowboarding, wedding coordinating, and traveling.

Hanna kim

TREASURER

Samsung C&T America, Inc.

Hanna Kim is Legal Counsel at Samsung C&T America, Inc. Hanna previously served as a director for DAABA and chaired the 2020 and 2022 Awards Night, which is also her favorite DAABA event of the year. Outside of DAABA, Hanna enjoys spending time with her family, traveling, and hiking.

ALen Samuel

secretary

Platt Cheema Richmond, PLLC

Alen is an associate at Platt Cheema Richmond where she primarily practices employment and intellectual property law. She earned her undergraduate degree from the University of Texas at Dallas and her law degree from SMU Dedman School of Law.  Alen previously served on the DAABA 2021 Annual Awards Night Committee and the communications committee.

ERIC CHen

director

Carter Arnett PLLC

Eric is a trial attorney at Carter Arnett PLLC. He has experience litigating a variety of cases involving fraud, breach of contract, consumer protection laws, and securities. He has also assisted companies with conducting highly sensitive internal investigations and has represented individuals and entities navigating pending or potential charges by state prosecutors and the U.S. Attorney’s Office. Eric went to UT Austin for college and obtained his law degree from UC Berkeley. After spending several years working in Los Angeles, Eric moved back to Texas with his wife and are proud parents to their baby girl.

SOPHIA MAI

director

US Department of Homeland Security

Sophia is an attorney at the U.S. Dept. of Homeland Security. She has previously received DAABA’s outstanding Member of the Year and co-chair of DAABA’s Awards Night Committee. Sophia mentors multiple law students and is also involved in DAABA’s Community Service Committee and Connections Committee. Some DAABA events that she has previously worked on include Lunar New Year dinner, numerous happy hours, joint Holi celebration with SABA, and food drive. 

JACOB GEORGE MATHEW

DIRECTOR

Jacob practices in the area of complex commercial litigation.  Jacob received his law degree from the SMU Dedman School of Law.  After graduating, he clerked for Judge Michael J. Truncale in the Eastern District of Texas.  Jacob and his wife, Colleen, recently welcomed their daughter, Eleanor, into the world.  They enjoy traveling, trying out new restaurants, cooking, listening to and performing classical music, watching films, and reading literature and poetry.

Janet Landry Smith

Imm. Past President

Southwest Airlines

Janet Landry Smith is an attorney at Southwest Airlines, where she provides advice and counsel on issue arising under various federal, state, and local labor and employment laws, interprets and advises on collective bargaining agreements, negotiates on behalf of the company with labor organizations, serves as lead counsel on labor arbitrations, and manages outside counsel on arbitration and litigation matters. A graduate of SMU Dedman School of Law and the University of Texas at Austin, Janet was named Best Lawyers Ones to Watch 2021-2023, and Best Under 40 by the Asian Pacific Interest Section of the State Bar of Texas. Janet met her husband, Steve, while they were both attending SMU Law, and together they have a young daughter and an old pup named Hero.