Cynthia Mabry '10
July 20, 2017 - Seven years after completing her legal education at the University of Houston Law Center, Cynthia Mabry is paying it forward.
The 2010 alumna was recently elected president of the University of Houston Law alumni board. Mabry said she hopes to make an impact by expanding the Law Center's alumni network and assisting Dean Leonard M. Baynes and the Office of Law Alumni Relations' bold vision for the future.
"My goal is to help with the Law Center's ambitious goals," Mabry said. "It's focusing on organization, outreach and supporting Dean Baynes' objectives for the Law Center. The most precious thing you can give is time. I really enjoy working with the Law Center. It's fun to see classmates, and I enjoy meeting our next generation of lawyers. The staff at the Law Center is world-class, and makes my job easy."
Armed with an accounting degree from LSU, Mabry began working as an auditor at PricewaterhouseCoopers. She was intrigued by the work of advising clients in financial matters, and after three years, she resigned from her position and solidified her path to the Law Center.
Her favorite memories of the Law Center are the relationships she developed with classmates and professors. Mabry worked as a research assistant for Professor Darren Bush and fondly recalls being a student in Professor Barbara Evans' first Torts class at the Law Center. Professor Jacqueline Weaver taught one of Mabry's favorite classes, Oil & Gas, sparking an interest that led her to develop an expertise in the energy industry.
"People that enjoy where they are and what they're doing leads to great instruction," Mabry said. "The great thing about the Law Center and the faculty is everybody wants to be there. There's a reason faculty members stay so long, because they enjoy being there. We have a great legal community and a great city."
Mabry has represented public and private entities, investors and underwriters in a wide variety of capital markets and finance transactions. Mabry explains that, while her accounting degree was helpful in understanding the business world, her law degree gave her the ability to work from all perspectives and to look at issues from different angles.
She began a new opportunity as counsel with Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP on June 5. Her practice will concentrate on capital markets, energy and oil and gas, mergers and acquisitions and other general corporate matters. She previously worked as an associate at another international law firm.
"My transition has been seamless," she said. "Akin Gump is a great firm and I couldn't be happier with my decision to join the team here."
