Jessica I. Rodriguez-Wahlquist

Jessica I. Rodriguez-Wahlquist is a passionate advocate who refuses to back down from a fight until a just settlement or verdict is reached. Jessica is a native Spanish speaker born in Guadalajara, Mexico and raised in Houston, Texas. She represents her clients with an unparalleled might as she truly understands what it’s like to be injured by the wrongful actions of others. In the summer after her high school graduation, Jessica was severely injured in a car collision caused by the negligence of a distracted driver. Jessica could not walk for weeks, lost a college scholarship opportunity, and was overwhelmed by the legal issues as a young immigrant. She then made it her mission to become a personal injury attorney and give a voice to her community.

Immediately upon becoming a licensed attorney Jessica gathered the respect of her peers and opponents.  Within less than 2 years of practicing law she was selected for the prestigious distinctions of Super Lawyers Rising Star and The National Trial Lawyers Top 40 Under 40 –distinctions often hard to achieve by most attorneys.  Jessica’s motto is “quality over quantity,” and as a result she inspects every case with a fine-tooth comb approach. She is often referred cases by other attorneys for her ability to find overlooked claims, angles and strategies, her ability to maximize a client’s recovery, and bringing to resolution nearly impossible cases. 

Jessica has worked at some of the largest personal injury and commercial litigation firms in Houston and Chicago assisting with dozens of multi-million-dollar personal injury, mass torts, and commercial dispute cases.  She has worked for both plaintiff’s and defense firms. Jessica has represented clients against major corporations in airplane crashes, train collisions, 18-wheeler collisions, traumatic brain injuries, fatalities caused by drunk drivers, fatalities caused by defective vehicles, and more.  She prides herself in her constant desire to stay on top of the ever-changing laws and finding new creative litigation strategies for her clients.

Prior to law school she worked for an international avionics company, State Representative Senfronia Thompson in the Texas Capitol, Mayor Annise Parker’s reelection campaign, and many other Texas political figures.  She graduated with a double degree in Economics and International Business from Sam Houston State University.  At SHSU she was inducted into Omicron Delta Epsilon (an international society in the field of economics) and was a member of the exclusive and distinguished Political Science Junior Fellows and Center for Law, Engagement, And Politics.  She now serves in the university’s Alumni Association Board of Directors.

After college she attended DePaul University College of Law in Chicago on a scholarship.  There, she excelled in her courses, wrote for the Business and Commercial Law Journal, was a member of the law school’s moot court team, President of the DePaul Outlaws (LGBT organization), and a member of the student board for the Michael and Mary Jaharis Health Law Institute. During her third year at DePaul Law she became a visiting student at South Texas College of Law Houston where she was chosen to be part of the Board of Advocates (#1 moot court team in the nation) and the alternative dispute resolution team. While at STCL, she went on to compete nationwide, won championships, and gathered an extensive list of awards in legal issues such as second amendment rights, a $2.25 billion stock acquisition deal, and immigrant rights.  Jessica was also one of 30 law students selected amongst a pool of nationwide applicants to participate in the first ever female lawyer leadership bootcamp organized by the Ms. JD program and Harvard Law School –a fast-paced program designed to prepare an elite group of lawyers to reshape the face of the legal field across the world.

To Jessica it is important to give back to her Houston community.  She volunteers her time with the Houston Bar Association’s LGBTQ+ committee and AIDS Outreach Committee, immigrant rights organizations, Texas Trial Lawyers Association, the Montrose Counseling Center, and as a coach for South Texas College of Law’s Varsity Moot Court Team. Outside of work she enjoys traveling with her spouse and two dogs, appreciating the culinary world, and has met five presidents from the United States, Mexico, Croatia, and Ghana.