MEET THE MCKENZIE MENA TEAM
Our attorneys have represented both homeowners and associations as well as homebuilders, developers, contractors, and insurance companies. It’s this 360˚ experience that provides a formidable advantage in settlement negotiation and trial. The partners at McKenzie Mena have more than 22 years of experience in construction defect litigation.
Named Partners
CASS MCKENZIE
As the founding and managing partner of the firm, Cass has been on the forefront of advocating for property owners’ rights for the last 25 years. Cass has successfully represented thousands of homeowners and associations in complex multi-million-dollar construction defect actions, authored legislation preserving property owners’ legal rights, and speaks regularly on a national level advocating homeowners’ rights in construction defect litigation.
ALLAN R. MENA
Allan has extensive experience in construction defect litigation representing contractors, homeowners and homeowner associations. He has also been recognized by the “Super Lawyers” magazine as a “Rising Star” from 2009 – 2014 in the construction defect field. He is indeed a star among construction defect attorneys, which is how he found a home here at McKenzie & Mena.
Allan also presents seminars on construction defect topics to various audiences.
Partners
JOSH FITZPATRICK
Joshua Fitzpatrick is a partner in McKenzie Mena’s Colorado office. Joshua joined the firm in 2011 after completing a clerkship in Colorado’s 18th Judicial District. Joshua’s practice focuses on representing homeowner associations in construction defect, defective product, and bad faith insurance matters in both Colorado and Texas.
Joshua takes pride in helping homeowners navigate the legal process. Since joining the firm, Joshua has assisted thousands of homeowners in obtaining favorable outcomes through settlement, arbitration, and trial. Joshua also regularly presents at seminars related to homeowner rights and advocacy.
TOM DEVINE
Tom has been practicing as a construction defect attorney since 2004, representing clients in every phase of a construction defect claim – from pre-suit advice to mediation and through arbitration and trial. Tom’s experience representing general contractors and developers, and their insurance companies, gives Tom valuable insight in representing homeowners and associations in pursuing their construction defect claims. Tom has been recognized by his peers as a Super Lawyer Rising Star since 2008.
Preeminent by Martindale Hubbell since 2013 – the highest possible rating in both legal ability and ethical standards, and in 2017 was selected as one of the Best Lawyers In America in construction law. Tom also presents at seminars concerning construction and insurance related topics.
KEITH HOAGLAND
Keith joined McKenzie Mena in 2007 while still in law school and has been with the firm ever since. Keith has represented numerous homeowners and homeowner associations in both litigation and arbitration and has successfully negotiated many settlements for his clients, both with and without litigation. Keith also devotes much of his time to public education on the rights of property owners.
PENNY MANSHIP
Penny has devoted her career to representing plaintiffs in construction defect and class action cases. She has successfully represented hundreds of homeowners and homeowners associations in construction defect claims. In addition, she has effectively resolved several class action cases involving product defects and consumer fraud claims for the benefit of thousands of homeowners and consumers.
Ms. Manship has prevailed on several appeals on behalf of her clients on issues impacting their legal rights and remedies, including defeating arbitration clauses in home purchase agreements and protecting consumers’ rights to bring class actions.
Ms. Manship graduated from UCLA School of Law and was admitted to practice in the State of California in 1998. She is also licensed to practice in the States of Colorado, Arizona, and Montana.
Attorneys
JOSHUA RAYGOR
Joshua joined McKenzie Mena’s Houston, Texas, office in 2023. Mr. Raygor graduated from Texas A&M University in 2009 with a B.B.A. in Business Management. He continued his education at South Texas College of Law Houston, graduating in December 2012. Upon graduation, Mr. Raygor began his career as a prosecutor, most recently serving in the Harris County District Attorney’s Office’s Homicide Division.
As a highly experienced trial lawyer, Joshua handled capital murders from investigation and filing of cases to jury verdict. In his last year alone at the District Attorney’s Office, Joshua obtained guilty verdicts in six capital murder trials. Few attorneys can match Joshua’s experience level and results when presenting cases to juries. After spending a decade of his life dedicated to serving the citizens of Harris County, Joshua is ready to utilize the skills and talents he has developed to help homeowners and associations navigate their legal troubles.
ERIKA SESSUM
Erika received her Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice from Hardin Simmons University in 2015, and she received her Juris Doctorate from Texas Tech University in 2018. Since then, Erika has been practicing as a real estate and construction defect litigation attorney and has successfully represented numerous homeowners through all stages of litigation.
Erika has two beautiful children who keep her busy and when she is not in the office, she enjoys renovating homes, hosting parties and events, and spending time outdoors.
RONALD HARTMANN
Ronald (Ron) has represented numerous homeowners and homeowner associations in a wide variety of construction defect and class action litigation throughout California, from San Diego County to Glenn County. His construction defect litigation experience has involved issues from defective roofs down to defective geotechnical issues below the homes and condominium buildings, as well as landslides and slope failures. In addition, Ron has represented several thousand homeowners in several construction defect class actions for defective products in single-family homes and condominiums.
Ron obtained his undergraduate degree in business from the University of Alabama (Tuscaloosa), and his Juris Doctor degree from the University of Texas (Austin). Ron is licensed to practice law in California, Arizona, and Nevada. Off the job, Ron enjoys hiking, biking, yoga, and listening to music.
Paralegals
LISA LABRE
Lisa has decades of experience as a litigation paralegal in the construction defect field. Lisa joined McKenzie Mena in April 2000 and has valuable experience in handling complex construction defect cases in Colorado, California, and Texas, having attended or prepared for over 30 trials and arbitrations. Lisa graduated from the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh with a double major in Criminal Justice and Political Science.
ALICIA CABALLERO
Alicia graduated from Baylor University with a B.A. degree in Political Science and went on to obtain her paralegal certification through the University of Houston. Since then, Alicia has worked as a paralegal for nearly ten years with an emphasis in civil litigation. Prior to joining McKenzie Mena in early 2022, Alicia worked in different areas of the law, bringing with her a solid framework in handling cases from inception through trial. Alicia’s analytical skills, attention to detail, and her ability to multi-task, have all been the foundation to her success as a paralegal.
When she’s not at the office, Alicia can be found spending time with her partner and fur babies, supporting her favorite sports teams, and exploring the diverse city of Houston, Texas.
JESSICA HARMON
Jessica Harmon has extensive experience in the legal and analytics related fields. She has worked as a paralegal for the last ten years, eight of those in construction defect litigation. Before starting her legal career, Jessica honed her organizational, multi-tasking, and analytical skills through two deployments in the United States Army Reserve while based out of Irvine and Dublin, California. She graduated from the University of Colorado, Colorado Springs with a B.A. in Mathematics and minor in Geography and Environmental Studies. Jessica worked for the District Attorney's office in Colorado Springs. She also worked with the United States Attorney's Office in Los Angeles.
Outside of the office, Jessica is involved in her children's various school and sports activities. She enjoys traveling, playing soccer, spending time with her cat, and getting to the beach whenever possible.
JEANETTE CARLISLE
Jeanette joined McKenzie Mena in September 2024, bringing with her over twenty years of experience. She has handled diverse cases with complex legal issues and a wide range of clients, which has contributed to her professional growth and expertise. Jeanette builds strong relationships with clients because she understands their unique situations, addresses their concerns, and keeps them informed about the progress of their case. Her strong work ethic and dedication to the legal system are fundamental qualities which make her a valuable part of our team.
Outside of work, Jeanette enjoys spending time with her four grandchildren and attending their baseball games.
Client Services
JEFF HIGGINS
Jeff is a well respected and accomplished entrepreneur with 27 years of start up and turn-around experience. With a focus on helping organizations enhance quality and optimize efficiency, he has achieved success in General Management, Sales & Marketing, Business Development, Operations, Training, and Consulting Services.
Serving as Executive Vice President of McKenzie Mena, Jeff focuses on home owner rights and best in class communication, client satisfaction and results. He has been with the firm since 2007 and was instrumental in scaling the firm from CO to the current markets of CA, TX and CO.
Jeff’s startup experience has included serving as president of Validiti (a first in class RFID company), President of Peak Nursing Team (a Colorado based staffing company) and President of Colorado based All Set Restoration (a general contracting firm).
Higgins has worked in the Homeowners Association (HOA) and Community Association Institute (CAI) industry since 2001. He has held multiple leadership positions throughout the nation serving as CAI Chapter president, CAI Board member at large, HOA Board President and numerous volunteer committee chairs. He has been recognized as both a rising star and Volunteer of the year during his years of service.
Jeff has continually outperformed and succeeded aggressive budgets with both start-up and Fortune 100 companies. His strong leadership skills have allowed him to build great teams and achieve great team success. He has an outstanding track record of building best in class business practices in all settings.
SUZANNE HUBBARD
Suzanne joined McKenzie Mena in January 2021 as Client Service Manager for the Austin, Houston, and San Antonio areas. Prior to joining MRM, she worked in Mortgage Banking for 12 years in both operations and sales and is excited to break into the HOA world. She is passionate about building lasting relationships and focuses on expanding her market knowledge, to become a trusted advisor to clients and business partners, alike.
Beyond work, Suzanne spends a lot of her time outside. Whether it’s biking around Town Lake, paddle boarding, hanging out on a patio or camping, she is happiest in the fresh open air.
ADRIANA BURKE
Adriana brings 15 years of experience in customer service. She excels in building strong client relationships with a focus on restoration, reconstruction, multifamily and HOA community management.
Adriana is bilingual in Spanish and skilled in client-facing roles. In her spare time, she enjoys traveling and exploring the outdoors.
Administration
ANGELA MCDANIEL
Angela McDaniel joined McKenzie Mena in November 2020 as Finance and Administration Director. She is responsible for Human Resources, Finance, Operations & Information Technology. She has over 30 years of experience in finance, management, and operations in many companies from startups to private businesses with over 4,000 employees. Angela enjoys fast paced challenging work environments and strives for excellence over perfection. She strongly believes in an ownership culture.
Prior to joining McKenzie Mena, Angela was the Chief Administrative Officer at a benefit consulting firm (Ascende) for over 22 years.
Outside of work, Angela enjoys traveling with her husband and volunteering at her church.
ASHLEY ALRIDGE
With over 18 years of experience in both law and business administration, Ashley is a highly skilled professional. Her efficiency and skills enable her to assist attorneys and staff with time-sensitive projects. With 15 years of paralegal experience, she understands contracts, deadlines, and the need for accuracy and efficiency. She joined McKenzie Mena in July 2022 and has extensive experience managing complex legal projects. Ashley is dedicated to the firm's needs and the clients we serve.
Ashley enjoys spending time with her family, reading, and giving back to the community outside of work.
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