Biography

Amirra Dittfurth (J.D. ’05) is an attorney and professor based in San Antonio, Texas. She has been a civil litigator for 20 years, with an emphasis on family law and family-adjacent practice including wills and probate. She is an adjunct professor at the St. Mary’s University School of Law and San Antonio College’s Paralegal Studies program. She teaches Family Law and is a long-time instructor of Legal Ethics and Professional Responsibility.

Driven by a lifelong obsession with fairness, Dittfurth takes a significant number of pro bono cases, often representing members of the LGBTQ+ community and other marginalized parties. One of her cases involved helping a San Antonio resident receive a Presidential Pardon signed by President Barack Obama.

Dittfurth also serves the legal community as the Treasurer/Secretary of the General Practice, Solo and Small Firm Section of the State Bar and as the new Chair of the District 10 Unauthorized Practice of Law Subcommittee. She is a member of the Family Law, Computer and Technology, LGBTQ+, and Women in the Law State Bar sections, as well as SABA and the Family Law Bar Association of San Antonio.

Dittfurth attended law school at St. Mary’s University and has undergraduate degrees of dubious utility in French and Russian from Texas Tech University. In her free time, she enjoys reading, drawing and spending time with her husband, their college-aged daughter and their three rescue dogs.

• “Family Law Practice”, St. Mary’s School of Law Mediations Class, 2010-2017, San Antonio, Texas.
• “Unethical Billing Practices; The Ugly Consequences and How to Avoid Them”, CLE State Bar of Texas Annual Meeting, June 11, 2026, Houston, Texas.

Biography

The Hon. Andrew Edison, J.D., is a United States Magistrate Judge for the Southern District of Texas. He earned his undergraduate degree from Dartmouth College and his law degree from the University of Virginia School of Law. Prior to taking the bench in 2018, Edison was a highly respected trial lawyer, appearing for approximately 25 years in state courts, federal courts and arbitration panels across the country. As a trial lawyer, he handled a wide variety of matters, working on the plaintiff’s side and the defense side.

He lectures frequently at various continuing legal education seminars and serves as an adjunct law professor, teaching Remedies, Evidence and Trial Advocacy. Outside the law, Edison is an avid sports fan and can often be found attending sports events all over the globe. Although he is not blessed with much athletic ability, he has managed to run — and complete — five marathons, including the Boston Marathon.

Honors and Awards

• “Texas Super Lawyer” (Business Litigation), Texas Monthly 2009-2018
• “Houston Top Lawyer” in the Summer 2015 and 2016 issues of H Texas Magazine
• “Texas Rising Star” (Business Litigation), Texas Monthly, 2004-2006
• Outstanding Individual Contribution to the Houston Volunteer Lawyers Program (2001)
• American Board of Trial Advocates, National Board Representative (2018-2022)
• Honorary Alumnus at University of Houston Law Center (2022)

Biography

Attorney General Jeff Sessions appointed Stuart D. Alcorn, J.D., to begin hearing cases as a United States Immigration Judge in August 2018. He will retire at the end of 2025 after nearly 32 years in federal service.

From 2008 to 2018, Alcorn served as Assistant Chief Counsel for Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Department of Homeland Security in San Antonio, Texas. He was assigned the additional duty of a Special Assistant United States Attorney in Brownsville, Texas, from 2010 to 2012. From 2008 to 2017, he also served as a military defense attorney in the Judge Advocate General’s (JAG) Corps, U.S. Army Reserve. Prior to his reserve time, he was a military prosecutor and command judge advocate in the JAG Corps at Fort Benning, Georgia from 2005 to 2008.

In addition to military duties, he served as a Special Assistant U.S. Attorney in the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Columbus, Georgia. In 2004, he was a law clerk for former United States Attorney Ron Woods’ legal practice in Houston. From 2002 to 2004, he was a student clerk in the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Houston. Prior to law school, Judge Alcorn served as a United States Border Patrol Agent in the Laredo, Texas, Sector. He was also an enlisted soldier in the U.S. Army from 1988 to 1991, and he was stationed in Fulda, West Germany, when the Berlin Wall fell and Germany was reunited. Alcorn is a member of the State Bar of Texas.

Biography

Matthew Aaron Ford, J.D., is a partner at Ford O’Brien Landy LLP, where he represents clients in complex criminal and civil matters, with a focus on white-collar criminal defense, regulatory enforcement, and securities and cyber-fraud litigation. Drawing on extensive experience in both federal and state courts, Ford is known for his ability to translate intricate legal and factual issues into clear, persuasive advocacy that achieves favorable results for his clients.

Ford’s representative matters include securing a full acquittal for a hedge fund CFO after a nine-week federal jury trial, obtaining dismissal of a $17 million federal “pump and dump” indictment, and achieving vacatur of multi-million-dollar disgorgement and judgment awards in the Second Circuit Court of Appeals. He has also represented clients in high-stakes SEC enforcement actions, health care fraud prosecutions, and internal investigations involving cyber-fraud and fiduciary misconduct.

Before joining Ford O’Brien Landy LLP, Ford practiced at Cahill Gordon & Reindel LLP, where he was part of teams representing major financial institutions and corporate executives in complex commercial and securities litigation. His work included a favorable settlement exceeding $20 million in an executive compensation dispute and the successful defense of multi-billion-dollar securities fraud cases arising from the 2008 financial crisis.

Ford earned his J.D. from St. John’s University School of Law, where he served as an editor of the St. John’s Law Review, and his B.A. from The Evergreen State College, concentrating in philosophy and economics.

Outside of his legal practice, Ford is an accomplished musician and visual artist, performing and recording as a studio musician, practicing traditional film photography, and painting in oil and watercolor.

Honors and Awards

• Selected to Rising Stars by Super Lawyers, 2020 – 2024