Samantha M. Ferguson founded Legal Services International, LLC ("LSI") in order to address the growing demand for affordable yet high quality legal services for business clients of all sizes. Through LSI, Ms. Ferguson provides strategic legal guidance and practical solutions tailored to suit your business model.
Prior to forming LSI, Ms. Ferguson served as an in-house attorney for Sempra Energy Solutions LLC, a Fortune 500 energy company in the United States that is part of a joint venture between the Royal Bank of Scotland plc and Sempra Energy. In this position, Ms. Ferguson drafted and negotiated commercial terms and conditions in furtherance of executing energy sales transactions with public and private U.S. companies while providing general and transactional legal support on a wide variety of matters. In addition to day-to-day legal guidance, Ms. Ferguson implemented and instructed legal training course for all new sales representatives in her internal client group.
Prior to joining Sempra Energy Solutions LLC, Ms. Ferguson was a contract attorney for Suez Energy Resources NA, Inc (now GDF SUEZ Energy Resources NA), the third largest and fastest growing retail electricity company in North America. In this position, in addition to negotiating and drafting commercial terms and conditions, Ms. Ferguson provided direction and support to internal client groups on matters ranging from contractual provisions and marketing materials to researching state laws and private sector regulatory and compliance issues.
Prior to joining GDF Suez Energy Resources NA, Ms. Ferguson held three different legal positions with Enron Corp., which was at the time a Fortune 500 company and one of the world's leading natural gas, pulp and paper, broadband and communications companies prior to its bankruptcy in 2001. Ms. Ferguson began her legal career at Enron as a legal intern in 1999 and gained a vast amount of knowledge from assisting in projects and attending meetings with her mentor, V.P. and General Counsel. Just shy of two years later, Ms. Ferguson resigned in order to focus on her last year of law school. Despite Enron's bankruptcy, upon graduation Ms. Ferguson returned as a legal specialist while awaiting licensure from the Texas State Bar (which was delayed due to her Canadian citizenship) and upon licensure, Ms. Ferguson became a contract attorney. In this position, Ms. Ferguson analyzed various sales and service contracts and gained extensive knowledge of the corporate bankruptcy process while negotiating inbound settlements.
Ms. Ferguson's other relevant experience includes work as a Senior Contracts Manager for BMC Software, a leader in IT Business Service Management. In this position, Ms. Ferguson drafted and negotiated multi-million dollar software license, maintenance and professional services agreements.
Ms. Ferguson graduated from Centennial College, a Canadian college in Toronto, Ontario in 1994. It was while working at the corporate office of the Toronto Dominion Bank (now TD Securities) for two years as a trade confirmation officer working closely with the legal department that Ms. Ferguson decided to move to the United States to pursue her goal of becoming a lawyer. Ms. Ferguson went on to graduate from Nova Southeastern University in 1999, earning her Bachelor of Science, and then graduated from South Texas College of Law in 2002 where she was a published member of the Currents international Trade Law Journal. Ms. Ferguson is a member of the State Bar of Texas, licensed to practice law in Texas.
phone: 1.877.574.3388 Ext. 1 | e-mail: samantha.ferguson [at] legalservicesinternational.com
Jaime E. Rocha, Of Counsel, provides legal services to small business owners and entrepreneurs. His areas of practice include business formations, contract law and intellectual property. Mr. Rocha works with business owners and serves their legal needs during the important times of growth and change in their business. Business owners can expect to receive legal and consultative services during the business formation stage. The pros and cons of each business structure (Corporation, Limited Liability Company, General and Limited Partnerships etc.) are discussed with the client so that the custom fit for each client’s need is found. In addition, clients typically need help during the business operation stage. Mr. Rocha regularly serves clients by drafting or reviewing business operation contracts (supplier, vendor, distribution, services contracts, goods contracts).
Mr.
Rocha practiced intellectual
property litigation in the
Mr.
Rocha has experience in dealing
with lawsuits related to breaches of contract, real estate conflicts,
trade
secrets misappropriation and non-compete clauses all of which make him
an asset
in contractual drafting.
Mr.
Rocha currently sits on the
Hispanic Business Network Advisory Board. He is a past director of the
Rice
Engineering Alumni Board of Directors and served as the chairman of the
New
Members committee. He is also a member of the Rice University Houston
2.0
steering committee. In
addition, he
donates his time and service to local charities. He
has also participated in the BP MS150 bike
ride from
Mr.
Rocha was raised in
phone: 1.877.574.3388 | e-mail: jaime.rocha [at] legalservicesinternational.com
Cheryl H. Cannon, Of Counsel, concentrates her practice on corporate law matters, including business combinations, general corporate governance issues, formation of business entities and the preparation of organizational documents.
Prior to, and concurrent with joining Legal Services International, Ms. Cannon is a contract attorney with Merrill Lynch Global Commodities, a leading global commodities trading firm. At Merrill Lynch, Ms. Cannon handles client Federal Energy Regulatory Commission inquiries by reviewing and auditing Merrill Lynch's various energy and financial agreements.
Prior to her position with Merrill Lynch, Ms. Cannon served as a contract attorney for Baran Telecom a global provider of engineering, technology, and construction for telecommunication projects. During her time with Baran Telecom, Ms. Cannon reviewed local zoning laws in order to provide guidance to Baran Telecom on the construction of cellular towers. Ms. Cannon also reviewed and negotiated various real estate agreements, including real property leases.
Prior to joining Baran Telecom, Ms. Cannon was a contract attorney with Enron Corp. during its bankruptcy, one of the largest and most complex bankruptcies in U.S. history. In this position, Ms. Cannon reconciled claims filed against the Enron estate by making a determination of potential liability to each creditor and utilized the information to negotiate inbound settlements. Ms. Cannon also ensured the responsiveness of answers to government subpoenas while assisting outside counsel in the preparation of filings for the Bankruptcy Court.
Prior to joining Enron, Ms. Cannon served as a contract attorney with J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. where she provided consultation for personal trust accounts in furtherance of Chase's duties as corporate trustee. In this position, Ms. Cannon was also responsible for providing written opinions concerning distributions for corporate trust accounts.
Prior to joining J.P. Morgan Chase & Co., Ms. Cannon was a private practice bankruptcy attorney for Barrett Burke Wilson, were she provided legal counsel and services on a variety of bankruptcy matters.
Ms. Cannon graduated from the University of Texas in 1988, earning her Bachelor of Interdisciplinary Studies and received her Juris Doctorate from South Texas College of Law in 1995. Ms. Cannon is licensed to practice law in the state of Texas.
phone: 1.877.574.3388 | e-mail: cheryl.cannon [at] legalservicesinternational.com