David Aaron DeSoto is a Senior Associate Attorney / Arbitrator / Mediator at Mann Law Firm PLLC. As a mediator, David has assisted hundreds of people in resolving their disputes in an extensive array of civil matters, including medical billing, property disputes, personal injury, probate, automobile accidents, commercial real estate, employment discrimination, commercial and residential repair, debt collection, divorce, child custody and visitation, and pre-divorce structured dissolution. As an arbitrator, David regularly presides over a diverse variety of complex matters, including taxation, consumer law, medical billing, and securities. David also sits as an Independent Hearing Officer for the Texas Workforce Commission, hearing cases involving the vocational rehabilitation and blind enterprises programs. He is a frequent speaker at continuing legal education seminars throughout Texas and has authored dozens of legal education articles on a multitude of topics, including bankruptcy, mediation, and arbitration. David is licensed to practice law in all Texas federal district courts, the United States Tax Court, and the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. He is a certified mediator and has met the requirements of Chapter 154.052 (a) and (b) of the Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code and is credentialed as a Distinguished Mediator by the Texas Mediator Credentialing Association (TMCA). David is an active member of the Alternative Dispute Resolution Section of the Houston Bar Association and the Texas Association of Mediators, regularly serves as a volunteer mediator with the Dispute Resolution Center (DRC) for Harris County, and also assists in educating, training, and mentoring new mediators.

• Arbitration
• Bankruptcy
• Business / Commercial Law
• Custody & Divorce
• Family Law
• Health Systems
• Mediation
• Personal Injury & Torts
• Real Estate

• J.D., Texas Tech University School of Law
• B.A. in History, University of Texas at San Antonio
• A.A. in History, San Antonio College

ADMISSIONS TO PRACTICE:

• State of Texas, 1994
• Federal Courts of the Western District of Texas, 1995
• Federal Courts of the Southern District of Texas, 1997
• United States Tax Court, 2005
  Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, 2005
• Federal Courts of the Eastern District of Texas, 2006
• Federal Courts of the Northern District of Texas, 2006

MEDIATION AND ARBITRATION ACCREDITATIONS:

• Credentialed Distinguished Mediator, Texas Mediation Credentialing Association, 2023
• Certificate in International Arbitration, A.A.White Dispute Resolution Institute, 2018
• Certified Family Law Mediator, Dispute Resolution Center of Harris County, 2014
• Certified Mediator, Dispute Resolution Center of Harris County, 2013

MEDIATION AND ARBITRATION ROSTERS:

• Arbitrator, American Arbitration Association consumer panel, 2021 – Present
• Arbitrator, Virginia Bureau of Insurance roster for medical billing claims, 2021 – Present
• Arbitrator, Texas Department of Insurance roster for medical billing claims, 2020 – Present
• Independent Hearing Officer and Mediator, Texas Workforce Commission roster for Vocational
  Rehabilitation Appeals, 2020 – Present
• Independent Hearing Officer and Mediator, Texas Workforce Commission roster for hearings
  under the Business Enterprises of Texas program, 2020 – Present
• Arbitrator, National Futures Association, 2019 – Present
• Arbitrator, Better Business Bureau of Greater Houston and South Texas, 2019 – Present
• Mediator, State Office of Administrative Hearings, Balance Medical Billing, 2018 – Present

PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATIONS:

• Member: College of the State Bar of Texas (Fellow); Phi Delta Phi; ADR Section of the Harris
  County Bar Association; Texas Association of Mediators; Bankruptcy Section of the State Bar of
  Texas; Texas Mediation Credentialing Association; National Association of Hearing Officials

POSITIONS OF DISTINCTION:

• Course Director, 26th Annual State Bar Advanced Consumer Bankruptcy Course (2010).
• Planning Committee Member, 25th and 27th Annual State Bar Advanced Consumer Bankruptcy
  Courses (2009 and 2011).
• Drafting Committee, Bankruptcy Local Rules for the Western District of Texas (2004).

VOLUNTEER ACTIVITIES:

• Volunteer Mediator, Harris County Dispute Resolution Center, 2013 to Present
• Mediator Trainer, Harris County Dispute Resolution Center, 2015 to Present
• Mediator Trainer, Central Texas Dispute Resolution Center, 2023
• Mentor, Moller/Foltz Bankruptcy Inns of Court Student Mentoring Program, 2014 to 2019
• Volunteer, Houston Bar Association Veterans Legal Clinic, 2014 to Present
• Judge, Jeffrey S. Abrams National Mediation Competition, 2016 to Present
• Judge, Tom Newhouse National Mediation Competition, 2015 to Present
• Judge, American Bar Association Arbitration Competition, 2020
• State Bar of Texas Veteran’s History Project, 2012

LAW AND ADR RELATED PUBLICATIONS AND CONFERENCES:

• Author of over three dozen continuing legal education conference papers, one law review article,
  and a half-dozen ADR conference papers and training guides. Moderator, panelist, and speaker at dozens of law and ADR conferences and mediation training events. List provided on request.

• Harris County Texas
• All Regions of Texas

• English