Hon. Dena Hanovice Palermo
United States Magistrate Judge for the Southern District of Texas
Dena Hanovice Palermo is a Magistrate Judge on the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas, Houston Division. Following her graduation from Boston University School of Law, magna cum laude, a distinguished scholar, and editor of the Law Review, she moved to Houston to clerk for the late Chief Judge John Singleton of the Southern District of Texas. In private practice, Judge Palermo was a litigation partner at both Vinson & Elkins and later Andrews Kurth and practiced at Mayer Brown between her tenure at VE and AK. Most recently, she was co-chair of Andrews Kurth’s Securities Enforcement and White-Collar Crime practice group.
Currently, Judge Palermo is the Magistrate Judge Observer to the Fifth Circuit Judicial Council. She is a on the Southern District of Texas Facilities Committee, which deals with security of the federal courthouse, and is a member of the Federal Magistrate Judges Association (“FMJA”) Security Committee, which also deals with judicial security. In addition, Judge Palermo is the Chair of the FMJA’s Title Committee and has been an editor for the FMJA Bulletin for the past three years. She is also on the district court’s CJA Committee, which selects and renews appointments to the court’s panel of criminal attorneys. Judge Palermo is a Judicial Liaison on the FBA Board.
Before taking the bench, Judge Palermo founded the Houston Bar Association’s mentor program in 1993 while on its Board of Directors and has spent her entire career mentoring lawyers. Recognizing that it is difficult for lawyers to get courtroom experience, Judge Palermo routinely conducts oral hearings on pending motions in her court and has a procedure to provide more speaking opportunities for women, minorities, and junior lawyers.
