James Bridge serves as the Chief Operating Officer and Firm Managing Attorney at Bailey & Galyen, one of the largest consumer law firms in Texas. A dedicated leader and experienced attorney, James has been instrumental in driving the firm’s success and overseeing its operations. James earned his undergraduate degree from Texas Christian University (TCU) and went on to graduate from Texas Wesleyan University School of Law in 1998. During law school, he demonstrated his leadership abilities as the President of the Student Bar Association and as the President of his legal fraternity. With a proven track record in litigation, James is a member of the prestigious Top 100 National Trial Lawyers Association. Over the course of his career, he has secured settlements totaling more than $100 million in net attorney fees during his many years practicing personal injury law.

For over two decades, Jacob Monty has successfully practiced at the intersection of immigration, labor, and employment laws. A nationally recognized authority on issues facing employers with large Hispanic workforces, Jacob has written not one, but two books on the topic and speaks regularly in English and Spanish on navigating labor and employment matters in industries with heightened immigration scrutiny. His clients include professional baseball teams, grocery store chains, single establishment and chain restaurants, and leading companies in the construction and facility maintenance fields. Jacob has been interviewed by major media outlets such as Fox News, CNN, and MSNBC regarding national immigration concerns. Jacob founded Monty & Ramirez LLP to offer an integrated approach to dealing with Hispanic workforces. He and his bilingual partners address all the critical aspects of employer advocacy, from immigration to union matters, workplace safety, and employment disputes. Jacob’s practice extends nationwide; he has represented employers in courts and government investigations in California, Illinois, New York, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Louisiana, and throughout Texas. Jacob has held presidential and gubernatorial appointments to the University of Houston Board of Regents, the Texas Private Security Board, the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, the Border Environment Cooperation Commission, and the North American Development Bank. Jacob is also active in civic and professional leadership. He serves as Outside Counsel for the Mexican Consulate in Houston, and chairs the Center for Latino Jewish Relations.

Daniel “Danny” Ramirez strategically represents public and private employers in labor, employment, and immigration matters. Danny’s successful track record includes providing sound advice to businesses on HR issues, representing employers during government investigations, and strategically defending companies, government agencies, and education institutions in litigation, arbitration, and appeals. He also regularly represents companies during high-stake ICE raids and helps them implement Form I-9 best practices. Danny’s clients include numerous McDonald’s, Walgreens, the Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County, Lone Star College, Houston Community College, and many small, mid-size and large privately-owned companies. As an alumni of The University of Texas Law School, Danny is a Board Certified Labor & Employment attorney that has been repeatedly honored with the title of Super Lawyer. Danny’s unique skill set allows him to aggressively defend his clients in litigation, while maintaining a strategic focus on the client’s best interests. Danny understands that litigation can create a substantial expense and distraction for many of his clients. Danny’s client-centric approach allows him to promptly identify his client’s needs and work towards obtaining swift, favorable dismissal of the case or resolution when necessary. Clients value that Danny is an experienced litigator that is able to offer proactive counseling and cost-effective solutions. As a 2nd generation U.S. Navy service member, Danny’s professional life and community activities reflect his commitment to service and hard work. Danny previously chaired the Harris County Sheriff’s Civil Service Commission and served as president of the Hispanic Bar Association of Houston, where he continues as a Board Member. Danny currently is a commissioner of the City of Houston’s Civil Service Commission. Danny has been awarded a Certificate of Special U.S. Congressional Recognition for his work on behalf of military families. He is an alumni of Leadership Houston and is often coaching his son in soccer.

Javier T. Duran is a Principal with the firm, graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Philosophy from Rice University in 1995, and his Doctor of Jurisprudence from The University of Texas School of Law in 1999. Prior to law school, Javier worked in residential construction repairing and remodeling homes in low-income neighborhoods. During his 20-year career, Javier T. Duran has first-chaired felony jury trials as a Bexar County Criminal Assistant District Attorney. Javier’s legal expertise also spans an impressive array of substantive areas. He has worked with complex, multi-party, and multi-district litigations, and his practice areas emphasize representing businesses and individuals in employment, business litigation, personal injury, and products liability. Javier also has experience representing the transportation industry and major retailers.

Nadine Ona is originally from Houston, graduated from Texas Tech, and joined Germer in 2017. While at Tech, she served as editor for the Business & Bankruptcy Law Journal and the Texas Bank Lawyer. She also interned for a federal judge in the Eastern District of Texas—Beaumont Division and a justice at the First Court of Appeals in Houston. She has been recognized as a Texas Super Lawyer Rising Star, a Thompson Reuters publication, in 2025. Nadine is licensed in Texas and Louisiana, and practices primarily in the areas of personal injury defense and civil litigation.

Tiffany Pham is a Principal at Germer’s Houston Office, where she represents clients across Texas in labor, employment, and civil rights matters. Her practice encompasses the full spectrum of employment law, including discrimination claims, hostile work environment cases, wage disputes, and wrongful termination suits. She represents both public and private employers before state and federal courts and administrative agencies. She also advises and represents governmental entities and elected and appointed officials in civil rights matters. She has successfully defended cases involving First Amendment retaliation, excessive force, wrongful arrest, jail assaults, and jail death matters. Tiffany analyzes each case’s unique circumstances to develop tailored solutions that advance client interests while minimizing risk. She consistently delivers practical, results-oriented counsel that helps clients navigate legal challenges efficiently and effectively. She has been recognized as a Texas Super Lawyer Rising Star, a Thompson Reuters publication, in 2025.

Carmen Jo Rejda-Ponce (“CJ”) is a Principal in Germer’s Houston office, but her practice takes her all across Texas. She regularly counsels and defends both private and public sector clients on matters involving employment issues and civil (constitutional) rights. She handles matters from the pre-claim and pre-suit stage, through litigation, and through appeal. She is Board Certified in Labor and Employment Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization. CJ focuses on a broad range of labor and employment litigation, including, discrimination, harassment, hostile work environment, retaliation, disability accommodation, workers’ compensation retaliation, on-the-job injuries, and wage and hour issues. She has represented private and public sector clients in employment-related disputes before federal and state courts, federal and state administrative agencies, and arbitrators. CJ counsels private and public sector employers on labor and employment concerns, including, addressing medical leave, developing and revising workplace policies and procedures, investigating and addressing employee complaints, conducting employee disciplines and terminations, drafting employment, separation, and other agreements, and determining proactive solutions to workplace problems while avoiding litigation. CJ also defends public sector clients —including counties, cities, and law enforcement officers— in a variety of civil rights matters, including defense of first amendment retaliation, excessive force, wrongful arrest, inmate medical care, and jail death matters. Many of these civil rights matters involve qualified immunity issues for law enforcement officers. Through her civil rights defense work, CJ has gained appellate experience. She has handled multiple federal and state appeals. She has successfully argued for her clients twice before the Fifth Circuit, and is looking forward to more opportunities. CJ also has experience with personal injury litigation, including on-the job-injuries, motor vehicle accidents, and negligence claims against public entities. CJ’s private practice experience includes Baker Botts LLP and Reed Smith LLP. CJ also previously served as an Assistant City Attorney for the City of Houston in Labor, Employment, and Civil Rights Division. She was also a registered lobbyist during the 2013 Regular Session of the Texas Legislature.

Larry J. Simmons, Jr., a principal in the firm, has tried dozens of cases as lead attorney in a variety of commercial, employment, civil rights and personal injury lawsuits. Larry is one of only seven Texas attorneys double Board Certified as a Specialist in Labor & Employment Law (2005) and Personal Injury Trial Law (1999) by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization. Larry is AV rated by Martindale-Hubbell. He has been recognized as a “Texas Super Lawyer”, a Thompson Reuters publication, in 2007, 2010-2020, and 2022-2025. In 2015, he was recognized in the Top 100 Houston Super Lawyers List, a Thompson Reuters publication. Larry is a member of the American Board of Trial Advocates, and is also listed in the 2010-2022 editions of The Best Lawyers in America, by BL Rankings. Larry represents dozens of public and private sector employers in a variety of matters, ranging from consultation to trial work, including general litigation, discrimination, wrongful termination and wage & hour class action cases. Larry also represents public sector clients in a variety of civil rights matters, including defending excessive force, inmate medical care and jail death cases, many of which have received national media attention. Larry graduated in the top five percent of his Baylor Law School class, receiving his Doctor of Jurisprudence degree, cum laude. While in law school he held several positions with the Baylor Law Review including Executive Editor, Research & Topics Editor and Notes & Comments Editor. He was elected to the Baylor Order of Barristers. He was selected as a Top Ten Speaker in Moot Court and was awarded an Academic Merit Scholarship. Prior to law school, Larry obtained a Bachelor of Science degree, magna cum laude, from Lamar University and a Masters degree in Engineering Management from Southern Methodist University. Larry is an active member of the local business community, currently serving on the state and local boards of multiple employer associations. He is also a member of the State Bar of Texas Labor & Employment Section, and Texas Association of Defense Counsel. He is admitted to practice before Texas courts, and the United States District Court for the Eastern, Southern and Western Districts of Texas. Larry has been a principal with Germer since January 1997.

Gennaro Of Counsel to the San Antonio office with nearly two decades of experience as an attorney and investigator. After several years away from San Antonio, he feels privileged to have the opportunity to work with and help in anyway the city’s growing and diverse immigrant community. Gennaro earned his bachelor’s degree from the University of Texas at Austin and received a full academic scholarship from Ave Maria Law School in Ann Arbor Michigan, where he earned his Juris Doctorate degree. He is a member of the Florida and Texas state bars and has practiced at both the state and federal level. In many of his cases, he has had the honor of fighting for the labor rights of immigrants on an individual and collective basis. In his spare time, when he can, Gennaro enjoys traveling to visit family and friends

Ryan C. Bueche is the rare combination of a lead trial attorney and a lead appellate attorney. Prior to entering private practice, Ryan worked for four different federal judges in the United States Western District of Texas. While in law school, Ryan completed a nine-month federal internship with United States District Judge Walter Smith in Waco. After graduating from law school in 2008, Ryan worked as a Federal Law Clerk for United States District Judge Orlando Garcia in San Antonio, and from 2008 until 2011, Ryan served as a Federal Briefing Attorney to United States District Judge James R. Nowlin in Austin. Upon completing those three federal clerkships in 2011, Ryan joined Germer’s Austin office, and he was elected to be a Principal in 2015. Since joining Germer, Ryan has focused his private practice on trial litigation and appellate litigation, and he specializes in defending companies and individuals in lawsuits involving product liability, intellectual property, personal injury, insurance coverage, complex business disputes, and employment disputes. In his role as a trial attorney, Ryan is licensed to practice in all State and federal trial courts in Texas, and he is also licensed to practice before the United States District Courts in Michigan and Indiana. Ryan has successfully tried multiple cases to verdict as lead trial counsel. In all of those cases, the plaintiff was seeking to recover seven-figure damages from Ryan’s clients, and all of the juries in those cases returned favorable verdicts for his clients. Ryan has also worked on larger litigation teams in “bet-the-company” lawsuits, including a case that resulted in a defense verdict for Ryan’s client in which the plaintiff asked the jury to award the plaintiff more than $1 Billion. Ryan also regularly serves as lead counsel in administrative proceedings, including contested hearings before the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles. As an appellate attorney, Ryan has successfully briefed and argued numerous appeals as lead appellate counsel in State and Federal appellate courts. Within several months of entering private practice in 2011, Ryan served as lead appellate counsel before the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, and the Fifth Circuit issued an opinion in favor of Ryan’s client. Since 2012, Ryan has continued to regularly serve as lead appellate counsel for purposes of briefing and oral argument in numerous State and federal courts of appeals, including appeals to the following courts: • The United States Fourth Court of Appeals • The United States Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals • The United States Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals • The Texas Third Court of Appeals • The Texas Fourth Court of Appeals • The Texas Fifth Court of Appeals • The Texas Eighth Court of Appeals • The Texas Tenth Court of Appeals • The Texas Supreme Court Most recently, at the end of 2023, Ryan was lead appellate counsel in an appeal in which the Texas Supreme Court granted a Petition for Review and issued a ruling in favor of Ryan’s client, which is something that occurs is less than 6% of cases. Ryan’s broad appellate experience includes handling appeals involving product liability, commercial disputes, employment disputes, spoliation disputes, jurisdictional disputes, Anti-SLAPP disputes, and insurance disputes. Ryan also regularly serves as appellate support counsel for trials in State and federal court. For all of that work before trial and appellate courts, Ryan was given the honor of the Texas Super Lawyer Rising Star in 2017, 2018, and 2019, which is an award that is limited to 3% of attorneys under the age of 40.