2022-2023 Officers
Nikki earned her BA from Texas Wesleyan University, a Master’s in Organizational Leadership in Public Service/Non-Profit from Quinnipiac University, and her J.D. from Texas A&M Law School, formerly known as Texas Wesleyan School of Law. Nikki joined Foster & Foster as their Senior Legal Counsel in September 2020. Her primary focus is employment law and ERISA compliance. Before joining Foster & Foster, Nikki was in-house ERISA Counsel and Vice President of Employee Benefits Compliance for a large brokerage and consulting firm where she was responsible for all aspects of legal compliance affecting employee benefit plans, including compliance with ERISA, ACA, COBRA, HIPAA, FMLA, MHPAEA, Internal Revenue Code taxation issues and other federal and state laws affecting employee benefit plans. Nikki is also currently a part-time advocacy instructor for Texas A&M School of Law where she coaches the moot court advocacy teams.
Nikki is a member of the State Bar of Texas, Texas Bar College, and American Bar Association. She is also admitted to practice before the U.S. District Court, Northern District of Texas, and the Supreme Court of the United States. She has served in various leadership roles for the African American Lawyer Section of the State Bar of Texas (AALS) and is a past president of the L. Clifford Davis Legal Association. She is a former associate member of the Eldon Mahon Inns of Court and executive board member of United Way.
When not at work or serving within the community in a legal capacity, Nikki is an active member at Dayspring Family Church in Irving Texas and enjoys spending time with her family and friends, watching movies, and singing. Using her life as an example, Nikki actively seeks out and supports many nonprofit organizations and serves as a mentor, life coach, and provides assistance to at-risk youth and teenage mothers seeking assistance with educational needs including grants and support for secondary education.
Attorney Artessia “Tess” House
Attorney Artessia K. House manages Tess House Law, PLLC in San Antonio, Texas. Tess House Law, PLLC’s mission is to speak for those unable to speak from themselves. The firm represents victims in federal civil rights cases. On the local level, the firm represents children and parents in suits filed by the government and private family law matters along with litigating contested divorce and custody suits.
Born the eldest of four children in San Antonio, Texas, Attorney House earned a B.A. in Political Science from St. Mary’s University. Ms. House went on to earn a Texas Educator Certificate after fulfilling the requirements of the state of Texas and the regulations of the State Board for Educator Certification. She later earned her J.D. from St. Mary’s University School of Law.
During her undergraduate and post-undergraduate years, Ms. House served on the National Executive Board for Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. as the Southwest Regional Representative and managed chapters in Texas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Arkansas, and Jamaica. Ms. House monitored issues pertaining to the use and security of intellectual property, investigated reports of hazing violations, and drafted disciplinary recommendations. She started her professional career as a teacher for San Antonio Independent School District. As a teacher, she established and maintained excellent working relationships with parents and students through consistent demonstration of professionalism, preparedness, and work ethic. She also demonstrated sound knowledge of state rules and procedures. While serving the community as a teacher, Ms. House decided to fulfill her dream of becoming an attorney. From there she attended St. Mary’s University School of Law where she served as Symposium Editor for The Scholar: St. Mary's Law Review on Race and Social Justice and organized one of the publication's largest Immigration Law CLE events which educated the public on topics such as the Defense of Marriage Act and sentencing advocacy for immigrants in federal court. In addition to her editorial duties, Ms. House interned for the Office of General Counsel for the United States Department of Veteran Affairs.
Attorney House is a proud alum of Leadership State Bar of Texas and has served on the State Bar of Texas Child Abuse and Neglect Committee. She is an active member of the African America Lawyers Section of the State Bar of Texas and is President of the San Antonio Black Lawyers Association. Artessia House was recognized as a “40 under 40” by the San Antonio Business Journal for top business leaders in the city.
Ebony R. Rivon is the Managing Attorney of the Rivon Law Firm, PLLC, which specializes in family law in DFW Metroplex. She received her Juris Doctorate from Georgetown Law. Ebony is a Past-Chair of the Dallas Bar Association Family Law Section and a member of the Annette Stewart Inn of Court. In 2018, Ebony served as the Chair of the African-American Lawyer Section for the State Bar of Texas. In 2015, she was the President of the J. L. Turner Legal Association in Dallas, Texas.
In 2022, Ebony was selected a D Magazine Best Lawyer, Texas Monthly Top 100 Up-and-Coming Lawyer and Top 50 Women Attorneys. The Rivon Law Firm has been recognized as one of the Best Firms in Family Law by Best Lawyers Magazine for the past four years.
Ebony is also a licensed civil and family law mediator, parenting facilitator and Collaborative Law trained attorney.
Nekketta M. Archie, Esq. is the Founding Attorney and Principal of Archie Law PLLC. A transplant from the West Texas Panhandle, Attorney Archie’s humble upbringing has kept her grounded, focused and true to self. She is a member of the State Bar of Texas, American Bar Association, National Bar Association, Houston Lawyers Association and the Texas Creditors Bar Association.
Attorney Archie currently serves as Treasurer of the African American Lawyers Section of the State Bar of Texas and is also a member of the Bankruptcy Section, Commercial Lawyers Section and the Women of Law Section of the State Bar of Texas.
Attorney Archie is a proud graduate of Texas Southern University – Thurgood Marshall School of Law (TMSL ’17) and earned her undergraduate degree in Political Science from The Grambling State University. During her time at TMSL, Attorney Archie was Vice President of the Student Bar Association, was a published author and scholar, and served as Associate Editor of Thurgood Marshall Law Review. Most notably, Attorney Archie was honored with the Outstanding Oral Advocate Award in 2017 at the Duberstein Bankruptcy Moot Court Competition at St. John’s University.
Attorney Archie serves on the Board of The Unforgotten First Foundation (TUFF), a non- profit committed to mentor and educate young African American men through leadership and development programs. Attorney Archie currently serves as the Vice President of the DLW Houston Chapter of Grambling University Alumni Association and is the Chair of the Special Projects Committee for Grambling University National Alumni Association. Attorney Archie is also a proud member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.
Paul K. Stafford is the 2021-’22 Chair of the State Bar of Texas African American Lawyers Section.
Paul is a licensed attorney who received his B.S. (Political Science, minor in Economics) from Texas A&M University in 1990, and his J.D. from Texas Tech School of Law in 1994. He is admitted to the State Bar of Texas, all four U.S. District Courts in Texas (Northern, Southern, Eastern, and Western), the U.S. District Court for Northern District of California, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, and the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals.
Paul currently serves as founder and managing partner of STAFFORD LAW FIRM, P.C., a majority/minority owned litigation and corporate boutique. Paul focuses his practice primarily on civil litigation, torts, complex commercial and business litigation, and insurance policyholder and coverage litigation; he also has experience in data privacy & cyber-security matters, intellectual property and technology litigation, labor and employment, and corporate matters. He previously served as an Assistant Criminal District Attorney in Denton and Dallas Counties; studied at La Escuela de Idioma de Francisco Marroquin, Antigua, Guatemala; was Trial Counsel for Farmers Insurance Group and Zurich North America; and practiced at Hughes & Luce LLP (which merged with K&L Gates) and Thompson & Knight., LLP. Paul also serves as an Adjunct Professor at Texas Tech University School of Law and Texas A&M University School of Law.
During his career, Paul has tried more than 200 cases to verdict, including approximately 100 criminal cases and approximately 100 civil cases. Paul has successfully represented numerous parties in multi-million dollar complex civil and criminal litigation throughout Texas and the nation, is a frequent speaker and lecturer, and has written and presented numerous articles, papers, and CLE presentations on insurance, e-discovery, cyber-security and litigation. For over two decades, Paul has been recognized by his peers as a Texas Monthly Super Lawyer, Texas Lawyer Top Commercial Litigator, and among D-Magazine’s Best Lawyers in Dallas. Paul is also a previous recipient of the AALS Trailblazer Award (2014).
Paul is a Past-President of the Dallas Bar Association (2012) and the J.L. Turner Legal Association (2002), and previously served on the Boards of the Dallas Bar Foundation, Texas A&M University Association of Former Students, and the German Marshall Fund of the United States. Paul currently serves on the Boards of Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Dallas, the J.L. Turner Legal Association Foundation, the State Bar of Texas Insurance Law Section, and Texas Tech University School of Law.
Paul is also a strong supporter of the arts – including the Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing & Visual Arts (Advisory Board; Mock Trial Coach), the Dallas Black Dance Theatre, the Dallas Museum of Art, and the Dallas Symphony Orchestra (Board of Governors, Corporate Committee, and the Diversity Equity & Inclusion Committee).