Samantha Kherkher Ernst - Houston, TX

Samantha Kherkher Ernst is an Associate Attorney at Kherkher Garcia. With a family history in law, and nearly a decade of experience herself, Samantha brings a strong sense of advocacy to our clients and cases. Before joining Kherkher Garcia, Samantha practiced in the Houston office of an Am Law 100 firm specializing in the energy, technology, and finance sectors. When her husband’s medical residency moved their family to Wichita, Samantha also became licensed to practice law in Kansas. She joined the largest law firm in the state as a business attorney specializing in supply chain matters for manufacturing clients, primarily in the aerospace industry.

While Samantha remains in Kansas with her husband and five children, she enjoys using her legal writing abilities and skill set to assist the Kherkher Garcia team in advocating for its clients.

Growing up in a family of hardworking attorneys, Samantha often felt she was destined to become a lawyer herself. Her early memories include volunteering to play a lawyer in a mock trial at St. Vincent de Paul Catholic School in Houston, Texas; watching her mother successfully advocate against the injustice of “expired gift cards” at a popular ’90s video store; and flying to Pennsylvania to watch her father, Steve Kherkher, in action as he tried cases against a major pharmaceutical company, including one that resulted in a $200 million verdict in 2005.

Although Samantha’s experience in the courtroom began at a very young age and was further fostered by Mr. Miles’ Trial Advocacy Team for Harvard Model Congress during her time at St. Agnes Academy, she wanted to make sure she was paving her own path rather than choosing to practice law by default.

As Samantha’s college sweetheart and husband of more than 10 years has been known to say about choosing a college major: “Business, if you know what you want to do. And business, if you don’t.” That mentality ultimately led Samantha to the McCombs School of Business at The University of Texas at Austin, where she earned a Bachelor of Business Administration in Supply Chain Management in 2014.

She was first introduced to supply chain management as a sophomore in college, when she had the incredible opportunity to follow Target Corporation’s global supply chain upstream. From walking through a Target store in Austin, Texas, to touring factories in the Guangzhou region of China, Samantha witnessed firsthand the full process and complex challenges involved in supply chain management.

That experience led her to intern in the procurement department of a Fortune 100 oil and gas company in Bartlesville, Oklahoma, and ultimately to accept a full-time procurement position at the company’s Houston office following graduation.

During her time at Phillips 66, Samantha’s desire to become a lawyer grew stronger. Soon enough, she found herself enrolled at her parents’ alma mater, South Texas College of Law Houston.

Samantha earned her Juris Doctor, magna cum laude, from South Texas College of Law Houston in 2018 and was admitted to the State Bar of Texas later that year. During law school, she distinguished herself through academic achievement, leadership, and advocacy. She served on the South Texas Law Review, including as Assistant Executive Editor and Assistant Editor-in-Chief; earned CALI Awards in both Legal Research and Writing I and II; and received the Dean’s Citizenship Award.

Samantha also participated in South Texas’s nationally recognized advocacy program, competing in mock trial and serving as a brief writer for the August A. Rendigs National Products Liability Moot Court Competition.

Outside the classroom, she gained practical litigation experience through a judicial internship with U.S. District Judge David Hittner in the Southern District of Texas and summer positions with Houston plaintiffs’ firms Abraham Watkins and Tracey & Fox. She also served on the board of directors of the Houston Young Lawyers Association.

Outside of work, Samantha is an active parishioner at her church. She also enjoys the fellowship of her Well-Read Mom book club and the quality literature they read each month. Most of all, she looks forward to sitting down for dinner with her family every day.