ATTORNEYS
Dean G. Pappas
Board Certified in Workers’ Compensation Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization
For more than 30 years Dean G. Pappas has represented insurance providers under the Texas Workers’ Compensation Act at both the administrative and district court level. Mr. Pappas’ commitment to clients in the insurance industry and his knowledge of Texas workers’ compensation law are the cornerstones of his practice.
Mr. Pappas has an extensive trial docket and specializes in defending employers’ liability, workers’ compensation cases, non-subscriber claims and general liability cases in district courts throughout the state of Texas. Mr. Pappas has tried more than 100 cases before juries in Harris and neighboring counties. He reported the first jury verdict under the 1991 Texas Workers’ Compensation Act.
Mr. Pappas represents numerous insurance carriers and self-insured entities before the Texas Department of Insurance, Division of Workers’ Compensation (formerly the Texas Workers’ Compensation Commission). Mr. Pappas has handled hundreds of Contested Case Hearings before the Division of Workers’ Compensation. Mr. Pappas also has spoken at numerous seminars involving practice before the Division of Workers’ Compensation.
Mr. Pappas was born in Houston, Texas. He earned a B.A. in political science from the University of Houston in 1981. Mr. Pappas received his J.D. from South Texas College of Law in 1985. Mr. Pappas is a member of the Texas State Bar and also is admitted to practice in the U.S. District Court, Southern District of Texas.
Mary M. Markantonis
Mary M. Markantonis joined Dean G. Pappas Law Firm, PLLC shortly after the firm was created, bringing a wide array of experience in civil law. Ms. Markantonis’ knowledge of pre-trial and appellate procedure enhances her practice in the area of workers’ compensation law.
Ms. Markantonis began her legal career as a sole practitioner, handling a variety of civil and family law cases as well as transactional matters. Thereafter, she acted as general counsel to a local developer, concentrating in real estate, financing, labor management, property and business management areas of law.
Ms. Markantonis’ practice now largely consists of workers’ compensation related litigation, subrogation, general and premises liability defense, insurance defense, pre-trial procedure and appellate work. Ms. Markantonis has represented firm clients in Texas state courts, federal courts and before the Supreme Court of the United States.
Ms. Markantonis was born in Houston, Texas, and received a B.S. in mathematics from the University of Texas. She earned her J.D. from Southern Methodist University School of Law (now known as the Dedman School of Law) in 1977. Ms. Markantonis is a member of the Texas State Bar and also is admitted to practice before the U.S. District Court Southern District of Texas, U.S. District Court Eastern District of Texas, the Fifth Circuit of the United States Court of Appeals and the Supreme Court of the United States.
Marilyn J. Allen
Marilyn J. Allen is a licensed attorney with a unique background in both private practice and in government. Prior to joining Dean G. Pappas Law Firm, PLLC, Ms. Allen was a Hearing Officer for five years with the Texas Department of Insurance, Division of Workers’ Compensation presiding over hundreds of Contested Case Hearings on indemnity disputes arising under the Texas Workers’ Compensation Act.
Before her state service, Ms. Allen served as an assistant city attorney with the City of Houston Legal Department and was a member of the Forfeiture Abatement Support Team (F.A.S.T. Unit), a multi-agency initiative composed of police officers, neighborhood protection investigators and city attorneys which interfaced directly with neighborhood associations in order to prosecute common nuisances. In that position, Ms. Allen used civil litigation to shut down illegal enterprises that knowingly tolerated criminal activity.
Ms. Allen began her legal career in private practice and for eight years represented a wide variety of clients with matters concentrating in the areas of personal injury, insurance defense, commercial litigation, product’s liability, premises liability and workers’ compensation. Before attending law school, Ms. Allen was a police officer with the Houston Police Department for five years and worked as a patrol officer and an internal affairs investigator.
Ms. Allen was born in Lincoln, Nebraska and received a B.A. in Sociology from Purdue University Northwest. She earned her J.D. from Texas Southern University in 1999. Ms. Allen is a member of the Texas State Bar and the Houston Bar Association.
Lisa M. Teachey
Lisa M. Teachey returns to the Dean G. Pappas Law Firm, PLLC after serving as general counsel to the Harris County State District Judges for 13 years. Ms. Teachey’s practice focuses on pre-trial matters, litigation, appellate matters, defense of workers’ compensation disputes, judicial ethics, and criminal defense. She is a member of the Texas State Bar and the Texas Criminal Defense Lawyers Association.
As general counsel to the Harris County State District Courts, Ms. Teachey served as a sort of consigliere to the felony judges. She consulted with judges on difficult legal issues from pretrial through appeals. She was instrumental in developing court procedures to ensure due process and equal access to the courts. She also helped the legislature rewrite laws to improve the system of justice. For all 61 state district judges, Ms. Teachey provided legal advice on matters concerning the judiciary’s interaction with other local government entities.
Ms. Teachey’s expertise includes trial court procedures, rules of evidence, appellate procedure, recusal law, judicial ethics, judicial open records, judicial administration, contempt law, drafting court orders, criminal law, and criminal procedure. She continues to teach to judges and court staff across the state through the Texas Center for the Judiciary.
Before she received her J.D. from South Texas College of Law, Ms. Teachey was a journalist at the Houston Chronicle from 1992 to 2003, where she reported on local and national news including dozens of capital murder trials.
Ms. Teachey was born in Baton Rouge, La., and earned a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism – News Editorial from Louisiana State University.
Randi P. Capone
Randi obtained her B.A. in Psychology from The University of Texas at Austin in 2005 and shortly thereafter was an investigator for three years at the Texas Board of Nursing where she conducted investigations of complaints against nurses and assisted in adjudicating complaints. Randi obtained her J.D. from South Texas College of Law in 2011. While at South Texas she interned for a very prominent Criminal Defense and Civil Litigation firm in Houston and the Harris County District Attorney’s Office. Randi excelled in the school’s nationally renowned trial advocacy program and competed in numerous Moot Court and Mock Trial competitions. She was inducted into the prestigious Order of Barristers- a national honorary society for those who demonstrate extraordinary skills in the courtroom.
After law school, Randi began her career as a prosecutor with the Harris County District Attorney’s Office where she thrived for approximately ten years. At the DA’s office, Randi evaluated thousands of criminal cases and spent five years trying cases in juvenile, misdemeanor and felony courts. At the end of her tenure with the DA’s Office Randi focused on post-conviction legal work in the Conviction Integrity Division where she reviewed cases and re-investigated cases to determine if there was a colorable claim of actual innocence. Randi helped develop the office’s policies and procedures on reviewing actual innocence cases and worked closely with the defense bar, local laboratories, and innocence organizations nation-wide.
Randi joined Dean G. Pappas Law Firm, PLLC as a Contract Associate Attorney in the summer of 2023. She is a member of the Texas State Bar and the Houston Bar Association.
Anthony Walker
Anthony Walker brings nearly 30 years of workers’ compensation experience, including 24 years as an Ombudsman, trainer and Director with the Office of Injured Employee Counsel and Texas Workers Compensation Commission (now Division of Workers Compensation), as well as Bell Helicopter Textron and a private health care provider. Mr. Walker also has 15 years’ experience participating in proceedings before the State Office of Administrative Hearings assisting injured employees, health care providers and employers in compliance and practice and medical dispute resolution matters.
Mr. Walker assists clients in the firm’s Austin office. He handles a wide range of matters and issues before the Texas Department of Insurance, Division of Workers’ Compensation, including compliance & practice and medical dispute resolution. Mr. Walker oversees the filing of time-sensitive documents daily with the Division of Workers’ Compensation and the distribution of Division mail to clients.
Mr. Walker was born in Fort Worth, Texas, and has been a workers’ compensation professional since 1989.
