Daniela Peinado Welsh

Associate

Civil Litigation, Appellate Law, Technology, Fiduciary, Probate & Trust Litigation
DIRECT PHONE: 512-480-5607
DIRECT FAX: 512-480-5807
DOWNLOAD V-CARD DOWNLOAD BIO

About

Daniela is a trial and appellate lawyer with a commitment to service.  She generally helps businesses enforce their contracts and families enforce their wills.  This commercial and fiduciary law practice has involved disputes with $20K to $20M at issue, on all sides and at every level of the process.  She is licensed to practice law in Texas, California, and D.C.

Daniela’s objective of serving clients includes attention to being cost-effective and solution-oriented.  She thinks strategically before recommending a new phase of litigation.  But when appropriate, she has demonstrated success at every phase – from emergency orders, lis pendens, demands, pleadings, motions, hearings, depositions, discovery, settlements, jury trials, to class action and multidistrict litigation.  She has tried cases in federal court, state court, and arbitration.  Has later enforced or preserved her judgments through collections, bankruptcy, and appellate litigation.  And has proactively studied (and spoken on) evolving issues affecting her clients like artificial intelligence and the new Texas Business Court.  She finds that fostering relationships across the bench and bar leads to better outcomes and appreciates the opportunity to serve on various local boards.

Before joining the full-service litigation team at GDHM, Daniela had several formative experiences.  She worked for Fortune 5 companies at a global, white-shoe law firm.  She learned how to think like a judge during federal clerkships (apprenticeships).  And she attended Notre Dame Law School, where she was one of 10 students invited to join both Law Review and Moot Court.  She was also Co-President of the Hispanic Law Students Association.

Daniela credits her success and resolve to being a woman of faith and descendant of Bolivian immigrants.  She and her husband met about 15 years ago on a fateful bus ride from Barcelona to Madrid.  They are raising two spunky girls.

Professional Qualifications

She has the following credentials:

  • Education:
    • Notre Dame Law School (2018 Juris Doctor, with honors): Law Review; Moot Court; Dean’s Award, Legal Writing I & II; Co-President, Hispanic Law Students Association; Assistant Rector, Lyons Hall
    • University of San Diego Law School (2014 Post-Baccalaureate Paralegal Certificate, with honors): Ranked First in Class
    • University of California at Santa Barbara (2013 Bachelor of Arts): Attended Full-Immersion Program at Pompeu Fabra University in Barcelona; Alpha Phi Sorority
  • Experience:
    • Federal Judicial Clerk, Hon. Lee Yeakel (2020–2022)
    • Litigation Associate, Morrison & Foerster LLP (2018–2020); Summer Associate (Summer 2016 & 2017)
    • Federal Judicial Clerk, Hon. Anthony Patti (Fall 2018)
    • Litigation Law Clerk, Suppa Trucchi & Henein LLP (2014–2015)
    • State Judicial Extern, Hon. Brian Hill (Summer 2012)
  • Admissions:
    • U.S. Supreme Court
    • U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
    • U.S. District Court for the Western, Eastern, Northern, and Southern Districts of Texas
    • U.S. District Court for the Central, Northern, and Southern Districts of California

Representative Matters

Her experience as first- or second-chair has involved these highlights:

  • Achieved successful jury verdict in $20M specific-performance lawsuit
  • Chaired federal jury trial and federal bench trial for cases covered by local press
  • Enforced contract for AI SaaS technology company through to arbitration award
  • Obtained traditional summary judgment protecting seller of 135-acre ranch
  • Recovered 6-acre property for executor of estate through recission of deeds
  • Won pre-judgment garnishment to make defrauded business owners whole
  • Renewed and collected $1M judgment with post-judgment receivership
  • Negotiated favorable settlement leveraging local emergency procedures and rules
  • Represented national company in first case filed in Texas Business Court
  • Drafted trial and appeal briefs for government officials in Section 1983 litigation, going through to U.S. Supreme Court
  • Briefed and argued pro bono case at U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit
  • Gained stand-up experience at eviction docket for local nonprofit organization
  • Secured First-Amendment victory for historic Baptist church at no cost to client, rejecting County’s suggestion that no building meant no church for tax exemption purposes
  • Protected local daycare from breach-of-contract claims and protected local doctor’s office from non-compete and non-solicitation claims with quick and cheap demand letter practice
  • Guided consumer product company through excess and exposure often associated with nonparty practice, such as by controlling discovery costs and securing mutual release
  • Managed plaintiff- and defense-side litigation in multiparty construction defect cases, including by collaborating with owners, developers, contractors, consultants, engineers
  • Exercised proficiency in multi-forum, multidistrict, and interdisciplinary litigation for local homeowners
  • Routinely served as Texas counsel and outside general counsel in state and federal courts

Publications and Presentations

Daniela values staying ahead of legal developments.  She has spoken or written about:

  • “Your Annual Data Security Audit,” GDHM Blog (forthcoming 2025)
  • “What Lawyers Should Know about AI,” Texas Bar CLE (2025)
  • “AI as a Tertiary Source,” Texas State Bar Blog (2025)
  • “Fifteenth Court of Appeals: The First Six Months,” Austin Lawyer Magazine (2025)
  • “Deposition Skills 201,” Civil Litigation Section CLE (2025)
  • “The Ins and Outs of Following the Disclosure Rules,” Texas Bar CLE (2024)
  • “The New Business Court for Trials and Appeals,” Land & Mineral Owner Seminar (2024)
  • “The Texas Business Court Local Rules,” Strictly Business Blog (2024)
  • “The Texas Business Court is Here,” Austin Bar Association CLE (2023)
  • “Are Business Courts Coming to Texas?”, Austin Bar Association CLE (2023)
  • “The Anatomy of a Federal Pleading,” Texas State Bar CLE (2023)
  • “Paths to the Bench,” Cafecito Roundtable (2023)
  • “New Leadership in Western District of Texas,” GDHM Blog (2022)
  • “Federal Judges Collaborate on Zoom, Ask Attorneys Do the Same,” ABTL Report (2020)
  • “How FDA is Monitoring the COVID-19 Product Market,” Life Sciences Blog (2020)
  • “FDA, FTC Send Warning Letters to Companies Marketing Products to Treat Coronavirus,” Class Dismissed Blog (2020)
  • “The Future of Multidistrict Litigation,” 51 Conn. L. Rev. 769 (2019) (co-authored with Professor Jay Tidmarsh)
  • “Contrasting Andean Attitudes toward Foreign Direct Investment,” 1 Glob. Soc’y J. 9 (2013) (supervised by Professor Benjamin Cohen)

Community Affiliations

Daniela is active on the firm’s Technology Committee.  She has also participated in the organizations below:

  • American Inns of Court
  • Austin Bar Association, Civil Litigation Board
  • Austin Young Lawyers, Leadership Academy & Board
  • Immanuel Church (Central Austin)
  • Latinas in Law Austin
  • LeadershipSBOT
  • Mother Attorney Mentoring Association, Board
  • Mueller Neighborhood Association, Block Captain
  • State Bar of Texas, Minimum Continuing Legal Education Committee
  • Volunteer Legal Services

Honors and Awards

  • Austin Monthly Top Attorney (2025)
  • Super Lawyers Rising Star (Thomson Reuters, 2024–2025)
  • Texas Bar Foundation Fellow (2024), also Austin Bar Foundation Fellow (2025)
  • Wiley W. Manuel Certificate for Pro Bono Legal Services (California State Bar, 2020)