Houston, TX, July 8, 2019:  Crain Caton & James announced today that Caroline C. Pace joined the Firm’s Corporate Business Transactions and Tax Practice Group as a senior associate and Gabriela M. Barake joined the Fiduciary Litigation and Probate, Trust and Guardianship Practice Groups as an associate.

Caroline focuses her practice on corporate and business transactional matters including representing buyers and sellers in a wide variety of industries.  She concentrates on deal flow and getting the deal closed.  She represents buyers and sellers of closely held companies in all phases of M&A transactions, including strategic analysis, due diligence, intellectual property audits, and compliance with federal and state regulations.   In addition to her M&A portfolio, she closes domestic and international commercial transactions, including master service agreements, vendor and supply agreements, fabrication contracts, licenses, financing documents, and revenue-sharing agreements.

Standing alone or in connection with her deals, she provides strategic precision to structuring corporate entities, investments, and financing and to advising on tax liabilities and governance issues.

According to Larry George, a shareholder in the Tax Practice, “Caroline brings a breadth of experience relevant to clients ranging from startups to global entities.  She is a great addition to our existing team of talented corporate attorneys.”

Caroline earned her J.D. from the University of Houston Law Center, a Masters in Administration and Supervision and a Masters in Curriculum and Instruction from the University of Houston, and a B.A. in English from the University of Texas at Austin.

Gabriela (“Gabby”) assists clients in the areas of fiduciary litigation, probate, trust, and guardianship litigation, and commercial and business litigation.  Her clients are trustees, administrators, guardians, and executors.  Gabriela’s practice includes working on matters which relate to probate and trust administration, accounting and administration issues, as well as prosecution and defense of fiduciary claims.

Darlene Payne Smith, a shareholder in the Fiduciary Litigation and Probate, Trust and Guardianship Practice Areas, is pleased to have Gabriela join the te am.  She says, “in addition to Gabriela’s excellent legal credentials, having an additional bi-lingual lawyer available to assist our international clients with complicated legal matters is extremely beneficial.”

Gabriela received her J.D. from the University of Houston Law Center in 2015.  While in law school, she was a member of the Houston Business & Tax Journal and received the Lex Award for Legal Skills & Strategies.  She received her B.A. in Criminal Justice & Public Policy from the University of Guelph located in Ontario in 2010.  In 2019, Gabriela was named to the American Academy of Attorneys’ Top 40 Under 40 in Employment Law. Gabriela is fluent in Spanish and speaks French conversationally.