Surendran K. Pattel is an Indian-born American lawyer and politician who became the Judge of the 240th District Court of Fort Bend County, Texas, United States, on January 1, 2023.
Wiki/Biography
Surendran K. Pattel was born on Saturday, May 29, 1971 in Kasaragod, Kerala, India (age 51; as of 2023). His zodiac sign is Gemini. In 1975, he enrolled in the Government High School in Ballar, Kerala. After completing his tenth standard in 1986, Surendran had to drop out of school and work as a daily wage laborer in a Beedi factory to help his family earn money. In an interview, he said,
Since I come from a very poor family, we have always faced severe financial challenges. When I was in class 9, I started doing beedi scroll work and also doing other manual jobs. After completing SSLC, I became a full-time beedi worker. But that year off changed my outlook on the future, and the following year I joined the Government College at Ellery Tautou for a pre-degree course. “
In 1987, he enrolled in EK Nayanar Memorial Government College, Elerithattuu, Kerala and completed his matriculation course in 1989. In the same year, he enrolled at Payyannur College, University of Calicut, Kerala, where he received his Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science in 1992 and ranked second in his class. While studying for BA, Surendran was unable to appear for exams due to poor attendance as he used to go out to work to support his family. In an interview, he said about this incident,
I told them that if I didn’t get good grades, I would give up. But when the results came out, I was number one. So, the second year, they were very cooperative with me. I graduated from college with honors. “
In 1992, he joined Government Law College, Calicut University, Kozhikode, Kerala, where he studied and received his LLB degree in 1995. While studying in Kozhikode, he worked as a housekeeper at the Malabar Hotel. Surendran wanted to pursue an LLB degree from Calicut University; however, he was unable to do so due to financial constraints. In 2009, he enrolled at the University of Houston Law Center and received his LL.M. in International Law in 2011. While studying for his LLM, he published a research work entitled The Crime of Aggression and the International Criminal Court: Beyond the Kampala Convention.
appearance
Height (approximately): 5′6″
Hair Color: Salt and Pepper
Eye color: dark brown
family
Surendran K. Pattel was born into a Malayali family.
Parents and siblings
His parents were daily wage earners working in Kerala. He has a sister and four other siblings.
Photo of Surendran K. Pattel with his mother
wife and children
His wife, Subha Surendran, is a nurse working in the United States. He has two daughters. His eldest daughter’s name is Anagha. His youngest daughter is Sandra.
Surendran K. Pattel and his wife Subha Surendran
Photo of Sandra (left) and her sister Anaga
Photos of Surendran K. Pattel with his wife and daughter
religion
Surendran K. Pattel believes in Hinduism.
Profession
He started practicing law in 1996 in Hosdurg, Kerala as a Senior Advocate with P. Appukuttan & Associates, handling civil and criminal cases, election law, matrimonial proceedings and labor and industrial laws. He left the organization in 2004. He moved to Delhi with his wife in 2005 and started practicing in the Supreme Court. In 2007, Surendran left the Supreme Court and moved to the United States after his wife was drafted as a nurse in a US hospital. There, he worked for a time as a salesman for Kroger. After obtaining permanent residence in the United States, he moved to Houston, Texas. In 2009, he took and passed the Texas Bar Exam for the first time. Later, he took the multi-state professional responsibility exam and scored a 113. In July 2015, he founded a law firm in Texas called PKS Law Firm, PLLC.
As an attorney, he served with the Fort Bend Bar Association, Harris County Bar Association, State Bar College and Sugar Land Exchange Club. In 2017, he obtained U.S. citizenship. In 2020, he ran against Cali Morgan in the Democratic primary runoff for the 505th District Court of Texas. However, he lost to Cali by 8,897 votes. In 2022, he is nominated as a Democratic candidate to run in the general election for the 240th District Court of Texas on November 8, 2022. His campaign theme is “Strong Law, Fair Justice” and aims to talk about judicial issues facing the public. He said he was racially attacked by opponents during the campaign. Talking about this, he said in an interview,
We decided not to respond to negative campaigning but to communicate our campaign slogan and our promises to people. However, in my interactions with the media and the public, I said that as a country, one of the most diverse in the world, it is natural for people to have differences in accents, appearance and culture, how can this be achieved? What about a little? If you can’t tolerate another person’s accent, then he’s a good judge. “
In the general election, Surendran defeated Republican candidate Edward Krenek by 194 votes. He was sworn in as Judge of the 240th District Court in Fort Bend County, Texas on January 1, 2023.
A snapshot of Surendran K. Pattel during the swearing-in ceremony
salary
According to sources, the annual salary of a district court judge is $223,400.
Note: The above salaries are based on 2022 data provided by the U.S. government.
Facts/Trivia
- Surendran K. Pattel is multilingual and can speak English, Hindi, Malayalam and Sanskrit.
- He served as president of the Greater Houston Malayan Association.
- In March 2022, he was named one of the top ten attorneys in Texas by the National Family Law School.
- In June 2022, he received the Community Leadership Award from the Santee and Associates Foundation.
Surendran K. Pattel receives Community Leadership Award
- Surendran K. Pattel is an avid dog lover. He has a pet husky named Buddy.
Photos of Surendran’s pet dog Buddy
Categories: Biography
Source: HIS Education