Samuel J. Brown, III, Shareholder and Director, is a graduate of the South Texas College of Law with highest honors (J.D., summa cum laude, 1968) and was conferred a Masters of Law by New York University (LL.M, 1969) the following year after completing post-graduate studies with a concentration in real estate law. Sam was Editor-in-Chief of the South Texas Law Journal, 1967-1968, and was elected to the Order of Lytae in 1968, an honorary legal fraternity of students with the highest standings in their law school class. He also was a member of Phi Alpha Delta Law fraternity. His undergraduate studies were completed at Baylor University (B.A., 1964).

Sam entered the private practice of law in Houston in 1969 immediately upon completion of his graduate law studies. He was a founding partner of Lee, Brown & Wylie where he represented a major Houston-based savings association as general counsel in real estate, mortgage finance, and general business matters throughout the 1970's during some of Texas' most spectacular growth. He carried on his practice until co-founding Brown & Fowler, P.C. with Bob Fowler in 1981 to represent the interests of North American Mortgage Company, Texas' then top-producing mortgage company.

Sam Brown is a member of the State Bar of Texas and is licensed to practice before the U.S. District Court, Southern District of Texas. Among his professional memberships are the Houston Bar Association, Mortgage Bankers Association of America, Texas Mortgage Bankers Association, and Houston Mortgage Bankers Association.

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Robert K. Fowler, Shareholder and Director, is a graduate of the South Texas College of Law with high honors (J.D., magna cum laude, 1980) after having been conferred a Masters of Business Administration from Oklahoma State University (M.B.A., 1968) and having worked successively as a financial analyst and in corporate real estate management for two Fortune 500 companies for some eight years before deciding to enter law school and redirect his career. His undergraduate studies were also completed at Oklahoma State University (B.S., 1966).

Bob entered the private practice of law in Houston in 1980 immediately upon completion of his law studies. He co-founded Brown & Fowler, P.C. with Sam Brown the next year to represent the interests of North American Mortgage Company and has been in private practice representing mortgage lenders continuously ever since.

Bob Fowler is Board Certified in Residential Real Estate Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization, an official certification of special competence in that field of law. He is a member of the State Bar of Texas and numerous professional and trade organizations, including the Houston Bar Association, Mortgage Bankers Association of America, Texas Mortgage Bankers Association, and the Houston Mortgage Bankers Association.

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J. Alton Alsup, Shareholder and Director, is a graduate of The University of Texas at Austin (B.B.A.) and The University of Texas School of Law (J.D.) and is a member of the State Bar Associations of Texas and Georgia. He is Board Certified in Residential Real Estate Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization and practices exclusively in the field of residential real estate and mortgage lending law. Before entering private practice, he had served as a judicial law clerk, state’s attorney, and corporate counsel to a publicly held real estate development and management company.

Al is a frequent speaker on residential mortgage lending law and regulations before industry and professional audiences, including conventions and seminars of the Mortgage Bankers Association of America, National Association of Mortgage Brokers, Texas Mortgage Bankers Association and its Houston, San Antonio, and Austin chapters, Independent Bankers Association of Texas, Texas Savings and Community Bankers Association, National Association of Professional Mortgage Women, National Association of Home Builders, Texas Land Title Institute, The Conference on Consumer Finance Law, The State Bar of Texas, the South Texas School of Law, and The University of Texas School of Law.

He has served on the Planning Committees and Conference Faculties of the Advanced Real Estate Law Course sponsored by the State Bar of Texas and the annual William W. Gibson, Jr. Mortgage Lending Institute sponsored by The University of Texas School of Law (Chairman 1999), where in past years he has presented papers on federal and state mortgage lending regulations and Texas homestead law. He is the author of “The Art of Refinancing the Venerable Texas Homestead” (Vol. 58, No. 10 Texas Bar Journal 1020, November, 1995), “Pitfalls in Texas Home Equity Lending” (52 Consumer Fin. L. Q. Rep. 437 Fall, 1998), “The New and Improved Texas Reverse Mortgage” (55 Consumer Fin. L. Q. Rep. 189 Spring 2002), “Texas’ New Home Equity Reform Amendment” (59 Consumer Fin. L.Q. Rep. 322 Fall, 2005), “Preparation of Documentation Affecting Title to Texas Real Property as the Unauthorized Practice of Law” (61 Consumer Fin. L. Q. Rep. 475 Fall, 2007), and other articles appearing in various trade and professional publications. He was the founding Editor of Texas Mortgage Lending Law & Practices Deskbook, a legal text originally published by the Texas Mortgage Bankers Association in May, 2000, and he currently serves on the Real Estate Forms Committee of the State Bar of Texas, publisher of the Texas Real Estate Forms Manual, a two-volume legal forms and practice guide for Texas attorneys.

Al also is active in a number of trade and professional organizations concerned with legislative and public policy issues affecting Texas real estate law and practices, including the Texas College of Real Estate Attorneys (Board of Directors 2003-2005), Texas Association of Mortgage Attorneys (President 2000 – 2002, 2003 – 2005), and the Texas Mortgage Bankers Association (Board of Directors 1996 – 2002 and 2004 – 2005; Executive Committee 2001– 2002 and 2004 – 2005; Chairman, Regulatory Compliance and Legal Issues Committee 1993 – 1999, and Distinguished Service Award 2002). He was selected for listing in Texas Super Lawyers 2008, 2009, and 2010 in the field of real estate law.

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Aaron Polasek, Shareholder and Director, graduated from South Texas College of Law (J.D. 1999) after undergraduate studies at Austin College (B.A. 1995). He interned with the firm for two years while completing his law studies and has been employed by the firm as an attorney since his 1999 graduation. He was elected a Director and became a shareholder of the firm in 2010. He is Board Certified in Residential Real Estate Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization, and is a member of the State Bar of Texas, the American Bar Association (Member: Real Property, Probate and Trust Section), the Texas Mortgage Bankers Association, and the Houston Mortgage Bankers Association.

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Ashlee Ross, Associate Attorney, graduated from South Texas College of Law (J.D. 2004) after undergraduate studies at Baylor University (B.A. 1998). She previously worked as an attorney for Morris, Lendais, Hollrah & Snowden where she represented title companies, builders and lenders. Ashlee is a past officer and director of the Association of Women Attorneys and Attorneys in Commercial Real Estate. She is a member of the State Bar of Texas (Member: Real Estate Section), Texas Young Lawyers Association, and the Association of Women Attorneys.

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