Alex Gonzales practices in the areas of corporate and insurance regulatory law. He serves as a team lead for the Duane Morris Insurance/Reinsurance industry group. For more than 30 years, Mr. Gonzales has represented insurance companies and other financial institutions in regulatory matters, including mergers and acquisitions; company formation and licensing; administrative and compliance proceedings in insurance, antitrust, market conduct, DTPA, and rate matters, as well as representation in legislative matters involving the creation and implementation of legislative and regulatory strategies. Mr. Gonzales’ client base includes many of the nation’s top insurance companies and financial institutions. He has represented insurers and acquiring parties in acquisitions and other corporate regulatory matters before insurance departments in Texas, New York, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Missouri, Michigan and Arizona. Mr. Gonzales is a former Associate Commissioner of Insurance at the Texas Department of Insurance, and he was Acting Commissioner in 1990. While at the department, he developed the concept for and drafted the initial legislation for the Insurance Fraud Bureau.
Prior to entering private practice, Mr. Gonzales served as a trial attorney and command staff judge advocate in the U.S. Navy, Judge Advocate General’s Corps. He is board certified in administrative law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization.
Mr. Gonzales is a 1983 graduate of the University of Texas School of Law. He earned an M.B.A. from the University of California at Berkeley in 1987 and a bachelor’s degree from St. Edward’s University in 1980.
Areas of Practice
Insurance Regulatory Corporate and Transactional
Insurance Company Compliance and Enforcement
Insurance and Reinsurance
Admissions
- Texas
- U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas
- U.S. Court of Military Appeals
- Supreme Court of the United States
Education
- University of Texas School of Law, J.D., 1983
- University of California, Berkeley, M.B.A., 1987
- St. Edward's University, B.A., 1980
Experience
Duane Morris LLP
- Partner, 2018-presentWinstead PC
- Partner, 2001-2017Supreme Court of Texas, Board of Disciplinary Appeals, 1994-2000
Hughes & Luce LLP
- Partner, 1993-2001
- Associate, 1990-1993State Board of Insurance (n/k/a/ Texas Department of Insurance)
- Acting Commissioner, 1990
- Senior Associate Commissioner and Legal Director, 1988-1990
- Attorney, 1987-1988U.S. Navy, Judge Advocate General’s Corps
- Command Staff Judge Advocate, 1984-1987
- Trial Attorney, 1983-1984Texas State Securities Board
- Examiner, 1981-1983
Professional Activities
Board Certified in Administrative Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization
State Bar of Texas
- Fellow, Texas Bar Foundation, 1995-present
- Council, Administrative Law Section, 1997-2000
- Member, State Bar Insurance Trust, 1998-2001Austin Bar Association
American Bar Association
- Fellow, American Bar Foundation, 1996-present
- Chair, Tort Trial and Insurance Practice Section, 2002-2003
- House of Delegates, 1995-2005Federation of Defense and Corporate Counsel
Honors and Awards
- Named a Best Lawyers "Lawyer of the Year" in Insurance Law, Austin, 2022
Listed in The Best Lawyers in America, 2004-2022
Listed in Chambers USA: America's Leading Lawyers for Business, 2010-2022
Texas Super Lawyers, Thomson Reuters, 2006-2019
Best of Business Attorneys Award for Public Law, Austin Business Journal, 2006
Outstanding Community Member Award, Greater Austin Asian Chamber of Commerce
Killeen Independent School District Outstanding Alumnus, 2014
Commencement Speaker, St. Edward’s University, 2009
Civic and Charitable Activities
Chair, Texas Asian Foundation, 2004-2016
Chair, Greater Austin Workforce Board, 2010-2012
Coach, Austin Town & Country Youth Lacrosse, 2004-2011
Commissioner, North Texas Hockey League, 2007-2011
Selected Speaking Engagements
- Speaker, "Market Conduct Examinations," ABA Tort Trial & Insurance Practice Section, 47th Annual Tips Mid-Winter Symposium on Insurance and Employee Benefits -- Life, Health and Disability, and ERISA: Emerging Issues and Litigation, August 19, 2022
Speaker, "SLTX, the Laws, and You," SLTX Continuing Education, April 12, 2019
Presenter, "Insurance Dept. Investigations," Markel Corporation, January 16, 2019
Presenter, "Cannabis 109: Legal Cannabis and Insurance," The Duane Morris Cannabis Webinar Series, November 8, 2018
Moderator, "Political Changes Affecting Insurers," Surplus Lines Law Group, Hyatt Lost Pines, Austin, Texas, April 26-27, 2018
Representative Matters
Represented Continental General Holdings LLC, a long-term care insurer with $3.8 billion in assets, in obtaining regulatory approval from the Texas Department of Insurance in connection with its $90 million acquisition of the insurance segment of HC2 Holdings, Inc.
Represented a major auto insurer in its $34 million dollar acquisition of a Texas-based insurer to serve as its primary platform for writing business in Texas.