Surendran K. Patel is an Indian-American lawyer and politician who became a judge of the 240th District Court in Fort Bend County, Texas, United States on January 1, 2023.
Contents
Wiki/Biography
Surendran K. Patel was born on Saturday, 29 May 1971 (age 51 years; as in 2023) in Kasaragod, Kerala, India. Their zodiac sign is Gemini. He joined the Government Higher Secondary School in Balaal, Kerala in 1975. After completing his 10th class in 1986, Surendran had to leave his studies to work as a daily wage laborer in a beedi factory to help his family earn money. During an interview he said,
Since I belonged to a very poor family, we always faced serious financial challenges. When I was in 9th class I started working as a beedi roller and also did other manual work. After completing SSLC, I worked full-time as a beedi worker. But that one year break changed my outlook about the future and the next year I joined the Government College, Eleritattu for a pre-degree course.
In 1987, he joined the EK Nayanar Memorial Government College in Elerithattu, Kerala, where he completed the pre-degree course in 1989. The same year, he joined Payyannur College, affiliated with the University of Calicut in Kerala, and graduated. Received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science in 1992 and graduated second in his class. While studying for BA, Surendran was not allowed to appear for exams due to poor attendance as he went to work to support his family. Talking about this in an interview he said,
I told him that if I could not score well, I would leave my studies. But when the results came, I became a topper. So, over the next year, they were very supportive of me. I graduated from college as a topper.
In 1992, he joined the Government Law College affiliated to the University of Calicut in Kozhikode, Kerala, where he studied and obtained the LLB degree in 1995. While studying in Kozhikode, she worked at Hotel Malabar as a part of the housekeeping staff. Surendran wanted to pursue LLB from Calicut University; However, due to financial constraints, he was unable to do so. In 2009, he enrolled at the University of Houston Law Center, where he earned an LLM degree in International Law in 2011. During his LLM studies, he published a research work titled Crime of Aggression and the International Criminal Court: Beyond the Kampala Convention.
Physical Appearance
Height (Approx): 5′ 6″
Hair Color: Salt and Pepper
Eye colour: dark brown
Family
Surendran K. Patel was born in a Malayali family.
parents and siblings
His parents were daily wage laborers in Kerala. He has one sister and four other siblings.
Surendran K with his mother. A picture of Patel
wife and children
His wife, Subha Surendran, is a nurse working in the United States. He has two daughters. His elder daughter’s name is Anagha. His younger daughter’s name is Sandra.
Surendran K Patel with his wife Subha Surendran.
A photo of Sandra (left) with her sister Anagha
Surendran K. A picture with Patel’s wife and daughters
Religion
Surendran K. Patel follows Hindu religion.
livelihood
In 1996, he started practicing law in Hosadurga, Kerala as a senior associate with P. Appukuttan & Associates and dealt with civil and criminal cases, election law, matrimonial proceedings and labor and industrial law. He left the organization in 2004. He moved to Delhi with his wife in 2005 and started practicing law in the Supreme Court. In 2007, when his wife was selected to join a hospital in the United States as a nurse, Surendran left his practice in the Supreme Court and moved to the US. There he worked for some time as a salesman at Kroger. After obtaining permanent residence status in the US he moved to Houston, Texas. In 2009, he took and passed the Texas Bar Exam on his first attempt. Later, he appeared for the Multi-State Professional Responsibility Examination and managed to score a score of 113. In July 2015, he started a law firm in Texas named PKS Law Firm, PLLC.
As an attorney, he has served in affiliation with the Fort Bend Bar Association, Harris County Bar Association, State Bar College, and the Exchange Club of Sugar Land. He got American citizenship in 2017. In 2020, he ran in the Democratic Party primary run-off election against Kali Morgan for the general election for the Texas 505th District Court. However, he lost the election to Kali by a margin of 8,897 votes. In 2022, as the Democratic Party nominee, she filed to run for the general election for the Texas 240th District Court, held on November 8, 2022. His election campaign theme was “Firm on law, fair on justice”. The purpose of which was to talk about judicial issues facing the public. He said that during the election campaign his opponents racially attacked him. Talking about this in an interview he said,
We decided not to respond to the negative campaign but to go to the people with our campaign slogans and promises. However, during my interactions with the media and people, I said that as a county which is one of the most diverse countries in the world, it is natural for there to be diversity in accents, appearances and cultural differences among the people and how can one Maybe you’re a good judge if you can’t stand another person’s accent.”
In the general election, Surendran defeated Republican Party candidate Edward Krenek by a margin of 194 votes. He was sworn in as judge of the 240th District Court in Fort Bend County, Texas on January 1, 2023.
Surendran K during the swearing in ceremony. A snapshot of Patel
Salary
According to sources, District Court judges receive an annual salary of $223,400.
Note: The salary mentioned above is as per the data provided by the US government in 2022.
Facts/General Knowledge
- Surendran K. Patel is multilingual and can speak English, Hindi, Malayalam and Sanskrit.
- He has served as the President of the Malayali Association of Greater Houston.
- In March 2022, he was named one of the Top Ten Lawyers in Texas by the National Academy of Family Law.
- In June 2022, he received an award for community leadership from the Santee & Associates Foundation.
Surendran K. Patel receiving the Community Leadership Award
- Surendran K. Patel is an avid dog lover. He has a pet husky named Buddy.
A photo of Surendran’s pet dog Buddy
Categories: Biography
Source: vcmp.edu.vn