Attorneys
Houston Business Journal names Larry Campagna as one of 2021 Most Admired CEOs
Larry Campagna, the managing shareholder for national law firm, Chamberlain Hrdlicka, was recognized among the 2021 recipients of the Houston Business Journal’s Most Admired CEOs Awards. The award recipients were selected by an independent panel of judges, who consider characteristics such as contribution to company success, civic involvement, career achievement and more. The award will be presented during a virtual ceremony on August 19, 2021. Honorees will also be recognized in a special section of the Houston Business Journal’s weekly print edition on August 20, 2021.
“Larry embodies the culture of excellence and collaboration our firm was built on 55+ years ago,” said John Meredith, Chamberlain Hrdlicka’s chief operating officer. “His committed 24/7 leadership during the COVID-19 pandemic focused on the safety of our team and saving jobs. Because of Larry’s guidance and steady hand, our firm actually thrived and grew – adding more new attorneys than in years past, adding four practice areas and experiencing success that resulted in Chamberlain Hrdlicka being named among Houston Business Journals 50 Middle Market Award finalists earlier this year.”
Larry achieved the admirable feat of starting at Chamberlain Hrdlicka as a file clerk and working his way to managing shareholder. Campagna has a national reputation as an authoritative litigator in matters of business litigation and criminal tax defense, as well as federal, state and local tax controversies. Throughout his 44-year career, he has resolved thousands of civil and criminal litigation matters, many involving sophisticated and complex legal issues that established precedent in courts at all levels. He also co-authored the only casebook on federal tax crimes and has taught as an Adjunct Professor at the University of Houston Law Center since 2001.
Assuming the managing shareholder role just three months before the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic, Campagna worked tirelessly to make sure the firm and its people survived. As a result of his leadership, his decisive actions, and his strategic vision, the firm has not only retained all its employees, s, but was able to add 14 new attorneys in Houston. Seeing rapidly changing client needs, he quickly adapted the firm’s offerings. The firm added an experienced bankruptcy litigator in response to a spike in bankruptcies and launched a PPP Loans & Investigations Practice in anticipation of companies struggling with loan forgiveness process.
Campagna has long been recognized as a legal community leader by his peers. He was unanimously inducted as a Fellow of the American College of Tax Counsel in 1995, where he now serves as Secretary-Treasurer on the Board of Regents. In September 2020, he was named among the recipients of Texas Lawyer’s Professional Excellence Awards in the Lifetime Achievement category, and in October 2020 he received the Annual Bruce I. Hochman Award at the 36th Annual Tax Controversy Institute at UCLA. He’s been listed among Best Lawyers in America annually since 2010, including being named as 2014 and 2016 Lawyer of the Year Houston Litigation and Controversy – Tax. He continues to be ranked in Band 1 nationally and in Texas by Chambers USA since 2009 and has been named a Leading Lawyer by Legal 500. He has made the Texas SuperLawyers list annually since 2003 and has been named among the country’s leading federal tax litigators by America’s Top 100 Criminal Defense Attorneys since 2007. In 2019, Campagna was named a Texas Tax Legend by the State Bar of Texas, one of the highest honors for the Tax Law Section, with only 30+ attorneys selected nationwide to date.
An involved Houston community member, Campagna has had an impact on social mission through his support of the arts, youth-oriented programs for the disadvantaged, and public broadcasting, making culture and information more accessible to all Houstonians, both through his voluntarism and generous financial contributions. He has helped change lives of at-risk children by championing the Cristo Rey program at Chamberlain Hrdlicka and working with the Board of Pace Youth Inc. to help juvenile offenders develop the skills necessary to improve their lives, attend universities, and attain goals they had not envisioned for themselves.