Beck Redden is proud to announce that Maryam Ghaffar has been named the recipient of the Pro Bono/Community Service & Leadership Award by the University of Houston Law Alumni Association.

Maryam is a skilled trial lawyer and dedicated community advocate, holding leadership roles in several professional organizations, including the South Asian Bar Association of Houston, the Houston Law Review Alumni Association Board of Directors, the Houston Young Lawyers Association, and the Muslim Legal Society of Texas, while remaining actively involved with the Muslim Bar Association of Houston.

Before pursuing her legal career, Maryam spent three years as a middle school teacher in the Houston Independent School District as part of Teach for America’s 2014 Corps, where she honed her skills in empathy, problem-solving, and community engagement—qualities that continue to shape her approach to law.

Throughout her career, Maryam has demonstrated a deep commitment to allyship, public service, and community impact. Her background in education and her legal experience—including clerkships at both the Texas Supreme Court and the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas—reflect her belief that true advocacy requires understanding the unique needs of each client and the broader community.

This dedication was on full display in August 2024, when a Beck Redden team, led by Maryam, stepped up on short notice to represent a mother in a high-stakes, emotional international child abduction case. Thanks to Maryam’s leadership and advocacy, the mother and her two-year-old daughter were allowed to remain safely in the United States.

In another serious ongoing matter, Maryam is working alongside Beck Redden partner, Alex Roberts, and the Texas Civil Rights Project (TCRP) to represent ten incarcerated individuals challenging the unconstitutional use of Security Precaution Designator codes that have kept them in punitive custody—effectively solitary confinement—for over a decade without meaningful review. Appointed by the court due to the seriousness of the claims, Maryam and Alex are advocating alongside TCRP to certify a class of nearly 500 incarcerated persons, seeking due process protections from the improper classification of these persons which relegates them to decades of inhumane conditions inside TDCJ facilities.

Maryam will be among several distinguished alumni, faculty, and friends honored at the 48th Annual Law Gala & Auction this April. The Gala serves as a cornerstone event for the UH Law Center, bringing together alumni, faculty, and supporters to celebrate leaders like Maryam who continue to shape the future of the legal profession through service, leadership, and advocacy.