Asra Syed

Asra Syed recognizes that solving complex commercial disputes requires negotiating prowess and courtroom confidence – she uses both to achieve the best outcome for her clients, whether through settlement, winning on a motion, or winning at trial. 

Asra enjoys connecting with her clients and possesses a strong ability to translate their complex disputes into simplified concepts, qualities she honed in her previous career as a public radio journalist.

Asra began practicing law in New York City (and is still barred in New York) and was a partner at Arent Fox. She joined Wittliff Cutter PLLC in fall 2020, co-founded Botkin Chiarello Calaf in 2023, and currently serves as the firm’s managing partner. She represents both individuals and privately held companies in commercial disputes involving claims of breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty, financial malfeasance, irregularities in corporate governance, and Lanham Act violations. She has also counseled her clients through the breakup of their companies or partnerships; interpreting and enforcing restrictive covenants in executive agreements; and disputes over equity grants.

Asra also takes on significant pro bono matters and has litigated for the constitutional rights of immigrants and access to healthcare throughout her career. A native Austinite, she has always enjoyed taking part in the city’s lively music and cultural scene.

• Texas State Bar Association
• Mother Attorneys Mentoring Association (MAMAs)
• South Asian Bar Association of Austin
• Travis County Women Lawyers Foundation, Venue Co-Chair; Member, Board of Directors

• “The Best Lawyers in America: Ones to Watch” for Commercial Litigation, Best Lawyers, 2021 to 2025
• Austin’s Top Attorneys, Civil Litigation, Austin Monthly Magazine, 2022 to 2024, 2026

Complex Commercial Litigation

• Favorably settled breach of non-compete, non-solicitation and trade secret theft claims against former executive who upon termination misappropriated files containing proprietary information;
• Successfully represented software developer for the legal cannabis industry in books-and-records action and defended against a minority shareholder’s eight-figure dollar demand for claims of breach of fiduciary duty and dilution of equity;
• Confidentially resolved fiduciary dispute among co-owners of award-winning global public relations and marketing firm;
• Secured a “take nothing” judgment in arbitration for a prominent Austin real estate development company defending against a former employee’s allegations of wrongful discharge and claims for millions of dollars in distributions from equity shares granted as employment compensation;
• Represented a private equity fund client with $9 billion in assets under management in multiple forums (including an International Chamber of Commerce arbitration in Madrid) to enforce a letter of intent involving our client’s purchase of a group of beauty care companies. An ICC panel awarded our client €100 million in damages, which was paid in full after further litigation to collect the award;
• Represented major U.S. wine and spirits importer against competitor’s allegations of trademark and trade dress infringement, unfair competition, and trademark dilution in SDNY.

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Pro Bono

• Secured the release of a woman detained by ICE after challenging the constitutionality of her detention and advocating for her right to appropriate healthcare. The case was featured in the Texas Tribune, Minnesota Reformer, El Paso Matters, and more;
• Together with co-counsel at the YMCA of Greater Houston, successfully litigated in federal court for the release from ICE custody of two children and reunification with their mother in Houston. Their case was reported on by the Texas Tribune, among other news outlets;
• Represented client in removal hearings to vindicate his 4th and 5th Amendment rights after his racial and religious profiling by federal and local law enforcement agents.