Meet Surendran K Pattel: The man from Kerala who is now a US judge

Surendran K Pattel: Through school and college, he worked in order to help the family. While in his teens, he rolled beedis to earn money and also worked as a labourer.

Surendran K Pattel, an attorney of Indian-origin in Texas, was sworn in as the judge of 240th Judicial District Court in Texas' Fort Bend County, The Week magazine reported. The 51-year-old grew up in Kerala and was born to daily wagers in Kasaragod.

Surendran K Pattel: Surendran K Pattel is seen.

Through school and college, he worked in order to help the family. While in his teens, he rolled beedis to earn money and also worked as a labourer, the report said adding that Surendran K Pattel decided not to continue his education after class 10th. After a year-long break, he enrolled himself at the E.K. Nayanar Memorial Government College.

Although, he continued to work which significantly impacted his attendance owing to which the professors refused to allow him to sit for exams. He pleaded to the teachers, he said, "I told them that if I do not score well, I will discontinue. But when the results came, I became the topper. So, the next year, they were so cooperative with me. I graduated from college as a topper."

After this he wanted to study LL.B at the Calicut Government Law College but it was difficult for him to do so because of financial issued. With help from his friends and a job at a hotel, he received his law degree in 1995, according to his report.

Following this, he began practising in Hosdurg, Kerala in 1996 and gradually became a well-known lawyer. In 2007, he moved to the US where his wife had been chosen to work at a prominent American medical facility.

The couple received permanent residency and moved to Houston, Texas with their daughter. Surendran K Pattel sat for the bar exam in Texas an cleared it in the first attempt after which he applied for the LL.M program at the University of Houston Law Center.

After graduating in 2011, Surendran K Pattel handled cases related to family law, criminal defense, civil and commercial litigation, real estate and transactional matters, later setting up his own law firm.