From president of his high school student body and chancellor of his college fraternity to president of his own oil company before the age of 30, Dorrell has earned the recognition of his peers in every major endeavor of his life. In high school, Dorrell was chosen to serve as a U.S. Congressional Page. In college, Dorrell was chosen to serve Charlie Wilson as a U.S. Congressional Intern-becoming one of only a handful of people ever to receive both such honors.
After graduating from the University of Texas, Dorrell entered the oil business in oil well drilling and production. By the age of 25, Dorrell was the youngest department manager in the history of Houston-based Coastal Corporation (now El Paso). At 30, Dorrell started his own successful oil trading company, but later returned to Coastal as vice president of worldwide petrochemical marketing. During his tenure there, Dorrell became (at 31) the youngest member of the board of directors of the National Petroleum Refiners Association and (at 32) the youngest president in the history of the Southwest Chemical Association-all while earning a law degree in night studies at the University of Houston in 1991.
At 38, Dorrell left a distinguished career in the oil and petrochemical industry to begin a new career as a lawyer, and was soon recognized by the State Bar for outstanding contributions of free legal services to low-income Texans. While serving on the Board of Directors of the Houston Bar Association's Commercial and Consumer Law Section, Dorrell co-authored the Consumer Law Handbook, a free publication for laypersons giving "plain-English" explanations of the law in many everyday legal situations.
Dorrell co-founded the law firm of Dorrell & Chamberlain, LLP, later Dorrell & Farris, LP. In 2009, Dorrell & Farris, L.P., moved its client base to Escamilla, Poneck & Cruz, LLP, becoming a partner in under two years. In 2012, Dorrell again relocated his active trial and appellate litigation practice to become a partner in the firm of Hanszen Laporte, LLP.
As much at home in the boardroom as the courtroom, Dorrell has handled cases as lead counsel with amounts in controversy as large as $161 million in courtrooms in Texas, Illinois, Louisiana, New York, Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, and in the U.S. Supreme Court. In 2004, Dorrell was voted by the readers of H Texas Magazine one of Houston's "Lawyers on the Fast Track." In 2008, Texas Lawyer chose Dorrell as an "Impact Player"-one of the 10 lawyers who had the greatest impact on the law of Texas in 2008. In April 2011, Texas Lawyer named Dorrell "Appellate Lawyer of the Week" after he obtained a rare a writ of mandamus from the Texas Supreme Court.