Erica Graham is a native Houstonian, and a graduate of Lamar High School in HISD. She earned her bachelor's degree from Santa Clara University, while attending school on a basketball scholarship, and graduated cum laude from Tulane Law School in 1997. While in law school, she interned for the Honorable Calvin Botley, a Federal Magistrate Judge here in Houston.

As a civil litigator in Houston for the past 14 years, Erica has worked for two nationally recognized law firms and as in house counsel for Chevron. She has represented clients in both state and federal courts in Texas in litigation involving toxic tort and environmental law, employment law, personal injury law, oil and gas law and general commercial litigation. As lead counsel over several mass toxic tort dockets, Erica has gained invaluable experience litigating multi-party complex civil litigation cases. Erica has logged hundreds of hours in the courtroom arguing various types of pre-trial and discovery motions and trying cases before Judges in federal and state court in several counties throughout Texas.

Additionally, as a volunteer lawyer, Erica has also had experience representing plaintiffs in smaller cases involving personal injury and family law. She has been recognized for doing high quality work preparing cases for trial, identifying settlement possibilities, benefiting client organizations, considering cost implications, and explaining complex legal options and technical issues to opposing counsel and clients. Erica also has a proven track record of collaborating and working productively with managers, clients, judges, opposing counsels, other attorneys, legal staff and juries.

Erica is the mother of a seven year old son, and is an active member of The Church Without Walls in Houston, where she participates in various outreach ministries, including, but not limited to, the worship and arts ministry, Diamonds in the Rough ministry (a mentoring ministry for teenage girls ages 13-17), legal ministry, food pantry and clothing ministry, and Pas' Angels (ministry that provides Christmas gifts to children whose parents are incarcerated). She is also an active member of the Houston Bar Association and The Downtown Group, and volunteers for organizations committed to improving her community. Her volunteer activities include helping build a house for Habitat for Humanity, working for several of DePelchin's annual toy drives, sponsoring children through the Houston Bar Association's Adopt an Angel program, and doing pro bono legal work for the Houston Volunteer Lawyers Association and Lone Star Legal Aid. Erica has also participated as a speaker at career day functions held by various schools and church organizations throughout Houston, as well as Judge for Moot Court competitions at Thurgood Marshall School of Law and South Texas School of Law.

Erica is a lifelong Democrat and a Sustaining Member of the Democratic Party. She is also a member of Houston Bar Association; Houston Lawyers Association; The Downtown Group; Harris County Democratic Lawyers Association and NAACP.

In November 2010, after winning a contested Democratic primary by earning 59.4% of the votes cast, Erica ran for Judge of Harris County Civil Court at Law 1. Although she did not win in the 2010 general election, she garnered over 300,000 votes in her very first attempt at running for public office. During the 2010 election cycle, Erica was endorsed by numerous elected officials (including but not limited to State Representative Sylvester Turner and City Controller Ronald Green), Houston area Pastors (including but not limited to Pastor Ralph D. West, Pastor Kirbyjohn Caldwell and Pastor Max A. Miller), and various local community leaders and organizations (including but not limited to Mr. Howard Jefferson, Rev. Bill Lawson, African American Police Officers League, African American Sheriff's League, and Baptist Ministers Association of Houston and Greater Vicinity).