Rags to riches tale of Surendran K Pattel, a labourer in Kerala who is now a Texas judge

An Indian-origin lawyer in Texas named Surendran K Pattel has had a remarkable journey from his humble upbringing in Kerala to his current position as a judge.
 
According to The Week magazine, the 51-year-old was sworn in as the 240th Judicial District Court judge in Texas' Fort Bend County on January 1.
 
It was a significant accomplishment for Pattel, who was raised by daily wage workers while attending school and college in Kasaragod, Kerala.
 
He and his sister made money by rolling beedis, which are thin cigarettes filled with tobacco flakes. Pattel would also perform laborer-type duties.
 
After finishing class ten, he made the decision not to continue his education and began a full-time job rolling beedis.
 
But after going through a difficult time, he decided to change his mind and pick up his studies again after a year off.
 
Although he had to keep working, he enrolled in the E.K. Nayanar Memorial Government College. His attendance declined, and his professors forbade him from taking exams.
 
Pattel begged his teachers to give him a chance because he was now aspiring to be a lawyer.
 
"I told them that if I do not score well, I will discontinue," Pattel told The Week. "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."
 
Pattel then wanted to enrol in the Calicut Government Law College's LL.B programme, but money was an issue. In his first year, he claimed that his friends supported him. He then started working as a housekeeper in a hotel.
 
Pattel's website states that he graduated from law school in 1995. In 1996, he started practicing law in Hosdurg, Kerala, and over time, he rose to prominence. He started practicing in the Supreme Court almost ten years later.
 
His family had the opportunity to relocate to the US in 2007. His nurse wife had been selected to work at a prestigious American hospital.
 
With their young daughter and another child due soon, the couple applied for and was granted permanent residency before relocating to Houston, Texas.
 
The Texas bar exam was taken by Pattel two years after arriving in the country. He succeeded on his first try.
 
Pattel applied to the University of Houston Law Center's LL.M programme because he desired a thorough understanding of US law.
 
He concentrated on international law. Pattel handled cases involving family law, criminal defence, civil and commercial litigation, real estate, and transactional matters after graduating in 2011.
 
He later founded his own law firm.
 
Democratic Party supporter Pattel stated that he thinks courts should be "as accessible and compassionate as they are fair and just".