Tonya focuses on motions practice and briefing, both at the appellate and trial court level, in a wide array of complex business and toxic tort litigation. She previously worked at Schirrmeister, Diaz-Arrastia, Brem LLP in Houston, Texas, and at Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld in both its Washington, D.C., and Houston offices. She also served as a law clerk to the Honorable Ewing Werlein, Jr., United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas from 2000 to 2002.

Tonya graduated in 2000 from the University of Iowa College of Law, where she won the Van Oosterhout Moot Court Competition in appellate advocacy, served on the Moot Court Board, was a member of the Journal of Corporation Law, and was selected upon graduation for membership in the Order of the Coif. She also received a B.B.A. in Accounting from the University of Iowa in 1997, with honors and high distinction.