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BEST
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2010 DALLAS EDITION
THE DEFINITIVE GUIDE TO
LEGAL REPRESENTATION IN TEXAS
William Brewer
on Bet-TheCompany Cases
Dan Cogdell
Motorcycles and Mentors
Make the Lawyer
Koons Fuller
And The Impact of Social
Networking on Texas Law
Mark Mueller
Defending the
Rights of Women
A Special Advertising Supplement
To The Dallas Morning News
Frank Branson
Making Texas
Highways Safer
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The Law Offices of Frank L. Branson
D
elta Flight 1141 crashes on takeoff at DFW International Airport, killing 14 and raising serious
questions about safety procedures within the U.S aviation industry.
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2 02 10 01 0 E DE I DT II TO IN O N
The Catastrophic failure of a popular State Fair of Texas amusement ride kills one youth and
seriously injures another.
A Dallas Cowboys practice facility collapses during a thunderstorm, leaving a special teams
coach with a broken neck and rendering an assistant scout a paraplegic.
Major plane crashes, oil and gas mishaps, transportation injuries, defective products, commercial
disputes. Through more than three decades of aggressive representation, Frank L. Branson
and the legal team at his Dallas-based law offices have emerged as the law firm to call when
individuals and businesses are seriously injured by negligence or corporate misconduct.
The Law Offices of Frank L. Branson is one of the preeminent trial litigation firms in the
Southwest. The firm’s seven seasoned trial litigators are effective problem solvers who combine
courtroom skill with on-staff investigators, graphic artists, videographers and support staff to
aggressively pursue justice against some of the world’s biggest and most powerful corporations.
Branson and his firm have earned significant jury verdicts and settlements on behalf of clients
throughout Texas, as well as Florida, Arkansas, New Mexico, South Carolina and Arizona.
Among them:
• A unanimous jury verdict for an elderly widow whose husband died in a crash caused by a
negligent trucking company was highlighted as one of the Top 100 verdicts of 2007 by
The National Law Journal.
• A significant, precedent-setting jury verdict on behalf of one of the top U.S. collegiate soccer
players against Mitsubishi Motors after a federal jury found that the Montero Sport SUV was
unreasonably dangerous and defective.
• A significant settlement in a gas pipeline explosion caused when a heavy equipment operator
struck an underground pipeline.
• A significant recovery for an American Airlines passenger for brain injuries caused in a crash
landing at the Little Rock National Airport.
Because of the firm’s courtroom successes, such as a recent settlement over a firm’s real estate
Frank L. Branson
commissions, corporations, business leaders and individuals call on the firm to handle major
breach of contract cases, intellectual property disputes and a wide variety of business torts.
Forbes magazine calls Branson a “pioneer,” while D CEO describes him as “the guru of
Texas personal injury lawyers.” He has been selected to the Texas Super Lawyers list of the state’s
Top 100 attorneys every year since its inception, and in recent years has been named among the
list’s Top 10 lawyers in Texas. Meanwhile, The Best Lawyers in America® has honored him 24 years
straight. Branson has been recognized among the SMU Dedman School of Law Distinguished
Alumni for 2010, and he is a recent recipient of the Belli Award recognizing creativity and
innovation in the courtroom.
Highland Park Place, Suite 1800, 4514 Cole Avenue, Dallas, TX 75205
Ph: 214.522.0200 • www.flbranson.com
FIRM FACT:
M u e ll e r - H i ll i n L a w
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Lawyer Mark Mueller, recently described in The Austin American-Statesman as
a “shape shifting entertainment entrepreneur”, has envisioned, attracted, and constructed a small multidimensional empire in downtown Austin. Mueller-Hillin Law is located
amid a picturesque compound of historic buildings, gardens, verandas, and courtyards
that house companies relating to a number of Mueller’s projects and interests — music,
entertainment, art, and law. His production company, Voodoo Cowboy Entertainment,
placed its first two feature films in prestigious film festivals (Sundance 2008, SXSW 2009).
Recently, Sean Conner, a lead member of the creative team at both Voodoo and Mueller
Hillin, was notified that a short he helped write and produce was selected for the 2010
Cannes Film Festival competition. The School of Invention (SOI), also part of the
community, was founded by accomplished inventors and entrepreneurs to transform and
streamline the route from invention/ to patent / to market. The same building also
houses a nonprofit organization working with international musicians, as well as two
PR and marketing firms.
rial
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The frequent and easy interaction with other creative minds has become a source
of intellectual property/entertainment law business for Mueller-Hillin. The firm
practices in a variety of fields extending beyond its nationally preeminent birth injury
and personal injury practice, which produced large numbers of epic, high value and
precedent-creating cases.
Mueller-Hillin’s legal evolution is spurred by the compound’s spontaneity and
resourcefulness, which is ultimately channeled into innovative legal and courtroom
strategies. “Thirty years ago, I wouldn’t have imagined that I would be developing
visionary art, producing a film, all while being a lawyer. A lot of people have hidden
interests, and the inspiration just keeps coming out. Why live life in black and white all
the time?” asks Mr. Mueller.
It’s hard to imagine Mueller doing much of anything in black and white, or coloring
in between the lines. Along with his Harley riding, yoga practicing law partner Hunter
Hillin, as well as reformed ex-nun and eternal optimist (but relentless legal researcher)
Kay McCartan, Mueller-Hillin takes on cases involving birth injury, wrongful death, class
action, commercial fraud, oil and gas, trucking and construction accidents, products
liability and whistleblower claims.
Though the firm’s easygoing approach is unconventional for an industry that
buttons the top button, its expertise and experience, as well as the attorneys’ fun loving,
free flowing demeanor, often helps to put clients at ease and shifts the dynamics of the
intense and overwhelming legal process.
Up next? Mr. Mueller intends to sue the Catholic Church to return Alamo relics
to their rightful owners. Surgical mesh cases and microchip related birth defect cases are
also underway, as are environmental liability cases involving factory farms, hazardous
chemicals and plastic pollution of waterways. Planning is already ramping up for the
annual summer bash the firm throws for friends, family, clients, lawyers, judges, business
associates and general path-crossers—or, as Mr. Mueller puts it, “We have everyone
from bankers and doctors to cab drivers and strippers at our party.” Last year’s tattoo/live
art/body painting might be hard to top, but the firm has already obtained the proper
permits for the explosions and pyrotechnics happening at this year’s fire, drum and
tequila fueled event.
404 W. 7 t h S t r e e t
A u s t i n , TX 78701
P h : 800.324.5879
www.muellerhillin.com
Mark Mueller
with the firm’s mascot
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Frank Branson Continues His Crusade for Safer Texas Highways 11
William Brewer on the Challenges of Bet-The-Business Litigation Cases 13
Dan Cogdell: Motorcycles and Mentors Have Helped Shaped Him 15
Koons, Fuller and the Impact of Social Networking on Texas Family Law 17
Mark Mueller on Why He Often Finds Himself Defending the Legal Rights of Women 25
2010 Lawyers of the Year 29
2010 DALLAS EDITION
The Guide To
texas ’ T o p A tt o r n e y s
I
t’s inevitable—at some point in your life, you’re going to need a lawyer, and you won’t always be able
to predict when that need will arise. Whether you’re
starting a business or selling one, getting married or
divorced, patenting your invention, litigating a contract, or buying a home—there is a talented and highly
competent attorney listed in this guide who can help.
Perhaps you or a family member is involved in an accident or accused of a crime. These are all serious matters
for which you need first-rate legal representation.
Texas’ Best Lawyers® helps take the mystery out of
locating a high-quality advocate to protect you, your
family, your business and all other assets. The exceptional attorneys listed in this guide are only those attorneys
listed in The Best Lawyers in America®.
These attorneys were nominated by and voted in by
their peers. Lawyers cannot buy their way into this guide.
They must earn a spot through exemplary legal work
that attracts the notice of their colleagues. To remain
on the list, they must be at the top of their game, year
after year. Best Lawyers, the leading referral list in the
legal profession, and ALM, the nation’s leading legal
journalism and information company, have teamed up
to provide this invaluable resource for readers, whatever
your legal needs may be. Lawyers in this guide are
arranged by their legal specialty—from Administrative
Law to Venture Capital Law—which makes it easy to find
the professional advice you need.
Keep this comprehensive guide available for those
times when you need a first-rate advocate to assist you.
The lawyers listed in Texas’ Best Lawyers are eager
to help.
T
T E X A S ’ b est l a w y e r s b y s p e c i a l t y
Administrative Law 8
Alternative Dispute Resolution 8
Antitrust Law 8
Appellate Law 8
Banking Law 8
Bankruptcy and Creditor-Debtor
Rights Law 10
Bet-the-Company Litigation 10
Biotechnology Law 12
Collaborative Law: Family Law 12
Commercial Litigation 12
Communications Law 14
Construction Law 14
Corporate Governance
and Compliance Law 14
Corporate Law 14
Criminal Defense: Non-White-Collar 14
Criminal Defense: White-Collar 16
Derivatives Law 16
DUI/DWI Defense 16
Education Law 16
Elder Law 16
Eminent Domain
and Condemnation Law 16
Employee Benefits Law 16
Energy Law 16
Environmental Law 16
Equipment Finance Law 16
Family Law 16
Family Law Mediation 18
First Amendment Law 20
Franchise Law 20
Gaming Law 20
Government Relations Law 20
Health Care Law 20
Immigration Law 20
Information Technology Law 20
Insurance Law 22
Intellectual Property Law 22
International Arbitration 22
International Trade
and Finance Law 22
Labor and Employment Law 22
Land Use & Zoning Law 22
Legal Malpractice Law 24
Leveraged Buyouts and
Private Equity Law 24
Mass Tort Litigation 24
Medical Malpractice Law 24
Mergers & Acquisitions Law 24
Mortgage Banking Foreclosure Law 24
Municipal Law 24
Native American Law 24
Natural Resources Law 24
Non-Profit/Charities Law 24
Oil & Gas Law 24
Personal Injury Litigation 24
Private Funds Law 27
Product Liability Litigation 27
Professional Malpractice Law 28
Project Finance Law 28
Public Finance Law 28
Railroad Law 28
Real Estate Law 28
Securities Law 28
Sports Law 28
Structured Finance Law 28
Tax Law 28
Technology Law 29
Transportation Law 29
Trusts and Estates 29
Venture Capital Law 34
M E T HODO L O G Y
his list is excerpted from the 2010 edition of The Best Lawyers in America®, the preeminent referral guide to the legal profession in the United States. Published for more than
a quarter of a century, Best Lawyers® lists attorneys in 79 specialties, representing all 50
states and the District of Columbia, who have been chosen through an exhaustive survey in
which thousands of the nation’s top lawyers confidentially evaluate their professional peers.
The 2010 edition of Best Lawyers, which was published in November 2009, is based on more
than 2.8 million evaluations of lawyers by other lawyers.
The method used to compile Best Lawyers remains unchanged since the first edition was
compiled more than 26 years ago. Lawyers are chosen for inclusion based solely on a vote of
their peers. Listings cannot be bought, and no purchase is required to be included. In this
regard, Best Lawyers remains the gold standard of reliability and integrity in lawyer ratings.
The nomination pool for the 2010 edition consisted of all lawyers whose names
appeared in the previous edition of Best Lawyers, lawyers who were nominated since the
previous survey, and new nominees solicited from listed attorneys. In general, lawyers were
asked to vote only on nominees in their own specialty in their own jurisdiction. Lawyers in
closely related specialties were asked to vote across specialties, as were lawyers in smaller
jurisdictions. Where specialties are national or international in nature, lawyers were asked to
vote nationally as well as locally. Voting lawyers were also given an opportunity to offer more
detailed comments on nominees.
Voting lawyers were provided this general guideline for determining if a nominee should
be listed: “If you had a close friend or relative who needed a real estate lawyer (for example),
and you could not handle the case yourself, to whom would you refer them?” All votes and
comments were solicited with a guarantee of confidentiality – a critical factor in the viability
and validity of Best Lawyers surveys. To ensure the rigor of the selection process, lawyers were
urged to use only their highest standards when voting, and to evaluate each nominee based
only on his or her individual merits. The additional comments were used to make more accurate comparisons between voting patterns and weight votes accordingly. Best Lawyers uses
various methodological tools to identify and correct for anomalies in both the nomination and
voting process.
Ultimately, of course, a lawyer’s inclusion is based on the subjective judgments of his or
her fellow attorneys. While it is true that the lists may at times disproportionately reward visibility or popularity, the breadth of the survey, the candor of the respondents, and the
sophistication of the polling methodology largely correct for any biases. For all these reasons,
Best Lawyers lists continue to represent the most reliable, accurate and useful guide to the
legal profession in the United States.
Best Lawyers lists are available at www.bestlawyers.com. “Best Lawyers”
and “The Best Lawyers in America”are registered trademarks of Woodward/White, Inc.
Content of this publication is provided by advertisers and does not refect the opinions or reporting of the Dallas Morning News staff.
6 Texas’ Best Lawyers
For more info go to www.law.com/texasbest
C r a i n L e w i s , ll p
C
rain Lewis, LLP is a unique
firm comprised of two very
different practices united
by one very important mission: to
help people when life takes an
unexpected turn. For sixteen years
Rob Crain has worked on personal
injury and wrongful death cases
across the country, while Chris
Lewis has logged twelve years
working on the criminal side of
the bar, first as an Assistant District
Attorney, and now as a criminal
defense lawyer. “It might not be the
most traditional pairing, but it
makes perfect sense to us. We are
two people who love to fight—and
win—for the underdog,” says
Mr. Lewis.
The Dallas firm handles all types
of personal injury and wrongful
death matters, including truck
accidents, car accidents, workplace
accidents, explosions, and medical
malpractice claims, as well as all
types of criminal defense matters,
including both state and federal
charges, drug possession, drug
distribution, DWI, assaults, sexual
assaults, and murder. In accordance
with both partners’ MartindaleHubbell AV-Ratings, both Mr. Crain
and Mr. Lewis bring the highest
level of ability and ethics to their
representation of clients. Whether
they are going up against the world’s
largest insurance companies or the
government, the firm levels the
playing field for individuals who
never thought they would need
an attorney.
Naturally competitive, Mr. Lewis
uses his experience as a former
college football player, sports agent,
large firm civil litigator, and Assistant
District Attorney to his clients’
advantage. He has tried more than
200 cases to verdict, and is currently
Selected For
on a streak of 28 wins in his past 31
Inclusion In
trials dating back to last year. In
The Best Lawyers
2009, he was named one of the
in America®
“Best Personal Lawyers in Dallas” by
Robert D. Crain
D Magazine, which has also twice
Robert D. Crain, Christopher W. Lewis
recognized him as one of the “Best
Lawyers Under 40.” He has twice
involved in an accident with an 18-wheeler. The family
been named a “Top Attorney” in the area of Criminal
was turned down by three previous consulting attorneys.
Defense by Fort Worth, Texas Magazine.
Despite their lack of faith, Mr. Crain listened to and
Mr. Crain is routinely named as one of the “Best
Lawyers in Dallas” by D Magazine; and he has been selected believed in the victims, ultimately collecting a lifechanging recovery for the family. “We employ all the assets
by his peers as one of The Best Lawyers in America® as pubavailable to maximize our clients’ chances for a successful
lished by Woodward/ White, Inc. He has also been honored
outcome,” says Crain. “When clients call us, we know this
on multiple occasions as a Texas Super Lawyer by Texas
may be their last chance to get their lives in a better place.”
Monthly Magazine. Mr. Crain recently represented a family
C r a i n L e w i s , ll p
3400 Carlisle Stre et, Suite 300, Dallas, TX 75204
Ph: 214.522.9404 • www.crainlewis.com
Texas’ Best Lawyers 7
Texas’ B es t L a wy e r s
®
Administrative Law
Kelly Hart & Hallman | Fort Worth, TX
DEE J. KELLY, SR., DEE J. KELLY, JR.
Strasburger & Price | Dallas, TX
P. MICHAEL JUNG
Vinson & Elkins | Dallas, TX
RICHARD L. ADAMS
Alternative Dispute Resolution
Baker Botts | Dallas, TX
ROBERT W. JORDAN
Barbara Ann Radnofsky | Houston, TX
BARBARA ANN RADNOFSKY
713.357.3360 | Page 30
Burdin Mediations | Dallas, TX
J. MICHAEL AMIS, MARY M. BURDIN, SUZANNE
DUVALL, KATHY FRAGNOLI
Casseb & Pearl | San Antonio, TX
SOLOMON J. CASSEB III
Christopher Marc Nolland | Dallas, TX
CHRISTOPHER MARC NOLLAND
Coats, Rose, Yale, Ryman & Lee | Dallas, TX
WILLIAM B. SHORT, JR.
Cox Smith Matthews | Dallas, TX
WILLIAM FRANK CARROLL
Cox Waters | Dallas, TX
GAY G. COX
Donald R. Philbin, Jr. | San Antonio, TX
DONALD R. PHILBIN, JR.
210.212.7100 | Page 30
Earl F. Hale, Jr. | Dallas, TX
EARL F. HALE, JR.
Edwin G. Bell | Fort Worth, TX
EDWIN G. BELL
Ford Nassen & Baldwin | Dallas, TX
JEFFREY A. FORD
Gilbert Mediation Group | Dallas, TX
COURTENAY L. BASS, WALTER E. PARKER, JR.
Greenberg Traurig | Dallas, TX
HUGH E. HACKNEY
James W Knowles, Attorney Mediator | Tyler, TX
JAMES W. KNOWLES
JAMS | Dallas, TX
CECILIA H. MORGAN
Jerome S. Levy | Dallas, TX
JEROME S. LEVY
John W. Hughes | Aledo, TX
JOHN W. HUGHES
Johnson, Christopher, Javore & Cochran | San Antonio, TX
GARY JAVORE
Kenneth Jay Rubenstein | Dallas, TX
KENNETH JAY RUBENSTEIN
Kustoff & Phipps | San Antonio, TX
DANIEL O. KUSTOFF
Law Office of Gaynell C. Methvin | Dallas, TX
GAYNELL C. METHVIN
Law Office of Thomas J. Smith | San Antonio, TX
THOMAS J. SMITH
Law Offices of Sherrie R. Abney | Carrollton, TX
SHERRIE R. ABNEY
Lawrence R. Maxwell, Jr. | Dallas, TX
LAWRENCE R. MAXWELL, JR.
Locke Lord Bissell & Liddell | Dallas, TX
JOHN L. ESTES
Lugenbuhl, Wheaton, Peck, Rankin &
Hubbard | Houston, TX
MARTIN R. SADLER
Lyon, Gorsky, Haring & Gilbert | Dallas, TX
MARK W. GILBERT
Maxel (Bud) Silverberg | Dallas, TX
MAXEL (BUD) SILVERBERG
Paul Louis Salzberger | Dallas, TX
PAUL L. SALZBERGER
Pratt & Yungblut | Arlington, TX
DONALD O. PRATT
Ross W. Stoddard III, Attorney Mediator | Irving, TX
ROSS W. STODDARD III
The Law & ADR Offices of Priscilla Kim Park | Irving, TX
PRISCILLA KIM PARK
The Law Offices of Kay Elkins Elliot | Fort Worth, TX
KAY ELKINS ELLIOTT
Thompson & Knight | Dallas, TX
G. LUKE ASHLEY, FRANK FINN
Will Pryor Mediation & Arbitration | Dallas, TX
WILL PRYOR
Winstead | Dallas, TX
JAY J. MADRID
Wolovits Dispute Resolution | Dallas, TX
MELVIN H. WOLOVITS
Woods, May & Matlock | McKinney, TX
ROBERT J. MATLOCK
Antitrust Law
Andrews Kurth | Dallas, TX
JERRY L. BEANE, KAY LYNN BRUMBAUGH
Gardere Wynne Sewell | Dallas, TX
MARK W. BAYER, CURTIS L. FRISBIE, JR.
Gibson Dunn | Dallas, TX
M. SEAN ROYALL
Haynes and Boone | Dallas, TX
STACY L. BRAININ, RONALD W. BREAUX, ROBIN P.
HARTMANN, DAVID R. MCATEE II, BARRY F. MCNEIL
Jackson Walker | Dallas, TX
ROBERT M. COHAN
Jones Day | Dallas, TX
THOMAS R. JACKSON
Law Offices of Alan W. Harris | Dallas, TX
ALAN W. HARRIS
Locke Lord Bissell & Liddell | Dallas, TX
JOHN H. MCELHANEY
McGlinchey Stafford | Dallas, TX
CRAIG LEWIS CAESAR
Thompson & Knight | Dallas, TX
L. JAMES BERGLUND II, GREGORY S.C. HUFFMAN,
WILLIAM M. KATZ, JR., TIMOTHY R. MCCORMICK
Vinson & Elkins | Dallas, TX
RUSSELL YAGER
Appellate Law
Alexander Dubose & Townsend | Dallas, TX
CHARLES T. FRAZIER, JR.
Baker Botts | Dallas, TX
SAMARA L. KLINE
Cantey Hanger | Fort Worth, TX
STEPHEN LYLE TATUM
Crofts & Callaway | San Antonio, TX
SHARON E. CALLAWAY, THOMAS H. CROFTS, JR.
Fulbright & Jaworski | Dallas, TX
BEN TAYLOR
Goldstein, Goldstein & Hilley | San Antonio, TX
CYNTHIA EVA ORR
Hankinson Levinger | Dallas, TX
DEBORAH G. HANKINSON, JEFFREY S. LEVINGER
Haynes and Boone | Dallas, TX
NINA CORTELL, SHARON N. FREYTAG, ANNE M.
JOHNSON
Haynes and Boone | Fort Worth, TX
KAREN S. PRECELLA
Haynes and Boone | San Antonio, TX
LAMONT A. JEFFERSON
Kelly Hart & Hallman | Fort Worth, TX
DAVID KELTNER
Langley & Banack | San Antonio, TX
ROBINSON C. RAMSEY
210.736.6600 | Page 20
McCurley Orsinger McCurley Nelson & Downing | Dallas, TX
RICHARD R. ORSINGER
Sidney Powell | Dallas, TX
SIDNEY K. POWELL
Sorrels, Udashen & Anton | Dallas, TX
ROBERT UDASHEN, GARY A. UDASHEN
Soules & Wallace | San Antonio, TX
LUTHER H. SOULES III
Strasburger & Price | Dallas, TX
P. MICHAEL JUNG
Strasburger & Price | San Antonio, TX
ANDREW L. KERR
The Law Offices of Samuel Bayless | San Antonio, TX
SAMUEL H. BAYLESS
Thompson & Knight | Dallas, TX
G. LUKE ASHLEY, SCOTT P. STOLLEY
Vinson & Elkins | Dallas, TX
THOMAS S. LEATHERBURY
William V. Dorsaneo, III | Dallas, TX
WILLIAM V. DORSANEO III
Wright Brown & Close | Houston, TX
THOMAS C. WRIGHT
713.572.4321 | Back Cover
Banking Law
Andrews Kurth | Dallas, TX
DAVID BARBOUR
Baker Botts | Dallas, TX
RODERICK A. GOYNE, ROD PHELAN
Barlow Garsek & Simon | Fort Worth, TX
ELLIOTT S. GARSEK
Bracewell & Giuliani | Dallas, TX
SANFORD M. BROWN
Cox Smith Matthews | San Antonio, TX
KERRY T. BENEDICT, CARY PLOTKIN KAVY
Edward G. Vaughan | Boerne, TX
EDWARD G. VAUGHAN
Haynes and Boone | Dallas, TX
TERRY W. CONNER, KENNETH A. ROGERS,
ROBERT E. WILSON
Haynes and Boone | Fort Worth, TX
WILLIAM D. RATLIFF III
Hornberger Sheehan Fuller & Beiter | San Antonio, TX
T. DREW CAUTHORN
Hunton & Williams | Dallas, TX
DANIEL C. GARNER, JOSEPH CLARKE MATHEWS
Jameson & Powers | Dallas, TX
GENE L. JAMESON
Jones Day | Dallas, TX
THOMAS E. GILLESPIE
K&L Gates | Dallas, TX
GARY G. NULL
Law Office of Linton Barbee | Dallas, TX
LINTON ELZIE BARBEE
McGlinchey Stafford | Dallas, TX
LARRY VAN SMITH
Munsch Hardt Kopf & Harr | Dallas, TX
JEFFREY D. DUNN
Nancy H. Stumberg | San Antonio, TX
NANCY H. STUMBERG
Norman & Oliver | San Antonio, TX
JAMES C. NORMAN
Nunley Davis Jolley Cluck Aelvoet | Boerne, TX
RHONDA GRAFF JOLLEY
Oppenheimer, Blend, Harrison & Tate | San Antonio, TX
J. DAVID OPPENHEIMER
Robert F. See, Jr. & Associates | Dallas, TX
ROBERT F. SEE, JR.
713.222.1990 | Page 31
8 Texas’ Best Lawyers
For more info go to www.law.com/texasbest
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Bickel & Brewer
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& Brewer was founded with a singular goal:
to exclusively handle high-stakes, bet-the-business litigation. Twenty-six years later, the firm’s vision is realized
in its professional track record, pioneering spirit and
unique brand of advocacy.
“What inspires the professionals here is the
opportunity to practice at the highest level on our
clients’ most important cases,” says Partner William A.
Brewer III, who founded Bickel & Brewer with partners
John W. Bickel II and James S. Renard in 1984. “Our
expertise is advocacy – no matter the forum, venue or
subject matter.”
Bickel & Brewer prides itself on managing cases
that involve substantial business and financial exposure,
cutting-edge legal issues or significant public policy
questions. The firm is fueled by a commitment to
innovation and driven by the demands of its practice.
“We represent Fortune 500 corporations, entrepreneurs
and leading firms in a wide array of industries,” Brewer says.
“The most important thing about practicing here is a
willingness to embrace the responsibility that comes with
handling your clients’ most significant matters.”
ickel
®
2010 EDITION
Commercial
L i t i g at i o n
Innovative
A hallmark of Bickel & Brewer is its ability to stay on
the cutting edge. The firm was among the first to
develop an offshore operation, an in-house consulting
group and a public relations practice designed to
represent clients in the court of public opinion. It
maintains a state-of-the-art information management
system that is efficient and cost-effective.
“We are willing to develop and apply new tools
and processes if we see a benefit to our doing so,”
Brewer says. “The firm lives for the opportunity to take
quantum leaps that change the way law is practiced.”
Committed to the Community
Bickel & Brewer’s professional drive is matched by
its commitment to the community. Under Brewer’s
direction, the firm creates, manages and funds a wide
range of legal and educational programs making a
dramatic impact in Texas – and across the nation. The
Bickel & Brewer Future Leaders Program (FLP) lights a
path to college for more than 170 students from the Dallas
Independent School District. As a testament to the program, the FLP’s current nine seniors have already secured
more than $1 million in college scholarship offers.
“There is no greater privilege than watching these
students broaden their horizons and dreams,” Brewer says.
The firm champions a number of social and legal
causes. Its community service affiliate, the Bickel &
Brewer Storefront, has successfully prevented the
implementation of the illegal “immigration ordinances”
proposed in the Dallas suburb of Farmers Branch,
Texas. The case has become one of the most
controversial and closely-watched public policy
disputes in the nation.
“We believe this case is an example for communities
everywhere,” Brewer says. “What drives our
involvement in these types of issues is the ability to
help a person or community in need, while at the same
time establishing precedent that can make a long-term,
positive impact for others.”
S’
William A. Brewer III
1717 M a i n S t r e e t , S u i t e 4800
D allas , TX 75201
P h : 214.653.4000 F ax : 214.653.1015
www.bickelbrewer.com
Texas’ Best Lawyers 9
2010 S u r v e y
R e s u lt s
Shackelford, Melton & McKinley | Dallas, TX
MARK B. KNOWLES
Thompson & Knight | Dallas, TX
DOROTHY H. BJORCK, O. PAUL CORLEY, JR., JAMES A.
DONOHOE, M. LAWRENCE HICKS, JR., ROBERT B.
JACKSON, JAMES W. MCKELLAR, JOHN W. RAIN, HARRY
M. ROBERTS, JR., SHAD E. SUMROW, BEN B. WEST
Vinson & Elkins | Dallas, TX
JAMES A. MARKUS, VALINDA BARRETT WOLFERT,
WILLIAM D. YOUNG
Weil, Gotshal & Manges | Dallas, TX
GLENN D. WEST
Winstead | Dallas, TX
IRA D. EINSOHN, MICHAEL W. HILLIARD, JOE T. HYDE,
JAMES R. LITTLEJOHN, T. RANDALL MATTHEWS,
MICHAEL K. O’NEAL, MELISSA RUMAN STEWART,
DANIEL F. SUSIE
Bankruptcy and
Creditor-Debtor Rights Law
Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld | Dallas, TX
CHARLES R. GIBBS
Baker Botts | Dallas, TX
JACK L. KINZIE, JAMES PRINCE II, JUDITH W. ROSS
Barrett Daffin Frappier Turner & Engel | Addison, TX
STEVE P. TURNER
Bracewell & Giuliani | Dallas, TX
SAMUEL M. STRICKLIN
Bryan Cave | Dallas, TX
KEITH MILES AURZADA
Carrington, Coleman, Sloman & Blumenthal | Dallas, TX
STEPHEN A. GOODWIN
Cavazos, Hendricks, Poirot & Smitham | Dallas, TX
CHARLES B. HENDRICKS
Clemens & Spencer | San Antonio, TX
JAMES A. HOFFMAN
Cox Smith Matthews | Dallas, TX
MARK E. ANDREWS
Cox Smith Matthews | San Antonio, TX
DIANN M. BARTEK, CAROL E. JENDRZEY, DEBORAH D.
WILLIAMSON
10 Texas’ Best Lawyers
Fulbright & Jaworski | Dallas, TX
MICHAEL W. ANGLIN, TOBY L. GERBER, WILLIAM R.
GREENDYKE, LOUIS R. STRUBECK, JR.
Fulbright & Jaworski | San Antonio, TX
MICHAEL M. PARKER
Gardere Wynne Sewell | Dallas, TX
STEPHEN A. MCCARTIN, HOLLAND N. O’NEIL,
RICHARD M. ROBERSON, DEIRDRE B. RUCKMAN
Greenberg Traurig | Dallas, TX
CLIFTON R. JESSUP, JR., BRUCE H. WHITE
Haynes and Boone | Dallas, TX
ROBERT D. ALBERGOTTI, ROBIN E. PHELAN
Haynes and Boone | Fort Worth, TX
JOHN D. PENN, STEPHEN M. PEZANOSKY
Haynes and Boone | San Antonio, TX
ERIC TERRY
Hunton & Williams | Dallas, TX
MICHAEL S. HELD, LYNETTE R. WARMAN
Jackson Walker | San Antonio, TX
CLAIBORNE B. GREGORY, JR., J. SCOTT ROSE
Jones Day | Dallas, TX
GREGORY M. GORDON
Kane, Russell, Coleman & Logan | Dallas, TX
JOSEPH M. COLEMAN
Kelly Hart & Hallman | Fort Worth, TX
MICHAEL A. MCCONNELL
Langley & Banack | San Antonio, TX
DAVID S. GRAGG,
R. GLEN AYERS
210.736.6600 | Page 20
MacDonald + MacDonald | Dallas, TX
MARK E. MACDONALD
McGuire, Craddock & Strother | Dallas, TX
J. MARK CHEVALLIER
Munsch Hardt Kopf & Harr | Dallas, TX
E. LEE MORRIS, RUSSELL L. MUNSCH,
JOSEPH J. WIELEBINSKI
Neligan Foley | Dallas, TX
PATRICK J. NELIGAN, JR.
Oppenheimer, Blend, Harrison & Tate | San Antonio, TX
RAYMOND W. BATTAGLIA, JOHN H. TATE II
Plunkett & Gibson | San Antonio, TX
RONALD HORNBERGER
Rochelle McCullough | Dallas, TX
MICHAEL R. ROCHELLE
Shannon, Gracey, Ratliff & Miller | Fort Worth, TX
JOHN Y. BONDS III
Thompson & Knight | Dallas, TX
DAVID M. BENNETT, JAMES A. DONOHOE
Vinson & Elkins | Dallas, TX
JOSIAH M. DANIEL III, PAUL E. HEATH, JAMES J. LEE,
JAMES A. MARKUS, DANIEL C. STEWART,
WILLIAM L. WALLANDER
Weil, Gotshal & Manges | Dallas, TX
MARTIN A. SOSLAND
Winstead | Dallas, TX
R. MICHAEL FARQUHAR, PHILLIP L. LAMBERSON
Wright Ginsberg Brusilow | Dallas, TX
E. PAUL KEIFFER, FRANK J. WRIGHT
Bet-the-Company Litigation
Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld | San Antonio, TX
BARRY A. CHASNOFF, R. LAURENCE MACON
Baker Botts | Dallas, TX
ROD PHELAN
Bayne, Snell & Krause | San Antonio, TX
BARRY SNELL
Bracewell & Giuliani | San Antonio, TX
RICHARD C. DANYSH
Brown, Dean, Wiseman, Proctor, Hart & Howell | Fort
Worth, TX
BEALE DEAN
Cagle Broiles | Fort Worth, TX
ROWLAND DAVID BROILES
Carrington, Coleman, Sloman & Blumenthal | Dallas, TX
JAMES E. COLEMAN, JR., FLETCHER L. YARBROUGH
Clemens & Spencer | San Antonio, TX
GEORGE H. SPENCER, JR.
Cobb Martinez Woodward | Dallas, TX
WILLIAM D. COBB, JR.
Cox Smith Matthews | San Antonio, TX
HOWARD P. NEWTON
Davis, Cedillo & Mendoza | San Antonio, TX
RICARDO G. CEDILLO
For more info go to www.law.com/texasbest
Texas’
B es t L a wy e r s
®
Frank Branson
Continues His Crusade
for Safer Texas Highways
I
n the movie Class Action, Gene Hackman plays an attorney suing an
automobile manufacturer over an allegedly defective car. During the trial
in the movie, it is revealed that the manufacturer weighed the cost of
redesigning the car against the projected number of injuries and deaths
that would be caused by the defect, deciding it was more profitable to
leave the car as is. But, Class Action is just a movie, right? Unfortunately,
the fictional movie is based in reality. And no one knows that better than
Dallas attorney Frank Branson.
Branson has developed a niche for handling tort
cases involving the transportation industry. His interest in this area started in law school when he worked
as an insurance claims adjuster. He found that some
people in accidents were actually victimized twicefirst by the person or company responsible for the
accident and then by the insurers. While the victims
tended to hire lawyers who did not specialize in tort
cases, the insurers were represented by
experienced and well-funded attorneys,
he explains. It was an “uneven match,”
says Branson. So he decided that he
wanted to level the playing field for
“regular” people.
A
“
President Nixon about the NHTSA, arguing that they could not make a
profit if they were forced to install seatbelts and safety bumpers. Not much has
changed with the car industry, says Branson, who had a $7 million jury verdict
in 2006 against Mitsubishi on behalf of a collegiate soccer star injured in a
rollover crash.
As for buses, Branson was part of a legal team that represented the families
of residents of a Houston nursing home who had to be evacuated due to
Hurricane Rita. En route to Dallas, their bus burst into flames, killing 23
s long as
the industry
believes that
it is cheaper to make
Branson has handled many cases
involving the trucking industry, which
an unsafe product
he describes as having “systemic
than to make a
problems.” He says that some trucking
companies do not properly supervise or
safe one, nothing
screen their drivers or maintain their
trucks. For example, according to the
will change.”
complaint in one case, a company
– Frank L. Branson
ignored a truck driver’s repeated requests
to replace a tire or check its alignment.
The driver then drove to fast in the rain and caused a wreck that killed three
members of a Texas family. Defense counsel settled during trial. A complaint
in another case alleges that a company let a worker with a history of drug use
and driver’s license suspensions drive a truck containing hazardous waste.The
defense denied the allegations. In this case, the jury found that the driver and
his company were each grossly negligent.
Even after settling one case for $15 million and winning a jury verdict of
over $20 million in the other, Branson expects that the cases will have little
impact on the trucking industry. “It’s a high profit industry with low safety
requirements and a powerful lobby,” he explains.
According to Branson, the powerful car industry fights attempts to
strengthen safety standards by pressuring the National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration (NHTSA). And such pressure dates back to the agency’s
creation. Branson recalls hearing a tape of Ford executives complaining to
For more info go to www.law.com/texasbest
residents. According to the complaint filed in the case, the bus had a defect in
its hub-and-axle system that made it unreasonably dangerous. A 2007
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration report noted the probable
cause of the accident was insufficient lubrication of a rear axle, which
overheated and caused a fire in the wheel-well. The National Transportation
Safety Board indicated that poor maintenance was a reason why there wasn’t
proper lubrication. The defendants denied the allegations and the parties
agreed to an $80 million settlement.
So can the safety issues in the transportation industry be addressed?
As long as the industry believes that it is “cheaper to make an unsafe
product than to make a safe one,” nothing will change, explains Branson. He
believes that pressure must come from government and civil lawsuits. The
public must also lean on government to set standards “with the people’s safety
in mind—not what’s convenient for the industry.” And the government needs
to step up enforcement of its existing safety standards and impose “criminal
sanctions on the people behind the corporate entities,” he adds. Until such
changes are made, we will continue to see “the same horrific injuries caused
by the same safety problems,” sighs Branson.
–Robin L. Barton
Texas’ Best Lawyers 11
2010 S u r v e y
R es u lts
Figari & Davenport | Dallas, TX
MARK T. DAVENPORT, A. ERIN DWYER,
ERNEST E. FIGARI, JR.
Fish & Richardson | Dallas, TX
THOMAS M. MELSHEIMER
Fulbright & Jaworski | Dallas, TX
RODNEY ACKER, KARL G. DIAL, JONATHAN B.
SKIDMORE
Fulbright & Jaworski | San Antonio, TX
JOHN W. WEBER, JR.
Hankinson Levinger | Dallas, TX
JEFFREY S. LEVINGER
Harris, Finley & Bogle | Fort Worth, TX
ROLAND K. JOHNSON
Haynes and Boone | Dallas, TX
GEORGE W. BRAMBLETT, JR., NINA CORTELL,
BARRY F. MCNEIL
Haynes and Boone | San Antonio, TX
STEPHEN P. ALLISON, LAMONT A. JEFFERSON
HowryBreen | Austin, TX
TIMOTHY J. HERMAN,
RANDY R. HOWRY
512.474.7300 | Page 35
Ireland Carroll & Kelley | Tyler, TX
OTIS W. CARROLL
Jackson Walker | Dallas, TX
PAUL C. WATLER
Jackson Walker | Fort Worth, TX
ALBON O. HEAD, JR.
K&L Gates | Dallas, TX
ROBERT EDWIN DAVIS, ROBERT H. MOW, JR.
Kelly Hart & Hallman | Fort Worth, TX
DONALD E. HERRMANN, E. GLEN JOHNSON,
DEE J. KELLY, SR., MARSHALL M. SEARCY, JR.
Calabrese Huff | Dallas, TX
CARLA M. CALABRESE
Cox Waters | Dallas, TX
GAY G. COX
Goranson, Bain, Larsen, Greenwald,
Maultsbey & Murphy | Dallas, TX
PAULA LARSEN
Koons, Fuller, Vanden, Eykel
& Robertson | Dallas, TX
KEVIN R. FULLER
214.871.2727 | Page 21
Verner & Brumley | Dallas, TX
JANET P. BRUMLEY
Woods, May & Matlock | McKinney, TX
ROBERT J. MATLOCK
Commercial Litigation
Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld | San Antonio, TX
BARRY A. CHASNOFF, DANIEL MCNEEL LANE, JR., R.
LAURENCE MACON
Andrews Kurth | Dallas, TX
JERRY L. BEANE
Baker & McKenzie | Dallas, TX
BRIAN J. HURST
Baker Botts | Dallas, TX
VAN H. BECKWITH, BRYANT C. BOREN, JR., LARRY D.
CARLSON, TIMOTHY S. DURST, SAMARA L. KLINE,
GEORGE C. LAMB III, TIMOTHY W. MOUNTZ, ROD
PHELAN, ROBB L. VOYLES
Bayne, Snell & Krause | San Antonio, TX
BARRY SNELL
Bickel & Brewer | Dallas, TX
WILLIAM A. BREWER III
Langley & Banack | San Antonio, TX
214.653.4000 | Page 9
210.736.6600 | Page 20
Bracewell & Giuliani | San Antonio, TX
RICHARD C. DANYSH
Brock Person Guerra Reyna | San Antonio, TX
RICARDO R. REYNA
Brown, Dean, Wiseman, Proctor, Hart & Howell | Fort
Worth, TX
BEALE DEAN
Cagle Broiles | Fort Worth, TX
ROWLAND DAVID BROILES
Cantey Hanger | Fort Worth, TX
STEPHEN LYLE TATUM
Capshaw DeRieux | Longview, TX
S. CALVIN CAPSHAW
Carrington, Coleman, Sloman & Blumenthal | Dallas, TX
JAMES E. COLEMAN, JR., DIANE M. SUMOSKI,
FLETCHER L. YARBROUGH
Clemens & Spencer | San Antonio, TX
GEORGE H. SPENCER, JR.
Cobb Martinez Woodward | Dallas, TX
WILLIAM D. COBB, JR.
Collins Basinger & Pullman | Dallas, TX
RICHARD D. PULLMAN
Cowles & Thompson | Dallas, TX
SIM ISRAELOFF
Cox Smith Matthews | San Antonio, TX
HOWARD P. NEWTON, BRETT W. SCHOUEST,
JAMES K. SPIVEY, JAMES M. TRUSS
Davis, Cedillo & Mendoza | San Antonio, TX
RICARDO G. CEDILLO
Figari & Davenport | Dallas, TX
DONALD COLLELUORI, MARK T. DAVENPORT, A. ERIN
DWYER, ERNEST E. FIGARI, JR., ANDREW G. JUBINSKY
Fish & Richardson | Dallas, TX
WILLIAM B. MATEJA, THOMAS M. MELSHEIMER
Fulbright & Jaworski | Dallas, TX
RODNEY ACKER, THEODORE W. DANIEL, DAN D.
DAVISON, KARL G. DIAL, BRETT C. GOVETT,
JONATHAN B. SKIDMORE, MICHAEL C. STEINDORF,
MICHAEL A. SWARTZENDRUBER
Fulbright & Jaworski | San Antonio, TX
CHARLES A. DEACON, DEAN V. FLEMING, ROBERT G.
NEWMAN, JOHN W. WEBER, JR.
Gardere Wynne Sewell | Dallas, TX
CURTIS L. FRISBIE, JR., JOE B. HARRISON, CYNTHIA C.
HOLLINGSWORTH
Gardner & Aldrich | Fort Worth, TX
TERRY GARDNER
Gruber Hurst Johansen Hail | Dallas, TX
MARK A. SHANK
Haltom & Doan | Texarkana, TX
JENNIFER HALTOM DOAN, JAMES N. HALTOM
EMERSON BANACK, JR.
Law Offices of Richard C. Mosty | Kerrville, TX
RICHARD C. MOSTY
Locke Lord Bissell & Liddell | Dallas, TX
GEORGE E. BOWLES, JOHN H. MCELHANEY
Loewinsohn Flegle Deary | Dallas, TX
ALAN S. LOEWINSOHN
Lynn Tillotson Pinker & Cox | Dallas, TX
ERIC PINKER
McKool Smith | Dallas, TX
SAMUEL F. BAXTER, LEWIS T. LECLAIR, MIKE MCKOOL,
THEODORE STEVENSON III
McMahon Surovik Suttle | Abilene, TX
STEPHEN H. SUTTLE
Morrison & Shelton | Wichita Falls, TX
LONNY D. MORRISON
Munck Carter | Dallas, TX
E. LEON CARTER
Patton, Tidwell & Schroeder | Texarkana, TX
NICHOLAS H. PATTON
Pipkin, Oliver & Bradley | San Antonio, TX
MARVIN G. PIPKIN
Plunkett & Gibson | San Antonio, TX
ALLEN LEWIN PLUNKETT
Sayles Werbner | Dallas, TX
RICHARD A. SAYLES, MARK S. WERBNER
Shannon, Gracey, Ratliff & Miller | Fort Worth, TX
KLEBER C. MILLER, R. H. WALLACE, JR.
Soules & Wallace | San Antonio, TX
LUTHER H. SOULES III
Strasburger & Price | Dallas, TX
P. MICHAEL JUNG, DAVID N. KITNER
Susman Godfrey | Dallas, TX
BARRY C. BARNETT, TERRELL W. OXFORD
Thompson & Knight | Dallas, TX
GEORGE C. CHAPMAN, CRAIG A. HAYNES, GREGORY
S.C. HUFFMAN, JOHN H. MARTIN, TIMOTHY R.
MCCORMICK
Vinson & Elkins | Dallas, TX
WILLIAM B. DAWSON, KAREN L. HIRSCHMAN,
THOMAS S. LEATHERBURY, WILLIAM D. SIMS, JR.
Biotechnology Law
Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal | Dallas, TX
ROBERT ELDON HANSON, JR.
Collaborative Law: Family Law
Allison | Johnson | Plano, TX
JODY L. JOHNSON
12 Texas’ Best Lawyers
Hankinson Levinger | Dallas, TX
JEFFREY S. LEVINGER
Harris, Finley & Bogle | Fort Worth, TX
ROLAND K. JOHNSON
Haynes and Boone | Dallas, TX
GEORGE W. BRAMBLETT, JR., NINA CORTELL, SHARON
N. FREYTAG, ROBIN P. HARTMANN, NOEL M. B.
HENSLEY, THOMAS E. KURTH, BARRY F. MCNEIL,
DONALD C. TEMPLIN
Haynes and Boone | Fort Worth, TX
THOMAS J. WILLIAMS
Haynes and Boone | San Antonio, TX
STEPHEN P. ALLISON, LAMONT A. JEFFERSON
Hornberger Sheehan Fuller & Beiter | San Antonio, TX
KEVIN MICHAEL BEITER
HowryBreen | Austin, TX
SEAN E. BREEN,
TIMOTHY J. HERMAN,
RANDY R. HOWRY
512.474.7300 | Page 35
Ireland Carroll & Kelley | Tyler, TX
OTIS W. CARROLL
Jackson Walker | Dallas, TX
ROBERT M. COHAN, MARK T. JOSEPHS, KATHLEEN M.
LAVALLE, SCOTT M. MCELHANEY, GORDON M.
SHAPIRO, PAUL C. WATLER
Jackson Walker | Fort Worth, TX
ALBON O. HEAD, JR.
Jenkens & Gilchrist | Dallas, TX
JOHN ANDERSON GILLIAM
K&L Gates | Dallas, TX
KIM J. ASKEW, ROBERT EDWIN DAVIS, PAUL R.
GENENDER, PAUL M. KONING, JOHN H. MCDOWELL,
JR., ROBERT H. MOW, JR.
Kelly Hart & Hallman | Fort Worth, TX
LARS L. BERG, HUGH G. CONNOR II, DONALD E.
HERRMANN, E. GLEN JOHNSON, DEE J. KELLY, SR.,
DEE J. KELLY, JR., MARSHALL M. SEARCY, JR., BRIAN S.
STAGNER, WILLIAM N. WARREN
Kessler & Collins | Dallas, TX
GARY S. KESSLER
214.379.0722 | Page 33
Kleiman Lawrence Baskind Fitzgerald | Dallas, TX
PAUL D. SCHOONOVER
Langley & Banack | San Antonio, TX
EMERSON BANACK, JR.,
RICHARD M. BUTLER,
LINDA S. McDONALD,
JOYCE W. MOORE
210.736.6600 | Page 20
Law Offices of Alan W. Harris | Dallas, TX
ALAN W. HARRIS
Law Offices of Richard C. Mosty | Kerrville, TX
RICHARD C. MOSTY
Locke Lord Bissell & Liddell | Dallas, TX
GEORGE E. BOWLES, JERRY K. CLEMENTS,
PAUL E. COGGINS, JOHN H. MCELHANEY
Loewinsohn Flegle Deary | Dallas, TX
DAVID R. DEARY, JIM L. FLEGLE, JR.,
ALAN S. LOEWINSOHN
Looper Reed & McGraw | Dallas, TX
CHARLES W. SARTAIN
Lynn Tillotson Pinker & Cox | Dallas, TX
TREY COX, ERIC PINKER
McKool Smith | Dallas, TX
SAMUEL F. BAXTER, GARY J. CRUCIANI, ROBERT ELKIN,
THOMAS A. GRAVES, LEWIS T. LECLAIR, MIKE
MCKOOL, THEODORE STEVENSON III
McMahon Surovik Suttle | Abilene, TX
STEPHEN H. SUTTLE
Meckler Bulger Tilson Marick & Pearson | Dallas, TX
ROBERT D. ALLEN
Monning & Wynne | Dallas, TX
BRUCE MONNING
Morrison & Shelton | Wichita Falls, TX
LONNY D. MORRISON
Munck Carter | Dallas, TX
E. LEON CARTER
Munsch Hardt Kopf & Harr | Dallas, TX
JAMES D. JORDAN
Oppenheimer, Blend, Harrison & Tate | San Antonio, TX
REESE L. HARRISON, JR.
Parker, Bunt & Ainsworth | Tyler, TX
ROBERT C. BUNT
For more info go to www.law.com/texasbest
Texas’
B es t L a wy e r s
®
William Brewer
on the Challenges of
Bet-The-Business Litigation Cases
Y
ou need look no further than the front page of the business section,
to find cautionary tales of companies facing “bet-the-business” or
“bet-the-company” legal situations in which the businesses are
literally involved in a fight for their life. Whether it is debt issues,
partnership disputes, breach of contract claims, civil lawsuits
involving intellectual property rights,Securities
Exchange Commission allegations of financial
fraud—or worse—a federal prosecutor bringing
criminal charges, major corporations face possible
extinction if they don’t prevail.
“Almost every case involves millions of bits of information,” adds Brewer.
For example, a case can involve a massive number of records from a multi-year
period and require real-time access to documents and information. Brewer’s
firm created a document retrieval and archiving system to help manage the
multitude of data and documents involved in their bet-the-business cases.The
system allows the lawyers to instantaneously access documents and
“improved the thoroughness of our
review, and dramatically improved the
efficiency of the process,” he explains.
Losing is not an option in the largest cases because
when the business loses, thousands of jobs and
hundreds of millions of dollars in client equity can be
lost, says William A. Brewer III, a co-founder of
Bickel & Brewer, a law firm with offices in Dallas
and New York, specializing in bet-the-business,
high stakes litigation.
Finally, both the clients and their
lawyers must be prepared to face the
court of public opinion that inevitably scrutinizes high stakes cases—
which requires the expertise of public
relations professionals. “So many of
these cases are playing out in the business and mainstream press because of
the impact they have—directly for
employees, owners and lenders and,
indirectly, as precedent for others,” says
Brewer. Companies need to address
that public forum, he advises, because
“companies are dependent on the
faith and confidence their customers,
investors and employees place in
them.” Brewer’s firm relies on
in-house public relations expertise to help the lawyers and the clients respond
to intense media attention.
A
“
“Bet-the-business cases are unlike any
lmost every
other type of litigation,” notes Brewer.
case involves
“Cases that may be tried in two to three
days in court are a different animal from
millions of
the multi-week, mega-cases that are
typical of our docket.” Bet-the-business
bits of information.”
cases are also more likely to go to trial
– William A. Brewer III
than other business disputes because
“clients may have more to gain—and
more to protect,” he explains. Such high
stakes situations arise outside the courtroom as well. A growing part of his
practice, Brewer notes, is representing clients in congressional hearings, before
government entities and in arbitrations.
Clients and Lawyers Face Unique Challenges
When confronting such high stakes predicaments, “You need a firm that, at a
minimum, can absorb problems quickly, understand the law and navigate all
of the tactical and strategic issues that will determine the outcome,” says
Brewer.That often requires not only legal expertise but significant non-lawyer
resources as well because of the subject matter involved.
“The most important cases are typically complex, involving diverse
businesses (e.g. financial services, real estate, intellectual property), legal issues
(e.g. antitrust, securities, patents, contract, common law) and impacts (e.g.
damages and financial consequences),” explains Brewer. Therefore, having
in-house technical and financial resources available has provided his firm
an advantage in evaluating cases and making early tactical decisions—and
makes the process more efficient and cost-effective, he says. Bickel & Brewer
utilizes a team of in-house investigators and consultants such as MBAs,
accountants, tax and finance professionals, engineers and forensic experts to
help analyze all the issues.
For more info go to www.law.com/texasbest
Early Legal Advice Provides Best Strategy
Clients who seek help early while a problem is developing have a better
chance of success. The current economic environment provides examples of
companies facing financial distress and the perils of delay in getting legal advice.
Explains Brewer: “Many businessmen hope against hope that everything will
work out without analyzing the steps that can be taken to protect the assets of
the entity—until it is too late.”
Proactively seeking legal advice before a situation becomes a bet-thebusiness scenario is the best strategy. Brewer notes that the clients who have
been with the firm for years are there not because they have a bet-the-business
lawsuit every year but because they respect the judgment of the firm’s lawyers
and ask their advice on how to avoid problems. One of the best preventive
practices for any company, advises Brewer, “is to understand the legal
opportunities, challenges and threats being faced in your industry. Another is
to seek the counsel of lawyers who will share a straight-forward and honest
point of view—not necessarily what the client wants to hear but what the
client needs to hear.”
–Kelly A. Briganti
Texas’ Best Lawyers 13
2010 S u r v e y
R es u lts
Patton Boggs | Dallas, TX
JOSEPH M. COX
Patton, Tidwell & Schroeder | Texarkana, TX
NICHOLAS H. PATTON
Pipkin, Oliver & Bradley | San Antonio, TX
MARVIN G. PIPKIN
Plunkett & Gibson | San Antonio, TX
ALLEN LEWIN PLUNKETT
Prichard, Hawkins, McFarland and Young | San Antonio, TX
DAVID M. PRICHARD
Sayles Werbner | Dallas, TX
RICHARD A. SAYLES, MARK S. WERBNER
Shackelford, Melton & McKinley | Dallas, TX
BRIAN D. MELTON
Shannon, Gracey, Ratliff & Miller | Fort Worth, TX
VICTOR ANDERSON, JR., KLEBER C. MILLER, R. H.
WALLACE, JR.
Simpson Woolley | Dallas, TX
N. HENRY SIMPSON
Soules & Wallace | San Antonio, TX
LUTHER H. SOULES III
Strasburger & Price | Dallas, TX
P. MICHAEL JUNG, DAVID N. KITNER
Strasburger & Price | San Antonio, TX
MERRITT M. CLEMENTS, JOHN ALEX HUDDLESTON,
ANDREW L. KERR, JOHN M. PINCKNEY III
Susman Godfrey | Dallas, TX
BARRY C. BARNETT, OPHELIA F. CAMIÑA,
TERRELL W. OXFORD
The Schmidt Firm | Dallas, TX
JAMES HOLMES
Thompson & Knight | Dallas, TX
WILLIAM L. BANOWSKY, GEORGE C. CHAPMAN,
GREG W. CURRY, CRAIG A. HAYNES, GREGORY S.C.
HUFFMAN, WILLIAM M. KATZ, JR., JOHN A.
MACKINTOSH, JOHN H. MARTIN, TIMOTHY R.
MCCORMICK, DAVID R. NOTEWARE,
STEPHEN C. RASCH
Thompson & Knight | Fort Worth, TX
E. MICHAEL SHEEHAN
Vinson & Elkins | Dallas, TX
WILLIAM B. DAWSON, KAREN L. HIRSCHMAN,
GEORGE M. KRYDER, THOMAS S. LEATHERBURY,
CAROL C. PAYNE, WILLIAM D. SIMS, JR.,
RUSSELL YAGER
Weil, Gotshal & Manges | Dallas, TX
T. RAY GUY
Whitaker | Dallas, TX
ELIZABETH B. WHITAKER
Winstead | Dallas, TX
W. MIKE BAGGETT, JAMES DAVID BROWN,
JAY J. MADRID
Wright Brown & Close | Houston, TX
HARVEY G. BROWN, JR.
713.572.4321 | Back Cover
Young, Pickett & Lee | Texarkana, TX
DAMON YOUNG
Communications Law
Baker Botts | Dallas, TX
VAN H. BECKWITH, BRYANT C. BOREN, JR., DON J.
MCDERMETT, JR.
Gardere Wynne Sewell | Dallas, TX
PETER VOGEL
Construction Law
Construction Law
Brown, Dean, Wiseman, Proctor, Hart & Howell | Fort
Worth, TX
RICHARD W. WISEMAN
Butler Law Firm | Flower Mound, TX
DALE E. BUTLER
Canterbury, Elder, Gooch, Surratt, Shapiro & Stein |
Dallas, TX
JOSEPH F. CANTERBURY, JR., W. KYLE GOOCH,
DAVID G. SURRATT
Coats, Rose, Yale, Ryman & Lee | Dallas, TX
WILLIAM B. SHORT, JR.
Coats, Rose, Yale, Ryman & Lee | San Antonio, TX
RICHARD L. REED
Cokinos, Bosien & Young | Arlington, TX
PATRICK J. WIELINSKI
Fisk & Fielder | Dallas, TX
HOLLYE C. FISK
Ford Nassen & Baldwin | Dallas, TX
JEFFREY A. FORD, ROBERT L. MEYERS III
14 Texas’ Best Lawyers
Fulbright & Jaworski | Dallas, TX
THEODORE W. DANIEL
Fulbright & Jaworski | San Antonio, TX
JOHN W. WEBER, JR.
Goins, Underkofler, Crawford & Langdon | Dallas, TX
PAUL B. UNDERKOFLER
Hunton & Williams | Dallas, TX
MICHAEL F. ALBERS
Matthews, Stein, Shiels, Pearce, Knott, Eden & Davis |
Dallas, TX
THOMAS ALAN SHIELS
Plunkett & Gibson | San Antonio, TX
ALLEN LEWIN PLUNKETT
Pratt & Yungblut | Arlington, TX
DONALD O. PRATT, STEPHEN K. YUNGBLUT
Strasburger & Price | San Antonio, TX
JOHN ALEX HUDDLESTON, EDWARD F. VALDESPINO
The Gardner Law Firm | San Antonio, TX
WILLIAM W. SOMMERS
The Miller Law Firm | Dallas, TX
MICHAEL A. MILLER
Thomas, Feldman & Wilshusen | Dallas, TX
FRED D. WILSHUSEN
Winstead | Dallas, TX
MICHELLE I. RIEGER
Corporate Governance
and Compliance Law
Baker Botts | Dallas, TX
ANDREW M. BAKER, JOHN W. MARTIN
Bracewell & Giuliani | Dallas, TX
BRUCE A. CHEATHAM
Carrington, Coleman, Sloman & Blumenthal | Dallas, TX
JIM A. WATSON, FLETCHER L. YARBROUGH
Ellis & Tierney | Dallas, TX
PETER TIERNEY
Fulbright & Jaworski | Dallas, TX
JAMES R. GRIFFIN
Gardere Wynne Sewell | Dallas, TX
LARRY L. SCHOENBRUN
Haynes and Boone | Dallas, TX
MICHAEL M. BOONE
Haynes and Boone | Fort Worth, TX
BRIAN D. BARNARD
Jackson Walker | Dallas, TX
BYRON F. EGAN
Thompson & Knight | Dallas, TX
STEVEN K. COCHRAN, PETER ALAN LODWICK
Vinson & Elkins | Dallas, TX
MICHAEL D. WORTLEY
Weil, Gotshal & Manges | Dallas, TX
MICHAEL A. SASLAW
Corporate Law
Baker & McKenzie | Dallas, TX
ALAN G. HARVEY
Baker Botts | Dallas, TX
CRAIG ADAMS, ANDREW M. BAKER, NEEL LEMON,
JOHN W. MARTIN, DON J. MCDERMETT, JR.,
GEOFFREY L. NEWTON, DOUGLASS M. RAYBURN
Bracewell & Giuliani | Dallas, TX
BRUCE A. CHEATHAM, JANICE Z. DAVIS
Carrington, Coleman, Sloman & Blumenthal | Dallas, TX
JIM A. WATSON, FLETCHER L. YARBROUGH
Cox Smith Matthews | San Antonio, TX
JOHN D. FISCH, RICHARD E. GOLDSMITH, CECIL
SCHENKER, JAMES B. SMITH, JR., DAN G. WEBSTER III
Fulbright & Jaworski | Dallas, TX
THOMAS G. ADLER, GLEN JAMES HETTINGER,
THOMAS WILLIAM HUGHES, KENNETH L. STEWART
Fulbright & Jaworski | San Antonio, TX
DARYL L. LANSDALE, JR.
Gardere Wynne Sewell | Dallas, TX
LAWRENCE E. GLASGOW, LAWRENCE B. GOLDSTEIN,
ALAN J. PERKINS, ROBERT SARFATIS, LARRY L.
SCHOENBRUN, RICHARD A. TULLI
George W. Coleman | Dallas, TX
GEORGE W. COLEMAN
Gibson Dunn | Dallas, TX
HARLAN P. COHEN, IRWIN F. SENTILLES III
Haynes and Boone | Dallas, TX
MICHAEL M. BOONE, ROBIN P. HARTMANN, WILLIAM
R. HAYS III, DARREL A. RICE, GREGORY R. SAMUEL,
JANICE V. SHARRY
Haynes and Boone | Fort Worth, TX
BRIAN D. BARNARD, WILLIAM D. RATLIFF III
Hornberger Sheehan Fuller & Beiter | San Antonio, TX
T. DREW CAUTHORN
Hunton & Williams | Dallas, TX
HENRY GILCHRIST, LARRY STEVEN LESHIN, DARYL
BRUCE ROBERTSON
J. Scott Chase | Dallas, TX
J. SCOTT CHASE
Jackson Walker | Dallas, TX
BYRON F. EGAN, JAMES S. RYAN III
Jackson Walker | San Antonio, TX
STEVEN R. JACOBS, PATRICK B. TOBIN
K&L Gates | Dallas, TX
WILSON CHU, DAVID G. LUTHER, JR.
Kelly Hart & Hallman | Fort Worth, TX
F. RICHARD BERNASEK, WILLIAM P. HALLMAN, JR.,
MARK L. HART, JR., DEE J. KELLY, SR.
Law Offices of James M. Doyle, Jr. | San Antonio, TX
JAMES M. DOYLE, JR.
Lidji & Dorey | Dallas, TX
BRIAN M. LIDJI
Locke Lord Bissell & Liddell | Dallas, TX
BRYAN E. BISHOP, DON M. GLENDENNING, JOHN B.
MCKNIGHT
Munsch Hardt Kopf & Harr | Dallas, TX
SALLY A. SCHREIBER
Oppenheimer, Blend, Harrison & Tate | San Antonio, TX
BRUCE M. MITCHELL, J. DAVID OPPENHEIMER
Shannon, Gracey, Ratliff & Miller | Fort Worth, TX
SAM ROSEN
Strasburger & Price | Dallas, TX
CAROL GLENDENNING
Thompson & Knight | Dallas, TX
SAM P. BURFORD, JR., STEVEN K. COCHRAN, ANN
MARIE COWDREY, JOE DANNENMAIER, FRED W.
FULTON, LAWRENCE HALL, JAMES L. IRISH III, PETER
ALAN LODWICK, JEFFREY A. ZLOTKY
Vinson & Elkins | Dallas, TX
ALAN J. BOGDANOW, JEFFREY A. CHAPMAN, MARK
EARLY, ROBERT L. KIMBALL, RODNEY L. MOORE, A.
WINSTON OXLEY, MICHAEL D. WORTLEY
Weil, Gotshal & Manges | Dallas, TX
R. SCOTT COHEN, ANGELA FONTANA, D. GILBERT
FRIEDLANDER, JEFFREY B. HITT, MARY R. KORBY,
MICHAEL A. SASLAW, R. JAY TABOR, GLENN D. WEST
Criminal Defense: Non-White-Collar
Bain, Files, Jarrett, Bain & Harrison | Tyler, TX
F. R. FILES, JR.
Burleson, Pate & Gibson | Dallas, TX
MICHAEL PAUL GIBSON, TOM PAPPAS
Charles D. Butts | San Antonio, TX
CHARLES D. BUTTS
DeGuerin & Dickson | Houston, TX
DICK DEGUERIN
713.223.5959 | Page 32
Evans, Gandy, Daniel & Moore | Fort Worth, TX
TIM EVANS
Fitzpatrick Hagood Smith & Uhl | Dallas, TX
DANIEL K. HAGOOD
Goldstein, Goldstein & Hilley | San Antonio, TX
GERALD HARRIS GOLDSTEIN, VAN G. HILLEY
Hasdorff & Convery | San Antonio, TX
JOHN A. CONVERY
Jackson & Hagen | Denton, TX
RICK HAGEN
James B. Parks | San Antonio, TX
JAMES B. PARKS
Jerry Cobb | Denton, TX
JERRY W. COBB
John F. Carroll | San Antonio, TX
JOHN F. CARROLL
John M. Economidy | San Antonio, TX
JOHN M. ECONOMIDY
Kearney | Wynn | Fort Worth, TX
JEFFREY A. KEARNEY, WILLIAM REAGAN WYNN
Law Office of Jim Burnham | Dallas, TX
JAMES D. BURNHAM
Law Offices of Jack V. Strickland | Fort Worth, TX
JACK VERNON STRICKLAND, JR.
Mark Stevens | San Antonio, TX
MARK STEVENS
Michael Clark Gross | San Antonio, TX
MICHAEL CLARK GROSS
Mills & Williams | Dallas, TX
THOMAS W. MILLS, JR.
Milner & Finn | Dallas, TX
GEORGE R. MILNER, JR.
Nicholas & Barrera | San Antonio, TX
ROY R. BARRERA, SR.
For more info go to www.law.com/texasbest
Texas’
B es t L a wy e r s
®
Dan Cogdell
Motorcycles and Mentors
Have Helped Shaped Him
W
hen high-profile people in Texas
face criminal charges, they often
turn to Dan Cogdell for help.
As a skilled criminal defense
attorney, Cogdell has represented
clients as varied as an Enron
executive, a Branch Davidian and a cancer
doctor. They come to Cogdell not for the
best plea deal - but to fight the charges.
After all, Cogdell believes that “nothing’s
more important than the right to a jury trial.”
Cogdell’s path to becoming a lawyer is as
unique as he is. Practicing law was not his
lifelong childhood dream. Instead, his love of
motorcycles inadvertently led him to a
career in law. While racing motorcycles in
high school, Cogdell encountered an “old
guy who always had new bikes and the best
equipment.” Cogdell had no idea that this
fellow racing enthusiast was Richard
“Racehorse” Haynes, the iconic Texas
criminal defense attorney - until he saw TV
coverage of one of his famous trials. Cogdell
proceeded to read everything that Haynes
had written and instantly felt compelled to not only go to law school
but to also one day work for Haynes.
Cogdell says that working with Haynes, who he describes as gracious
and decent, was a great experience. He even tried to “be” Haynes, going
so far as to wear half-glasses and smoke a pipe until a friend told him
that he looked ridiculous. She was right, he says. Cogdell realized that
“you have to be who you are.” Otherwise, jurors will see right through
you, he explains.
But this passion takes a toll on Cogdell and his family. Cogdell notes
that it is hard to invest so much emotionally. “I give up a piece of myself
with every case - and there aren’t that many pieces left,” he says. As a
result, he is more selective now about the cases that he takes. The fact
that “a client can write a big check” is not enough for him anymore, he
For more info go to www.law.com/texasbest
explains. Now, he looks for cases in
which “I can make a difference, where
I can help somebody.”
Cogdell’s recent defense of a
former Marine against murder charges
is a good example of such a case. The
Marine was accused of stabbing a
Rice University basketball player to
death after a fight in a bar. Cogdell
believed that the Marine, who was
just home from Iraq, deserved a
chance. So he took the case at a much
reduced fee and won.
“T
Cogdell’s approach to trials has also
changed over the course of his career.
“The longer I’m a lawyer, the more I
try to look at a case through the eyes
of a juror, not as a lawyer.”
he longer
I’m a
lawyer, the
more I try to look at a
case through the eyes
of a juror, not as a
lawyer.” – Dan Cogdell
In addition, TV shows have
influenced jurors’ expectations.
According to Cogdell, CSI has been
one of the most influential. Jurors
really expect to see, “that missing
fingernail clipping,” says Cogdell.
And jurors’ raised expectations apply
to both the prosecution and defense.
As a result, technical and scientific
evidence are more important
now than they were even five years
ago, explains Cogdell.
The way things are done in the courtroom may have changed
through the years-but Cogdell’s personal philosophy remains the same:
“There is no such thing as a case that’s unimportant.”
All this, and he still races motorcycles.
–Robin L. Barton
Texas’ Best Lawyers 15
2010 S u r v e y
R es u lts
Patrick L. Hancock | San Antonio, TX
PATRICK L. HANCOCK
Ravkind & Associates | Dallas, TX
WILLIAM M. RAVKIND
Robert Hinton & Associates | Dallas, TX
ROBERT C. HINTON, JR.
Ronald L. Goranson | Dallas, TX
RONALD L. GORANSON
Sorrels, Udashen & Anton | Dallas, TX
BRUCE ANTON, BARRY SORRELS, ROBERT UDASHEN,
GARY A. UDASHEN
Strasburger & Price | San Antonio, TX
JOHN M. PINCKNEY III
Thompson & Knight | San Antonio, TX
MICHAEL W. MCCRUM
William A. Bratton | Dallas, TX
WILLIAM A. BRATTON III
Young, Pickett & Lee | Texarkana, TX
DAMON YOUNG
Criminal Defense: White-Collar
Bain, Files, Jarrett, Bain & Harrison | Tyler, TX
F. R. FILES, JR.
Burleson, Pate & Gibson | Dallas, TX
MICHAEL PAUL GIBSON
Charles D. Butts | San Antonio, TX
CHARLES D. BUTTS
Evans, Gandy, Daniel & Moore | Fort Worth, TX
TIM EVANS
Cogdell & Ardoin | Houston, TX
DAN L. COGDELL
Young, Pickett & Lee | Texarkana, TX
DAMON YOUNG
Derivatives Law
Baker Botts | Dallas, TX
GEORGE C. LAMB III, TIMOTHY W. MOUNTZ
Jones Day | Dallas, TX
PATRICIA J. VILLAREAL
DUI/DWI Defense
John F. Carroll | San Antonio, TX
JOHN F. CARROLL
Law Offices of George A. Scharmen | San Antonio, TX
GEORGE SCHARMEN
Mark Stevens | San Antonio, TX
MARK STEVENS
Education Law
Adams, Lynch & Loftin | Grapevine, TX
NEAL W. ADAMS
Brackett & Ellis | Fort Worth, TX
LYNN ROSSI SCOTT
Elder Law
K.T. Whitehead | San Antonio, TX
KATHLEEN T. WHITEHEAD
Law Offices of Charles Kennedy, C.P.A. | Arlington, TX
CHARLES KENNEDY
Schoenbaum, Curphy & Scanlan | San Antonio, TX
PATRICIA F. SITCHLER
713.426.2244 | Page 19
DeGuerin & Dickson | Houston, TX
DICK DEGUERIN
713.223.5959 | Page 32
Fish & Richardson | Dallas, TX
THOMAS M. MELSHEIMER
Goldstein, Goldstein & Hilley | San Antonio, TX
GERALD HARRIS GOLDSTEIN, VAN G. HILLEY,
CYNTHIA EVA ORR
Hasdorff & Convery | San Antonio, TX
JOHN A. CONVERY
Haynes and Boone | Dallas, TX
BARRY F. MCNEIL
Jackson & Hagen | Denton, TX
RICK HAGEN
James B. Parks | San Antonio, TX
JAMES B. PARKS
John F. Carroll | San Antonio, TX
JOHN F. CARROLL
Kearney | Wynn | Fort Worth, TX
JEFFREY A. KEARNEY, WILLIAM REAGAN WYNN
Law Offices of Jack Paul Leon | San Antonio, TX
JACK PAUL LEON
Law Offices of Jack V. Strickland | Fort Worth, TX
JACK VERNON STRICKLAND, JR.
Law Offices of Shirley Baccus-Lobel | Dallas, TX
SHIRLEY BACCUS-LOBEL
Locke Lord Bissell & Liddell | Dallas, TX
PAUL E. COGGINS
Mark Stevens | San Antonio, TX
MARK STEVENS
Meadows, Collier, Reed, Cousins & Blau | Dallas, TX
CHARLES W. BLAU, CHARLES M. MEADOWS, JR.
Mills & Williams | Dallas, TX
THOMAS W. MILLS, JR.
Milner & Finn | Dallas, TX
GEORGE R. MILNER, JR.
Nicholas & Barrera | San Antonio, TX
ROY R. BARRERA, SR.
Oppenheimer, Blend, Harrison & Tate | San Antonio, TX
REESE L. HARRISON, JR.
Ravkind & Associates | Dallas, TX
WILLIAM M. RAVKIND
Robert Hinton & Associates | Dallas, TX
ROBERT C. HINTON, JR.
Sayles Werbner | Dallas, TX
MARK S. WERBNER
Shannon, Gracey, Ratliff & Miller | Fort Worth, TX
R. H. WALLACE, JR.
Sorrels, Udashen & Anton | Dallas, TX
BARRY SORRELS, ROBERT UDASHEN, GARY A.
UDASHEN
The Law Offices of Samuel Bayless | San Antonio, TX
SAMUEL H. BAYLESS
Thompson & Knight | San Antonio, TX
MICHAEL W. MCCRUM
16 Texas’ Best Lawyers
Eminent Domain and
Condemnation Law
Barron & Adler | Austin, TX
STEPHEN I. ADLER,
MICHAEL M. BARRON
512.478.4995 | Page 32
Brown, Dean, Wiseman, Proctor, Hart
& Howell | Fort Worth, TX
RICHARD W. WISEMAN
Langley & Banack | San Antonio, TX
ROBERT B. WERNER
210.736.6600 | Page 20
Law Offices of Linda A. Wilkins | Dallas, TX
LINDA A. WILKINS
Locke Lord Bissell & Liddell | Dallas, TX
STUART M. BUMPAS, EDWARD PHILIP BUSH
Morgan, Lewis & Bockius | Dallas, TX
RIVA T. JOHNSON, HEATH A. MILLER, ERIN TURLEY
Robert M. Herman | Dallas, TX
ROBERT M. HERMAN
Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal | Dallas, TX
T. DAVID COWART
Thompson & Knight | Dallas, TX
SHARON M. FOUNTAIN, J. MIKE HOLT, SHELLY A.
YOUREE
Thompson & Knight | Fort Worth, TX
R. GORDON APPLEMAN
Vinson & Elkins | Dallas, TX
DAVID C. D’ALESSANDRO, SHANE M. TUCKER
Energy Law
Baker Botts | Dallas, TX
ROD PHELAN
Cox Smith Matthews | San Antonio, TX
W. ROGER WILSON, JON C. WOOD
Haynes and Boone | San Antonio, TX
DIANA LIEBMANN
Jackson Walker | Dallas, TX
JOHN B. HOLDEN, JR., FRANK P. MCEACHERN
Looper Reed & McGraw | Dallas, TX
CHARLES W. SARTAIN
McClure & Cross | Dallas, TX
TERRY I. CROSS
Shannon, Gracey, Ratliff & Miller | Fort Worth, TX
KLEBER C. MILLER
Thompson & Knight | Dallas, TX
ANDREW B. DERMAN, JOHN W. RAIN
Vinson & Elkins | Dallas, TX
RICHARD L. ADAMS, JO ANN BIGGS, DAVID S. PECK
Winstead | Dallas, TX
STANLEY G. HARVEY
Kenneth A. Wright | Dallas, TX
Environmental Law
972.484.1800 | Page 33
Law Office Joseph H. Staley | Dallas, TX
JOSEPH H. STALEY, JR.
Andrews Kurth | Dallas, TX
JOHN DUGDALE
Cantey Hanger | Fort Worth, TX
SARAH WALLS
Carrington, Coleman, Sloman & Blumenthal | Dallas, TX
CHARLES C. JORDAN, SALLY A. LONGROY
Cox Smith Matthews | Dallas, TX
THOMAS B. ALLEMAN
Curran Tomko Tarski | Dallas, TX
ALLISON K. EXALL
Gardere Wynne Sewell | Dallas, TX
CYNTHIA J. BISHOP, JEFFREY M. GABA, FRANCES E.
PHILLIPS
Guida, Slavich & Flores | Dallas, TX
GREG ROGERS, JOHN SLAVICH
Jackson Walker | Dallas, TX
PATRICK R. COWLISHAW
Munsch Hardt Kopf & Harr | Dallas, TX
FREDERICK W. ADDISON III
Strasburger & Price | Dallas, TX
PATRICK LARKIN
Thompson & Knight | Dallas, TX
SCOTT D. DEATHERAGE, JAMES B. HARRIS, A. KAY
ROSKA
Walter D. James III | Grapevine, TX
WALTER D. JAMES III
KENNETH A. WRIGHT
Employee Benefits Law
Baker Botts | Dallas, TX
FELICIA A. FINSTON, BRUCE D. PINGREE
Cantey Hanger | Fort Worth, TX
HARRY EDWARD BARTEL, NOEL C. ICE,
J. DAVID TRACY
Carrington, Coleman, Sloman & Blumenthal | Dallas, TX
JIM A. WATSON
Cecil A. Ray, Jr. | Dallas, TX
CECIL A. RAY, JR.
Conner & Winters | Dallas, TX
ROBERT J. STOKES
Cox Smith Matthews | San Antonio, TX
WILLIAM M. FISHER, R. BRADLEY OXFORD, MARY M.
POTTER, JOSHUA A. SUTIN
Escamilla & Poneck, Inc | San Antonio, TX
JOHN S. RICE
Fulbright & Jaworski | Dallas, TX
BARRY W. COWAN
Fulbright & Jaworski | San Antonio, TX
JOSEPH B. FRIEDMAN, JR.
Haynes and Boone | Dallas, TX
JOHN M. COLLINS, GRETA E. COWART,
CHARLES F. PLENGE, SUSAN A. WETZEL
Hunton & Williams | Dallas, TX
L. SCOTT AUSTIN, HENRY TALAVERA
Jackson Walker | Dallas, TX
JAMES ROBERT GRIFFIN
James M. Klancnik | Dallas, TX
JAMES M. KLANCNIK
Jones Day | Dallas, TX
GARY G. SHORT
Karen K. Suhre | Dallas, TX
KAREN K. SUHRE
Lang Law Firm | San Antonio, TX
SYLVAN S. LANG, JR.
Equipment Finance Law
Brown, Dean, Wiseman, Proctor, Hart & Howell | Fort
Worth, TX
STEPHEN C. HOWELL
Patton Boggs | Dallas, TX
LARRY A. MAKEL
Family Law
Family Law
Allison | Johnson | Plano, TX
JODY L. JOHNSON
Bain, Files, Jarrett, Bain & Harrison | Tyler, TX
JERRY E. BAIN, BRUCE D. BAIN, MICHAEL E. JARRETT
For more info go to www.law.com/texasbest
Texas’
B es t L a wy e r s
®
Koons, Fuller
and the Impact of Social Networking
on Texas Family Law
L
ove to reconnect with old friends on Facebook?
Enjoy documenting your life and posting it on
YouTube? Then Rick Robertson has some
valuable advice for you—particularly if you’re
thinking about getting a divorce.
“When it comes to social media, just shut it down
prior to getting a divorce,” he says. “Shut it down
because it can be used in court.”
Robertson is co-managing partner of Koons,
Fuller, Vanden Eykel & Robertson PC, a boutique
law firm in North Texas whose practice is
limited to family law. In the 31 years he’s
e aware that
been practicing, Robertson has seen some
major changes in Texas family law due to
anything you
the growth of the Internet and the
increasing popularity of social networking
do online—
sites.And he’s not the only one.According
e-mail, text, Facebook,
to the American Academy of Matrimonial
Lawyers, a whopping 81 percent of the
MySpace, YouTube or
nation’s top divorce attorneys say they
have seen an increase in the number of
LinkedIn—can come
cases using social networking evidence
back to haunt you.
during the past five years. Facebook holds
the distinction of being the unrivaled
leader for online divorce evidence, with 66 percent of those surveyed citing it
as the primary source.
B
So the next time you’re tempted to Tweet about expensive gifts of jewelry
or your plans to party on the weekend, think twice. Everything you say may
be used against you in a divorce proceeding, Robertson warns.
One example: Last year, Robertson was representing the husband in a child
custody case.The ex-wife was claiming that the husband should have limited
contact with his child because he was an alcoholic and had exposed the child
to unhealthy relationships. When Robertson cross-examined the wife, he
asked her for details about her Facebook page—created the day after she left
her husband. That page contained photographs of the wife and her fiancé
holding up beer mugs in various bars as well as other information that led the
Court to conclude she had affairs.
“The bottom line is that Facebook was the critical piece of evidence that
got my client 50/50 possession of his child,” Robertson says.
For anyone active on social networking sites—or who merely texts or
e-mails friends and colleagues—Robertson has some advice if they’re even
thinking about divorce.
➤ Be aware that anything you do online—e-mail, text, Facebook, MySpace,
For more info go to www.law.com/texasbest
YouTube or LinkedIn—can come back to haunt you. Even if you delete an
e-mail, it may still reside on your hard drive and may be discoverable by an
expert. “Don’t fall into the trap of Tiger Woods, with his sexting,” Robertson
says. “Any text messages, e-mails or information on your cell phone can be
retrieved electronically and used in court.”
➤ Avoid online references to money or spending.That innocent mention of
your upcoming vacation to Europe may belie your claims that you don’t have
enough money to pay alimony or child support.
➤ Supervise your children’s use of cell phones, e-mail and the like. Anything
children do can reflect on you as the parent in a divorce proceeding.
➤ Create a new, web-based e-mail address to ensure that no one but you has
access. Stop using your current e-mail address, if possible.
➤ Password-protect your files, but realize that an expert may be able to get
around those passwords anyway.
➤ If you share a computer with your spouse, and you believe that the hard
drive may contain information that would be relevant to your divorce case, let
your attorney know. He or she can have the hard drive imaged to preserve the
evidence.
➤ Consider that your spouse may have installed spyware on your computer
to keep track of what you’re doing online. Do not, however, install spyware on
your spouse’s computer—that may run afoul of the law.
➤ Stop posting to your MySpace or Facebook accounts. If you maintain a
blog, avoid posting anything personal or about your divorce.Anything you post
may become evidence in your case.
Perhaps the most important thing you can do to protect yourself if you’re
considering a divorce is to meet with a qualified attorney to plan ahead of time
and learn how your social networking may affect the outcome of your case,
Robertson advises. Look for someone who specializes in family law and has
been board certified by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization
–Robyn A. Friedman
Texas’ Best Lawyers 17
2010 S u r v e y
R es u lts
Barbara K. Runge | Houston, TX
BARBARA K. RUNGE
713.523.5363 | Page 33
Boyd Veigel | McKinney, TX
WILLIAM M. BOYD
Calabrese Huff | Dallas, TX
CARLA M. CALABRESE
Collins Basinger & Pullman | Dallas, TX
MICHAEL J. COLLINS
Diana S. Friedman | Dallas, TX
DIANA S. FRIEDMAN
Gardere Wynne Sewell | Dallas, TX
DOUGLAS A. HARRISON
Geary Porter & Donovan | Addison, TX
MICHAEL P. GEARY, LARRY L. MARTIN
Georganna L. Simpson | Dallas, TX
GEORGANNA L. SIMPSON
Goranson, Bain, Larsen, Greenwald, Maultsbey
& Murphy | Dallas, TX
ANGELINE L. BAIN, THOMAS P. GORANSON, PAULA
LARSEN, BETH E. MAULTSBY
Goranson, Bain, Larsen, Greenwald, Maultsbey
& Murphy | Plano, TX
THOMAS A. GREENWALD, KATHRYN J. MURPHY
Hance & Wickham | Dallas, TX
LARRY HANCE
Holmes, Woods, Diggs & Eames | Denton, TX
ROBERT N. EAMES
John V. McShane | Dallas, TX
JOHN V. MCSHANE, JR.
Koons, Fuller, Vanden Eykel
& Robertson | Dallas, TX
MICHAEL R. DeBRUIN,
KEVIN R. FULLER,
IKE VANDEN EYKEL
214.871.2727 | Page 21
Koons, Fuller, Vanden Eykel
& Robertson | Plano, TX
JULIE CRAWFORD,
RICK ROBERTSON
972.769.2727 | Page 21
Koons, Fuller, Vanden Eykel
& Robertson | Southlake, TX
HEATHER L. KING
817.481.2710 | Page 21
Langley & Banack | San Antonio, TX
JO CHRIS LOPEZ
3316 Oak Grove Ave., Ste. 100
Dallas, Texas
214.880.7500 • www.raggiolaw.com
KENNETH G. RAGGIO,
THOMAS LOUIS RAGGIO
214.880.7500 | Page 18
Sam C. Bashara | San Antonio, TX
SAM C. BASHARA
The Andersons, Attorneys and Counselors at Law | Dallas, TX
JEFFREY O. ANDERSON
The King Law Firm | Fort Worth, TX
J. STEVEN KING
Verner & Brumley | Dallas, TX
JANET P. BRUMLEY
Vick, Carney & Smith | Weatherford, TX
G. THOMAS VICK, JR.
210.736.6600 | Page 20
Webb Family Law Firm | Dallas, TX
Law Office of Gary Nickelson | Fort Worth, TX
GARY LYNDON NICKELSON
Law Office of Ronald E. Massingill | Dallas, TX
RONALD E. MASSINGILL
Law Office of Stephen J. Naylor | Fort Worth, TX
STEPHEN J. NAYLOR
Law Offices of James E. Monnig | San Antonio, TX
JAMES E. MONNIG
Leota H. Alexander | Dallas, TX
LEOTA H. ALEXANDER
Loveless & Loveless | Denton, TX
CURTIS M. LOVELESS
Loveless & Naylor | Fort Worth, TX
JAMES M. LOVELESS
McCurley Orsinger McCurley Nelson & Downing | Dallas, TX
SCOTT DOWNING, MIKE MCCURLEY, MARY JOHANNA
MCCURLEY, KEITH M. NELSON, RICHARD R. ORSINGER
McShane & Davis | Dallas, TX
EDWIN W. DAVIS
Parker & Montgomery | McKinney, TX
GEORGE PARKER
R. L. Whitehead, Jr. | Longview, TX
R. LAUGHTON WHITEHEAD, JR.
214.871.2730 | Page 33
Wilson & Pennypacker | San Antonio, TX
B. F. PENNYPACKER III, CHERYL L. WILSON
Wilson White & Doby | Fort Worth, TX
W. WEIR WILSON
Raggio & Raggio
W
hen someone needs a divorce or
family lawyer, it is different. It is
personal, and involves your entire life.
The attorneys at Raggio & Raggio
have over 125 years of experience, and
have been recognized by their peers for
inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America®
and as Texas Super Lawyers, as shown.
Building on the tradition of the firm’s
founders Grier Raggio (deceased) and
the legendary Louise Raggio over 50
years ago, the firm strives to provide
sensitive, appropriate advice and effective
representation to those in a divorce, child
custody, or other family law matter.
The firm’s web site www.raggiolaw.com
contains a wealth of relevant information
about Texas divorce and family law. Many
clients hire us after reviewing the web site.
Feel free to peruse. Call us if we can help.
Tom and Ken Raggio are certified
specialists in family law by the Texas
Board of Legal Specialization.
Raggio & Raggio | Dallas, TX
BRIAN L. WEBB
Zimmerman, Axelrad, Meyer, Stern & Wise | Houston, TX
ALVIN L. ZIMMERMAN
713.552.1234 | Page 33
Family Law Mediation
Bray and Chappell | San Antonio, TX
BENJAMIN R. CHAPPELL
Casseb & Pearl | San Antonio, TX
SOLOMON J. CASSEB III
Cox Waters | Dallas, TX
GAY G. COX
Goranson, Bain, Larsen, Greenwald, Maultsbey
& Murphy | Dallas, TX
BETH E. MAULTSBY
TOM RAGGIO
pllc
FA M I LY L AW
DALLAS
Julie Krenek
Barbara VanDuyne
Texas Super Lawyers 2009
Grier Raggio Jr.
Texas Super
Lawyers 2009
Ken Raggio
Best Lawyers in America®, 2010
Texas Super Lawyers 2009
Tom Raggio
Best Lawyers in America®, 2010
Best Lawyers in Dallas, 2009
Texas Super Lawyers, 2009
Bet-the-Company Litigation – Columbus, OH
Best Lawyers in America is a designation by Woodward/White Inc.,
Texas Super Lawyers is a designation by Law & Politics Magazine, Best Lawyers in Dallas is a designation by D Magazine.
*Inclusion in the 2010 Best Lawyers in America® as published by Woodward/White Inc.
18 Texas’ Best Lawyers
For more info go to www.law.com/texasbest
C ogd e ll & A r do i n
F
acing criminal charges can
destroy a person’s life or bring
down an entire corporation,
not to mention the enormous risk
and pressure created by a jury trial.
With that much on the line, you
need more than just an “experienced
lawyer” or a “former prosecutor with
connections.” From the very start,
you need a lawyer with significant
experience representing clients who
have faced the same predicament.
You need Cogdell & Ardoin.
Dan Cogdell and Jimmy Ardoin are
trial lawyers, plain and simple.
Whether defending criminal charges
or representing companies in highstakes civil trials, Cogdell & Ardoin
brings proven courtroom experience
to every case.
The attorneys at Cogdell & Ardoin
handle a wide range of white-collar
cases, including mortgage fraud,
financial fraud and healthcare fraud.
Additionally, as true courtroom lawyers, they often are called on by other
law firms to serve as trial counsel in
civil cases involving complex commercial matters and other significant
legal issues.
During the last 25 years, Dan Cogdell
has been among the most sought-after criminal defense lawyers in the
nation. From financial scandals to city
hall corruption to the Branch
Davidians, he has built a reputation
for defending clients in, and winning,
the tough cases.
The highlights of Cogdell’s career
include the only acquittal of any
Enron defendant in their original
trial, the sole acquittal among the
mortgage fraud trials involving a former Houston mayoral candidate, and
a not-guilty verdict in one of the
nation’s first medical “psychiatric
fraud” cases.
“Our job is to get
justice for clients in
a system that doesn’t
always seem just.”
Cogdell continues to build on his respected reputation
every day. From representing the first Stanford Financial
executive charged in the government’s investigation of R.
Allen Stanford’s financial companies to defending a
Houston doctor in one of the largest medical fraud cases in
city history, Cogdell is continually called on to handle the
biggest and toughest cases in Texas.
Dan L. Cogdell and James M. Ardoin III
C ogd e ll
& A r do i n
Selected For
Inclusion In
The Best Lawyers
in America®
Dan L. Cogdell
1401 McKinney Street, Suite 1625
Houston, TX 77010
Ph: 713.426.2244
www.cogdell-law.com
Texas’ Best Lawyers 19
2010 S u r v e y
R e s u lt s
Clinton P. Hackney | Austin, TX
Law Office of Rothwell B. Pool | Terrell, TX
ROTHWELL POOL
Woods, May & Matlock | McKinney, TX
ROBERT J. MATLOCK
CLINTON P. HACKNEY
First Amendment Law
GALT GRAYDON
Clemens & Spencer | San Antonio, TX
MARK J. CANNAN
Jackson Walker | Dallas, TX
ROBERT P. LATHAM, PAUL C. WATLER
Vinson & Elkins | Dallas, TX
THOMAS S. LEATHERBURY, MICHAEL L. RAIFF
Franchise Law
Baker & McKenzie | Dallas, TX
MICHAEL E. SANTA MARIA
Baker Botts | Dallas, TX
ANN HURWITZ
Haynes and Boone | Dallas, TX
DEBORAH S. COLDWELL, JOYCE G. MAZERO
Mullin Law | Richardson, TX
CHERYL L. MULLIN
Strasburger & Price | Dallas, TX
EARSA JACKSON
Gaming Law
Meadows, Collier, Reed, Cousins & Blau | Dallas, TX
CHARLES W. BLAU
Government Relations Law
Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld | Dallas, TX
ROBERT S. STRAUSS
Baker Botts | Dallas, TX
ROBERT W. JORDAN
Ben Barnes Group | Austin, TX
KENT ALLEN CAPERTON
512.322.0128 | Page 32
512.472.9022 | Page 32
Graydon, Gibson & Brown | Austin, TX
512.225.1001 | Page 32
Health Care Law
Ball & Weed | San Antonio, TX
CYNTHIA DAY GRIMES
Barbara Ann Radnofsky | Houston, TX
BARBARA ANN RADNOFSKY
713.357.3360 | Page 30
Brin & Brin | San Antonio, TX
DAVID L. BUTLER
Bryan Cave | Dallas, TX
BRUCE F. HOWELL
Cantey Hanger | Fort Worth, TX
RICHARD L. GRIFFITH
Duncan, Weakley & Bressler | San Antonio, TX
EDGAR M. DUNCAN
Fulbright & Jaworski | Dallas, TX
DENISE WEBB GLASS, TODD P. KELLY, J. ANTHONY
PATTERSON, JR.
Greenberg Traurig | Dallas, TX
MICHAEL L. MALONE
J. Scott Chase | Dallas, TX
J. SCOTT CHASE
Jackson Walker | San Antonio, TX
EDGAR C. MORRISON, JR.
Jones Day | Dallas, TX
FRANK E. SHEEDER III
Keith Law Firm | Fort Worth, TX
DARRELL L. KEITH
Looper Reed & McGraw | Dallas, TX
ANDREW N. MEYERCORD
Oppenheimer, Blend, Harrison & Tate | San Antonio, TX
BRUCE M. MITCHELL, KATHLEEN QUIROZ
Peter H. Wickersham | San Antonio, TX
PETER H. WICKERSHAM
The Kreager Law Firm | San Antonio, TX
MICHAEL L. KREAGER
Immigration Law
Berry Appleman & Leiden | Dallas, TX
STEVEN M. LADIK, PAIGE L. TAYLOR
Eugene J. Flynn | Dallas, TX
EUGENE J. FLYNN
Fernandez & Fernandez | Dallas, TX
RICHARD E. FERNANDEZ
Jackson Lewis | Dallas, TX
HARRY J. JOE
Law Offices of Richard A. Gump, Jr. | Dallas, TX
RICHARD A. GUMP, JR., CHARLA TRUETT
Miley & Brown | Dallas, TX
SARAH Z. BROWN, CRAIG E. MILEY
Reina, Bates & Kowalski Immigration Law Group | Dallas, TX
J. JOSEPH REINA
Saenz-Rodriguez & Associates | Dallas, TX
MICHELLE L. SAENZ-RODRIGUEZ
Shivers & Shivers | San Antonio, TX
ROBERT ARLEY SHIVERS, NANCY TAYLOR SHIVERS
Simon M. Azar- Farr | San Antonio, TX
SIMON M. AZAR-FARR
Spencer Crain Cubbage Healy & McNamara | Dallas, TX
ELISE A. HEALY
The Law Offices of Garry L. Davis | McKinney, TX
GARRY L. DAVIS
The Law Offices of Richard S. Fischer | Nacogdoches, TX
RICHARD S. FISCHER
Information Technology Law
Baker Botts | Dallas, TX
JOHN W. MARTIN, DON J. MCDERMETT, JR.,
DAVID G. MONK
F
or 24 years, Langley & Banack, Inc. has provided a full
range of legal services to Central and South Texas by
some of the most esteemed lawyers in the nation.
While establishing itself as a respected and enduring Texas
law firm, the firm’s 50 lawyers remain committed to their
local, homegrown foundation. Even as the firm has logged
successes in areas spanning the profession, it stays true to
its core principles of client service. All members structure
their work around their clients’ specific needs, and are
solely focused on achieving the best possible result in
the most cost-effective and efficient manner. Beyond
the practice of law, Langley & Banack’s attorneys are
committed to bettering their community through service,
leadership and philanthropy.
Langley & Banack is proud to have thirteen attorneys
selected for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America®,
representing an exceptional cross section of the firm’s wide
range of practice areas — R. Glen Ayers (Bankruptcy and
Creditor-Debtor Rights Law); Emerson Banack, Jr. (BetThe-Company Litigation and Commercial Litigation);
Steven R. Brook (Real Estate Law); Steven D. Browne
(Personal Injury Litigation); Richard M. Butler (Commercial
Litigation); David S. Gragg (Bankruptcy and Creditor- Standing From Left: Steven D. Browne, Robert B. Werner, David S. Gragg, Linda S. McDonald, Richard
Debtor Rights Law); Jo Chris Lopez (Family Law); Linda S. M. Butler, Jo Chris Lopez, Thomas H. Veitch, Marc J. Schnall, Robinson C. Ramsey. Seated From Left:,
McDonald (Commercial Litigation); Joyce W. Moore Steven R. Brook, Emerson Banack, Jr., Joyce W. Moore, R. Glen Ayers
(Commercial Litigation and Trusts and Estates); Robinson
745 E ast M ulberry , S uite 900, S an A ntonio , TX 78212
C. Ramsey (Appellate Law); Marc J. Schnall (Real Estate
P h : 210.736.6600 F ax : 210.735.6889 • www.langleybanack.com
Law); Thomas H. Veitch (Insurance Law); Robert B. Werner
(Employee Benefits Law).
S an A ntonio • E agle P ass • C arrizo S prings
20 Texas’ Best Lawyers
For more info go to www.law.com/texasbest
Koons, Fuller, Vanden Eykel & Robertson, PC
T
E
X
A
S’
BEST
LAWYERS
“T
dispute is getting your client through the
he best result in any family law
®
2010 EDITION
process as confidentially as possible with
their personal and financial dignity intact,”
says Kevin Fuller, who was featured in
Texas’ Best Lawyers last year as the Family
Lawyer of the Year. A partner in the Dallas
office of Koons, Fuller, Vanden Eykel &
Robertson, he is a leading advocate for a
more intelligent approach to divorce.
K e v i n F u ller
F amil y L a w
d allas
“It’s hard to maintain your dignity
when you’re in the middle of a mudslinging
contest and many times you see courtroom
battles where warring families destroy the
very wealth they are trying to divide,” Fuller
says. “In the long run a warring couple may
look back and regret all the personal and
financial resources that were damaged or
destroyed by scorched earth litigation.”
Koons Fuller is one of the nation’s
oldest, largest and most revered family law
boutiques with 27 attorneys in four North
Texas locations. They offer the widest
choice of attorney personalities, levels
of strategic thinking and budget to
clients needing high quality family law
legal services.
“Most cases involve one attorney
working directly with a client,” Fuller says,
“but the advantage of our firm is that for
the more complex cases that need it, we
can field a team that can find solutions for
every aspect of the case. The smaller firms
don’t have the resources to offer that.”
Koons Fuller is rated the #1 family law
firm in Texas by Bestlawyers.com. Six KF
attorneys are listed in Texas’ Best Lawyers
including Julie Crawford, Mike DeBruin,
Heather King, Rick Robertson, Ike Vanden
Eykel and Fuller.
Bet-the-Company Litigation – Columbus, OH
Vanden Eykel, called the “reigning king”
of Texas divorce by The Dallas Morning
News, is president of the Dallas Bar
Association. King is immediate past president of the Tarrant County Bar Association.
Fuller is the immediate past president of
the Collaborative Law Institute of Texas.
Like many Koons Fuller attorneys, his practice is split between collaborative law (a
form of alternate dispute resolution) and
traditional litigation.
“We can be effective in whatever
process the client needs,” he says. “No matter what the process, mediation, collaboration or litigation, divorcing is difficult. We
work with our clients to give them peace of
mind no matter what family law challenge is
facing them – that’s what we do. “
U p t o w n D a l l a s : 214.871.2727
W e s t P l a n o : 972.769.2727
S o u t h l a k e T o w n S q u a r e : 817.481.2710
D e n t o n : 940.442.6677
www.koonsfuller.com
2010 S u r v e y
R es u lts
Gardere Wynne Sewell | Dallas, TX
PETER VOGEL
Jones Day | Dallas, TX
DAVID N. GUEDRY
K&L Gates | Dallas, TX
TODD A. FISHER, JOHN E. HOWELL, CHAD W. KING
Little Pedersen Fankhauser | Dallas, TX
ROBERT R. LITTLE
Morgan, Lewis & Bockius | Dallas, TX
JOHN A. FUNK
Vinson & Elkins | Dallas, TX
DEAN WILLIAM HARVEY
Insurance Law
Brown & Kornegay | Houston, TX
DAVID H. BROWN
713.528.3703 | Page 32
Cokinos, Bosien & Young | Arlington, TX
PATRICK J. WIELINSKI
Cooper & Scully | Dallas, TX
R. BRENT COOPER
214.712.9500 | Page 32
Cox Smith Matthews | Dallas, TX
THOMAS B. ALLEMAN
Fanning Harper Martinson Brandt & Kutchin | Dallas, TX
GEORGE LANKFORD
Figari & Davenport | Dallas, TX
ANDREW G. JUBINSKY
Ford Nassen & Baldwin | Dallas, TX
JEFFREY A. FORD
Greenberg Traurig | Dallas, TX
THOMAS L. WOODMAN
Haynes and Boone | Dallas, TX
ERNEST MARTIN, JR., WERNER A. POWERS
Hermes Sargent Bates | Dallas, TX
VERONICA M. BATES
Kleiman Lawrence Baskind Fitzgerald | Dallas, TX
PAUL D. SCHOONOVER
Lang Law Firm | San Antonio, TX
SYLVAN S. LANG, JR.
Langley & Banack | San Antonio, TX
THOMAS H. VEITCH
713.222.1990 | Page 20
Lugenbuhl, Wheaton, Peck, Rankin
& Hubbard | Houston, TX
MARTIN R. SADLER
713.222.1990 | Page 31
Little Pedersen Fankhauser | Dallas, TX
JOHN J. LITTLE
Quilling, Selander, Cummiskey & Lownds | Dallas, TX
JAMES H. MOODY III
Shannon, Gracey, Ratliff & Miller | Dallas, TX
MICHAEL W. HUDDLESTON
Shannon, Gracey, Ratliff & Miller | Fort Worth, TX
MELINDA R. BURKE
Strasburger & Price | Dallas, TX
MICHAEL KEELEY, DAVID N. KITNER
Tollefson Bradley Ball and Mitchell | Dallas, TX
BETH D. BRADLEY, JOHN C. TOLLEFSON
Intellectual Property Law
Baker Botts | Dallas, TX
LARRY D. CARLSON, TIMOTHY S. DURST, KEVIN J.
MEEK, ROD PHELAN, BARTON E. SHOWALTER,
DAVID G. WILLE
Capshaw DeRieux | Longview, TX
S. CALVIN CAPSHAW
Cox Smith Matthews | San Antonio, TX
J. DANIEL HARKINS, GALE ROY PETERSON
Fish & Richardson | Dallas, TX
THOMAS M. MELSHEIMER
Fulbright & Jaworski | Dallas, TX
ROBERT M. CHIAVIELLO, JR., DAN D. DAVISON,
BRETT C. GOVETT
Gardere Wynne Sewell | Dallas, TX
KENNETH R. GLASER
Gibson Dunn | Dallas, TX
MARK REITER
Greenberg Traurig | Dallas, TX
ERIC W. BUETHER
Haynes and Boone | Dallas, TX
DAVID L. MCCOMBS, PHILLIP B. PHILBIN,
DONALD C. TEMPLIN
22 Texas’ Best Lawyers
Heim, Payne & Chorush | Houston, TX
MICHAEL F. HEIM
713.221.2000 | Page 30
Heptig Law Group | Dallas, TX
J. PAT HEPTIG
Hitchcock Evert | Dallas, TX
ELISABETH A. EVERT
Ireland Carroll & Kelley | Tyler, TX
OTIS W. CARROLL
Jackson Walker | Dallas, TX
ROBERT P. LATHAM
Jones Day | Dallas, TX
HILDA C. GALVAN, ROBERT W. TURNER
Law Office of Gaynell C. Methvin | Dallas, TX
GAYNELL C. METHVIN
McKool Smith | Dallas, TX
SAMUEL F. BAXTER, JEFFREY A. CARTER, DOUGLAS
CAWLEY, MIKE MCKOOL, THEODORE STEVENSON III
Parker, Bunt & Ainsworth | Tyler, TX
ROBERT C. BUNT
Patterson & Sheridan | Dallas, TX
JERRY R. SELINGER
Richard Law Group | Dallas, TX
MOLLY BUCK RICHARD
Sidley Austin | Dallas, TX
JAMES P. BRADLEY, STEVEN C. MALIN, V. BRYAN
MEDLOCK, JR.
Slusser Wilson & Partridge | Houston, TX
JAYME PARTRIDGE
713.860.3306 | Page 33
The Roth Law Firm | Marshall, TX
CARL R. ROTH
Thompson & Knight | Dallas, TX
JANE POLITZ BRANDT, MAX CICCARELLI,
HERBERT J. HAMMOND, BRUCE S. SOSTEK
International Arbitration
Baker Botts | Dallas, TX
ROBERT W. JORDAN
Greenberg Traurig | Dallas, TX
MARK A. CALHOUN
Winstead | Dallas, TX
JAY J. MADRID
International Trade and Finance Law
Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld | Dallas, TX
ROBERT S. STRAUSS
Haynes and Boone | Dallas, TX
LARRY B. PASCAL, TIMOTHY E. POWERS
Little Pedersen Fankhauser | Dallas, TX
FRED C. PEDERSEN
Vinson & Elkins | Dallas, TX
WILLIAM D. YOUNG
Labor and Employment Law
Advocacy | Dallas, TX
SUSAN D. MOTLEY
Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld | Dallas, TX
JOHN V. JANSONIUS
Baab & Denison | Dallas, TX
G. WILLIAM BAAB, SANFORD R. DENISON
Barnes & Harrington | Dallas, TX
HERSHELL L. BARNES, JR.
Bracewell & Giuliani | Dallas, TX
ROBERT E. SHEEDER, LON R. WILLIAMS, JR.
Bracewell & Giuliani | San Antonio, TX
MARIO A. BARRERA, LESLIE SELIG BYRD, JOHN A.
FERGUSON, JR., JAMES H. KIZZIAR, GEORGE P.
PARKER, JR., J. TULLOS WELLS
Brown, Dean, Wiseman, Proctor, Hart
& Howell | Fort Worth, TX
BEALE DEAN
Carrington, Coleman, Sloman & Blumenthal | Dallas, TX
JANE MAKELA
Clemens & Spencer | San Antonio, TX
RANDOLPH P. TOWER
Cox Smith Matthews | San Antonio, TX
RAMON D. BISSMEYER, BEN F. FOSTER, JR., DONNA K.
MCELROY
David Van Os & Associates | San Antonio, TX
DAVID VAN OS
Edward B. Cloutman III | Dallas, TX
EDWARD B. CLOUTMAN III
Figari & Davenport | Dallas, TX
GARY D. EISENSTAT
Fish & Richardson | Dallas, TX
STEPHEN E. FOX
Ford & Harrison | Dallas, TX
MICHAEL P. MASLANKA
Fulbright & Jaworski | San Antonio, TX
CYNTHIA M. BENEDICT, PHILIP J. PFEIFFER
Gillespie, Rozen, Watsky & Jones | Dallas, TX
HAL K. GILLESPIE, YONA ROZEN, DAVID K. WATSKY
Glen D. Mangum | San Antonio, TX
GLEN D. MANGUM
Gruber Hurst Johansen Hail | Dallas, TX
MARK A. SHANK
Hallett & Perrin | Dallas, TX
ROBERT E. LUXEN
Harkins, Latimer & Dahl | San Antonio, TX
THAD HARKINS, MICHAEL LATIMER
Haynes and Boone | Dallas, TX
WILLIAM C. STROCK, JONATHAN C. WILSON
Hunton & Williams | Dallas, TX
LAURA M. FRANZE, WILLIAM L. KELLER, DAVID C.
LONERGAN
Jackson Lewis | Dallas, TX
DAN G. HARTSFIELD
Jackson Walker | Dallas, TX
W. GARY FOWLER, SCOTT M. MCELHANEY
Jackson Walker | Fort Worth, TX
GARY L. INGRAM, JAY K. RUTHERFORD
K&L Gates | Dallas, TX
DAVID M. ELLIS, CHRISTIE A. NEWKIRK, ARLENE
SWITZER STEINFIELD
Katzman & Katzman | San Antonio, TX
ALEX L. KATZMAN
Kelly Hart & Hallman | Fort Worth, TX
LARS L. BERG, HENRY H. ROBINSON
Kilgore & Kilgore | Dallas, TX
THEODORE C. ANDERSON III
Lang Law Firm | San Antonio, TX
SYLVAN S. LANG, JR.
Law Offices of Gaul and Dumont | San Antonio, TX
KALA SCOTT DUMONT, MALINDA A. GAUL
Lee & Braziel | Dallas, TX
J. DEREK BRAZIEL
Littler Mendelson | Dallas, TX
ALLAN G. KING, JOHN F. MCCARTHY, JR., STEVEN R.
MCCOWN, M. SCOTT MCDONALD
Locke Lord Bissell & Liddell | Dallas, TX
PHILLIP R. JONES
Morgan, Lewis & Bockius | Dallas, TX
RONALD E. MANTHEY
Ogletree Deakins | Dallas, TX
MICHAEL R. BUCHANAN, RONALD W. CHAPMAN, JR.,
DAN C. DARGENE, JOHN E. MCFALL, BRYANT S.
MCFALL, DENISE COTTER VILLANI
Ogletree Deakins | San Antonio, TX
ROBERT E. BETTAC, LAWRENCE D. SMITH
Richard M. Kobdish, Attorney at Law | Addison, TX
RICHARD M. KOBDISH
Shannon, Gracey, Ratliff & Miller | Fort Worth, TX
PATRICK J. MAHER
Spencer Crain Cubbage Healy & McNamara | Dallas, TX
LAWRENCE J. MCNAMARA
Strasburger & Price | Dallas, TX
DAVID N. KITNER
Stuckey, Garrigan & Castetter | Nacogdoches, TX
TIMOTHY GARRIGAN
Tanner & Associates | Fort Worth, TX
JAMES R. TANNER
The Gardner Law Firm | San Antonio, TX
DAWN B. FINLAYSON
The Law Office of Jeffrey A. Goldberg | San Antonio, TX
JEFFREY A. GOLDBERG
The Law Office of Robert Rapp | San Antonio, TX
ROBERT A. RAPP, JR.
Thompson & Knight | Dallas, TX
BENNETT W. CERVIN, STEPHEN F. FINK, ELIZABETH A.
SCHARTZ, STEVEN W. SLOAN
Vinson & Elkins | Dallas, TX
VANESSA MÁIRE GRIFFITH, STUART B. JOHNSTON, JR.
Land Use & Zoning Law
Jackson Walker | Dallas, TX
WILLIAM S. DAHLSTROM, SUSAN MEAD
K&L Gates | Fort Worth, TX
DWIGHT IKE A. SHUPE
Winstead | Dallas, TX
ARTHUR J. ANDERSON, KIRK R. WILLIAMS
For more info go to www.law.com/texasbest
The Lanier Law Firm
T
E
X
A
S’
BEST
LAWYERS
T
Mark Lanier has been
hard at work in 2010. He began the year
with an attention-grabbing verdict against
Caterpillar Inc. in a vehicle defect case, and
followed that victory by taking a lead role in
the national litigation against Toyota.
Currently, he and the other attorneys at
The Lanier Law Firm represent more than
1,000 Toyota owners with claims of physical
injuries and financial damage caused by
vehicle defects.
rial attorney
2010 EDITION
When he wasn’t busy in the courtroom,
Mr. Lanier became the only plaintiff’s injury
attorney in the United States to earn selection
as one of “The Decade’s Most Influential
Lawyers” in a list compiled by the editors of
The National Law Journal.
Calling him a “superstar among plaintiffs’
lawyers,” the newspaper’s editors noted
Mr. Lanier’s role as lead counsel in some of
the most significant product liability trials in
U.S. history, including the nation’s first trial
over the popular pain medication Vioxx.
The verdict in that case became the turning
point for all Vioxx cases, leading to a nationwide settlement for all users of the drug.
“Every case our firm has won, and every bit
of personal recognition we receive, is the result
of the great care we take to help solve clients’
legal problems,” says Mr. Lanier. “The men
and women we represent know that a trialtested lawyer is working on their case and
pursuing their interests every step of the way.”
Mr. Lanier has been repeatedly
recognized as one of the top trial lawyers
in the country. In addition to multiple
appearances in The Best Lawyers in
America®, he has earned selection in the Texas
Super Lawyers list as one of the top lawyers in
Texas, and in Texas Lawyer newspaper as the
state’s top personal injury lawyer.
A frequent guest commentator for national
cable networks like CNBC, MSNBC and Fox
News, Mr. Lanier also serves as an expert legal
source for The New York Times, The Wall
Street Journal, Los Angeles Times and
many others.
The Lanier Law Firm maintains a national
presence with offices in California, Texas and
New York. In addition to work in record-setting
cases involving pharmaceutical drugs, medical
malpractice claims and serious personal injury
matters, the firm also represents clients in
complex commercial claims, intellectual
property disputes, maritime litigation,
bankruptcies, and international arbitrations.
Mark Lanier
6810 FM 1960 W e s t
H o u s t o n , TX 77069
P h : 713.659.5200
F ax : 713.659.2204
www.lanierlawfirm.com
Texas’ Best Lawyers 23
®
2010 S u r v e y
R es u lts
Legal Malpractice Law
Baker Botts | Dallas, TX
TIMOTHY W. MOUNTZ, ROD PHELAN, ROBB L. VOYLES
Burford & Ryburn | Dallas, TX
ROBERT F. BEGERT
Carrington, Coleman, Sloman & Blumenthal | Dallas, TX
JAMES E. COLEMAN, JR., FLETCHER L. YARBROUGH
Clemens & Spencer | San Antonio, TX
GEORGE H. SPENCER, JR.
Cobb Martinez Woodward | Dallas, TX
WILLIAM D. COBB, JR.
Cowles & Thompson | Dallas, TX
JAMES E. COWLES
Haynes and Boone | Dallas, TX
GEORGE W. BRAMBLETT, JR.
Jackson Walker | Dallas, TX
MARK T. JOSEPHS
K&L Gates | Dallas, TX
PAUL M. KONING, ROBERT H. MOW, JR.
Keith Law Firm | Fort Worth, TX
DARRELL L. KEITH
Law Office of Mark L. Greenwald | San Antonio, TX
MARK L. GREENWALD
Plunkett & Gibson | San Antonio, TX
ALLEN LEWIN PLUNKETT
Shannon, Gracey, Ratliff & Miller | Fort Worth, TX
KLEBER C. MILLER, R. H. WALLACE, JR.
Shuford & Associates | Dallas, TX
DAVID W. SHUFORD
Thornton, Biechlin, Segrato, Reynolds & Guerra | San
Antonio, TX
ROBERT R. BIECHLIN, JR., RICHARD J. REYNOLDS III
Vinson & Elkins | Dallas, TX
GEORGE M. KRYDER
Leveraged Buyouts
and Private Equity Law
Baker & McKenzie | Dallas, TX
TED S. SCHWEINFURTH
Baker Botts | Dallas, TX
ANDREW M. BAKER, GEOFFREY L. NEWTON
Gardere Wynne Sewell | Dallas, TX
LARRY L. SCHOENBRUN
Weil, Gotshal & Manges | Dallas, TX
R. JAY TABOR, GLENN D. WEST
Mass Tort Litigation
Baron & Budd | Dallas, TX
SCOTT SUMMY
Dehay & Elliston | Dallas, TX
GARY D. ELLISTON
Fulbright & Jaworski | San Antonio, TX
ROBERT G. NEWMAN
Law Offices of Frank L. Branson | Houston, TX
FRANK L. BRANSON
214.522.0200 | Pages 2,3
McMahon Surovik Suttle | Abilene, TX
STEPHEN H. SUTTLE
Miller, Curtis & Weisbrod | Dallas, TX
MAX E. FREEMAN, LES WEISBROD
Plunkett & Gibson | San Antonio, TX
JERRY A. GIBSON
The Schmidt Firm | Dallas, TX
MICHAEL E. SCHMIDT
Mergers & Acquisitions Law
Baker & McKenzie | Dallas, TX
ALAN G. HARVEY
Baker Botts | Dallas, TX
ANDREW M. BAKER, NEEL LEMON, JOHN W. MARTIN,
GEOFFREY L. NEWTON, DOUGLASS M. RAYBURN
Fulbright & Jaworski | Dallas, TX
ROBERT B. HALE, GLEN JAMES HETTINGER, THOMAS
WILLIAM HUGHES, KENNETH L. STEWART
Gardere Wynne Sewell | Dallas, TX
LAWRENCE E. GLASGOW, LARRY L. SCHOENBRUN
Hornberger Sheehan Fuller & Beiter | San Antonio, TX
T. DREW CAUTHORN
Hunton & Williams | Dallas, TX
LARRY STEVEN LESHIN
Jackson Walker | Dallas, TX
BYRON F. EGAN, JAMES S. RYAN III
K&L Gates | Dallas, TX
WILSON CHU
Kelly Hart & Hallman | Fort Worth, TX
F. RICHARD BERNASEK, WAYNE B. WHITHAM
Vinson & Elkins | Dallas, TX
ALAN J. BOGDANOW, JEFFREY A. CHAPMAN, MARK
EARLY, ROBERT L. KIMBALL, RODNEY L. MOORE, A.
WINSTON OXLEY, MICHAEL D. WORTLEY
Weil, Gotshal & Manges | Dallas, TX
R. SCOTT COHEN, JEFFREY B. HITT, MARY R. KORBY,
MICHAEL A. SASLAW, R. JAY TABOR, GLENN D. WEST
Mortgage Banking
Foreclosure Law
Barrett Daffin Frappier Turner & Engel | Addison, TX
JAY FRAPPIER
Municipal Law
The Schmidt Firm | Dallas, TX
C. L. MIKE SCHMIDT, MICHAEL E. SCHMIDT
D. Randall Montgomery & Associates | Dallas, TX
D. RANDALL MONTGOMERY
Denton, Navarro, Rocha & Bernal | San Antonio, TX
LOWELL FRANK DENTON
Law Offices of Jim Jeffrey | Arlington, TX
JAMES THOMAS JEFFREY, JR.
Law Offices of William M. McKamie | San Antonio, TX
WILLIAM M. MCKAMIE
Strasburger & Price | Dallas, TX
DAVID J. LABREC
William Anthony Messer | Frisco, TX
WILLIAM ANDREW MESSER
Medical Malpractice Law
native american law
Aldous Law Firm | Dallas, TX
CHARLA ALDOUS
John R. Pitts | Houston, TX
Barbara Ann Radnofsky | Houston, TX
512.426.9135 | Page 30
The Lanier Law Firm | Houston, TX
W. MARK LANIER
713.659.5200 | Page 23
BARBARA ANN RADNOFSKY
713.357.3360 | Page 30
Ball & Weed | San Antonio, TX
CYNTHIA DAY GRIMES
Cantey Hanger | Fort Worth, TX
RICHARD L. GRIFFITH
Fulbright & Jaworski | San Antonio, TX
CHARLES A. DEACON
Howie & Sweeney | Dallas, TX
PAULA FISETTE SWEENEY
Keith Law Firm | Fort Worth, TX
DARRELL L. KEITH
Law Office of Clem Lyons | San Antonio, TX
CLARENCE V. LYONS
24 Texas’ Best Lawyers
JOHN ROBERT PITTS
Natural Resources Law
Cox Smith Matthews | San Antonio, TX
RICHARD T. BRADY, JON R. RAY, DAVID H.O. ROTH,
PAUL H. SMITH
Geary Porter & Donovan | Addison, TX
BRUCE W. CLAYCOMBE
Hornberger Sheehan Fuller & Beiter | San Antonio, TX
KEVIN MICHAEL BEITER
J. Randall Patterson | San Antonio, TX
J. RANDALL PATTERSON
Kelly Hart & Hallman | Fort Worth, TX
ROBERT C. GRABLE, DEE J. KELLY, SR.
Law Offices of Laura H. Burney | San Antonio, TX
LAURA H. BURNEY
McClure & Cross | Dallas, TX
TERRY I. CROSS
Miller & Mentzer | Palmer, TX
LAWRENCE B. MENTZER
Thompson & Knight | Dallas, TX
ANDREW B. DERMAN, ARTHUR J. WRIGHT
Non-Profit/Charities Law
Haynes and Boone | Fort Worth, TX
RICE M. TILLEY, JR.
Kelly Hart & Hallman | Fort Worth, TX
DULANEY G. STEER
Locke Lord Bissell & Liddell | Dallas, TX
STUART M. BUMPAS, RONALD ROY CRESSWELL
Thompson & Knight | Dallas, TX
DAVID M. ROSENBERG
Oil & Gas Law
Cox Smith Matthews | San Antonio, TX
RICHARD T. BRADY, JON R. RAY, DAVID H.O. ROTH,
PAUL H. SMITH
Haynes and Boone | Dallas, TX
THOMAS E. KURTH
Hornberger Sheehan Fuller & Beiter | San Antonio, TX
KEVIN MICHAEL BEITER
J. Randall Patterson | San Antonio, TX
J. RANDALL PATTERSON
K&L Gates | Fort Worth, TX
JEFFREY C. KING
Kelly Hart & Hallman | Fort Worth, TX
ROBERT C. GRABLE, DEE J. KELLY, SR., TODD W. SPAKE
Shannon, Gracey, Ratliff & Miller | Fort Worth, TX
KLEBER C. MILLER
Thompson & Knight | Dallas, TX
GREG W. CURRY, CRAIG A. HAYNES, DEBRA J.
VILLARREAL, ARTHUR J. WRIGHT
Personal Injury Litigation
Aldous Law Firm | Dallas, TX
CHARLA ALDOUS
Ball & Weed | San Antonio, TX
CYNTHIA DAY GRIMES, J. MICHAEL MYERS
Barbara Ann Radnofsky | Houston, TX
BARBARA ANN RADNOFSKY
713.357.3360 | Page 30
Branton & Hall | San Antonio, TX
JAMES L. BRANTON
Brin & Brin | San Antonio, TX
GEORGE G. BRIN
Brown, Dean, Wiseman, Proctor, Hart
& Howell | Fort Worth, TX
BEALE DEAN, STEPHEN C. HOWELL, GEORGE GRANT
LISER, JOHN W. PROCTOR
Brown & Kornegay | Houston, TX
DAVID H. BROWN
713.528.3703 | Page 32
Cantey Hanger | Fort Worth, TX
RICHARD L. GRIFFITH, CAROL TRAYLOR
Carrington, Coleman, Sloman & Blumenthal | Dallas, TX
JAMES E. COLEMAN, JR.
Clemens & Spencer | San Antonio, TX
DAVID STEPHENSON
Cowles & Thompson | Dallas, TX
JAMES E. COWLES
Crain Lewis | Dallas, TX
ROBERT D. CRAIN
214.522.9404 | Page 7
Curran Tomko Tarski | Dallas, TX
ROBERT R. ROBY
Edwin G. Bell | Fort Worth, TX
EDWIN G. BELL
Evans & Rowe | San Antonio, TX
BRETT B. ROWE
Fulbright & Jaworski | San Antonio, TX
CHARLES A. DEACON, JOHN W. WEBER, JR.
Gardere Wynne Sewell | Dallas, TX
JOE B. HARRISON
Goode Casseb Jones | San Antonio, TX
FRED RILEY JONES, KYLE C. WATSON
Howie & Sweeney | Dallas, TX
PAULA FISETTE SWEENEY
For more info go to www.law.com/texasbest
Texas’
B es t L a wy e r s
®
Mark Mueller
on Why He Often Finds Himself
Defending the Legal Rights of Women
M
ark Mueller is an Austin attorney who primarily handles
medical malpractice cases. And within this specialty, he often
takes cases that involve issues of particular interest to women.
For example, Mueller has successfully handled numerous
complex birth injury cases and is well-versed on topics such
as uterine hyperstimulation.
In keeping with this theme, Mueller is
currently representing several female clients
who suffered from urinary incontinence,
which is the uncontrollable leakage of urine.
Doctors may try to address the condition by
inserting surgical mesh internally to “shore
up the sagging organs,” he explains.
Mueller criticizes surgical mesh as a
typical medical device developed by male
doctors for their female patients, noting that
“the solution is often worse than the
problem.” After having surgical mesh
inserted, many women experience severe
pain
and
develop
infections; some can even
ueller believes
no longer have sex. Mueller
notes that removing the
they have a
mesh can be problematic,
too. These problems are
“substantial
made even worse when
counterfeit mesh is used,
product case” against
he adds. (The FDA has, in
fact, issued a safety alert
the surgical mesh
on surgical mesh and
a warning about countermanufacturers.
feit mesh.)
M
Mueller points out that “most people have never heard of surgical
mesh” and the problems associated with it. He believes that one reason
for this lack of public awareness is people’s reluctance to discuss
personal problems such as incontinence because they are embarrassing.
Mueller is currently uncertain as to exactly how these cases will
proceed but a class action lawsuit or mass tort case is possible. Who the
defendants will be in the resulting lawsuits will depend on the jurisdiction, he explains. For example, Mueller believes they have a “substantial
product case” against the surgical mesh manufacturers. In addition, there
could be claims against the doctors who inserted the mesh. In any event,
Mueller expects lawsuits to be filed by the end of the year.
For more info go to www.law.com/texasbest
Even when Mueller takes cases outside of his specialty, he often ends
up dealing with women’s issues. A good example is what he refers to as
the “condom rape case.” A man broke into a young woman’s apartment
through a sliding glass door and raped her at knifepoint. The woman
insisted that the rapist wear a condom, which
he did. But when the prosecutor presented the
case to the grand jury, Mueller says it refused
to indict the man for rape, believing that the
woman’s insistence that he wear a condom
was tantamount to consent.
Mueller, who volunteered at a rape crisis
center, represented the young woman in her
attempt to get her attacker indicted. He
pressured the district attorney’s office to represent the rape case, but they were reluctant,
offering to indict the rapist for burglary instead.
But that was unacceptable, said Mueller. The
rapist’s story was absurd—he testified that after
he broke into the woman’s apartment, “they
decided to make love,” says Mueller.
Mueller and his client appeared on several
talk shows. In addition, The New York Times
covered the case. As a result of the substantial
media coverage, the district attorney’s office
bowed to public pressure and presented the
rape charges again, Mueller says. The man was charged with and
ultimately convicted of rape. But just as important, he notes that the case
led to changes in the grand jury system to permit the use of professional
rape counselors to educate grand jurors. Mueller observes that the law
moves slowly when it comes to change, but this case is an example of how
public pressure and publicity can speed up that process.
Why is Mueller drawn to cases such as these?
Part of the attraction is personal. He is sometimes attracted to a case
because he has had friends who were in similar situations, he explains.
For example, Mueller knows people who were impacted by sexual
abuse. But in a larger sense, many of his cases involve an inequality of
power. For instance, in the condom rape case, the criminal justice system
protected the offender, not the victim. And underlying the surgical mesh
cases is an “old way of thinking”—that is, women do not question their
doctors, he says. In the end, Mueller says that he ultimately aspires to
helping create “a more open and equal society in which abuses of power
don’t happen.”
–Robin L. Barton
Texas’ Best Lawyers 25
Texas’
HowryBreen | Austin, TX
SEAN E. BREEN,
RANDY R. HOWRY
512.474.7300 | Page 35
Jackson & Hagen | Denton, TX
RICK HAGEN
Jackson Walker | Dallas, TX
ROBERT F. RUCKMAN
Jones Geisler | Dallas, TX
RALPH C. JONES
Jose, Henry, Brantley, MacLean & Alvarado | Fort Worth, TX
JOHN S. JOSE
Jose, Henry, Brantley, MacLean and Alvarado | Fort
Worth, TX
RICKEY BRANTLEY
Kae L. Brockermeyer | Fort Worth, TX
KAE L. BROCKERMEYER
Keith Law Firm | Fort Worth, TX
DARRELL L. KEITH
Ketterman Rowland
& Westlund | San Antonio, TX
DOUGLAS D. KETTERMAN
210.490.7402 | Page 34
Kip Petroff | Dallas, TX
KIP A. PETROFF
Lang Law Firm | San Antonio, TX
SYLVAN S. LANG, JR.
Langley & Banack | San Antonio, TX
STEVEN D. BROWNE
210.736.6600 | Page 20
Law Herrera Law Firm | San Antonio, TX
LEO FIGUEROA
Law Office of Clem Lyons | San Antonio, TX
CLARENCE V. LYONS, MARY I. WILSON
Law Office of John P Camp | Fort Worth, TX
JOHN P. CAMP
Law Office of Jonathan D.F. Nelson | Arlington, TX
JONATHAN D. F. NELSON
Law Offices of Arlen Dean Bynum | Dallas, TX
ARLEN D. BYNUM
Law Offices of
Fidel Rodriguez, Jr. | San Antonio TX
FIDEL RODRIGUEZ, JR.
210.224.1057 | Page 31
Law Offices of Frank L. Branson | Dallas, TX
FRANK L. BRANSON
214.522.0200 | Pages 2,3
McMahon Surovik Suttle | Abilene, TX
STEPHEN H. SUTTLE
Mueller Hillin | Austin, TX
MARK R. MUELLER
512.478.1236 | Pages 4,5
Mitchell, Goff & Mitchell | Dallas, TX
CARMEN S. MITCHELL
Patton, Tidwell & Schroeder | Texarkana, TX
NICHOLAS H. PATTON
Payne Mitchell Law Group | Dallas, TX
ANDREW PAYNE
Plunkett & Gibson | San Antonio, TX
JERRY A. GIBSON, ALLEN LEWIN PLUNKETT
Prichard, Hawkins, McFarland and Young | San Antonio, TX
GRANT T. MCFARLAND, DAVID M. PRICHARD
Shannon, Gracey, Ratliff & Miller | Fort Worth, TX
RANDALL E. BETTY, KLEBER C. MILLER
Slack & Davis | Dallas, TX
LADD C. SANGER
Sloan, Bagley Hatcher & Perry | Longview, TX
GLENN A. PERRY
Sommerman & Quesada | Dallas, TX
ALFRED W. ELLIS, GEORGE A. QUESADA
Stradley & Wright | Dallas, TX
EDWIN E. WRIGHT III
Strasburger & Price | San Antonio, TX
ANDREW L. KERR, EDWARD F. VALDESPINO
For more info go to www.law.com/texasbest
B es t L a wy e r s
®
Private Funds Law
The Law Firm of
Alton C. Todd | Friendswood, TX
Baker Botts | Dallas, TX
DON J. MCDERMETT, JR., GEOFFREY L. NEWTON
Fulbright & Jaworski | Dallas, TX
D. FORREST BRUMBAUGH
Weil, Gotshal & Manges | Dallas, TX
JEFFREY B. HITT
ALTON C. TODD
281.992.8633 | Page 31
The Law Offices of
A. Craig Eiland | Galveston, TX
Product Liability Litigation
A. CRAIG EILAND
409.763.3260 | Page 27
The Roth Law Firm | Marshall, TX
CARL R. ROTH
The Schmidt Firm | Dallas, TX
C. L. MIKE SCHMIDT
The Tom Rhodes Law Firm | San Antonio, TX
TOM RHODES
The Whitten Law Firm | Denton, TX
MICHAEL J. WHITTEN
Thompson & Knight | Dallas, TX
G. LUKE ASHLEY, FRANK FINN, JOHN H. MARTIN
Thornton, Biechlin, Segrato, Reynolds & Guerra | San
Antonio, TX
ROBERT R. BIECHLIN, JR., RICHARD J. REYNOLDS III,
GERALD R. ZWERNEMANN
Turley Law Firm | Dallas, TX
Baker Botts | Dallas, TX
EARL B. AUSTIN
Cobb Martinez Woodward | Dallas, TX
WILLIAM D. COBB, JR.
Curran Tomko Tarski | Dallas, TX
R. CHRIS HARVEY
Fulbright & Jaworski | Dallas, TX
JONATHAN B. SKIDMORE
Fulbright & Jaworski | San Antonio, TX
JOHN W. WEBER, JR.
Hartline, Dacus, Barger, Dreyer
& Kern | Dallas, TX
KYLE DREYER
214.369.2100 | Page 10
Jones Day | Dallas, TX
WINDLE TURLEY
SYDNEY B. McDOLE
214.691.4025 | Page 31
Watson, Caraway, Nelson, Midkiff & Luningham | Fort
Worth, TX
JAMES W. WATSON
Wilson, Williams & Molberg | Dallas, TX
ROGER G. WILLIAMS
214.969.3785 | Page 33
Jones Day | Dallas, TX
THOMAS E. FENNELL
Law Offices of Frank L. Branson | Dallas, TX
FRANK L. BRANSON
214.522.0200 | Pages 2,3
Wright Brown & Close | Houston, TX
HOWARD L. CLOSE
Markland Hanley | Dallas, TX
DALE G. MARKLAND
713.572.4321 | Back Cover
The
469.341.3633 | Page 33
ffices
O
w
a
L
of
A. Craig Eiland
C
raig Eiland specializes in Commercial,
Pharmaceutical, Personal Injury and
Maritime Litigation. While Eiland has handled
cases involving exotic places like Turkmenistan,
Nigeria, Greece and St. Lucia, his focus is the
Texas Gulf Coast. From the litigation
that resulted after the Texas City BP plant
exploded killing 15 people and injured
hundreds of others, to litigating cases for
homeowners, businesses and school districts
against insurance companies for damage
caused by Hurricane Ike, Eiland is involved in
most major litigation along the Gulf Coast.
In addition to his active law practice, Eiland
has also been a Texas State Representative
since 1995 and currently represents Galveston
and Chambers Counties. He was recently
named Speaker Pro Tempore for the Texas
House of Representatives.
Old Galveston Square
2211 The Strand Suite 201, Galveston, Texas 77550
Phone: 409.763.3260 E-Fax: 713.513.5211
www.eilandlaw.com • ceiland@eilandlaw.com
When you need a lawyer . . . not when you want one.
Texas’ Best Lawyers 27
2010 S u r v e y
R es u lts
Pezzulli Kinser | Dallas, TX
MICHAEL F. PEZZULLI
Plunkett & Gibson | San Antonio, TX
ALLEN LEWIN PLUNKETT
Prichard, Hawkins, McFarland and Young | San Antonio, TX
GRANT T. MCFARLAND, DAVID M. PRICHARD
The Schmidt Firm | Dallas, TX
MICHAEL E. SCHMIDT
Thompson & Knight | Dallas, TX
JOSEPH S. PEVSNER
Professional Malpractice Law
Baker Botts | Dallas, TX
TIMOTHY W. MOUNTZ, ROD PHELAN
Keith Law Firm | Fort Worth, TX
DARRELL L. KEITH
Law Offices of Frank L. Branson | Dallas, TX
FRANK L. BRANSON
214.522.0200 | Pages 2,3
Shannon, Gracey, Ratliff & Miller | Fort Worth, TX
KLEBER C. MILLER
Vinson & Elkins | Dallas, TX
KAREN L. HIRSCHMAN
Project Finance Law
Baker Botts | Dallas, TX
LUKE A. WEEDON
Haynes and Boone | Dallas, TX
ROBERT D. ALBERGOTTI
Haynes and Boone | Fort Worth, TX
WILLIAM D. GREENHILL
Vinson & Elkins | Dallas, TX
ROBERT L. KIMBALL
Winstead | Dallas, TX
KEITH H. MULLEN
Public Finance Law
Andrews Kurth | Dallas, TX
BOB C. GRIFFO
David C. Petruska | Dallas, TX
DAVID C. PETRUSKA
Fulbright & Jaworski | Dallas, TX
ROBERT D. DRANSFIELD
Fulbright & Jaworski | San Antonio, TX
CLAYTON SCOTT BINFORD, W. JEFFREY KUHN,
MICHAEL L. SPAIN
Gibson Dunn | Dallas, TX
HARLAN P. COHEN
Kelly Hart & Hallman | Fort Worth, TX
R. DANIEL SETTLE, JR.
McCall, Parkhurst & Horton | Dallas, TX
JOSEPH E. ECKERT, HAROLD T. FLANAGAN, JEFFREY
A. LEUSCHEL, RICHARD C. PORTER, ALAN H. RAYNOR
Richard M. Kobdish, Attorney at Law | Addison, TX
RICHARD M. KOBDISH
Vinson & Elkins | Dallas, TX
BEN A. BROOKS III, ROBERT R. COLLINS III, RAY
HUTCHISON, GEORGE G. RODRIGUEZ
Winstead | San Antonio, TX
M. PAUL MARTIN
Railroad Law
Brown, Dean, Wiseman, Proctor, Hart & Howell | Fort
Worth, TX
JOHN W. PROCTOR
Greenberg Traurig | Dallas, TX
MARK A. CALHOUN
Jackson Walker | Fort Worth, TX
ALBON O. HEAD, JR.
Jackson Walker | San Antonio, TX
JAMES L. WALKER
Real Estate Law
Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld | Dallas, TX
CARL BENNETT LEE, RANDALL M. RATNER
Andrews Kurth | Dallas, TX
ANDREW L. CAMPBELL
Baker Botts | Dallas, TX
JONATHAN W. DUNLAY
Barton, East & Caldwell | San Antonio, TX
J. CARY BARTON
Bobbitt, Halter & Watson | San Antonio, TX
RICHARD F. HALTER
28 Texas’ Best Lawyers
Bracewell & Giuliani | Dallas, TX
ALFRED G. KYLE
Brown McCarroll | Dallas, TX
ROBERT W. DUPUY, CHARLES W. MORRIS
Carrie, Cramer & Weatherbie | Dallas, TX
DAVID A. WEATHERBIE
Cox Smith Matthews | San Antonio, TX
KERRY T. BENEDICT, PETER R. BRODERICK,
JAMES M. MCDONOUGH, JOHN B. STEWART,
LEWIS T. TARVER, JR.
Davis, Cedillo & Mendoza | San Antonio, TX
J. RUSSELL DAVIS
DLA Piper | Dallas, TX
PHILIP D. WELLER
Drenner & Golden Stuart Wolff | San Antonio, TX
STEPHEN LLOYD GOLDEN
Fulbright & Jaworski | Dallas, TX
WINSTON WILLARD WALP II, MARK A. WEIBEL
Fulbright & Jaworski | San Antonio, TX
JAMES M. SUMMERS
Glast, Phillips & Murray | Dallas, TX
MARK V. MURRAY
Greenberg Traurig | Dallas, TX
TINA M. ROSS, RALPH G. SANTOS
Haynes and Boone | Dallas, TX
STEVEN R. JENKINS, ROBERT E. WILSON
Haynes and Boone | Fort Worth, TX
WILLIAM D. RATLIFF III
Haynes and Boone | Richardson, TX
RICHARD K. MARTIN, ANN M. SAEGERT
Haynes and Boone | San Antonio, TX
STEVEN A. WATERS
Hornberger Sheehan Fuller & Beiter | San Antonio, TX
JOHN D. WITTENBERG, JR.
Hunton & Williams | Dallas, TX
JAMES H. WALLENSTEIN
Jackson Walker | Dallas, TX
BRYAN C. BIRKELAND, WILLIAM S. DAHLSTROM,
MICHAEL P. HAGGERTY, SUSAN MEAD
James H. Barrow | San Antonio, TX
JAMES H. BARROW
Kelly Hart & Hallman | Fort Worth, TX
CHAD A. KEY, PATRICIA F. MEADOWS,
SHARON S. MILLIANS
Kenneth M. Gindy | San Antonio, TX
KENNETH M. GINDY
Kerr Negron | San Antonio, TX
RICHARD L. KERR
Langley & Banack | San Antonio, TX
STEVEN R. BROOK,
MARC J. SCHNALL
210.736.6600 | Page 20
Law Office of Charles W. Spencer | Dallas, TX
CHARLES W. SPENCER
Law Office of Clinton Shouse | Dallas, TX
CLINTON B. SHOUSE
Law Office of Thomas J. Smith | San Antonio, TX
THOMAS J. SMITH
Law, Snakard & Gambill | Fort Worth, TX
JAY S. GARRETT
Lawrence J. Brannian | Dallas, TX
LAWRENCE J. BRANNIAN
Locke Lord Bissell & Liddell | Dallas, TX
ROBERT J. BANTA, ROBB P. STEWART
McGlinchey Stafford | Dallas, TX
LARRY VAN SMITH, ELDON LEE YOUNGBLOOD
Michael A. Morell | San Antonio, TX
MICHAEL A. MORELL
Miller, Egan, Molter & Nelson | Dallas, TX
WALTER D. MILLER
Munsch Hardt Kopf & Harr | Dallas, TX
WILLIAM T. CAVANAUGH, JR., RICHARD O. KOPF,
RICHARD W. WILHELM
Norman & Oliver | San Antonio, TX
JAMES C. NORMAN
Nunley Davis Jolley Cluck Aelvoet | Boerne, TX
GRADY B. JOLLEY
Powell Coleman & Arnold | Dallas, TX
PATRICK M. ARNOLD, LESTER V. BAUM, BRUCE R.
COLEMAN, MICHAEL A. DEAHL, WILLIAM D. POWELL
Robert F. See, Jr. & Associates | Dallas, TX
ROBERT F. SEE, JR.
Sara E. Dysart | San Antonio, TX
SARA E. DYSART
210.224.7111 | Page 32
Schoenbaum, Curphy & Scanlan | San Antonio, TX
BANKS M. SMITH
Stumpf Farrimond | San Antonio, TX
SCOTT A. FARRIMOND
Stutzman, Bromberg, Esserman & Plifka | Dallas, TX
KENNETH F. PLIFKA
The Bush Firm | Arlington, TX
ROBERT L. RUSSELL BUSH
Thompson & Knight | Dallas, TX
PAUL E. COMEAUX, MARTHA HARRIS, M. LAWRENCE
HICKS, JR., RAY T. KHIRALLAH, HARRY M. ROBERTS, JR.,
MARK M. SLOAN, BEN B. WEST
Thompson & Knight | Fort Worth, TX
SUSAN E. COLEMAN
Vinson & Elkins | Dallas, TX
MICHAEL R. BOULDEN, RANDY R. JURGENSMEYER,
PAUL A. MARTIN, JOEL L. ROSS
Wilson & Wilson Law | San Antonio, TX
JAMIE M. WILSON
Winstead | Dallas, TX
ARTHUR J. ANDERSON, T. ANDREW DOW, J. KENNETH
KOPF, JOHN M. NOLAN, EDWARD A. PETERSON,
KEVIN A. SULLIVAN, JAMES RICHARD WHITE, KIRK R.
WILLIAMS
Winstead | San Antonio, TX
FRANK Z. RUTTENBERG
Securities Law
Baker Botts | Dallas, TX
CRAIG ADAMS, ANDREW M. BAKER, TIMOTHY S.
DURST, GEORGE C. LAMB III, JOHN W. MARTIN, DON
J. MCDERMETT, JR., TIMOTHY W. MOUNTZ, GEOFFREY
L. NEWTON, DOUGLASS M. RAYBURN, ROBB L.
VOYLES
Figari & Davenport | Dallas, TX
ERNEST E. FIGARI, JR.
Fulbright & Jaworski | Dallas, TX
GLEN JAMES HETTINGER, THOMAS WILLIAM HUGHES
Gardere Wynne Sewell | Dallas, TX
LARRY L. SCHOENBRUN
Haynes and Boone | Dallas, TX
GEORGE W. BRAMBLETT, JR., NOEL M. B. HENSLEY,
TAYLOR H. WILSON
Haynes and Boone | Fort Worth, TX
BRIAN D. BARNARD
Hornberger Sheehan Fuller & Beiter | San Antonio, TX
T. DREW CAUTHORN
Hunton & Williams | Dallas, TX
LARRY STEVEN LESHIN
Jones Day | Dallas, TX
PATRICIA J. VILLAREAL
Kelly Hart & Hallman | Fort Worth, TX
F. RICHARD BERNASEK
Law Offices of James M. Doyle, Jr. | San Antonio, TX
JAMES M. DOYLE, JR.
Shannon, Gracey, Ratliff & Miller | Fort Worth, TX
KLEBER C. MILLER
Thompson & Knight | Dallas, TX
PETER ALAN LODWICK, TIMOTHY R. MCCORMICK
Vinson & Elkins | Dallas, TX
JEFFREY A. CHAPMAN, WILLIAM B. DAWSON
Weil, Gotshal & Manges | Dallas, TX
MARY R. KORBY
Sports Law
Jackson Walker | Dallas, TX
ROBERT P. LATHAM
Kleiman Lawrence Baskind Fitzgerald | Dallas, TX
PAUL D. SCHOONOVER
Structured Finance Law
Andrews Kurth | Dallas, TX
DAVID BARBOUR, PATRICK C. SARGENT
Fulbright & Jaworski | Dallas, TX
MARK A. WEIBEL
Greenberg Traurig | Dallas, TX
MICHAEL B. THIMMIG
Winstead | Dallas, TX
KEVIN A. SULLIVAN
Tax Law
Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld | Dallas, TX
DANIEL J. MICCICHE
Andrews Kurth | Dallas, TX
THOMAS R. POPPLEWELL
Baker & McKenzie | Dallas, TX
DAVID G. GLICKMAN
For more info go to www.law.com/texasbest
2010 Lawyers of the Year
Best Lawyers
has named individuals as Lawyers of the Year in Dallas,
based on their particularly high level of peer recognition.
Jeffrey A. Kearney
Dallas Lawyers of the Year
Kearney | Wynn
Criminal Defense: White-Collar
A
fter beginning his career as a prosecutor, Jeffrey A. Kearney moved
across the aisle to the defense counsel table and now enjoys the
complexity and sophistication of federal white collar criminal defense
work. It’s the thrill of competition that attracted Kearney to the specialty:
“You have to be highly competitive and driven to win.” Good judgment
and instincts are also critical. “In the court room you have to rely on your
instincts and judgment and make split second decisions.”
Kearney’s favorite aspect of his practice is the variety. “No two cases
are alike. I am constantly interested in the new things I see, hear and
learn. And I really enjoy dealing with the clients.” Kearney says that he
and his colleagues “thrive on championing other people’s causes and standing
up against our government when we see an abuse of power.” Of all his cases,
his work on the Branch Davidian case in 1994 had the greatest impact on him and his career. For
that case, he volunteered his time and took months away from his private practice because: “It was
a situation where we believed the government had overreached.”
With decades of litigation experience, and a board certification in criminal law, Kearney has
frequently lectured and written about what he considers two of the most important aspects of
criminal defense work: jury selection and opening statements. “You need to be a great listener to
be good at jury selection.” And if you don’t grab the jurors’ attention early with your opening
statement, “you may never get a second chance,” he cautions.
Baker Botts | Dallas, TX
STEPHEN D. MARCUS, RENN G. NEILSON
Brusniak Blackwell | Dallas, TX
JOHN BRUSNIAK, JR.
Cantey Hanger | Fort Worth, TX
NOEL C. ICE, J. DAVID TRACY
Cox Smith Matthews | San Antonio, TX
RICHARD E. GOLDSMITH, WILLIAM H. LESTER, JR.,
ROBERT W. NELSON
Ernst & Young | Dallas, TX
MICHAEL G. FRANKEL
Fulbright & Jaworski | San Antonio, TX
GEORGE W. SCOFIELD
Gardere Wynne Sewell | Dallas, TX
VAL J. ALBRIGHT, MICHAEL J. DONOHUE, CYM H.
LOWELL
Gibson Dunn | Dallas, TX
DAVID SINAK
Greenberg Traurig | Dallas, TX
DANIEL P. NOVAKOV
Haynes and Boone | Dallas, TX
RICHARD M. FIJOLEK
Hornberger Sheehan Fuller & Beiter | San Antonio, TX
CHARLES M. HORNBERGER
Jackson Walker | Dallas, TX
WILLIAM H. HORNBERGER
Johnson, Jordan, Nipper & Monk | Dallas, TX
WILLIAM D. JORDAN
Jones Day | Dallas, TX
DAVID E. COWLING, DENNIS B. DRAPKIN, RICHARD A.
FRELING, TODD WALLACE
K&L Gates | Dallas, TX
ROBERT EDWIN DAVIS, KATHRYN G. HENKEL, VESTER
T. HUGHES, JR., RONALD D. KERRIDGE, CYNTHIA
MORGAN OHLENFORST
Kroney Morse Lan | Dallas, TX
DONALD PAUL LAN, JR.
Law Offices of William D. Elliott | Dallas, TX
WILLIAM D. ELLIOTT
Locke Lord Bissell & Liddell | Dallas, TX
CHRISTOPHER F. ALLISON, R. BRENT CLIFTON,
For more info go to www.law.com/texasbest
HERSCHELL GENE EMERY
Bet-the-Company
– Columbus, OH
Looper
Reed & McGrawLitigation
| Dallas, TX
G. THOMAS RHODUS
McShane & Davis | Dallas, TX
EDWIN W. DAVIS
Meadows, Collier, Reed, Cousins & Blau | Dallas, TX
ROBERT D. COLLIER, TREY COUSINS
Oppenheimer, Blend, Harrison & Tate | San Antonio, TX
STANLEY L. BLEND, ELIZABETH A. COPELAND
Schoenbaum, Curphy & Scanlan | San Antonio, TX
R. JAMES CURPHY, DARIN N. DIGBY, STANLEY
SCHOENBAUM
Strasburger & Price | Dallas, TX
DANIEL L. BUTCHER, JACK R. DUGAN
Strasburger & Price | San Antonio, TX
FARLEY P. KATZ, CHARLES J. MULLER
Thompson & Knight | Dallas, TX
BUFORD P. BERRY, JOHN R. COHN, P. MIKE
MCCULLOUGH, MARY A. MCNULTY, EMILY A. PARKER,
JOE A. RUDBERG, KEVIN THOMASON, R. DAVID WHEAT
Thompson & Knight | Fort Worth, TX
R. GORDON APPLEMAN
Vinson & Elkins | Dallas, TX
THOMAS CRICHTON IV, JAMES S. MEYER
Winstead | Dallas, TX
THOMAS R. HELFAND
Winstead | Fort Worth, TX
WILLIAM W. BELL
Technology Law
Baker Botts | Dallas, TX
JOHN W. MARTIN
Haynes and Boone | Dallas, TX
JEFFREY M. BECKER, DAVID L. MCCOMBS
Thompson & Knight | Dallas, TX
BRUCE S. SOSTEK
Vinson & Elkins | Dallas, TX
DEAN WILLIAM HARVEY
Alternative Dispute Resolution Lawyer of the Year:
Ross W. Stoddard III
Antitrust Lawyer of the Year: Gregory S.C. Huffman
Appellate Lawyer of the Year: Nina Cortell
Banking Lawyer of the Year: Kenneth A. Rogers
Bankruptcy and Creditor-Debtor Rights
Lawyer of the Year: Daniel C. Stewart
Bet-the-Company Litigator of the Year:
James E. Coleman, Jr.
Construction Lawyer of the Year: Joseph F. Canterbury, Jr.
Corporate Lawyer of the Year: Glenn D. West
Non-White-Collar Criminal Defense
Lawyer of the Year: Tim Evans
White-Collar Criminal Defense Lawyer of the Year:
Jeffrey A. Kearney
Employee Benefits Lawyer of the Year: Charles F. Plenge
Environmental Lawyer of the Year: Scott D. Deatherage
Family Lawyer of the Year: R. Laughton Whitehead, Jr.
Immigration Lawyer of the Year: Craig E. Miley
Intellectual Property Lawyer of the Year:
V. Bryan Medlock, Jr.
Labor & Employment Lawyer of the Year:
John V. Jansonius
Mergers & Acquisitions Lawyer of the Year:
Michael D. Wortley
Personal Injury Litigator of the Year: John H. Martin
Real Estate Lawyer of the Year: Philip D. Weller
Tax Lawyer of the Year: Emily A. Parker
Trusts & Estates Lawyer of the Year: Thomas H. Cantrill
Commercial
Litigation – Columbus,
Transportation
Law OH
Brown, Dean, Wiseman, Proctor, Hart & Howell | Fort
Worth, TX
STEPHEN C. HOWELL
Carstens & Cahoon | Dallas, TX
FRED J. MEIER
Jackson Walker | Dallas, TX
ROBERT F. RUCKMAN
Smith & Moore | Dallas, TX
CHARLES H. SMITH
Thompson & Knight | Dallas, TX
JOHN H. MARTIN
Trusts and Estates
Allen - Lottmann | Tyler, TX
MICHAEL D. ALLEN, RICHARD H. LOTTMAN
Bakutis, McCully & Sawyer | Fort Worth, TX
DAVID C. BAKUTIS
Bayern & Aycock | San Antonio, TX
JAMES J. AYCOCK, ARTHUR H. BAYERN
Bisignano & Harrison | Dallas, TX
SANTO BISIGNANO, JR., BOB D. HARRISON
Bourland, Wall & Wenzel | Fort Worth, TX
MICHAEL V. BOURLAND
Calloway, Norris, Burdette & Weber | Dallas, TX
MARY CLARIDAY BURDETTE, R. W. CALLOWAY, JOHN
R. NORRIS III, SCOTT D. WEBER
Cantey Hanger | Fort Worth, TX
MICHAEL G. APPLEMAN, HARRY EDWARD BARTEL,
THOMAS ALLAN HOWETH, NOEL C. ICE,
J. DAVID TRACY
Carrington, Coleman, Sloman & Blumenthal | Dallas, TX
ROBERT H. BOTTS, JR.
Cox Smith Matthews | San Antonio, TX
RICHARD E. GOLDSMITH, ALLAN G. PATERSON, JR.,
HARRY W. WOLFF, JR.
D. Woodward Glenn | Dallas, TX
NATHAN K. GRIFFIN
Texas’ Best Lawyers 29
2010 S u r v e y
R es u lts
M ic h ael F . Heim
I n tellect u al Pr o p ert y L aw
Michael Heim specializes exclusively in
intellectual property litigation and antitrust
lawsuits involving intellectual property. Mr. Heim
represents plaintiffs and defendants throughout
the United States in patent litigation in a wide
range of technologies including microprocessors,
computer architecture, memory control systems,
cellular telephone systems, data transmission
systems, on-line gaming systems, database caching software, loggingwhile drilling systems, and a host of other high-tech technologies. He has
expertise in evaluating patent portfolios and developing strategies to
enforce and license those portfolios. He also is a skilled courtroom
litigator, able to understand and explain highly complex technical and
legal issues to both judges and jurors. Mr. Heim has a Bachelor of Science
degree in Electrical Engineering received from the University of Missouri
with numerous academic honors. His ability to understand complex technical issues in the electrical arts is unparalleled. He received his J.D.
degree from The George Washington University Law School, also with
Honors. While in law school, he served three years as a Patent Examiner
at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, specializing in electrical
communications and computer software and hardware. Mr. Heim and his
law firm often represent their clients on some form of contingency basis,
thereby sharing in the client’s risks and rewards. The willingness to align his
interests with that of his clients typically results in a more synergistic
relationship, without the sometimes bitter fee disputes that result from
more traditional hourly fee engagements. Mr. Heim has received recognition throughout the patent community in the United States for his abilities
and for the significant results he has achieved on behalf of his clients.
H eim , P ayne & C horush , LLP
600 Travis, Suite 6710, Houston, TX 77002
ph: 713.221.2000 fax: 713.221.2021 • mheim@hpcllp.com • www.hpcllp.com
J o h n R . Pitts
B arbara A n n R a d n o fsk y
Nati v e A merica n L aw
Government Relations Law
Legislative & Administrative Law
John R. Pitts offers lobbying and
government relations services that
assists clients before executive,
legislative, administrative and regulatory
bodies in Texas and Washington, D.C.
Through his relationships with Texas’
and Washington policy makers, Mr. Pitts brings together
stakeholders with decision makers to develop public policy
benefiting his clients. He provides his clients with winning,
issue oriented efforts addressing business, tax, education,
natural resources, gaming, Native American, housing, health,
utility, and renewable energy challenges. Mr. Pitts gives back
to the community as: founder of LIFE/Houston, Lobby for
Hope and Give Back!! Houston; board member of Big
Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Houston, Park Plaza Hospital
and Texas Affiliate of Affordable Housing Providers; and
selected for membership in the Texas Bar Foundation.
He received his BBA, MBA & JD degrees from Southern
Methodist University, and his MDiv from the Virginia
Theological Seminary.
J ohn R. P itts
A lter n ati v e Dis p u te R es o l u ti o n ,
Healt h C are L aw,
M e d ical M al p ractice L aw,
Pers o n al I n j u ry L itigati o n
Barbara Ann Radnofsky has appeared
for the past 17 years in The Best
Lawyers in America® and is currently
listed in four areas: dispute resolution,
medical malpractice, personal injury,
and health care law. A wife, mother, teacher, and mediator,
she was the first woman at Vinson & Elkins to have children
as an associate and attain partnership. In 1999, she successfully petitioned the Consumer Product Safety Commission
to prohibit defective barbecue lighters with estimated annual savings of millions of dollars and hundreds of lives. The
1988 Outstanding Young Lawyer of Texas, Barbara Ann
served as a volunteer peer mediation teacher for more than
15 years. She is a co-founder of Houston Urban Debate
League, a graduate of the FBI Citizen’s Academy, and Board
Member of the FBI Citizen’s Academy Alumni Association.
She and her husband actively support the Dead Sea Scrolls
Foundation, enabling museum displays of the scrolls and
commissioning publication of a scrolls volume. They are
co-owners of the Brazos Bookstore, an independent
bookseller and a Houston institution. She is the 2010
Democratic nominee for Texas Attorney General.
B arbara A nn R adnofsky
PO Box 27130, Houston, TX 77227
ph: 512.426.9135 fax: 713.739.8341
john@johnrpitts.com
PO Box 55968, Houston, TX 77255
ph: 713.357.3360 fax: 713.357.3361 • barbaraann@radnofsky.com
Pol. Ad. Paid for by Barbara Ann Radnofsky Campaign Fund
practice area highlighted denotes best lawyers
30 Texas’ Best Lawyers
®
selection
For more info go to www.law.com/texasbest
Texas’
F i d el R o d rig u e z , Jr .
Pers o n al I n j u r y L itigati o n
Fidel Rodriguez, Jr. has tried personal
injury, construction, and product liability
cases throughout South Texas for a
quarter of a century. He takes particular
pride in representing the working
person against the big companies
and feels that our system of justice
guarantees equal rights to all citizens,
regardless of race, religion, age, or social standing. “Clients
and their families are treated with respect and the utmost
dignity at this firm,” he professes. He attended Texas A&M
University, was a member of the Corps of Cadets and the
Ross Volunteers, and graduated with a Bachelor of Science
degree in Civil Engineering (summa cum laude, 1973). While
serving in the United States Air Force in San Antonio, he
received a Master of Business Administration from the
University of Texas at San Antonio in 1977. He graduated
from the University of Texas Law School in 1980. He is a
past-President of the San Antonio Bar Association and is a
member of the Texas Trial Lawyers Association, The
American Board of Trial Advocates, and the American
College of Trial Lawyers.
L aw O ffices
of
F idel R odriguez , J r .
111 Soledad, Suite 1300
San Antonio, TX 78205
toll free: 800.644.0080 ph: 210.224.1057
www.frlawfirm.net
A lt o n C . T o d d
Pers o n al I n j u r y L itigati o n
Among fewer than two percent of Texas
attorneys are Board Certified in both
Personal Injury and Civil Trial Law. Alton
Todd is a Fellow in the International
Academy of Trial Lawyers and American
College of Trial Lawyers and also a
Diplomate in the American Board of Trial
Advocates. He is admitted to practice
before the U.S. Supreme Court as well as the Fifth Circuit of the
U.S. Court of Appeals, the U.S. District Court for the Northern
and Southern Districts of Texas and the Western District of
Arkansas. Admitted to the State Bar of Texas in 1971 after
earning his law degree at Southern Methodist University, Mr.
Todd first practiced with a revered Galveston insurance defense
firm, later joining the law firm of Wellborn, Britt and Brown in
Alvin, Texas. After 25-years of personal injury practice in Alvin,
Texas, The Law Firm of Alton C. Todd was formed and moved to
Friendswood in 2000. While building a highly successful legal
practice, which includes general civil and trial law, wrongful
death, personal injury, negligence, product liability, medical
malpractice and employment law, Alton Todd has remained true
to his desire to assist those who are in need by being the voice
of the voiceless throughout the legal process. The values and
good judgment that were forged during his upbringing in
Hamilton, Texas, have truly given him unique and special skills to
achieve justice for his clients.
T he L aw F irm
of
A lton C. T odd
312 South Friendswood Drive, Friendswood, TX 77546
Ph: 281.992.8633 Fax: 281.648.8633 • www.altontodd.com
B es t L a wy e r s
®
M arti n R . S a d ler
I n s u ra n ce L aw, A lter n ati v e
Dis p u te R es o l u ti o n
Selected as a Texas Best Lawyer since
2008, Martin R. Sadler has recently joined
the New Orleans firm of Lugenbuhl,
Wheaton, Peck, Rankin and Hubbard and
was instrumental in the opening of its
Houston branch office. Mr. Sadler has
worked in conjunction with the Lugenbuhl
firm for nearly five years providing first party insurance coverage
and litigation legal services to insurance companies in the
aftermath of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Mr. Sadler and the firm
represent multiple carriers in dozens of litigated matters arising
from Hurricane Ike in Harris County and across the Texas Gulf
Coast. Through the new Houston office, the Lugenbuhl firm is
now positioned to extend to Texas its well developed insurance
coverage services concerning general liability claims, errors and
omissions claims, directors and officers claims, commercial and
residential property claims, and business interruption claims. In
the near future the Houston Lugenbuhl office will add non-insurance coverage practice groups compatible with the other
practice areas that have been a foundation for the New
Orleans office for many years. Those practice groups include
maritime and admiralty, commercial, corporate litigation,
and bankruptcy.
L ugenbuhl , W heaton , P eck , R ankin
and H ubbard
815 Walker Street, Suite 1447, Houston, TX 77002
Ph: 713.222.1990
www.lawla.com • msadler@lawla.com
Wi n d le T u rle y
Pers o n al I n j u r y L itigati o n
For more than 35 years, the Turley Law
Firm has stood with those who were
injured by the neglect or wrongful
conduct of others. In 2004, Windle
Turley was one of only two attorneys
included in the Dallas All Time Tough
Guys by D Magazine. Board certified in
personal injury litigation, he achieved
one of the top 10 largest damage verdicts in the nation in
1992 and again in 1997. With more than 40 years of trial
experience, Turley has pioneered innovative settlement and
trial techniques. This expertise has led to being named
among the top 10 Air Crash Lawyers in the nation and
selected for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America®
annually for 25 years and Texas Super Lawyers. From among
his areas of practice, he particularly is proud of his work on
behalf of injured children. Whenever negligence and
carelessness have caused pain and suffering, the Turley Law
Firm stands ready to help achieve a safer community by
holding wrongdoers accountable to their victims.
T urley L aw F irm
6440 North Central Expressway
1000 Turley Law Center
Dallas, TX 75206
Ph: 214.691.4025 Fax: 214.361.5802
www.wturley.com
turley@wturley.com
practice area highlighted denotes best lawyers ® selection
For more info go to www.law.com/texasbest
Texas’ Best Lawyers 31
2010 S u r v e y
R es u lts
Stephen I. Adler
Michael M. Barron
Eminent Domain and
Condemnation Law
Eminent Domain and
Condemnation Law
David Brown
Insurance Law,
Personal Injury Litigation
Property Rights are among our most
basic freedoms. For almost thirty
years, Stephen Adler and Barron &
Adler, LLP, have been engaged by
property owners in eminent domain
and condemnation cases throughout
Texas protecting those rights. A Texas Super Lawyer,
graduate of the University of Texas Law School and
Princeton University, Mr. Adler is a frequent “takings”
lecturer and the immediate past chair of the Eminent
Domain Committee of the Real Property Section of the
American Bar Association. Barron & Adler, LLP, is hired
by clients that usually do not pay an attorneys fee
unless the firm has helped them receive greater compensation than that offered by the condemning entity.
The firm website is barronadler.com.
Property Rights are among our most
basic freedoms. For over thirty years,
Michael Barron and Barron & Adler,
LLP, have been engaged by property
owners in eminent domain and condemnation cases throughout Texas
protecting those rights. A graduate of the University of
Texas Law School, Mr. Barron is a frequent lecturer on
the subject of “takings” teaching other attorneys and
real estate professionals. Barron & Adler LLP, is hired by
clients that usually do not pay an attorneys fee unless
the firm has helped them receive greater compensation
than that offered by the condemning entity. The firm
website is barronadler.com.
David Brown represents policyholders in insurance coverage and loss
quantification disputes. His practice
includes claims under liability,
property, environmental, and
directors & officers policies.
Mr. Brown’s clients include energy, manufacturing,
transportation, and service companies, governmental
and not-for-profit entities, and healthcare providers.
He handles matters at the claim preparation stage, as
well as litigation and appeals, arbitrations, mediations,
and appraisal proceedings. Mr. Brown has represented
the Port of Houston Authority in litigation matters for
the past 15 years. His practice includes the defense of
commercial and personal injury litigation, and the
defense of tort and professional liability claims.
Barron & Adler LLP
Barron & Adler LLP
Brown & Kornegay LLP
808 Nueces Street
Austin, TX 78701
ph: 512.478.4995 fax: 512.478.6022
www.barronadler.com
808 Nueces Street
Austin, TX 78701
ph: 512.478.4995 fax: 512.478.6022
www.barronadler.com
Kent A. Caperton
R. Brent Cooper
Government Relations Law
Insurance Law
Kent Caperton is a member of the
Ben Barnes Group and works on
national and state issues for a variety
of clients with needs in government
relations and public policy matters.
Additionally, he is teaming with law
firms on matters of complex litigation. He is Board Certified in Civil Trial Law. Caperton
was formerly a Managing Director at Public Strategies,
focusing primarily on legislative, regulatory and political
policy for that firm’s national telecommunications client.
He managed a large team of professionals embedded
with the client. Caperton was previously a shareholder
in the Austin office of the law firm of Winstead Sechrest
& Minick in the Litigation and Government Relations
Section. From 1981-1991, Mr. Caperton served as State
Senator for District Five in the Texas Senate.
R. Brent Cooper, named shareholder
of Cooper & Scully, focuses his
practice on appellate law, insurance,
and commercial litigation. For
over 35 years, he has been at the
forefront of Texas law, particularly in
the area of bad faith. He earned his
Bachelor of Business Administration, summa cum
laude With Distinction, from Texas A&M University in
1974, and his Juris Doctor, cum laude, from Southern
Methodist University in 1977. He is Board Certified in
Personal Injury Trial Law by the Texas Board of Legal
Specialization.
Ben Barnes Group
Cooper & Scully, PC
98 San Jacinto Blvd., Suite 1400
Austin, TX 78701
ph: 512.322.0128
www.benbarnesgroup.com
kcaperton@benbarnesgroup.com
900 Jackson Street, Suite 100
Dallas, TX 75202
ph: 214.712.9500 fax: 214.712.9540
www.cooperscully.com
Sara E. Dysart
Galt Graydon
Real Estate Law
Government Relations Law
Sara E. Dysart is a graduate of St.
Mary’s University, BA 1974 magna
cum laude, University of Texas at San
Antonio, MA 1978, and St. Mary’s
University School of Law, JD 1981
with distinction. She is past-President
of the St. Mary’s Law Alumni
Association and past-Chair of the San Antonio Bar
Foundation. She is a member of the State Bar of Texas
Real Estate Forms Committee. She has written and
presented numerous articles on Texas real estate law
for continuing legal education seminars. She has an
AV-rating in the Martindale-Hubbell Law Directory.
Sara E. Dysart, Attorney at Law
112 E. Pecan Street, Suite 3050
San Antonio, TX 78205
ph: 210.224.7111 fax: 210.224.1733
sara@dysartlaw.com
practice area highlighted denotes best lawyers
32 Texas’ Best Lawyers
Dick DeGuerin
Non-White-Collar Criminal
Defense, White-Collar
Criminal Defense
Dick DeGuerin specializes in criminal
defense and enjoys a widely varied
practice in both state and federal
trials and appeals. In practice for
forty-four years, he was associated
with famed defense attorney Percy Foreman during the
seventies and has successfully defended a wide variety
of clients in State and Federal Court, including doctors,
lawyers, judges, a United States Senator; and persons
accused of murder, smuggling, money laundering and
white collar crime. He is an Adjunct Professor of Law at
the University Of Texas School Of Law.
DeGuerin & Dickson
1018 Preston, 7th Floor
Houston, TX 77002
ph: 713.223.5959 fax: 713.223.9231
Clint Hackney
Government Relations Law
Galt Graydon’s distinguished legal
career spans more than four decades
in Texas. He has spent over 30 years
representing corporations, trade
associations, governmental entities
and individuals before all branches
of Texas state government. A
graduate of the University of Texas at Austin and the
University of Texas School of Law (1969), Mr. Graydon is
a Life Fellow of the Texas Bar Foundation and a
member of the Board of Directors of the Texas
Taxpayers and Research Association. Graydon, Gibson
& Brown, LLP was founded in 2002 by Graydon,
Machree Gibson (UT Law 1991) and Jay P. Brown (UT
Law 1996). With over 60 years combined experience,
the firm along with its affiliate public affairs consulting
firm, the Graydon Group, LLC, is a unique combination
of legal, public policy, and political specialists assembled to provide a comprehensive, effective approach
to advocacy.
Clint Hackney provides government
relations services before legislative,
executive and regulatory bodies in
Texas and Washington, DC. With
more than 30 years of work in the
public policy arena, Mr. Hackney
provides recognized expertise and
experienced service in policy analysis and legislative
strategy. His commitment to ensure timely access to
policy decision makers and to provide persuasive
presentations of client issues has resulted in many
successes for those he represents. Mr. Hackney served
4 terms in the Texas House of Representatives where
he chaired the House Energy Committee and authored
major legislation. He received a degree in political
science from Texas A&M, studied Comparative Laws at
Oxford University, and earned his law degree at The
University of Houston.
Graydon, Gibson & Brown, LLP
816 Congress Ave., Suite 1125
Austin, TX 78701
In Austin: 512.472.9022 ph: 512.751.3636 fax: 512.478.0608
cphackney@yahoo.com
1001 Congress Avenue, Suite 400, Austin, TX 78701
ph: 512.225.1001
www.thegraydongroup.com • galt@thegraydongroup.com
®
2777 Allen Parkway, Suite 977
Houston, TX 77019
ph: 713.528.3703 fax: 713.528.3701
www.bkllp.com
dbrown@bkllp.com
Clint Hackney Government Affairs
selection
For more info go to www.law.com/texasbest
Texas’
Gary S. Kessler
Dale Markland
Commercial Litigation
Gary S. Kessler board certified in
Civil Trial Law by the Texas Board of
Legal Specialization and has been
listed in the Business Litigation
Section of Best Lawyers in America®
for over 10 years. He and his
litigation team regularly appear in
state and federal courts across the country in a wide
variety of business and corporate matters. He has
extensive experience handling many types of corporate
and securities litigation including regulatory matters.
He is a member of many industry organizations
including the Securities Industry and Financial Markets
Association, Defense Research Institute and is a regular
instructor for the National Institute for Trial Advocacy.
Kessler & Collins, PC
2100 Ross Avenue, Suite 750
Dallas, TX 75201
ph: 214.379.0722 fax: 214.373.4714
gsk@kesslercollins.com
www.kesslercollins.com
Dale has tried more than 200 cases to
a verdict. Dale has served clients as
national consulting counsel and
regional counsel, as well as Texas
counsel. His practice focuses on
litigation in which engineering, medical,
scientific and other technical issues are of particular significance, including the defense of product liability and toxic
tort actions. Dale has been selected by his peers as one of
The Best Lawyers in America® in the field of products
liability, and is listed in The Bar Register of Preeminent
Lawyers in the Field of Products Liability. He has been
AV-rated by Martindale-Hubbell Legal Directory every year
since 1980. Dale was in the initial group of outside counsel
invited by the Products Liability Advisory Council, Inc. to
become a Sustaining Member of that organization. Dale
has represented clients in the pharmaceutical, semiconductor, electronics, heavy truck, automobile, cosmetics,
medical device, chemical and petrochemical industries.
Markland Hanley
2200 Ross Avenue, Suite 4100W, Dallas, TX 75201
ph: 469.341.3633
www.marklandhanley.com • dmarkland@marklandhanley.com
Jayme Partridge
Intellectual Property Law
Slusser Wilson and Partridge LLP has
distinguished itself in jury trials of
complex cases. Ms. Partridge’s
practice is focused on all aspects of
intellectual property litigation. Ms.
Partridge is admitted to practice in
state and federal district courts in
Texas, the Federal Circuit, and the Supreme Court.
She is also licensed to practice before the PTO. Ms.
Partridge received her JD from The University of Texas
in 1991, with high honors, and is a member of Order of
the Coif. She received her BS in Mechanical
Engineering, cum laude, from Texas A&M University in
1982 and is a member of Tau Beta Pi and Pi Tau Sigma.
She worked as an engineer before receiving her law
degree and was a registered Petroleum Engineer from
1986-1992.
Slusser Wilson & Partridge LLP
4720 Three Allen Center
333 Clay Street
Houston, TX 77002
ph: 713.860.3306 fax: 713.860.3333
www.slusser-law.com
partridge@slusser-law.com
Kenneth A. Wright
Eminent Domain and
Condemnation Law
Product Liability Litigation
Sydney McDole has won victories in
product liability, insurance coverage,
oil & gas and high-stakes business
litigation. She practices in courts and
heads arbitrations across the country.
She obtained a record verdict in
Pittsburgh in a coverage case
against Lloyd’s and successfully handled another coverage case against dozens of insurers related to Love
Canal. She won a defense verdict in Colorado in a
products case involving chronic beryllium disease,
which The National Law Journal named as one of the
Top Defense Verdicts of the year. She headed an ICC
arbitration for Occidental involving oil rights in Yemen
in which the panel ruled unanimously in her client’s
favor. She has recently focused on a number of distressed real estate cases. Sydney is a Fellow of the
American College of Trial Lawyers.
Jones Day
2727 N. Harwood
Dallas, TX 75201
ph: 214.969.3785
www.jonesday.com
sbmcdole@jonesday.com
Barbara K. Runge
Brian L. Webb
Family Law
Family Law
Exceptionally active in the Houston
legal community, Barbara Runge has
practiced law since 1974. After graduating from Texas Tech School of Law,
Barbara opened her own practice a
year later, and has since experienced
an extremely successful career focused
on what she enjoys most–family law. “Every day in my life,
I have been given the opportunity to help people who are
experiencing the most traumatic time of their lives,” she
professes. It is this love for helping clients in their times of
need that led Barbara to be selected by her peers as one
of Texas’ Best Lawyers® by her clients and professional
colleagues. Board certified in family law since 1981, Barbara
handles complex divorce and property cases, custody
cases, modifications, premarital and marital agreements.
She is also a mediator and arbitrator. Additionally, Barbara
represents clients using the collaborative method or
litigation as determined by the case and the client’s desires.
Barbara has received numerous awards, including the Gulf
Coast Family Law Specialists’ David Gibson Award for
Professionalism and Excellence in Family Law.
Barbara K. Runge, Attorney at Law
5615 Kirby Drive, Ste. 920, Houston, TX 77005
ph: 713.523.5363 • www.barbarakrunge.com
The Webb Family Law Firm, PC, a
nationally recognized law firm led by
attorney Brian L. Webb, serves
clients in all areas of family law. Brian
L. Webb has been board certified in
family law by the Texas Board of
Legal Specialization since 1980.
He has been listed in The Best Lawyers in America®
since 1989 and is recipient of both the Judge Sam
Emison Award and the Dan R. Price Award, the two
most prestigious awards in Texas Family Law. He has
been a popular author and speaker on family law topics
for many years.
The Webb Family Law Firm, PC
325 North St. Paul Street, Suite 4450
Dallas, TX 75201
ph: 214.871.2730 fax: 214.871.9339
www.webbfamilylaw.com
Alvin L. Zimmerman
Family Law
Since 1981, Kenneth A. Wright has
maintained his commitment to
provide qualitative legal services to
those landowners who have been
subjected to the oftentimes harsh
consequences of the exercise of
eminent domain by various condemning entities such
as the federal, state and local governments, as well as
private entities who also wield the power of eminent
domain, including power and pipeline companies.
Virtually all types of improved and unimproved
properties have been represented by him. Almost
always, Mr. Wright is charged with the task of obtaining
the maximum just compensation available in the
particular condemnation case. Consequently, most
often Mr. Wright is engaged on a contingency fee
arrangement.
Alvin L. Zimmerman, JD-UH, Chairman
of Zimmerman, Axelrad, Meyer, Stern &
Wise, PC, which firm emphasizes civil
trial, wills, estates, probate, corporate
and business transactions, banking, real
estate and family law. He was formerly
a State District Judge, 269th Civil
District Court and 309th Family District
Court; a briefing clerk for a United States District Judge
and Asst. TX Attorney General, and is Board certified by
the Texas Board of Legal Specialization-Family Law. He
serves as a panelist for American Arbitration Association
for complex cases; recipient of the Outstanding Adjunct
Professor of Law - South Texas College of Law; Frank
Evans Outstanding Mediator Award—Center of Legal
Responsibility; Best Lawyers in America and Super Lawyer
in Texas; and UH Distinguished Alumni Award; former chair,
Family Law Section-Houston Bar Association; fellow and
past president of the International Academy of Mediators
and fellow of American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers.
Law Offices of Kenneth A. Wright
Zimmerman, Axelrad, Meyer,
Stern & Wise, PC
Warren P. Wright, Associate
2711 LBJ Freeway, Suite 1032
Dallas, TX 75234
ph: 972.484.1800 fax: 972.484.1840
®
Sydney McDole
Product Liability Litigation
Technical Litigation
B es t L a wy e r s
3040 Post Oak Boulevard, #1300, Houston, TX 77056
ph: 713.552.1234 fax: 713.963.0859
www.zimmerlaw.com • azimmerman@zimmerlaw.com
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Founders and Publishers:
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practice area highlighted denotes best lawyers ® selection
For more info go to www.law.com/texasbest
Texas’ Best Lawyers 33
2010 S u r v e y
R e s u lt s
Duncan, Weakley & Bressler | San Antonio, TX
EDGAR M. DUNCAN
Fisher & Holmes | Dallas, TX
T. WESLEY HOLMES
Fulbright & Jaworski | San Antonio, TX
NANCY NOWLIN KERR
Gardere Wynne Sewell | Dallas, TX
JACK W. HAWKINS, KEITH V. NOVICK
Haynes and Boone | Dallas, TX
JOHN M. COLLINS
Haynes and Boone | Fort Worth, TX
RICE M. TILLEY, JR.
Hornberger Sheehan Fuller & Beiter | San Antonio, TX
CHARLES M. HORNBERGER
Hunton & Williams | Dallas, TX
THOMAS H. CANTRILL
Johnson, Jordan, Nipper & Monk | Dallas, TX
CHARLES R. JOHNSON, WILLIAM D. JORDAN, ROY J.
MONK, PAUL T. NIPPER, DONALD A. SWANSON, JR.
K&L Gates | Dallas, TX
SHANNON G. GUTHRIE, KATHRYN G. HENKEL, PHILIP
M. LINDQUIST
Kelly Hart & Hallman | Fort Worth, TX
DULANEY G. STEER
Kevin Philip Kennedy | San Antonio, TX
KEVIN PHILIP KENNEDY
Kroney Morse Lan | Dallas, TX
ROBERT H. KRONEY, DONALD PAUL LAN, JR.
Langley & Banack | San Antonio, TX
JOYCE W. MOORE
210.736.6600 | Page 20
Law Office of Barbara McComas Anderson | Dallas, TX
BARBARA MCCOMAS ANDERSON
Law Office of Barkley T. Miller | Dallas, TX
BARKLEY T. MILLER
Law Offices of Davidson & Troilo | San Antonio, TX
JAMES C. WOO
Law Offices of William D. Elliott | Dallas, TX
WILLIAM D. ELLIOTT
Little Pedersen Fankhauser | Dallas, TX
MARK A. FANKHAUSER
Locke Lord Bissell & Liddell | Dallas, TX
STUART M. BUMPAS, RONALD ROY CRESSWELL,
HERSCHELL GENE EMERY
Malouf Lynch Jackson & Swinson | Dallas, TX
ALEX E. NAKOS
Mincey-Carter | Dallas, TX
I. SCOTT CARTER, JAMES M. MINCEY, JR.
Oppenheimer, Blend, Harrison & Tate | San Antonio, TX
TAYLOR S. BOONE, DAVID P. STANUSH
Patton Roberts | Texarkana, TX
TINA R. GREEN, WILLIAM B. ROBERTS
Schoenbaum, Curphy & Scanlan | San Antonio, TX
DARIN N. DIGBY, WILLIAM SCANLAN, JR.,
STANLEY SCHOENBAUM, PATRICIA F. SITCHLER,
BANKS M. SMITH
Shannon, Gracey, Ratliff & Miller | Fort Worth, TX
LISA H. JAMIESON
Smith & Stephens | Dallas, TX
EDWARD V. SMITH III, MARJORIE J. STEPHENS
Strasburger & Price | Dallas, TX
JACK M. KINNEBREW, ROBERT HYER THOMAS
Strasburger & Price | Frisco, TX
JOHN K. ROUND
Stumpf Farrimond | San Antonio, TX
GLEN A. YALE
The Graham Law Firm | Dallas, TX
MICHAEL L. GRAHAM
The Hartnett Law Firm | Dallas, TX
JAMES J. HARTNETT, SR., JAMES J. HARTNETT, JR.,
WILL FORD HARTNETT
Thompson & Knight | Dallas, TX
BARBARA B. FERGUSON, P. MIKE MCCULLOUGH,
WILLIAM R. MUREIKO, RUST E. REID, ERIC G. REIS,
TERRY L. SIMMONS
Thompson & Knight | Fort Worth, TX
R. GORDON APPLEMAN
Winstead | Dallas, TX
JOHN F. BERGNER, DEREK L. FLETCHER
Wolfish & Newman | Addison, TX
LAWRENCE M. WOLFISH
Venture Capital Law
Haynes and Boone | Dallas, TX
DARREL A. RICE
Vinson & Elkins | Dallas, TX
MICHAEL D. WORTLEY
Woodward/White Inc. has used its best efforts in assembling material for this list but does not
warrant that the information contained herein is complete or accurate. Neither Woodward/
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agents) assumes, and both parties hereby disclaim, any liability to any person for any loss or
damage caused by errors or omissions herein, whether such errors or omissions result from
negligence, accident or any other cause. This magazine includes paid attorney advertising.
Consumers should contact the state bar for verification and additional information prior to
securing the legal services of any attorney. For more information, see www.bestlawyers.com.
The 2010 edition of The Best Lawyers in America is available from the publisher. For information
call 803-648-0300; write 129 First Avenue, Aiken, SC 29801; email info@bestlawyers.com; or
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KETTERMAN ROWLAND & WESTLUND
YOUR LEGAL TEAM
Choosing the wrong lawyer can have serious consequences. At Ketterman Rowland & Westlund, our lawyers specialize in Accident,
Injury and Wrongful Death. Recognized both locally and nationally, our lawyers are dedicated to serving the needs of families and
individuals across Texas. While exhibiting the absolute highest levels of experience and professionalism, our lawyers have the
strength and resources to handle any case. Our philosophy is simple . . . If You’ve Been Wronged,We’ll Make It Right!
KETTERMAN ROWLAND & WESTLUND
16500 SAN PEDRO AVENUE, SUITE 302, SAN ANTONIO, TX 78232
34 Texas’ Best Lawyers
PH:
210.490.HELP (4357) FAX: 210.490.8372 • www.krwlawyers.com
For more info go to www.law.com/texasbest
Ho w r y B r e e n , L L P
T
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X
A
S’
BEST
LAWYERS
2010 EDITION
Tim J. Herman, Sean E. Breen, Randy R. Howry
S
uccessful jury trial experience, cutting edge
trial science, relentless lawyers with a talented team,
deep resources, and winning results: these qualities
make HowryBreen the trial attorneys for a wide
group of clients with differing legal needs that share
one common characteristic–they have no option
other than winning. Clients ranging from individuals
who have suffered devastating losses or injuries to
Fortune 500 companies like Wells Fargo, Mack
Trucks, and Fed Ex Freight, to smaller businesses,
entrepreneurs, and high profile individuals such as
Lance Armstrong, all come to HowryBreen when their
reputation or future are on the line and they cannot
afford to lose. The firm takes high stakes cases and
never waivers from the goal to obtain the best
possible result for the client.
A premier trial firm, HowryBreen tries all manner
of civil cases across the country from both sides
of the courtroom, representing plaintiffs and
defendants. Progressive and innovative, the firm
offers creative fee arrangements and is routinely
hired directly by clients or through referrals from law
firms and attorneys tapping the firm’s rich trial
experience. Unlike many litigation firms, HowryBreen’s
attorneys have actually tried hundreds of cases and
know how to prepare a case efficiently for trial, which
makes for a proven recipe and competitive edge that
puts the client in the position to evaluate the case
accurately and get the best result possible. It is this
aggressive and devoted representation that satisfies
clients and makes opponents sit up and take notice.
The experience forged and results won by lead
attorneys Randy Howry, Sean Breen and Tim Herman
have earned clients success and the firm recognition
well outside the home base of Austin. In addition to
being selected by their peers for inclusion in The
Best Lawyers in America®, Mr. Howry, Mr. Breen and
Mr. Herman have all been recognized by their peers
as Texas Super Lawyers for four years in a row, as
well as being selected as the Best of the Bar in
Commercial Litigation by The Austin Business
Journal. All likewise contribute to the community:
Mr. Howry is a past president of the Austin Bar
Association and Mr. Herman received the
Distinguished Lawyer Award from the Austin
Bar Foundation.
Austin
1900 Pearl Street
Austin, TX 78705
Ph: 512.474.7300
Fax: 512.474.8557
Georgetown
116 West 8th St., Suite 206
Georgetown, TX 78626
Ph: 512.868.9862
www.howrybreen.com
®
T
E
X
A
S’
B E S T W r i g h t B r o w n & Clo s e , L L P
LAWYERS
®
2010 EDITION
Thomas C. Wright, Harvey G. Brown, Howard L. Close
Scourtroom.
“
”
Not so at Wright Brown & Close (WBC).
ome
litigation
lawyers never see the inside of a
The firm was recently involved in three simultaneous trials,
and hardly a week goes by without some WBC lawyers
appearing in hearings, trials, or arguing in appellate
courts. The seventeen-attorney firm handles complex trial
and appellate work for clients across the state, calling
upon their extensive expertise to achieve favorable
resolutions in cases involving catastrophic personal injury,
insurance coverage, intellectual property, oil and gas,
product defects, commercial disputes, arbitration and
mediation, and trade secrets, among others. The firm
also assists other firms and attorneys in matters such as
pre-trial motions, research on special evidence problems,
challenges to expert witnesses, and the critical work on
the court’s charge to the jury.
Wright Brown & Close’s breadth of experience has
given it the ability to understand which paths are
important to pursue and which are unlikely to be fruitful,
and this experience and ability is brought to bear on every
case, saving the client time and money. Each attorney has
the ability to take complex—often extremely complex—
cases and boil them down to essentials that can be
presented easily to a judge or a jury in the short time
typically allowed for a trial or an oral argument. “You can
be an expert in any number of things, but if you can’t find
some common ground in communicating it to a jury, then
all of your knowledge about a case is basically useless,”
says partner Thomas C. Wright.
The firm’s diversity of experience provides the depth
required for its wide range of successes. Six of the firm’s
members have Board Certifications from the Texas Board
of Legal Specialization, and three have been selected by
their peers among The Best Lawyers in America®: Harvey
G. Brown, Jr., Howard L. Close, and Thomas C. Wright.
Mr. Brown served as a district court judge in Harris
County for six years before coming to the firm, and
Wanda Fowler was a Justice on the Fourteenth Court of
Appeals for almost 14 years before joining WBC as a
partner. Howard Close has tried complex cases all over
the State of Texas for nearly 30 years. The combined
experience from both sides of the bench gives Wright
Brown & Close, and ultimately the firm’s clients, an
advantage in trials and appeals.
T h r e e R i v e r way , S u i t e 600
H o u s t o n , TX 77056
P h : 713.572.4321 F ax : 713.572.4320
www.wrightbrownclose.com