Highlands Business Lawyers

Lic. Atty. Texas 1963; Mediator since 1992; CLE Instructor; former: Municipal Judge; Assoc. Dist. Judge; City Atty; City Secretary; Bar Pres. 2 Bar Associations; Board of several Bar Associations.; Published author; Pres. several Civic Assoc., religious leader; national award winning writer; nominated for Texas Artist of the Year; Public Speaker; Board Chairman, Curator and Gen. Counsel non-profit Proctor Museum of Natural Science; expert witness on attorney's fees and ethics, and on Paleontology and natural science in general; & Public Speaker.

With over 15 years of legal experience, Gratia goes to great lengths to ensure that every one of her clients, no matter the challenges they face, receives the compassion and respect they rightfully deserve. She is committed to personally guiding you through your legal journey, infusing it with her distinctive personal approach, empathy, and unwavering values. Gratia has assisted numerous clients in crafting their Trusts & Estate Plans, adeptly represented them in both uncontested and contested Probate cases, and provided invaluable support in matters such as Divorce, Paternity, Visitation, Child Support, and Adoption cases. Furthermore, Gratia boasts extensive experience as a...

• Very experienced litigator (over 100 jury trials) who teaches trial skills to lawyers and law students o Representation in False Claims Act cases; Business and Commercial Litigation cases; Health Care Fraud cases; Environmental cases; Securities law cases; Tax cases; Trade Fraud cases; and other complex litigation matters o Representation in Internal Investigations o Representation in Corporate Governance matters • Part-time academic and widely published • Editor-in-chief of two legal treatises: one about pharmaceutical and medical device law; the other about corporate criminal liability • Past Chair of the ABA Health Law Section • Past Chief of the Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney’s Office, Southern District of Texas • Past Section Chief of the Financial Crimes...

Attorney Mark Oxford, founder of the Oxford Law Firm, is licensed to practice law in California, Texas and Minnesota. At the firm, our mission is to provide the highest quality legal representation to all of our clients. We handle all cases, no matter how small or large the business, corporation or legal problem. We offer our legal service in English, Arabic language and Russian language. Attorney Oxford, a former civilian employee of the United States Department of Defense, has J.D. degree in law with concentration on Administrative Law, an M.A. degree in National Security and Counter-Terrorism, and an LL.M.degree...

Chelsie Garza is an experienced litigator who has tried cases extensively in state and federal court. Outside of the office, Chelsie Garza's life is dedicated to her two children. In order to balance a busy litigation docket and a family life, she hones her skill of multi-tasking and exploits her inability to accept down time. Chelsie grew up sharing time between the small California Death Valley town Trona and New York/New Jersey metroplex. This dichotomy between small town and big city illustrates her ability to fit in anywhere. She was educated on the East Coast,...

At the Houston, Texas law firm of Abraham Watkins, Nichols, Agosto, Aziz & Stogner, firm partner Brant J. Stogner consistently tries cases to verdict, successfully trying 12 cases in his first three years at the firm. Today, he exclusively represents plaintiffs, focusing his practice on catastrophic personal injury matters, product defect cases, gas explosions, drownings, 18 wheeler and commercial auto accidents. Brant is board-certified by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization in personal injury trial law and received this certification within the first five years of legal practice. In 2009, Brant won the largest verdict in Texas...

As a Texan with a large family, a passion for travel and entrepreneurship, familiarity with the ins and outs of moving and renting, and experience with the "dark side" of probate when family members pass without any estate plan, I built Zapalac Law Firm, PLLC, around my own history: we focus on landlord/tenant law, estate planning, probate, business creation and administration, and real estate transactions. In short: Family, Home, and Business. These ideas are more closely related than they seem. People rent or own property, they operate businesses, they save wealth for the next generation and, inevitably, they pass away and...

Tom Ajamie is an internationally-recognized trial lawyer who has successfully represented clients in complex commercial litigation and arbitration. The authoritative Chambers USA has described Tom as “relentless, energetic and intelligent” and a “hard-working and successful trial lawyer who never quits.” He has handled a number of high-profile cases, including groundbreaking securities and financial cases, cross-border litigation, business contract disputes and employment issues. Tom has won two of the largest awards ever handed down by an arbitration panel for investors, including a $429.5 million award. He has also won a record $112 million civil RICO jury verdict.

Tom is regularly invited to...

Pierce Adkins is one of the top rated Products Liability attorneys in Houston, TX. Mr. Adkins represents clients located throughout the United States and abroad and has successfully litigated a variety of state and federal civil litigation matters throughout his career. Mr. Adkins received his Bachelor of Business Administration degree from the University of Mississippi and his law degree from South Texas College of Law in Houston, Texas.

Attorney Gilde believes that to argue and win in the courtroom requires a fighter, and Judo strongly shapes Attorney Gilde’s litigation and trial strategy. Attorney Gilde founded Gilde Law Firm to implement his own philosophy. During every case, Attorney Gilde strives to attain justice for his clients who have been injured or victimized by others. At Gilde Law Firm, “We Believe, We Fight, We Win” is our motto and reflects the passion we bring to our cases. It is simple but true. We believe in our clients and their causes, we fight for their interests in litigation, and we win the...

Over an exemplary 25 year career, Brent C. Perry has distinguished himself as a skilled litigator. His wealth of experience has helped clients in a wide range of business and legal matters solve complex issues. Mr. Perry attended the University of Chicago Law School and graduated in 1989, after which he served as a law clerk for the U.S. District Judge Ricardo Hinojosa in Texas. Mr. Perry then joined Baker Botts, LLP in 1990 and Bracewell & Giuliania, LLP in 1993. This gave Mr. Perry valuable hands-on experience that propelled him further in his career. He...

John S. “Jack” Edwards, Jr. handles a wide variety of civil matters in state and federal courts throughout the country. He has represented clients in antitrust, contracts, copyright, ERISA, fraud, insurance coverage, product liability, securities, trade secrets, toxic tort, and wrongful death cases. Many of his cases involve highly technical industries, such as vehicle manufacturing or radio-communication systems. Others involve representing victims of financial fraud, whether in single-plaintiff actions or in class actions under ERISA or securities law. He has tried cases in Texas and Pennsylvania.

Charles Lee Mudd Jr. is the founder and principal of Mudd Law, located in Chicago, Illinois, Park City, Utah, and Houston, Texas. He focuses his practice on a wide range of business legal issues, including transactional and litigation matters involving intellectual property, Internet law, and emerging technology. Mr. Mudd and his firm serve a diverse group of clients, including local, national, and international individuals and businesses. Mr. Mudd received a B.A. in philosophy and a Master of Arts in political science from Purdue University and then went on to earn his Juris Doctor from the Quinnipiac University School of Law....

Gary Alfred is Special Counsel to the Houston office of Kean Miller. He joined the firm in 2017 and represents clients in a wide array of civil litigation and commercial matters. Prior to joining Kean Miller, Mr. Alfred was a partner in a large Texas-based trial and litigation firm. His practice involves products liability, business litigation, commercial and residential construction matters, oil and gas issues, large personal injury defense, professional malpractice, and labor and employment law matters in state and federal court as well as multiple bodies of arbitration. He also has experience mediating cases.

Gary has investigated and litigated cases...

Ryan van Steenis's practice focuses on complex civil litigation involving commercial disputes, securities litigation, investigations, and white-collar matters.  Ryan’s professional philosophy is to go above and beyond expectations (the “ABE” standard) for clients. Ryan works hard to provide clients with sound legal advice and superior legal representation in matters affecting a wide variety of their business or personal interests.

Before working as a lawyer, Ryan worked in several professional service jobs to make ends meet, from retail stores to golf courses. Those efforts taught him the value of “service as a product,” and how excellent service often laid the foundation for...

John Clay has a diverse legal practice advising and representing individuals and multi-national corporations in complex litigation disputes. He is a skilled litigator with first-chair commercial trial and arbitration experience, and has represented clients in multiple areas of litigation including engineering design and construction litigation, civil RICO litigation, class action and multidistrict litigation proceedings, investment disputes, energy litigation, complex contractual disputes, cross-border litigation, transportation liability defense, and employment litigation.

Mr. Clay has represented clients in multiple lawsuits at the state and federal court level and in domestic and international arbitrations. His experience extends to cross-border commercial litigation, including representation of Latin...

Unparalleled Transactional and Compliance Counsel - I feel a responsibility to serve not only as an advocate, but also as an educator to my clients. I stress the importance of building a team of trusted advisors, an attorney being just one member of that team. I offer clients a unique combination of high quality legal services in multiple areas of transactional & compliance law including: business general counsel, banking & finance, compliance plans, contract & agreement drafting & negotiation, energy law, entity formation & restructuring, healthcare law, international law, mergers & acquisitions, business succession planning, real estate transactions & finance. Connecting...

Brendin Miguez is the founder and lead attorney at The Miguez Law Firm, PLLC. He is a graduate of South Texas College of Law Houston, one of only three schools in the nation that is consistently ranked in the top 10 for trial advocacy by U.S. News & World Report. Prior to attending law school, Brendin’s past displays an impressive history of public service as he worked both as a teacher and served four years in the United States Army as a paralegal. Brendin’s practice draws upon his experiences of serving others in delivering the best possible legal outcomes for...

Kevin Keeling is a registered patent attorney whose business and intellectual property practice involves both litigation in all areas of intellectual property and commercial issues, as well as transactional matters including matters before the United States Patent and Trademark Office, contract/license negotiation, securing IP rights, and client counseling. During his years in practice, Mr. Keeling has achieved many successful outcomes for clients in litigation as well as in transactional matters.

I am the founding partner of Kesse PLLC, a corporate law firm. Prior to founding Kesse PLLC, I worked at the biggest law firms in the country. My practice focuses on securities, capital markets, SEC reporting, emerging companies and startups, and general corporate law. I regularly advise clients on public and private securities offerings and financings, including U.S.-Canadian cross-border offerings and other foreign private issuer offerings. I assist clients with IPOs, Regulation A+ offerings, direct listings, follow-on/secondary offerings, private placements, crowdfunding, private company financings, pre-IPO counseling, SPAC formations, IPOs and business combinations (deSPACs), tender offers, emerging company and startup financings,...

James “Jim” Bartlett, Jr. is an experienced trial lawyer who also offers deal negotiation services to his corporate clients, including all aspects of drafting and completion of the related contractual agreements. Jim has successfully represented numerous corporations and other business entities in complex litigation matters throughout and outside the United States for over 22 years, including nine years as a partner in a national Am Law 200 firm.

Jim received his law degree from South Texas College of Law, where he served on the Law Review. During his time in law school, he was also a member of numerous varsity...

Louis Leichter practices administrative, health, and criminal law, focusing on the area of licensure and license defense. Mr. Leichter advises clients on disciplinary actions and misconduct allegations that may affect their professional licenses. Mr. Leichter also represents clients on related issues that are divergent from the receipt of a disciplinary order within a healthcare practice. Peer review and medical staff privileges, practitioner data bank disputes, network agreements, contract negotiations, and license renewal questionnaires are important to medical and other health care professionals who are involved in disciplinary action. Prior to starting a private practice, Mr. Leichter prosecuted criminal cases as an...

Matt Parks is a dedicated trial attorney who has experience in business and commercial litigation, admiralty & maritime, energy, and personal injury. Matt attended the University of Texas Law School where he worked at the Environmental Law Clinic and on the Texas Environmental Law Journal. Matt also worked as a law clerk for the Texas Railroad Commission and a summer associate for Enbridge Energy. These hands on work experiences helped Matt hone the skills litigation skills that client have come to rely on him for. After graduation, Matt joined a Texas based litigation boutique where he focused...

Jim Hall is a partner in the Houston office of Kean Miller. He joined the firm in 2017 and focuses his practice on commercial, products, and premises liability litigation. An accomplished trial lawyer, he has handled numerous matters before state and federal appellate courts and the United States Supreme Court.

Jim is a certified mediator and was primary counsel in a nationwide “early look program” designed to resolve claims before suit was filed. He earned recognition from Thomson Reuters among the Texas Super Lawyers in civil litigation defense in 2006-2007. Jim is AV-rated by Martindale-Hubble.

David Siegel has helped thousands of people obtain redress through our court system. He has over 30 years of experience advising businesses and individuals in commercial litigation, fiduciary duty and partnership litigation, liability suits, mass tort actions, consumer class actions, securities litigation, and bankruptcy litigation.

David’s cross-border work includes arguing on behalf of clients located in the Philippines and Latin America, among other regions. His successes include successfully representing thousands of agricultural workers in toxic pesticide litigation; successfully representing investors in arbitration claims against their investment advisers; successfully representing wrongful death claimants in a suit against a private prison company for...

Courtney Scobie’s practice focuses on complex commercial litigation in state and federal courts, arbitration, and federal government investigations. Her experience includes a fraud and theft case on behalf of a large technology company, a breach of fiduciary duty and legal malpractice case on behalf of a real estate investment trust, copyright infringement and trade secret misappropriation cases against a leading enterprise software company, an SEC investigation and a securities class action involving alleged accounting improprieties, several CFTC investigations involving the crude oil and natural gas liquids markets, contract and insurance disputes in the energy and petrochemical industries, product liability and...

Fighting financial fraud, breaches and commercial malfeasance! Kevin Corcoran is a distinguished trial lawyer who gets results for his clients. He has handled and tried a variety of complex and difficult fraud and commercial lawsuits with success, from bet-the-company litigation to individual claims. Kevin brings knowledgeable judgment and a strong work ethic to his cases. As a result of his skills and hard work, Kevin is respected as a trusted trial lawyer when results matter. Mr. Corcoran has represented clients in complex commercial disputes, breach of fiduciary duty claims, and catastrophic claims in the Trusts and Fiduciary, High Tech, Oil &...

Ms. Shannon A. Lang is a dedicated attorney with extensive experience in complex business and commercial litigation. Ms. Lang attended San Diego State University and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in both Sociology and Biology. Before attending law school, Ms. Lang earned Master’s Degree in Forensic Science from Marshall University. In 2007, Ms. Lang graduated from the University of Virginia School of Law with her Juris Doctor. Upon graduating law school, Ms. Lang worked as a law clerk for Judge Nancy Friedman Atlas in the Southern District of Texas before joining Covington & Burling. Ms. Lang honed...

Houston employment attorney Melissa Moore is the founder of Moore & Associates, a law firm dedicated to advocating for the rights of employees. She is a confident advocate with 15+ years of experience under her belt, and she has obtained numerous favorable outcomes for clients. Ms. Moore has been included in H Texas Magazine’s list of the Top 100 Labor and Employment Attorneys for the past five years in a row, and she has been selected for inclusion in the 2012 Edition of Texas Super Lawyers®.

Eddie L. Gomez is the founder and president of Eddie Gomez, P.C. He graduated from the University of Texas at Austin in 2003 with a B.B.A. in International Business, and earned his J.D. in 2006 from the University of Houston Law Center. Mr. Gomez has represented clients throughout the State of Texas in matters ranging from consumer litigation to criminal defense. Mr. Gomez is also licensed to practice law in the State of Nevada.

Robert Fadem is a plaintiff's trial attorney born and raised in Houston, Texas. He received his Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology at University of Colorado at Boulder in 2010. He subsequently graduated from South Texas College of Law in December of 2013 where he was a dean's list student. While in law school at South Texas, Mr. Fadem interned for a prominent commercial litigation firm located in Houston, Texas. Following graduation, Mr. Fadem served as an attorney for Judge Michael Landrum at the 113th Civil District Court where he acquired countless hours of courtroom observation, legal research experience...

Mr. Showman has handled numerous complex commercial matters and securities class actions (for both plaintiffs and defendants).  He has represented both claimants and respondents in FINRA securities arbitrations.  He has also represented clients in FINRA investigations and has conducted internal corporate investigations.  He has lectured on securities litigation at NYU and Fordham University.  Mr. Showman is also an arbitrator for FINRA customer and employee arbitrations.

With nearly 30 years of complex commercial litigation experience, Robert R. Burford has distinguished himself as an aggressive and successful attorney for his clients. Mr. Burford has handled business disputes of nearly every variety for both plaintiffs and defendants. Mr. Burford has skillfully handled nearly every type of high-stakes business disputes including litigation involving fiduciary duties, securities fraud, mergers and acquisitions, Director’s and Officers’ liability, legal malpractice, oil and gas matters, partnership disputes, intellectual property disputes, theft of trade secrets, healthcare related matters and complex contractual disputes. Mr. Burford graduated from the University of Houston in 1981...

Scott D. Smith is a seasoned trial lawyer who has obtained favorable verdicts for clients on both sides of the docket. Mr. Smith has experience in all phases of litigation in both state and federal courts throughout the United States, including resolving a broad array of business and commercial disputes, as well as having extensive experience representing financial advisers and financial institutions in financial services litigation in FINRA and AAA arbitration proceedings. He frequently represents financial advisers and financial institutions in employment disputes, securities enforcement actions, as well as regulatory and compliance matters, and assists his clients...