Rice Lawyers

I became a lawyer for a cliched but true reason - I wanted to help people. Today, that desire remains the heart of my law practice. I am passionate about helping my clients solve their problems - whether that’s how to start a new business, understanding what their contract says, or planning for their family’s future. I cut my teeth at “Big Law” firms, where I learned how to analyze, research, negotiate, and strategize from some of the best attorneys in the state of Texas. Over the course of my career, my natural curiosity and love of learning have given...

Ms. Mills is an experienced Copyright, Trademark and Business Litigation attorney providing strong representation for small and mid-sized business clients in Federal and Texas State Courts and before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) and Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB). Ms. Mills is admitted to practice in the U.S. District Courts for the Northern, Eastern, Western and Southern Districts of Texas and is Generally admitted in the Northern District of Illinois.

Ms. Mills represents Defendants and Plaintiffs in a broad range of business litigation matters, including copyright and trademark infringement, unfair competition, business disparagement, misappropriation of trade secrets,...

Scott’s experience as an attorney over the last 30 years has evolved from primarily focusing on environmental issues to expanding to energy, water, and climate change. As a partner in large law firms, he has worked with clients to solve regulatory challenges in transactions, solid and hazardous waste, air emissions, wastewater, soil and groundwater contamination, federal and state Superfund matters, and generally in advising management and directors in environmental strategy, corporate governance, and financial disclosure.

Scott has advised clients in creative ways to capitalize on emerging technology such as renewable energy, energy efficiency, and energy storage, as well...

Steve Sapp has extensive experience in the representation of clients in both public and private offerings of debt and equity securities, corporate and securities reporting and compliance matters, Board of Directors representation, and mergers and acquisitions. Additionally, he represents many of his public and private corporate clients, both nationally and internationally, in the prosecution and protection of substantial technology and intellectual property portfolios, related administrative proceedings before the United States Patent and Trademark Office, and disputes concerning trademark rights, domain names, and copyrights on the Internet. Due to the breadth of his experience and aptitude for client service, he also...

I graduated from Rice University in 1992 with a dual degree in Economics and Managerial Studies. I then went to University of Texas Law School and graduated in 1998 after taking some time to live and teach English in Japan. After 9 months at a small law firm, I opened my own law firm, The Marye Law Firm, P.C., in 1999 and have been helping seriously injured Texans get results through personal attention and an intentionally small law firm.

Charles McFarland has extensive experience representing property owners whose private property has been taken by the government for public use. His primary area of practice focuses on highway and roadway widening projects that impact retail, commercial, industrial and special use properties. He also has successfully represented clients affected by pipelines, electric transmission lines, flood control, and other public-use projects.

An honors graduate of both the University of Texas at Austin and the University of Texas School of Law, Charles was a partner at Vinson & Elkins before forming McFarland PLLC, a boutique law firm focusing exclusively on condemnation and eminent domain...

Gwen (Pilgrim) Bhella is managing partner at the boutique law firm of Calhoun, Bhella & Sechrest, LLP. She focuses her practice on business disputes, insurance and reinsurance coverage, products liability and general litigation.

Isreal focuses his practice on tax and estate planning. He advises clients on how to minimize estate, gift and generation-skipping transfer taxes, as well as the implementation and administration of complex estate planning structures. Isreal is Board Certified in Tax Law and Estate Planning & Probate Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization, a Certified Public Accountant, a Certified Financial Planner™ practitioner, and a Personal Financial Specialist. Before going into private practice, Isreal served for five years as a trial attorney for the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts, where he personally handled over 1,700 cases, including over 850 cases...

I am a dynamic and highly strategic corporate attorney with over 9 years of commercial contract expertise and a proven track record of balancing legal and business priorities to facilitate purposeful growth. I work with owner operated businesses from start-up to sale. I guide businesses through entity formation, contract package formation, contract review and negotiation, employment policy formation, hiring practice formation, employee categorization, employee termination, and eventual sale. I earned my Juris Doctorate degree in 2013 from The University of Colorado Law School and my Bachelor of Science degree in Corporate Communication, as well as a Business Foundation Certification, from The...

Stephen Kennedy has been practicing law since 1988 in the areas of general litigation, intellectual property and related business areas. He has an AV rating from Martindale Hubbell, is a Texas Super Lawyer and is a member for the Dallas Bar Association Ethics Committee.

Wade McClure, a Partner of the Firm in the Dallas office, primarily represents companies and individuals in complex commercial litigation, including business divorce cases, fiduciary duty litigation and fraud litigation. Wade also works on matters involving claims of minority shareholder oppression, investment fraud, and oil and gas disputes. Over the past thirty years, Wade has also represented manufacturers in products liability matters throughout Texas and the Southwest. Wade is a seasoned trial lawyer who is one of the few attorneys in the country to be Board Certified in Civil Trial Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization and the...

I am a native of New Braunfels, Texas. After completing Bachelors of Arts in Political Science at the University of Texas Arlington, I joined the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) while completing a Masters of Arts degree in Political Science with a concentration in Public Administration. I obtained Doctor of Jurisprudence from the University of Texas at Austin in 1984. I have been a member of the State Bar of Texas since 1985. I joined the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) in 1986. I hold prior memberships in the College of the State Bar, American Bar Association, Dallas Bar Association,...

Dallas native, born and raised Started undergraduate studies as a pre-med student before switching to International Relations and finding my passion in law school Litigator with background in both employment law and commercial litigation representing small and mid-sized business, as well as Fortune 500 companies in cutting edge high stakes litigation.

Paul A. Sartin is a Dallas native, and attorney who has long specialized in probate, wills, trusts, and estate planning along with litigation in his practice. Paul attended St. Mark's School of Texas for high school locally. Upon graduation, he attended The University of Texas at Austin (graduating with B.A. - Plan II Honors). He furthered his education at Southern Methodist University - Dedman School of Law (J.D.) and following his parents, Peter A. T. Sartin and Linda D. Sartin, and Uncle, Thomas H. Justice, into the practice of law. Paul utilizes his experience as a wills, probate, trusts and estates...

I represent individuals and small-to-midsize businesses in a variety of litigation matters, with a primary emphasis on contract and construction disputes.

Born in Austin, Texas. Lives in Dallas,Texas, and licensed to practice law by the State Bar of Texas since 1982. Undergraduate degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of Pennsylvania. Married with 2 children & 5 grandchildren. Areas of practice include Criminal Defense, DWI, Speeding & Traffic Tickets, Expungements and Non-Disclosures, License Suspension Hearings and Immigration. Bilingual staff (English & Spanish).

As a former prosecutor with the Dallas County District Attorney's office and with over 14 years as a criminal defense attorney I have the experience necessary to provide the highest level of service to every client. I have tried hundreds of cases as both a prosecutor and as a defense attorney and will not hesitate to fight for justice in the face of persecution. I know that every clients future is in my hands when I take their case. It is a responsibility that I do not take lightly. I am absolutely committed to do my very best for every...

Prior to attending the law school at Baylor University, Jack B. Peacock Jr. was in the Army during the Vietnam War. As a paratrooper, he earned a Bronze Star for Meritorious service in combat operations in the Republic of Vietnam in 1968 and 1969. His family history of military service goes all the way back to the Civil War with his great-grandfather Jacob Levi Peacock and his father during World War II earning a Silver Star for his service. He left the military as a 1st lieutenant. After graduating from law school at Baylor, Mr. Peacock became a...

Carl L. Evans, Jr. is an Equity Partner at McCathern in the law firm's Dallas, Texas office and he practices in the areas of non-subscriber employer defense, trucking, liquor liability, employment, commercial, construction, subrogation, tort and insurance litigation. Mr. Evans has an extensive litigation and trial background, having tried numerous cases in state and federal courts. He has also obtained defense verdicts in arbitrations involving claims of fraud, negligence, breach of contract and breach of warranty. In addition, Mr. Evans has successfully represented numerous clients in summary judgment motions that have included claims for bad faith, fraud, negligence, premises liability,...

I devote my practice to family law and business litigation matters, both in the courtroom and at the negotiating table, especially when these two areas of law collide. My unique experience includes navigating clients through family and business law disputes involving complex divorce and property issues, child custody, and CPS matters, as well as breach of contract cases, high-stakes securities and fiduciary matters, shareholder and insolvency litigation, malpractice lawsuits, real estate matters, and labor and employment disputes.

Mark R. Basile started his career at Shea & Gould in New York City and throughout the course of his career has, and continues to represent small publicly traded companies in securities and corporate finance litigation in both state and federal courts around the country. Mr. Basile won a landmark decision (2021) for small public companies in the New York Court of Appeals that agreed that certain corporate funding instruments are subject to NY's criminal usury laws. Mr. Basile is also a Professor of Law & Entrepreneurship at The Jacob D. Fuchsberg Law Center in New York teaching a course that he...

Described by colleagues as a “gym rat” in the courtroom, Bill Forteith still loves going into court and fighting for his clients in trial after almost forty years of exclusively practicing civil trial law. Trying hundreds of jury trials, his legal experience has literally gone from the cradle to the grave having represented clients involved in prenatal and neonatal care, daycare centers, nursing homes and even funeral homes. Yet trial work, such as automobile accidents and premises liability cases, excite him just as much as the more unusual cases. He believes that every client deserves the same passionate representation regardless...

In his 18 years of legal experience, Attorney J. Cameron Cowan spent almost 15 years a prosecutor for the State of Texas. He then opened his open private practice, handling criminal defense, military law, family law, and estate planning. Attorney Cowan also spent 8 years in US Army JAG Corps as a reservist. In that time, he was able to offer legal services to thousands of service members, even those going overseas. He attended Baylor University, graduating with a B.B.A. in Economics and Public Administration. J. Cameron Cowan then received his Juris Doctor from Texas Tech University, School of Law. He...

- Licensed to Practice since 1992.
- Law School: South Texas College of Law.
- Member College of the State Bar of Texas, Dallas Bar Association, Tarrant County Bar Association
- On the exclusive STATE BAR OF TEXAS Lawyer Referral Information Service
- On the exclusive DALLAS BAR ASSOCIATION Lawyer Referral Service (DBA LRS)
- Court Appointed Mediator
- Court Appointed Attorney
- Admitted to Practice in Federal Court for the Northern and Eastern Districts of Texas.
- Excellent disciplinary record with the State Bar.

Handling family law matters with superior strategy and knowledge of the law is my strong point. Rita Boyd handles cases in Dallas, Collin, Denton,...

Real Estate and Business Litigation along with Transaction Documentation are the focus of the law practice of Charles Holt. When the outcome really matters - chose experience - choose Attorney Charles Holt.

Tiara A. Thomas is an attorney, speaker, and philanthropist. Throughout her career, she has helped her clients get the justice they deserve for being injured in both commercial and non-commercial vehicle crashes. In addition to personal injury, Tiara has represented clients in complex civil litigation claims, including breach of contract claims, civil fraud claims, Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act claims, & more! In 2022, she was selected as a “Top 40 Under 40 Attorney,” an honor given to only the top 40 under 40 African American lawyers in each state or region with reputations for providing excellent legal representation in their...

Personal Injury Litigation

For over 50 years Lou Fouts has represented thousands of clients who have sustained serious bodily injuries, or the loss of a loved one by wrongful death. He works zealously to achieve fairness and justice in securing recoveries for his clients. His career and reputation are distinguished by excellence and compassion for his clients. Both clients and other attorneys have recognized his tenacity and determination for his clients. Lou Fouts earned his B.B.A from S.M.U. and a Doctor of Jurisprudence from The University of Texas at Austin Law School in 1970. While repersenting individuals who...

Claudia V. Cubias is a graduate of the Saint Louis University School of Law. She has years of experience in immigration field working for a boutique firm in Dallas before attending law school and volunteering at non-profits as a law student. Ms. Cubias family migrated to the United States in the late 80s from El Salvador and Mexico. Her family’s immigration story inspired her to become an attorney to help those in similar need. Ms. Cubias is fluent in written and spoken Spanish.

Gerald W. Livingston, native Dallasite. Served in the United States Army, Graduated Southern Methodist University - Dallas, TX with a LL.B. in Law.
Member of the Texas State Bar, the Dallas Bar Association, Tarrant County Bar Association, Texas Trial Lawyers Association, the Dallas Trial Lawyers Association and past member of the State Bar of Texas District 6A, Grievance Committee in Dallas.
AREAS OF PRACTICE: Personal injury claims in all fields (30 + years experience); Employment Law; Business Law. Member of the National Trial Lawyers Top 100, The National Trial Lawyers Top 25 Specialty Associations and AV Preeminent...