Legal Directory - 360 West Magazine

Presenting our annual list of the region’s best attorneys —
in 44 specialties — as chosen by their peers

Top Attorneys 2020 is a nomination-based project in which we ask area attorneys to vote for other attorneys who exemplify excellence in a variety of different specialties. The Top Attorneys list provides a service to readers, giving them attorneys’ perspective on their peers. The list is intended to allow readers to see and celebrate the achievement of their attorneys who make the list. It gives those seeking legal information a place to see attorneys recognized for their expertise and reputation and helps them select the right representation for their needs. It also serves as a means for attorneys to make the community aware of their specific specialties and areas of expertise.

We take time and energy to ensure fair voting. We recognize that there are many good attorneys who do not appear on this list for various reasons. This is only a sampling of the talented professionals within the region. Inclusion in the list is based on the opinions of responding attorneys in the area and the results, therefore, are not objective.

360 West magazine contracted with DataJoe Research to conduct nominations using an online ballot for collecting, vetting and tallying the votes. DataJoe Research is a survey/research company specializing in data collection and verification. It conducts various nominations across the United States on behalf of publishers.

About The List

How was the list created?

To create the list, DataJoe Research facilitated a peer voting process during the first quarter of 2020. DataJoe and the magazine reached out to both individuals and firms by various means encouraging entities to vote and circulate the online ballot. Each attorney could vote for up to three attorneys in each category. DataJoe reviewed and processed each ballot individually, checking for patterns or signs indicative of cheating.

Nominations for attorneys who were licensed for five years or more in the state of Texas were separated from those licensed for less than five years. Within each sub-group, the top vote-getters in each specialty category were selected and verified. We verified with the state bar association that each winner had a valid, active license and that no winner had disciplinary action against him/her from the state. If we were not able to find evidence of the attorney’s being registered with the state bar association, that attorney was excluded from the list. Finally, DataJoe presented the tallied result to 360 West magazine for final review and adjustments.

How are nominations obtained?

The magazine and DataJoe Research reach out to both practices and individuals in the region via various methods, encouraging them to vote and distribute the ballot to other attorneys. We encourage attorneys who want to ensure they get to vote to send an email to surveys@datajoe.com so we can conduct a lookup and add their information if needed.

What information is required to make a nomination?

Attorneys are required to provide a valid, active license number and basic contact information identifying themselves. This helps us ensure fairness in the voting process by verifying that each attorney completes only one ballot. The final results are aggregated, so attorneys’ ballot choices remain confidential.

What happens once nominations are received?

DataJoe reviews each ballot to ensure fair nomination, isolating and potentially eliminating invalid ballots, ballots suspected of block voting (i.e. identical voting patterns across multiple ballots), duplicate voting, or other issues. After vetting, DataJoe provides a tallied list of most-frequently nominated attorneys to the magazine. Attorneys whose names are in bold type received 15 or more nominations in a category, and attorneys who are in bold italic received 10-14 nominations in a category.

How are the practice areas determined?

The categories are very broad and are intended to reflect relevant practice areas in the region. We recognize that there are many specialty areas but cannot accommodate them all. If there is a strong and consistent request for additional practice areas, they will be considered for possible inclusion in next year’s nomination.

Do attorneys pay to be on the Top Attorneys list?

Attorneys can’t pay to be on the list. After the list is finalized by DataJoe, it is given to the magazine’s advertising department, which invites attorneys to buy profiles. These profiles appear elsewhere in the magazine, labeled as paid advertising.

What if I don’t see my attorney on the list?

This list is by no means inclusive of all excellent attorneys in the area. If you don’t see your attorney on the list, and if he or she is someone you like and trust, you should stick with your attorney.

About DataJoe

DataJoe uses best practices and exercises great care in assembling content for this list. DataJoe does not warrant that the data contained within the list are complete or accurate. DataJoe does not assume, and hereby disclaims, 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. All rights reserved. No commercial use of the information in this list may be made without written permission from DataJoe. For research/methodology questions, contact Johnny Levy, President, at johnny@datajoe.com. For all other questions, contact Jerry Scott at jscott@360westmagazine.com. If you did not receive a survey ballot this year, please email surveys@datajoe.com to ensure we have your correct, updated information on file. Please include name, practice, address, phone, fax, and email in your message.

TOP ATTORNEYS 2020 Five Years or More in Practice

Attorneys whose names are in bold type received 15 or more nominations in a category,
and attorneys who are in bold italic received between 10-14 nominations in a category.

Click on names listed in RED for more information.

Adoption Law
Eric Freeby
Gregory Housewirth
Kellye Hughes
Holly Schreier
Kristina West

Antitrust Law
Don Herrmann
Leslie Robnett
Bill Warren

Appellate Law
Adam Arrington
Marianne Auld
Whitney Beckworth
John Cayce, Jr.
Joe Greenhill
Thomas Harkins
Steven Hayes
David Keltner
Paul Leopold
Scott Lindsey
Thomas Michel
Brian Newman
Karen Precella
Brittani Rollen
Jody Sanders
W. Brent Shellhorse
Matthew Stayton
Shelby White
Paul Wieneskie

Arbitration and Mediation
Barbara Armstrong
John Brookman
Jennifer Caldwell
John Allen Chalk
Christian Dennie
Kight Higgins
Joseph Horn
John Hughes
Roland Johnson
Beth Krugler
Wade McMullen
Dale O’Neal
Carole Orth
Daniel Paret
Alison Porterfield
David Seidler
Len Wade
Shauna Wright

Attorneys For Nonprofits
Tom Brandon
Steven Goodspeed
Jared Harrell
Darren Moore
Lynn Rodriguez
Dana Stayton
Dee Steer

Aviation, Admiralty, Maritime and Transportation
Geffrey Anderson
Orest Dachniwsky
Jonathan Harrison
Guy Riddle
Kenneth Stogdill
KC Thompson
Dan Vela

Banking and Financial
Jonathan Cranz
Brandon Hill
Merrill Jones
Dan Lowry
Matt Luensmann
Bruce McGee
Trey Penny
Dan Settle

Bankruptcy
Jon Forshey
Mark French
Katherine Hopkins
James Ince
Matthias Kleinsasser
Michael McBride
Mike McConnell
Stephen Pezanosky
Jeff Prostok
Nancy Ribaudo
Sharon Sherman
Robert Simon
Lindsay Steele
Behrooz Vida
Carla Vida

Business Law
Chad Cacciotti
Russell Devenport
Elliott Garsek
Alyson Halpern
Marshall Jacobini
Michael Moan
Drew Neill
J. Andrew Norman
Judd Pritchard
Stephen Tobin
Christopher Vickers

Civil Law / Litigation
J. Kirk Bryant
Caleb Bulls
Anthony Cuesta
David Drez
Rebecca Eaton
Laura Elkind
Graigory Fancher
Emily Hollenbeck
Timothy Howell
David Johnson
Chase Medling
Christopher Neal
Shane O’Dell
David Palmer
Alex Pelley
Joseph Regan
Kathy Reid
Joakim Soederbaum
Stephen Taylor
Paul Vitanza
Jim Zadeh

Civil Law / Transactional
David Garza
Pete Greenhaw
James Scott
Matthew Walton
Scott Wiehle

Commercial Litigation
Michael Anderson
Lars Berg
Jake Boyd
Chris Collins
Hugh Connor
Mark Dugan
Paul Elkins
Michael Forman
Scott Fredricks
Lindsay Hubbell
Bruce James
William Kirkman
William “Butch” Korb
Matt Meyer
Roland Schafer
Marshall Searcy
Brian Stagner
Mack Ed Swindle
Philip Vickers

Construction
Stephen Harrison
Stephanie Harrison
Andy Keetch
Jason Kennedy
Cara Kennemer
Darren Keyes
Hunter McLean
Luke McMahan
Matt Motes
Andrew Piel
B. Scot Pierce
Bradley Rice
Patrick Sheridan
Ross Vitek
Hannah Watkins

Consumer Debt
James Foley
Jerry Jarzombek

Corporate Counsel
Eric Alexander
Punam Kaji
Andrew Lombardi
Lauren McDonald
Andrea Palmer
Brian Restivo
Craig Smetko
Craig Woodcook

Corporate Finance / Mergers and
Acquisitions
Brian Barnard
Douglas Clayton
David Cook
Adam Fulkerson
Evan Malloy
Charles Milliken
Vernon Rew
Jacob Smith
Jarratt Watkins
Wayne Whitham
Chelsea Wood

Criminal Defense
Sherry Armstrong
Brandon Barnett
John Brender
Blake Burns
Virginia Carter
Cody Cofer
Craig Dameron
Mark Daniel
Nick Davis
Lance Evans
Ashley Gilmore
Phillip Hall
Daniel Hernandez
Lisa Herrick
Jeff Hoover
Jason Howard
Christy Jack
Jeffrey Kearney
Kimberly Knapp
Emily LaChance
Christopher Lankford
Thomas Lee
Melinda Lehmann
Trey Loftin
Letty Martinez
Gary Medlin
Courtney Miller
Dean Miyazono
Kenneth Mullen
Graham Norris
Brian Poe
John Robinson
Micheal Schneider
Justin Sparks
Anna Summersett
Lindsay Truly
Benson Varghese
Luke Williams
James Wilson
Jerry Wood
Reagan Wynn

Education
Neal Adams
Janet Bubert
Cynthia Hill
Thomas Myers
Jennifer Norwood
Lynn Rossi Scott
James Whitton

Elder Law
Monica Benson
Matthew Davidson
Karen Johnson
Steven Katten
Dana Zachry

Eminent Domain
Mary Barkley
Christopher Mosley

Family Law
Leslie Barrows
Kimberly Butler
Tawanna Cesare
Mark Childress
John Clark
Anita Cutrer
Paul Daly
Kelly Decker
Bodie Freeman
Ryan Hardy
Tom Hill
Lisa Hoppes
Jessica Janicek
Steven King
Heather King
David Kulesz
W. Cade Lovelace
Dana Manry
Brent McMullen
Zena McNulty
Jerold Mitchell
Jason Nash
Lyndsay Newell
Spencer Nilsson
Elizabeth Parmer
Jessica Phillips
Amy Reynolds Lee
Kevin Schmid
Justin Sisemore
Curran Skinner
Kate Smith
Susan Smith
Dwayne Smith
Joseph Soto
Lori Spearman
Donald Teller
Jeffrey Thornton
Pamela Wilder
General Practice
J. Walker Holland

Government and
Administrative
Robert Grable
Leann Guzman
Dee Kelly, Jr.
James Schell
Christopher Taylor

Health Care Law
Henry Robinson
Wayne Whitaker

Immigration Law
Francisco Hernandez
Susan Lane
Edwardo Meza
Jason Mills
Jorge Molina
Margarita Morton
Melissa Wilks

Insurance
Derek Anderson
Laura James
Elaine Morris

Intellectual Property Rights
Decker Cammack
Joseph Cleveland
J. Heath Coffman
Clark Cowley
Leslie Darby
Charles Gunter
Dave Gunter
Cheryl Leb
Stephen Mosher
Warren Norred
Brian Yost

International Law
James McClain

Labor and Employment
Antonio Allen
Vianei Braun
Russell Cawyer
Karen Denney
Brad Dowell
Julia Gannaway
James Griffis
Laura Hallmon
Caroline Harrison
Chris Howe
Michael Hutchens
Claudine Jackson
Andrea Paris
Hannah Parks
Lu Pham
Julie Ross
Jay Rutherford
Jason Smith
Jennifer Sweeny

Land Use / Environment
Justin Light
Ray Oujesky
Melinda Ramos
Sarah Walls

Medical Malpractice / Defense
Jenny Andrews
Greg Blaies
Brian Brisco
Timothy Davis
John McChristian
Jordan Parker
David Speed

Medical Malpractice / Plaintiff
Geno Borchardt
Darrell Keith

Oil and Gas
Prichard Bevis
Colby Crosby
Jeff Grable
Christopher Hogan
Timothy Malone
Jason Mills
Aaron Moses
Shayne Moses
Andrew Neal
Shawna Rinehart
Clark Rucker
Bart Rue
Mason Smith
Brian Smith
Todd Spake
John Thompson

Personal Injury
Mark Anderson
Wade Barrow
Rickey Brantley
John Cummings
Mark Daniel
Dwain Dent
Preston Dugas III
H. David Flowers
Courtney Hanson
Robert Haslam
Rob Henry
Greg Jackson
Steven Laird
Jesse Lotspeich
Scotty MacLean
Stephen Maxwell
Derek Montgomery
Preston Mundt
Brad Parker
W. Travis Patterson
Jason Stephens
Chris Stoy
Tyler Thomas
Tennessee Walker
Scott Wert
Ben Westbrook
Coby Wooten

Product Liability
Meredith Knudsen

Professional Malpractice (Non-Medical) Defense
Chad Arnette
Roger Diseker
Jeff Whitfield

Real Estate
Kendall Adair
Mark Bishop
Jarrod Cone
Martin Garcia
Zachary Garsek
Michael Goodrich
Bryon Hammer
Timothy Harvard
Elizabeth Hatch
Alan Hegi
Chad Key
Joe Kimball
Jared King
Kathryn McGlinchey
Pati Meadows
Sharon Millians
Gary Moates
Mitchell Moses
Jeremy Pruett
Andy Rogers
Jenny Rosell
Jessica Sangsvang
Rajan Vasani
Jody Walker
Robert “Bob” West

Securities Law
Todd Baker
Natalie Carlgren
John Fahy
Toby Galloway
Cal Jackson
Robin Perras
Andrew Rosell

Sports Law
David Skeels

Tax Law
Jacob Birnbaum
Sean Bryan
James Creel
Tom Hegi
Cary Jennings
Lance Metcalf
Ryan Scharar
Dustin Willey
Len Woodard

Technology / Virtual
Enrique Sanchez

Traffic Law
Andrew Hawkins
Justin Holt
James Mallory
Sommer Walker

Wills, Trusts, Estates and Probates
Michael Appleman
Julie Bergkamp
Antoinette Bone
Natalie Brackett
Patricia Cole
Lindsay Daniel
James Davidson
Levi Dillon
Robert Fitzgerald
L. Stephen Franscini
Catherine Goodman
Michael Grover
Shannon Guthrie
Janet Hahn
Lisa Jamieson
Michael Kaitcer
Paul Lancaster
Ann Lopez
Robert Loudermilk
Jennifer Lovelace
Mark Maples
Phil McCrury
Paula Moore
Jeffrey Myers
Rachel Saltsman
Joel Sawyer
Bronwyn Scharar
Louis Stefanos
James Trimble
Melinda Watts Smith
Corey Williams

Workers’ Compensation
Paige Biggs

TOP ATTORNEYS 2020 Less than Five Years in Practice

Attorneys whose names are in bold type received 15 or more nominations in a category,
and attorneys who are in bold italic received between 10-14 nominations in a category.

Click on names listed in RED for more information.

Adoption Law
Courtney Walker

Antitrust Law
Elizabeth Cuneo

Appellate Law
Caitlyn Hubbard

Business Law
Jonathan Heathman
Andrew Ramsey

Civil Law / Litigation
Allison Allman
Ryan Roper

Commercial Litigation
Caroline Cyrier
Brian Singleterry

Corporate Finance / Mergers and Acquisitions
Nathan McCune
Tave Parker Doty

Criminal Defense
Veronica Veyhl

Family Law
Kristen Carr
Jane Fowler
Wm. Aulstin Gardiner
Kayla Gertsch
Desiree Hartwigsen
JaNeen Hopkins
Hannah Rector
Carrie Tapia
Whitney Vaughan

General Practice
Ola Campbell

Immigration Law
Rocio Martinez

Labor and Employment
Braden Allman

Oil and Gas
Garrett Bradshaw
Brent Dore
James Nichols
Nirav Patel

Personal Injury
Elizabeth Haslam
Travis Heller
Kolter Jennings
Mattilyn Smith
Jack Walters

Real Estate
Amanda Anderson
Kylie Rahl
Greg Roper

Technology / Virtual
Carder Brooks

Wills, Trusts, Estates and Probates
Heidi Angel
Edward Boschini
Gretchen Diebel Schmidt
Ellen Gastil

About The List

Categories

TOP ATTORNEYS 2020 Five Years or More in Practice

TOP ATTORNEYS 2020 Less than Five Years in Practice