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 2018 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 also is intended to allow readers to see and celebrate the achievement of their attorneys who make the list. Additionally, it gives those seeking legal information a place to see attorneys recognized for their expertise and reputation and help them select the right representation for their needs. It also can be 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. 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. We certainly acknowledge that many excellent attorneys do not appear on the list for various reasons.

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 2018. 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 between 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, in a section titled Attorneys Worth Knowing. But whether the attorneys advertise has no bearing on their being on the list.

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 2018 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
Katherine Allen
Leslie Barrows
Heidi Cox
Kelly Decker
Eric Freeby
Kellye Hughes
Eric Labovitz
Kathryn Morrow
Susan Paquet
Kimberly Stoner-Brock

Antitrust Law
Chad Arnette
Don Herrmann
Marshall Searcy
Bill Warren

Appellate Law
Marianne Auld
Russell Barton
Dabney Bassel
Jerry Bullard
John Cayce Jr.
Daniel Collins
Joe Greenhill
Thomas Harkins
Steven Hayes
David Johnson
David Keltner
Shelly Messerli
Thomas Michel
Karen Precella
Jody Sanders
W. Brent Shellhorse
Coby Smith
Joseph Spence
Matthew Stayton
Shelby White

Arbitration and Mediation
John Brookman
Jennifer Caldwell
John Allen Chalk
Christian Dennie
Randy Hall
Thomas Henry
Kight Higgins
John Hughes
Bruce James
David Keltner
M. Krugler
Mike McConnell
Wade McMullen
Cynthia Mendoza
David Seidler
Len Wade
Shauna Wright

Attorneys for Non-Profit
Thomas Brandon
Cory Halliburton
Jared Harrell
Phil McCrury
Darren Moore
Dana Stayton
Dee Steer

Aviation, Admiralty, Maritime, and Transportation
Geffrey Anderson
Stephen Howell
Guy Riddle
Howard Rosenthal
KC ThompsonDan Vela

Banking and Financial
Paul Bradford
Jonathan Cranz
Charles Curry
Elisa Fox
Elliott Garsek
Brandon Hill
Dan Lowry
Matthew Luensmann
Bruce McGee
Nicholas Pappas
Paul Penny
Scot Pierce
Sierra Quinonez (Dean)
Dan Settle

Bankruptcy
John Bonds
Joshua Eppich
Bobby Forshey
Mark French
Katherine Hopkins
H. Brandon Jones
Matthias Kleinsasser
John McBride
Mike McConnell
Ian Peck
Mark Petrocchi
Stephen Pezanosky
Joseph Postnikoff
Jeff Prostok
Nancy Ribaudo
Robert Simon
Clay Taylor
Behrooz Vida
Carla Vida

Business Law
Chad Cacciotti
Benton Cantey
David Cook
Mark Dugan
Dirk Eshleman
Zachary Garsek
William Greenhill
Constance Hall
Justin Hoover
Leslie Hunt
Cal Jackson
Evan Malloy
Charles Milliken
Jason Pierce
Bryan Poole
Vernon Rew
Wayne Whitham

Civil Law and Litigation
Geffrey Anderson
Michael Anderson
Chad Arnette
Daniel Bates
Lars Berg
Bryan Briscoe
Kirk Bryant
Christopher Collins
Hugh Connor
Michael Cooke
David Dowell
David Drez
Rebecca Eaton
Jacob Fain
Walker Friedman
Douglas Hafer
Alyson Halpern
Timothy Howell
Marshall Jacobini
Bruce James
William Jenkins
David Johnson
Roland Johnson
James Key
Lisa Lumley
Brant Martin
Matthew McLain
Hunter McLean
Thomas Michel
Shayne Moses
George Muckleroy
Preston Mundt
Marcus Mungioli
Raymond Palmer
Michael Peck
Jackie Robinson
Roland Schafer
Marshall Searcy
W. Brent Shellhorse
Andrew Sims
Brian Smith
Mack Ed Swindle
Stephen Taylor
Joe Tolbert
Christian Tucker
Paul Vitanza
Matthew Walton
Bill Warren
Jay Wieser
Thomas Williams

Civil Law and Transactional
Douglas Clayton
Adam Fulkerson
Zachary Garsek
Charles Milliken
Jason Pierce

Commercial Litigation
Michael Anderson
Joseph Cleveland
Jeremy Coffman
Christopher Collins
Hugh Connor
Mark Dugan
Rebecca Eaton
Brian Garrett
Randy Hall
George Haratsis
Albon Head
Timothy Howell
David Johnson
Roland Johnson
Dee Kelly Jr.
James Key
Hunter McLean
Shayne Moses
David Palmer
Scot Pierce
Roland Schafer
Marshall Searcy
Morris Sheats
Andrew Sims
Brian Stagner
Mack Ed Swindle
Stephen Taylor
Philip Vickers
Bill Warren
Jay Wieser
Eamonn Wile

Construction
Christian Dennie
Christian Ellis
Elisa Fox
Stephanie Harrison
Stephen Harrison
Cara Kennemer
Darren Keyes
Sandra Liser
Hunter McLean
Matthew Motes
Andrew Piel
Bradley Rice
Patrick Sheridan
Joe Tolbert
Ross Vitek
Jody Walker
Eamonn Wiles

Consumer Debt
James Foley
Jerry Jarzombek
Behrooz Vida
Corporate Counsel
Eric Alexander
Amber Altemose
Dee Kelly Jr.
Danielle Needham
William Pritchard
Vernon Rew
Jacob Smith
Craig Woodcook

Corporate Finance/Mergers and Acquisitions
Blake Billings
Benton Cantey
David Cook
Charlie Florsheim
Adam Fulkerson
Elliott Garsek
Janet Hahn
Justin Hoover
Evan Malloy
Charles Milliken
Jason Pierce
Vernon Rew
Andrew Rosell
Jacob Smith
Chelsea Wood

Criminal Defense
Bruce Ashworth
Brandon Barnett
Bruce Beasley
William Biggs
John Brender
David Brissette
Virginia Carter
Daniel Collins
Paul Conner
Elizabeth Cortright
Craig Dameron
D. Mark Daniel
Mark Daniel
Lance Evans
R. Evans
Timothy Evans
Abe Factor
Taylor Ferguson
Robert Gill
Stephen Gordon
Ryan Hardy
Francisco Hernandez
Andrew Herreth
Jason Howard
Scotty Jones
Jeffrey Kearney
Eric Labovitz
Trey Loftin
James Luster
Gary Medlin
Courtney Miller
Brian Newman
Justin Sparks
Benson Varghese
Luke Williams

Education
Neal Adams
Ben Barlow
Vianei Braun
Cynthia Hill
Thomas Myers
Eric Ransleben
Lynn Scott
James Whitton

Elder Law
Monica Benson
Patricia Cole
James Davidson
Matthew Davidson
Carolyn Dove
Karen Johnson
Steven Katten
Phil McCrury
Ricky Weaver
Dana Zachry

Eminent Domain
Mary Barkley
John Allen Chalk
Christopher Mosley
Adam Plumbley
Joseph Regan

Family Law
Robert Aldrich
Leslie Barrows
Stephanie Beamer
Tawanna Cesare
John Clark
Christopher Collins
Paul Conner
Anita Cutrer
Paul Daly
Kelly Decker
Laura Delotto
Kristina Denapolis West
Lauren Duffer
Nancy Gordon
Tom Hill
Robert Hoover
Lisa Hoppes
Marshall Jacobini
Jessica Janicek
Tracey Justice
Heather King
J. Steven King
David Kulesz
Eric Labovitz
Trey LoftinDana Manry
Thomas Michel
Charles Mitchell
Tyler Monahan
Kathryn Morrow
Preston Mundt
Jason Nash
Gary Nickelson
John Nickelson
Elizabeth Parmer
Alison Porterfield
Richard Price
Shannon Pritchard
Paul Schneider
Sarah Seltzer
Justin Sisemore
Curran Skinner
Dwayne Smith
Kathleen Smith
Susan Smith
Joseph Soto
Lori Spearman
Melissa Swan
Jeff Whitfield
Pamela Wilder
Samantha Wommack
Michael Wurtz

General Practice
Kirk Bryant

Government and Administrative
Christopher Gee
Dee Kelly Jr.
William Pritchard
James Schell

Health Care Law
Neal Adams
Vianei Braun
Henry Robinson
Carol Traylor
Wayne Whitaker

Immigration Law
David Garza
Francisco Hernandez
Edwardo Meza
Jason Mills
Melissa Wilks

Insurance
Derek Anderson
Henri Dussault
Carter Ferguson
Patrick O’Neill
Eamonn Wiles

Intellectual Property Rights
Decker Cammack
Clark Cowley
Leslie Darby
Charles Gunter
Dave Gunter
Cheryl Leb
Geoffrey Mantooth
Warren Norred
Richard “Rocky” Schwartz
David Skeels
Jonathan Suder
Mack Ed Swindle
Brian Yost

International Law
John Allen Chalk

Labor and Employment
Antonio Allen
Paige Biggs
Thomas Brandon
Vianei Braun
Russell Cawyer
Karen Denney
Rory Divin
David Dowell
James Griffis
Laura Hallmon
Caroline Harrison
Cynthia Hill
Chris HoweLeslie Hunt
Michael Hutchens
Susan Hutchison
Gary Ingram
Claudine Jackson
Christopher Medlenka
Lu Pham
Henry Robinson
Jay Rutherford
Jason Smith
Jennifer Sweeny
James Tanner
Christopher Troutt

Land Use and Environment
Justin Light
Marcella Olson
Ray Oujesky
Todd Spake

Medical Malpractice and Defense
Jennifer Andrews
Henri Dussault
Randy Hall
Stephen Madsen
John McChristian
Jordan Parker
James Stouffer

Medical Malpractice and Plaintiff
Geno Borchardt
Gil Daley
Gregory Jackson
Darrell Keith
Steven Laird

Oil and Gas
Prichard Bevis
William Bredthauer
Eric Camp
Colby Crosby
Jeff Grable
Robert Grable
Timothy Howell
Raymond Kelly
Jeffrey King
Timothy Malone
Mark Matula
Shayne Moses
John Murphy
Andrew Neal
David Palmer
John Parrish
Sarah Powers
Clark Rucker
Brian Smith
Shawna Snellgrove Rinehart
Todd Spake
John Thompson
Richard Torlincasi
Paul Westbrook

Personal Injury
Mark Anderson
Seth Anderson
Rickey Brantley
John Cummings
Dwain Dent
David Flowers
David Frisby
David Hart
Robert Haslam
Andrew Hawkins
Michael Henry
Robert Henry
Gregory Jackson
John Jose
Steven Laird
Jesse Lotspeich
Stephen Maxwell
Christopher Medlenka
Charles Noteboom
W. Bradley Parker
Anna Patterson
W. Travis Patterson
Donna Peavler
Anthony Pettitt
John Shaw
Jason Stephens
Christopher Stoy
Tennessee Walker
Scott Wert
Coby Wooten
Jamshyd Zadeh

Product Liability
Michael Anderson
Chad Arnette
Lars Berg
George Liser

Professional Malpractice (Non-Medical) Defense
Roland Johnson

Real Estate
Kendall Adair
Christopher Baker
Prichard Bevis
Mark Bishop
Tracey Butler
Martin Garcia
Noelle Garsek
Zachary Garsek
Timothy Harvard
Alan Hegi
Amanda Hernandez
Joel Heydenburk
Justin Huston
Chad Key
Joseph Kimball
Jared King
Veronica Law
Matthew Luensmann
John Lynch
Pati Meadows
Sharon MilliansGary Moates
Gregory Monroe
Mitchell Moses
Frank Newman
Russell Norment
Sarah Powers
Jeffrey Rattikin
Andy Rogers
Christopher Settle
Kenneth Stogdill
Jody Walker
Ginger Webber
Robert “Bob” West

Securities Law
Todd Baker
Brian Barnard
Benton Cantey
Natalie Carlgren
John Fahy
Toby Galloway
Justin Hoover
Cal Jackson
Michael King
Robin Perras
Patrick Reardon
Wayne Whitaker

Sports Law
Christian Dennie
David Skeels

Tax Law
Marvin Blum
Sean Bryan
James Creel
Adam Fulkerson
Kyle Harter
Tom Hegi
John Hunter
Brandon Jones
William Ratliff
Ryan Scharar
James Stripling
G. Len Woodard

Technology/Virtual
Nicholas Bettinger
Leslie Darby
Cheryl Leb
Stephen Mosher

Traffic Law
Andrew Hawkins
Justin Holt
James Mallory
Sommer Walker

Wills, Trusts, Estates, Probates
Michael Appleman
R. Appleman
David Bakutis
Marvin Blum
Tommy Boswell
Michael Branyon
Cole Bryan
Patricia Cole
James Davidson
Matthew Davidson
Carolyn Dove
Tena Fox
Robert Gieb
Catherine Goodman
Ross Griffith
Michael Grover
Janet Hahn
Shelli Harveson
Kelcie Hibbs
Amanda Holliday
Leslie Hunt
Lisa Jamieson
Randall Johnson
Michael Kaitcer
Kevin Kuenzli
Paul Lancaster
Robert Loudermilk
Jennifer Lovelace
Phil McCrury
R. Dyann McCully
Scott Moseley
Colin Murchison
Amy Ott
Rachel Saltsman
Aaron Shutt
Jimalee Splawn
Dee Steer
Louis Stefanos
Michael Sweet
Christstachia Tefera
Kim Uskovich
Melinda
Watts Smith

Worker’s Compensation
Paige Biggs
Russell Cawyer
Chris Howe

TOP ATTORNEYS 2018 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
Kathryn Copeland
Alyssa Jacobs

Appellate Law
Adam Arrington
Caitlyn Hubbard

Arbitration and Mediation
Daniel Paret

Aviation, Admiralty, Maritime, and Transportation
Andrea Palmer

Banking and Financial
Amanda Anderson

Bankruptcy
David Staab

Business Law
Amanda Anderson
Jarratt Watkins

Civil Law and Litigation
Paul Elkins
Adam Simmons

Commercial Litigation
Nicholl Garza
Adam Simmons

Construction
Hannah Watkins

Corporate Finance/Mergers and Acquisitions
Tave Doty
Nathan McCune
Drew Neill
John Phair
Jarratt Watkins

Criminal Defense
Adam Arrington
Ashley Gilmore
Phillip Hall
Christopher Lankford
Tobias Lopez
Donald Norris
Michael Schneider
Veronica Veyhl
Bryan Wilson

Education
Kathryn Hogan

Family Law
Kathryn Copeland
Louis Freeman
William Gardiner
Jeffrey Nilsson
Brian Singleterry
Whitney Vaughan

Labor and Employment
Lauren McDonald
Hannah Parks

Oil and Gas
Seth Burt
Nirav Patel

Personal Injury
Daniel Hart
Kolter Jennings

Real Estate
Amanda Anderson
Jarrod Cone
Brett Epstein
Kylie Rahl
Robert Reeb
Beth Thurman
Hannah Watkins

Tax Law
Jacob Birnbaum

Wills, Trusts, Estates, Probates
Heidi Angel
Lucien Franscini
Maggie Hill
Corey Williams

About The List

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TOP ATTORNEYS 2018 Five Years or More in Practice

TOP ATTORNEYS 2018 Less than Five Years in Practice