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John Zavitsanos and Joseph Ahmad have amassed an impressive string of victories in employment cases and business litigation. Many of their cases have appeared in national publications such as the Wall Street Journal, National Law Journal, New York Times, Houston Chronicle and many others. In employment cases alone, the firm has recovered more than $100 million for its clients. The firm accepts only a fraction of cases from the hundreds of inquiries it receives each month.
Ahmad, a board-certified employment lawyer, is recognized nationally as one of the best lawyers in America in employment law. He has been at the forefront in the areas of sexual harassment and employment discrimination. Ahmad also regularly speaks at seminars, training other lawyers on all aspects of employment law.
Zavitsanos, board certified in civil trial law, has successfully tried many large business cases. He employs cutting-edge trial technology and frequently speaks on trial tactics and strategy. Zavitsanos regularly handles cases involving noncompetition agreements, trademark disputes, contract and tortious interference disputes and employment contracts. Many of his cases are on behalf of senior executives with some of the largest companies in Houston. Ahmad, Zavitsanos &Anaipakos, P.C. represents individuals and numerous Fortune 500 companies.
(713) 655-1101 ? (800) 856-8153
1221 McKinney, Ste. 3460, Houston, TX 77010
www.azalaw.com
Ray L. Cox, Jr. is devoted to assisting parties in resolving disputes through the processes of mediation and arbitration.
?I?ve always been a firm believer in our judicial system, and I am proud to be a part of the process,? Cox says. ?I?ve learned over the years that my legal skills are best utilized as a neutral rather than as an advocate.?
Cox regularly serves as a mediator on pending litigation matters. Although he routinely and successfully mediates business and interpersonal disputes, Cox is uniquely qualified to mediate in the areas of securities, tax matters and accounting disputes. Additionally, Cox frequently serves in the quasi-judicial role of an arbitrator, often in the area of securities law. He currently serves on the mediation and arbitration panels for the National Association of Securities Dealer and the New York Stock Exchange.
Cox is a Certified Public Accountant and serves as adjunct professor of business law at Houston Baptist University. Cox has also received the designation of Certified Christian Conciliator by Peacemaker Ministries and he frequently speaks on the subject of the biblical approach to conflict resolution.
Cox is a member of the Alternative Dispute Resolution Sections of the American Bar Association and State Bar of Texas, the Securities Litigation and Arbitration Section of the State Bar of Texas, the College of the State Bar of Texas, the Texas Society of CPA?s and the Christian Legal Society.
Emphasis: Mediation and Arbitration
Education: Houston Baptist University, B.S.; South Texas College of Law, J.D.
(713) 862-7772 5300 Memorial Drive, Ste. 890, Houston, TX 77007
Not certified by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization
www.raycoxlaw.com
Brady Edwards and David George left one of the nation?s largest law firms to form a more flexible organization ? one that could service clients who want the traditional ?big firm? level of representation without having to pay the premium fees. This flexibility allows Edwards &George to represent Fortune 500 companies as well as small ?mom and pop? shops throughout Texas.
As with any firm, the key to Edwards &George?s success lies with its lawyers. Edwards &George puts a premium on hiring top talent from some of the most prestigious law firms and law schools. In fact, all of Edwards &George?s partners (and even one of its associates) have been designated by Texas Monthly magazine as either a Texas Super Lawyer or a Rising Star.
Edwards &George?s smaller size is purposeful, effective and efficient. Edwards &George can respond quickly to its clients? needs, particularly in times of crisis. Let Edwards &George help you through your next litigation crisis.
Brady Edwards and David George are not board certified by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization.
Specialty: Business litigation
(713) 339-3233 ? Fax: (713) 339-2233
1000 Louisiana, Ste. 1300, Houston, TX 77002
www.edwards-george.com
Gibbs &Bruns, L.L.P. prides itself on its ability to handle all types of complex and high-stakes commercial litigation. Founded in 1983, this boutique firm has gained growing national recognition as a leading litigation outfit. Chambers &Partners has for the last two years ranked it at the top of all Texas law firms for commercial litigation. The National Law Journal also included it among the 25 exemplary litigation firms on its ?Plaintiff?s Hot List: go-to teams for when the going gets tough.? Six of its partners have been named Super Lawyers, and many of its attorneys were cited as Rising Stars.
Gibbs &Bruns? reputation rests on the skill and expertise of its people. Gibbs &Bruns attorneys are superb and experienced litigators with wide-ranging backgrounds and proven success in trial work. They handle every aspect of the most complicated commercial disputes, from discovery through trials and on to appeal; and they are committed to winning.
Specialty: Commercial litigation
(713) 650-8805
1100 Louisiana, Ste. 5300, Houston, TX 77002
www.gibbs-bruns.com
Board certified in both civil trial and personal injury law, Fred Hagans has more than 30 years of legal experience. After serving as a partner at Bracewell &Patterson, Hagans began his own practice in 1986. Hagans’ work on behalf of his clients has resulted in more than 100 settlements or verdicts in excess of $1 million. Hagans has also successfully defended multi-million dollar cases.
Hagans, Bobb &Burdine, P.C. is a firm of ten lawyers with a vast amount of experience in all types of litigation, including commercial litigation, insurance coverage and bad faith, intellectual property, legal and medical malpractice, products liability, employment matters, wrongful death, and personal injury. The firm has extensive experience with high profile cases representing plaintiffs and defendants, Fortune 500 companies, and individuals. It is one of the few firms willing to undertake commercial litigation on a contingency basis.
Hagans is very involved in promoting ethics and professionalism within the legal profession, having authored and delivered numerous speeches on the subject. Hagans served as the co-chairman of the Supreme Court Professionalism Committee that wrote the Professionalism Creed ultimately adopted by the Texas Supreme Court. He stresses that attorneys must embrace the truth while providing context and perspective for the facts. Hagans also devotes time to the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, Gulf Coast Chapter, having served as both chairman of the board and president.
(713) 222-2700
3200 Travis, 4th Floor, Houston, TX 77006
www.hbb-law.com
With more than 20 years in the patent industry, experience working with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, a scientific background and engineering degree, Michael Heim is uniquely and aptly suited for intellectual property and technology-related litigation. Heim has successfully prosecuted several high-profile antitrust lawsuits against pharmaceutical companies misusing intellectual property laws to maintain exclusive rights to brand-name drugs in order to keep generic products from entering the market, recently winning a $220 million settlement against Bristol-Myers Squibb.
Heim feels that there are multiple factors in reaching success, especially maintaining integrity, morality and honesty. He also stresses setting and reaching goals with his clients. Heim enjoys working on high-tech, complex cases and has created a team atmosphere within the practice, working with as many professionals as needed to get the best results for his clients. In addition to being a member of the American Bar Association, American Intellectual Property Law Association and Federal Circuit Bar Association, Heim has served as chairman of both the Texas Intellectual Property Law Section and Houston Intellectual Property Law Association.
Specialty: Intellectual property and technology-related litigation
Education: University of Missouri, B.S.; The George Washington University Law School, J.D.
(713) 238-8000
JP Morgan Chase Tower, 600 Travis St., Ste. 7100
Houston, TX 77002 www.conleyrose.com
Nominated as one of the top trial lawyers in his area, Dan King received the National Defense Counsel Continuing Excellence Award and has been named a National Defense Counsel Star of the Year.
His practice primarily focuses in the areas of medical malpractice, fraud and abuse matters, coverage disputes, bad faith insurance law and credentialling issues. At his former law firm, King served as head of the Medical Malpractice/Health Law Section, and he currently serves as oversight counsel for regional and national health care organizations. He as well has successfully prosecuted environmental ground contamination cases and significant oil and gas disputes. Additionally, King has been active in his community by providing free legal services to the underprivileged and by helping found the TIRR Emily Foundation, an organization committed to groundbreaking research regarding spinal cord injuries.
With an interest in improving the civil justice system, King served on the Texas Pattern Jury Charge Committee; the International Association of Defense Counsel Class Action, Advocacy and Substantive Law Committees; the American Bar Association Tort and Insurance Practice Section Trial Techniques Committee; and as a participant in the American Academy of Hospital Attorneys. He is also a life fellow of the Texas Bar Foundation.
Specialty: Trial law
Education: Trinity University, B.S.; South Texas College of Law, J.D.
(713) 425-7400
5 Houston Center
1401 McKinney, Ste. 2700
Houston, Texas 77010
dking@godwingruber.com www.godwingruber.com
With nearly 25 years of experience as a trial lawyer and an AV rating (highest legal/ethical ability) by Martindale-Hubbell, Anthony F. Montgomery represents victims of nursing home neglect, medical malpractice, products liability, general negligence, commercial torts and civil matters involving catastrophic injury, death or significant money damages. He has obtained numerous verdicts and settlements in excess of $2 million to $5 million.
Montgomery is a leader and pioneer in nursing home abuse and neglect cases winning Harris County?s largest nursing home verdict ($39.4 million), which was the largest in the nation at the time it was rendered. This verdict received extensive media attention and Montgomery was featured in ?Top Ten Largest Damage Verdicts in Nation: 1990,? multiple newspaper articles and television interviews as well as in the Wall Street Journal.
Montgomery is also a frequent author and lecturer in nursing home litigation and civil trial techniques. Prior to becoming a plaintiff?s lawyer, Montgomery was a defense lawyer and partner in a well-established Houston firm. He was known for handling high-profile defense cases, and winning multiple defense verdicts in large damage cases against many of the best plaintiffs? lawyers in Texas.
Montgomery is one of a small percentage of Texas lawyers who are board certified in both personal injury and civil trial law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization. He is also board certified as a civil trial specialist by the National Board of Trial Advocacy.
He has been married over 37 years to Ruth L. Montgomery, whom he credits as the stabilizing force in his career. The couple has four children. The oldest, April Montgomery, practiced law with her father from 1997 until 2003.
Results obtained depend on facts of each case.
Specialty: Personal injury trial law and civil trial law
Education: University of Houston, B.A. (magna cum laude); M.A. (summa cum laude); and J.D. (cum laude)
(713) 651-1719 ? (713) 651-1524
1221 McKinney, Ste. 3840, Houston, Texas 77010
www.afmpc@flash.net
Todd Patterson and Doug Elliott are partners at Moser, Patterson &Sheridan, L.L.P., a patent boutique firm recently identified by Intellectual Property Today magazine as the second fastest growing patent firm in the top 100 patent firms in the country. The firm specializes in a comprehensive patent practice for a wide array of technologies, including patent application preparation and prosecution, freedom-to-operate opinions, prior art searches, pre-litigation evaluations, licensing strategies, portfolio management, due diligence evaluations and patent litigation.
The firm?s recipe for success is simple: Take care of the client. This requires visiting personally with the client, finding out what the client needs and getting that done effectively and efficiently.
For a firm that files and prosecutes more than 1,000 patent applications annually, taking care of clients requires a dedicated contribution by the entire firm. ?It is definitely a team effort,? comments Todd Patterson, managing partner of the firm?s Houston office. The firm has more than 45 registered patent attorneys and agents spread out over three interconnected offices (Houston; Palo Alto, Calif.; and Shewsbury, N.J.).
In addition to patent law, the firm also represents clients in the areas of trademarks, copyrights (primarily software), e-commerce, trade secrets and technology transfer agreements.
Specialty: Intellectual property law
(713) 623-4844
3040 Post Oak Blvd., Ste. 1500, Houston, TX 77056
www.mpsllp.com
At the age of 32, Emily Munoz Detoto has done more with her legal career than most lawyers do in a lifetime. She has exclusively dedicated her entire career to the practice of criminal law. After graduating from St. Mary?s University School of Law, Detoto accepted a prestigious position as a briefing attorney at the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals. She is a former assistant district attorney for Harris County and a former associate of the high-profile criminal defense firm of Schneider &McKinney, P.C.
Now, owner and operator of The Law Office of Emily Munoz, she has earned the distinction of criminal law specialist by becoming board certified in criminal law. Detoto represents individuals accused in both State and Federal courts at both trial and appeal. She is a graduate of the Gerry Spence Trial Lawyers College and a faculty member of the Criminal Trial Advocacy Institute. In 2003, Detoto was co-counsel in the nationally televised case, The State of Texas v. Clara Harris, otherwise known as ?The Mercedes Benz Murder.?
Detoto has served as treasurer and vice president of the Harris County Criminal Lawyers Association. She also was named a Texas Rising Star for 2004 by Texas Monthy magazine, is a member of the United Who?s Who Registry and has appeared on ?Inside Edition,? ?Primetime Live? and ?Celebrity Justice.?
Specialty: Criminal law
Education: Michigan State University, B.A.; St. Mary?s University School of Law, J.D.
(713) 227-2244 ? Fax (713) 227-5840 ? Cell (832) 660-5514
The Commercial Bank Building, 917 Franklin, Ste. 250 Houston, Texas 77002
emdefense@aol.com
With 25 years of experience, board-certified criminal lawyer David Mitcham has served as lead counsel in more than 200 jury trials. He was an Assistant District Attorney of Harris County from 1980 to 1984 and was elected president of the Harris County Criminal Lawyers Association in 1988-1989. Judges and prosecutors have ranked Mitcham among the top 12 criminal defense lawyers in the Houston Chronicle; and after successfully defending clients in 10 consecutive jury trials, the Harris County Criminal Lawyers Association honored him as Attorney of the Year of 2001 for ?dedication to the principles and ideals of American justice.?
Specialty: Criminal law
Education: University of Texas, B.A.; University of Texas Law School, J.D.
Jerry Patchen, a general practice trial lawyer litigating civil, family, and criminal cases in state and federal courts, has handled cases in more than 25 states. In his varied and diverse practice, he has won an $8.5 million recovery in commercial litigation, a not guilty in a capital murder trial and a successful defense of federal conspiracy indictment involving more than 1 million pounds of marijuana. With a broad base of litigation experience, Patchen has several million-dollar-plus recoveries involving automobile and large truck accidents, SUV rollover, oil field injuries, gun shot victim, lottery ticket dispute and legal malpractice. Despite decades of legal success, Patchem remains true to the basics. ?It?s all about proving the facts,? he says.
Education: University of Houston College of Law, J.D.
Not certified by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization
(713) 222-2000 ? Fax: (713) 222-2329
1400 Congress, Houston, TX 77002
jpatchen@texas.net dmitcham@texas.net www.patchen-mitcham.com
Robert Pelton arrived in Houston with $75 from his brother, no job and no housing. A friend recommended that he work for an insurance company, due to their close connection with legal matters. Pelton sat down with a phone book and started dialing. ?I got to the Fs and Firemans Fund hired me. ? reminisces Pelton.
Pelton has been a champion of the underdog in criminal defense proceedings his entire career. ?I realized as a child that people are taken advantage of,? he explains, ?and the best way to help them is to educate yourself.?
The former president of the Harris County Criminal Lawyers Association worked his way through law school. ?Nothing is impossible. ?No? doesn?t exist in my vocabulary,? he says. As would befit a man who fights for the underdog, one of Pelton?s closest allies is consumer affairs news personality Marvin Zindler. Another close friend is former Harris County district judge Ted Poe, currently running for U.S. Congress in District Two. ?His courtroom style is a mix of country preacher and west Texas farm boy,? says Poe. ?The juries just loved him.?
The firm includes Robyn Harlin, Laura Kennedy, and Joe Pelton, who heads the Abilene office. The firm has been closely associated with Marvin Zindler. Harlin, one of ?Marvin?s Angels?, was recently named one of the best Houston family law attorneys.
Primary Area of Practice: Criminal law Education: McMurry College, B.B.A.; South Texas College of Law, J.D.
(713) 524-8471 1610 Richmond Ave., Houston, TX 77006
Not certified by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization
www.houstonpeltlaw.com
