Areas of Practice:

• Admiralty and Maritime Law
• Appellate Practice
• Automobile Litigation
• Business and Commercial Litigation
• Collections
• Environmental and Toxic Tort Litigation
• Insurance Litigation and Counseling
• Longshore and Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act Litigation
• Personal Injury, Products Liability and Premises Liability Defense

Education:

Lamar University

• Beaumont, Texas, B.B.A. with a concentration in Industrial Engineering, 1989 (with honors)
  • Beta Gamma Sigma National Business Honor Society
  • Sigma Iota Epsilon Honorary Management Fraternity
  • Blue Key National Honor Society
  • Who’s Who Among Students in American Colleges and Universities
  • Outstanding Member of the Graduating Class of 1989
  • Alpha Kappa Psi Professional Business Fraternity
  • American Society of Industrial Technology (Secretary, 1987 – 1989)

South Texas College of Law

• Houston, Texas, J.D., 1993
  • Dean’s List (Spring 1991; Fall 1992)
  • Order of the Lytae
  • American Jurisprudence Award, Secured Transactions

Admitted to Practice:

• State Bar of Texas, 1993
• U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Texas, 1994
• U.S. District Court, Southern District of Texas, 1995
• U.S. District Court, Northern District of Texas, 1995
• U.S. District Court, Western District of Texas, 1996
• U.S. Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit, 1995

Professional Associations:

• State Bar of Texas
  • Unauthorized Practice of Law Subcommittee – District 3A, Committee Member, 2024 – Present
• Texas Bar Foundation (Fellow)
• Jefferson County Bar Association
  • President, 2022
  • President-Elect, 2021
  • Secretary, 2010 – 2011
  • Board Member, 2007 – 2009, 2011 – 2012, 2018 – 2020
• Jefferson County Bar Association Foundation
  • Chairman, 2023 – 2024
  • Secretary, 2009 – 2010, 2011 – 2012
  • Treasurer, 2010 – 2011
  • Spindletop Spin Event Chairman, 2014 – 2018
• Michelle M. Mehaffy Inn of Court
• St. Thomas More Society
  • Red Mass Committee Member, 2007 – Present
• College of the State Bar of Texas, 1993 – 1998, 2003
• The Defense Research Institute, 1996 – 2003, 2016 – Present
• The Maritime Law Association of the United States (Proctor Member)
• United States Propeller Club, Port of the Sabine
  • Board Member, 1994 – 2007
  • Vice-President, 1995 – 1997, 2020 – Present
  • President, 1997 – 1999
  • Special Counsel, 2007 – Present
• Judge, Annual Judge John R. Brown Admiralty Moot Court Competition, 2014 – Present

Civic Involvement:

• Graduate of Leadership Beaumont, 1998
• Port Arthur International Seafarers’ Center
  • Board Member, 1997 – Present
  • First Vice-President, 2001 – Present
  • General Counsel, 2005 – Present
  • New Building Committee Chairman, 2002 – 2010
  • Board Development Committee Chairman, 2012 – Present
  • Finance Committee Member, 2012 – Present
• Diocese of Beaumont
  • Retirement Committee Chairman, 2014 – 2020
• Lamar University Alumni Advisory Board, 2015 – 2018
• St. Anne Catholic Church
  • Parish Council, 2018 – 2021
  • Parish Council Secretary, 2018 – 2019
  • Parish Council Vice President, 2019 – 2021
• Symphony of Southeast Texas
  • Board Member, 2018 – 2021
  • Vice President, Administration, 2020 – 2021

Professional Honors:

• Listed, Texas Super Lawyers, 2006 – Present
• Listed, Super Lawyers Corporate Counsel Edition, Sept. 2009
• Rated, AV Preeminent®, Martindale-Hubbell® Peer Review Ratings™, 2015 – Present
• Listed, Best Lawyers in America©, Admiralty and Maritime Law, 2018 – Present
• Listed, Best Lawyers in America©, Personal Injury Litigation – Defendants, 2019 – Present
• Recipient of Best Lawyers™ 2019 Admiralty and Maritime “Lawyer of the Year” award in Beaumont
• Recipient of Best Lawyers™ 2021 Admiralty and Maritime “Lawyer of the Year” award in Beaumont
• Listed, Best Lawyers in America©, Commercial Litigation, 2024 – Present
• Recipient of Jefferson County Bar Association’s 2024 Ken W. Lewis Professionalism Award
• Recipient of Best Lawyers™ 2025 Admiralty and Maritime “Lawyer of the Year” award in Beaumont

Published Works and Papers Presented:

• “The Current State of Mediation in Texas,” The Baltic, March 1998
• “SARS, The Law of Quarantine and the Possible Effects Upon Marine P&I Policies,” presented at Fall 2003 Meeting of the Maritime Law Association of the United States
• “P&I Coverage for Quarantine Expenses Relating to Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome,” 2 Benedict’s Mar. Bull.1 (First Quarter 2004)
• “The Red Mass – Why it Matters,” Jefferson County Bar Journal, Vol. 16, Issue 2, Winter/Spring 2022, pp. 30-1