Best Law Firms in Houston, TX for Appellate Practice

Ahmad, Zavitsanos & Mensing or AZA, is home to true courtroom lawyers who provide clients with a formidable track record in complex commercial litigation including energy, trade secret, intellectual property, construction, and business dispute cases.

AZA earned a coveted rating for its work in Texas commercial litigation in the 2014 -2021 editions of Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business, published by Chambers and Partners which is recognized worldwide for its prestigious guides to the legal profession. AZA was named First-Tier in Commercial Litigation in Houston by U.S. News & World Report and The Best Lawyers in America in their rankings of the nation’s Best Law Firms. Likewise, AZA was named a Recognized Firm by Benchmark Litigation—the definitive guide to America’s leading litigation firms and attorneys.

In 2015, AZA was recognized as one of only 10 boutique firms nationally by Law360 for successfully challenging the nation’s biggest law firms. The list of Top 10 Boutiques includes firms that are on par with the biggest firms but less expensive and more accessible to clients. Likewise, AZA was named among the “Most Feared Law Firms” by corporate counsel at major U.S. companies, as surveyed by the leading legal research group BTI Consulting. The 40 firms across the country on the 2015 list were chosen on the basis of extensive interviews with 300 general counsel and in-house litigation counsel at top-spending companies and organizations. In addition, AZA was chosen the 2015 and 2019 Litigation Department of the Year by the publishers of Texas Lawyer newspaper. The annual honor recognizes the Texas-based litigation firms that have excelled during the previous year based on courtroom results. Just three general firms are chosen statewide for having the top litigation departments.  AZA, a powerhouse with fewer than 40 lawyers, claimed the top spot in the small-firm category. 

Dedication to clients, coupled with the ability to prevail in the courtroom before judges and juries alike, is why so many general counsel across the U.S. know AZA. It’s also why corporate counsel have named AZA one of the law firms with the best client service of those serving the Fortune 1000. In fact, AZA has been hired on many occasions by the same companies the firm has prevailed against at trial.

Well known for leadership and undisputed construction expertise since 1989, Cokinos | Young offers a broad array of legal services that are delivered with a commitment to efficiency, value and client service.

In today’s complex and constantly changing business environment, Cokinos | Young continues to use practical experience and pragmatic approaches to manage serious legal challenges. As we have expanded our capabilities over the years to a true full-service law firm, Cokinos | Young’s commitment to the construction industry has never wavered. Clients benefit from our extensive experience on a wide range of construction projects in both the public and private sectors.

Our commitment to the construction industry includes extensive involvement with many industry related associations. These relationships provide us with the opportunity to contribute to the ongoing evolution of issues impacting both the construction industry at large and the clients we represent, making Cokinos | Young the most innovative and influential firm in the business.

Cokinos | Young has multiple Chambers USA and AV rated attorneys and handles matters throughout the State of Texas as well as on a national and global level. When we first opened our doors 30 years ago, Gregory Cokinos and Marc Young committed to providing our clients the highest level of legal knowledge, value, attentive service, excellence, and a full commitment to obtaining the best possible outcomes. Today, our firm continues to embody that strong foundation of core values and is why we are proud to continue servicing clients that started on the journey with us in 1989.

Founded in 1997, Texas-based Hicks Thomas LLP is a premier litigation firm representing plaintiffs and defendants across the nation with offices in Houston, Austin, Beaumont and Amarillo, Texas, and Sacramento, California. The firm provides in-depth experience in cases involving oil and gas, environmental, complex commercial, toxic tort, construction, products liability, corporate governance, securities, banking, insurance coverage, transportation, trade secrets and business litigation.

Practice Areas:

• Appellate Practice
• Business Litigation
• Commercial Arbitration
• Environmental Litigation
• International Arbitration
• Construction Litigation
• Offshore Energy Litigation
• Oil & Gas Litigation
• Securities Litigation
• Toxic Torts
• Trade Secrets
• Transportation Litigation
• Labor and Employment Litigation

Martin, Disiere, Jefferson & Wisdom is a leading law firm with 21 lawyers recognized by Best Lawyers across 12 practice areas. The firm's tenure with Best Lawyers began in 2006. Having lawyers recognized in Best Lawyers' purely peer review process emphasizes the lawyers credibility and reputation for their practice amongst their peers in their practice area and region. It displays professional validation of the legal talent that Martin, Disiere, Jefferson & Wisdom has on their team. The firm has lawyers recognized in practice areas including: Commercial Litigation, Appellate Practice, Personal Injury Litigation - Defendants, Litigation - Construction and Litigation - Insurance.

Martin, Disiere, Jefferson & Wisdom is also ranked by Best Law Firms in 10 practice areas. The Best Law Firms rankings are founded on a time-tested and transparent research process that has remained consistent since Best Lawyers launched it in 2010. Martin, Disiere, Jefferson & Wisdom has 18 rankings in 10 practices. Echoing their Best Lawyers awards and team of top legal talent.

We are trial lawyers. In civil and criminal legal circles across the nation, we’ve built a solid reputation for establishing rapport with juries and obtaining favorable results for our clients.

We are a diverse legal team with years of courtroom experience, both state and federal. We are experienced in the preparation and presentation of a wide variety of cases, and we handle all appeals. We’re also a law firm with a distinct personality. We keep a positive, upbeat, and relaxed perspective, while remaining passionate about the law and driven to explore every angle of a legal position. We truly love what we do, so going the extra mile for our clients comes naturally.  

We believe there is no issue too complicated for a jury to understand. We often take a complex case or concept and transform it in a way that jurors can relate to — presenting all the relevant facts and evidence while keeping the jurors’ interest and attention. This philosophy is important for two reasons. First, juries sense that we believe in and trust them, and our ability to communicate with them increases the likelihood of success for our clients. Just as importantly, our opponents’ recognition of our successful record with juries greatly enhances the settlement potential of a case in a way that frequently makes a trial unnecessary and creates a more satisfying solution for our clients.  

Our practice is unusual in that it is both a civil and criminal practice. It is, however, based on our ability to create a positive connection with jurors whether they are hearing a civil or criminal case. Although our practice has increasingly been devoted to civil cases, we have steadfastly continued to represent people in criminal cases because we believe in and enjoy the work. For the last several years, our practice has been comprised of approximately 80 percent civil litigation and 20 percent criminal defense representation. We love the variety and believe that the eclectic nature of our trial practice actually reinforces our ability to be of help to a broad cross-section of individuals and companies.  

Practice Areas:

• Appellate
• Commercial Litigation
• Personal Injury Claims
• Criminal Matters
• Cases Involving Public Figures
• Investigations

Founded in 1990 by noted trial lawyer Mark Lanier, The Lanier Law Firm is recognized as one of the premier trial law firms in the United States. The firm’s experienced trial attorneys represent companies and individuals across the country from offices in Houston, New York, Los Angeles and Dallas/Fort Worth.

The firm’s vast trial experience includes substantial verdicts in cases involving asbestos exposure and mesothelioma, serious personal injuries, product liability, dangerous drugs, business fraud, and other civil litigation. The firm also is noted for its work defending some of the country’s largest companies. For example, in 2016, Mr. Lanier won two federal trial jury verdicts that together totaled more than $1.5 billion in litigation over metal-on-metal hip implants manufactured by DePuy Orthopaedics Inc., a subsidiary of New Brunswick, New Jersey-based Johnson & Johnson. In April 2014, Mr. Lanier and the firm won a record verdict against pharmaceutical giants Takeda Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. and Eli Lilly & Co. over the dangerous side effects of the diabetes medication Actos, which ranked as the 7th largest verdict in U.S. history. More recently, Mr. Lanier secured a historic $4.69 billion verdict against Johnson & Johnson in the first trial verdict to affirm the link between asbestos-laden talcum powder and ovarian cancer.

Although record-setting legal victories are a firm trademark, the primary focus remains with Mr. Lanier’s original vision to provide “the highest quality legal care delivered in an honest, professional manner to enrich the lives or businesses of our clients.” Every attorney at The Lanier Law Firm is committed to solving clients’ problems while working toward favorable legal resolutions.

Mr. Lanier serves as the firm's lead litigation counsel and is recognized as one of the nation’s top trial lawyers. In addition to his Best Lawyers in America recognition, Mr. Lanier was named Lawyer of the Year in Mass Tort Litigation/Class Actions by Best Lawyers and has been highlighted among the top 10 attorneys in Texas in the annual Texas Super Lawyers magazine, and featured in Texas Lawyer’s “Go-To Guide” as the state’s premiere personal injury attorney and as one of "The 25 Greatest Texas Lawyers of the Past Quarter Century."

The National Law Journal has recognized Mr. Lanier as one of the nation's Top 10 Trial Attorneys on two different occasions and highlighted him as one of the "100 Most Influential Lawyers in America" and one of the "Decade's Most Influential Lawyers." Following his victory in the nation’s first trial over the pain medication Vioxx, Mr. Lanier was described in The New York Times as “one of the top civil trial lawyers in America.”

Chambers USA and The Legal 500 ranked The Lanier Law Firm among the nation's leading firms for work in Plaintiffs' Product Liability and Mass Tort Class Actions. Editors of The National Law Journal named The Lanier Law Firm among its list of Elite Trial Lawyers and as the nation's top-ranked law firm in the area of Medical Device Litigation.

A strong supporter of his alma mater, Mr. Lanier earned his law degree from Texas Tech University School of Law in 1984. He remains active at Texas Tech by serving on the Law School's Foundation Board and was previously honored as the Texas Tech University School of Law Distinguished Alumnus.

Another hallmark of The Lanier Law Firm is its dedication to professional and community involvement. Mr. Lanier is the founder of the Christian Trial Lawyers Association, a nonprofit organization whose goal is to create a network of principled attorneys to minister to others through civic-minded endeavors. Mr. Lanier also serves on the board of trustees for the Committee for Economic Development, a group of business and education leaders committed to improving the growth and productivity of the U.S. economy and greater opportunity for all Americans.

All the firm’s attorneys and staff support numerous local charities, including Houston’s SIRE therapeutic equestrian centers, Los Angeles’ Midnight Mission, the San Francisco non-profit Legal Services for Children, and New York’s Bowery Mission Children of Bellevue.

"It's More Than A Case. It's A Cause."

Ability, hard work, and perseverance are hallmarks of Wright Close Barger & Guzman, and our clients can expect top-notch representation every step of the way. With their extensive trial and appellate experience, our team of lawyers can take your case from start to finish. Throughout Texas, we have tried to a successful conclusion cases involving a variety of practice areas, including catastrophic personal injury, insurance coverage, intellectual property, oil and gas, product defects, commercial disputes, and trade secrets.

We also assist other lawyers at trial by providing expertise in pre-trial motions, research on special evidence problems, and the critical work on the court’s charge to the jury. Wright Close Barger & Guzman is widely respected for its appellate experience, and we have successfully handled appeals before federal and state appellate courts, including the Supreme Court of Texas, the intermediate state courts of appeals, and the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.

Some “litigation” lawyers never see the inside of a courtroom. Not so at Wright Close Barger & Guzman. The firm handles complex civil trial and appellate work for clients across the state, calling upon their extensive expertise to achieve favorable resolutions in cases involving catastrophic personal injury, insurance coverage, intellectual property, oil and gas, product defects, commercial disputes, arbitration and mediation, and trade secrets, among others. The firm also assists other firms and attorneys with pre-trial motions, special evidence problems, challenges to expert witnesses, and the critical work on the court’s charge to the jury.

The firm’s diversity of experience provides the depth required for its wide range of successes. Our attorneys have tried and appealed complex cases all across Texas for more than 30 years. Our team has been hand-picked from among the best and the brightest.

Many of our firm’s members are Board Certified by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization

Civil Trial Law: Thomas Wright, Howard Close, Randy Owens.

Civil Appellate Law: Thomas Wright, Jessica Barger, Brian Cathey, Russ Hollenbeck, Marie Jamison, Jim Marrow, Brad Snead, Rachel Stinson, Natasha Taylor, Heidi Gumienny, and Kelley Clark Morris.

Several members including our founding partners have been selected by their peers each year as among The Best Lawyers in America® (Tom Wright, Howard Close, Jessica Barger, Wanda McKee Fowler, Eva Guzman, Russ Hollenbeck, Andy Love, Jim Marrow, Raffi Melkonian, Randall Owens, Tod Phillips, Brad Snead, Rachel Stinson, and Natasha Taylor). 

Wright Close Barger & Guzman is ranked among the Best Law Firms with a National Tier 1 ranking in Appellate, by U.S. News and Best Lawyers. The firm also has Tier 1 rankings in Houston for Commercial Litigation, Personal Injury Defense, Insurance Litigation, Trusts & Estates Litigation and Appellate Practice.