Best Law Firms in Houston, TX for Commercial Litigation

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.

Bissinger, Oshman, Williams & Strasburger LLP (BOWS) is a boutique law firm serving clients in areas such as corporate fiduciary disputes, securities, intellectual property and trade secrets, commercial real estate, complex and catastrophic torts, and insurance-recovery litigation.

BOWS is trial-focused and client-centric. The firm’s counsel routinely go up – and win – against larger and better funded opponents. At all times, however, the firm works quickly to resolve issues favorably for its clients to allow them focus on their business and minimize the burden of legal disputes.

Bissinger, Oshman, Williams & Strasburger represents Fortune 100 companies, private businesses, executives, investors, and a host of others. It works hard for them and will work hard for you.

Practice Areas:

• Corporate Fiduciary and Securities
• Energy and Technology
• Commercial Real Estate, Finance, and Banking
• Trade Secrets, Noncompetes, and Executive Compensation
• Tort and Policyholder
• Construction

About Brown Sims

For over 50 years, Brown Sims has dedicated itself to providing its clients with experienced based solutions tailored to their specific legal problems. In the courtroom, the boardroom, and the community, Brown Sims represents and counsels clients in virtually every major industry.

Representing and Counseling Industry Leaders

Brown Sims’ clients include industry leaders and businesses in the construction, energy, environmental, healthcare, hospitality, insurance, maritime, products manufacturing and design, professional services, retail, and transportation industries.Through its experienced and talented practice groups, Brown Sims offers legal counseling and focus in appellate, arbitration, business, insurance, transactional, trial, and workers’ compensation issues.

Seeing the Forest and the Trees

Many legal problems are susceptible to recurrence or may have more than one solution. Without an adequate understanding of what gives rise to a specific legal issue or an appreciation of the ramifications of a particular solution, what seems like a quick fix solution can become a long term problem.At its inception, Brown Sims recognized that its clients desired more than excellent results—they also desired excellent counseling. Brown Sims helps its clients put their legal issues into context while escaping cycles of repetitive problems. Brown Sims also offers its clients insightful analysis of the larger impact that alternative resolutions can have and assists them in picking the best course.

CM Law, formerly known as Culhane Meadows, was founded in 2013 through a visionary alliance of four attorneys who came together to build a different kind of law firm. The founding attorneys had collaborated for more than 15 years at several prominent national firms and shared a common vision: create a firm built around exceptional legal talent, strong client relationships, and a more efficient approach to delivering legal services.

From the beginning, CM Law was designed to challenge the traditional law firm model and focus resources where they matter most—on clients and their legal needs.

How is CM Law different from the traditional law firm model?

CM Law was founded on the belief that clients should not have to pay for the high overhead and inefficiencies traditionally associated with large law firms.

We leverage emerging technology and innovative ways of working to deliver sophisticated legal services efficiently, while avoiding unnecessary expenses such as extravagant office space, excessive support staff, elaborate artwork, marble columns, and other overhead that does not add value to the client experience.

Our approach allows us to remain focused on what matters most: providing high-quality legal counsel, responsive service, and meaningful value to our clients.

What does it mean to be a Client Minded Advocate® at CM Law?

At CM Law, we recognize that every legal matter exists within a larger business context. Whether a client is a growing business or a sophisticated in-house legal department, legal issues are often connected to broader objectives—including market demands, financial considerations, regulatory requirements, organizational culture, diversity and inclusion, and social or marketing goals.

That is why our attorneys approach each matter with an understanding of the client’s bigger picture. Rather than viewing a legal issue in isolation, we work to understand the business objectives behind it and develop practical strategies that help our clients achieve those goals.

How does CM Law bring together the right legal talent for its clients?

We cultivate cross-disciplinary, client-centered teams of attorneys with extensive legal experience and real-world business knowledge. By drawing on the collective capabilities of attorneys across practices and industries, we can assemble teams that are tailored to the specific needs of each client and matter.

This collaborative approach allows our clients to benefit from the depth and breadth of a full-service national law firm while maintaining the personalized attention and responsiveness they expect from their trusted legal advisors.

What role does inclusion play at CM Law?

Inclusion is fundamental to who we are—not simply concepts we discuss, but principles reflected in the way our firm is structured and operated.

As the largest national, full-service, women-owned and managed law firm in the United States, CM Law is proud to demonstrate its commitment through action. Our demographics and growth tell an important part of that story, as does our unique, objective, and fully transparent compensation system.

We believe meaningful inclusion requires more than statements or initiatives. It requires creating an environment where talented attorneys have opportunities to succeed, contribute, lead, and be recognized for the value they bring to the firm and our clients.

What makes CM Law’s approach successful?

Ultimately, our success is driven by our people and our commitment to our clients. We are privileged that so many business owners and in-house legal departments trust CM Law with their legal needs. That trust is a reflection of the exceptional legal work, responsiveness, business-minded perspective, and personal commitment of our attorneys.

Our model is intentionally designed to put those qualities at the center of the client experience—combining sophisticated legal counsel with efficiency, collaboration, transparency, and a genuine understanding of what our clients are trying to accomplish.

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.

Crain Caton & James is a century-old, full-service law firm based in Houston, Texas, providing transactional counsel, corporate advisory, regulatory guidance, and trial defense services locally, nationally, and internationally.

The firm concentrates its collective legal capabilities across major practice divisions:

• Corporate & Financial: Banking and financial institution compliance, business transactions, mergers and acquisitions, and commercial real estate development.
• Wealth, Trust, & Fiduciary: Estate planning, complex trust structuring, asset protection, and fiduciary or probate litigation.
• Litigation & Appeals: Commercial litigation, construction disputes, labor and employment conflicts, and comprehensive state and federal appellate practice.
• Regulatory & Technical: Environmental law, toxic tort defense, administrative health and safety (EHS) compliance, OSHA mitigation, and intellectual property (IP) protection, including patent and trademark prosecution.

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

Jordan, Lynch & Cancienne PLLC is a Houston-based civil trial law firm with a proven courtroom track record in high-stakes litigation nationwide.  

Our lawyers represent clients as both plaintiffs and defendants in commercial disputes, construction matters, products liability, toxic torts, trade secrets, and catastrophic personal injury claims. 

The firm’s partners have tried cases to verdict across the country, including: 

• Texas 
• Louisiana 
• California 
• Oklahoma 
• Delaware 
• Massachusetts 
• Missouri 
• Mississippi 
• New Jersey 
• District of Columbia 

What We Do:

Trial work is our passion and our expertise. We approach each trial with thorough preparation resulting in a nimble and responsive trial team. Our years of courtroom experience mean your case benefits from our considerable trial judgment and instincts and a talent for distilling complex issues for juries.

Solid counsel is the foundation for all that we do. With early input, our approach is to provide you with the right answers through efficient and practical solutions that can effectively guide outcomes.

What We Offer:

The intellectual firepower you need to solve your complex legal problems.

Our Core Values:

• Building Relationships
• Working Collaboratively
• Going Above and Beyond

Working with Us:

We understand the impact and urgency that litigation represents, that’s why we make it a priority to “get to yes” with clients regarding fee structures and litigation costs. Our goal is to add value at every point in the relationship, always putting clients’ interests ahead of our own financial interests.

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.