Best Law Firms in Houston, TX for Litigation - Trusts and Estates

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.

Rethink. Refine. Rediscover.

Kean Miller is home to more than 240 attorneys across Louisiana and Texas, providing legal support to the people and industries that drive the energy-belt economy. We work with Fortune 500 companies, national businesses, and local enterprises, delivering practical guidance and efficient legal services with a consistent focus on value and cost awareness. Whether in courtrooms or boardrooms, our attorneys develop thoughtful strategies designed to support our clients’ business goals.

Kean Miller is a trusted resource for clients in the energy and petrochemical sectors throughout the energy belt region. Our work spans upstream, midstream, and downstream operations, as well as the businesses and service providers that support these activities.

Over time, our practice has expanded to address a wide range of legal needs across industries such as maritime, construction, manufacturing, tax, hospitality, financial services, and healthcare. We assist businesses and individuals in navigating legal challenges with an approach focused on long-term stability and informed decision-making.

At Kean Miller, our attorneys are collaborative, accessible, and engaged with both clients and the communities we serve. A shared commitment to integrity, professionalism, and client-focused service has shaped our culture and continues to define the Kean Miller experience.

We are committed to being available when our clients need us. Through preparation and responsiveness, we aim to address issues promptly with clear strategies and practical solutions, even when matters arise unexpectedly.

Clients often point to the value Kean Miller brings as an important factor in their continued success. Our attorneys pair legal insight with business-minded thinking, remaining attentive to each client’s objectives and financial considerations.

We believe diverse teams contribute to sound judgment and effective problem-solving. Our inclusive culture draws professionals with a broad range of backgrounds and perspectives, resulting in one of the higher percentages of women attorneys and partners among large law firms, along with meaningful representation of minority attorneys.

Kean Miller is committed to building lasting relationships within the firm and with our clients. Through thoughtful recruitment, collaboration, and a strong internal culture, we work to ensure continuity of service and support for clients across generations.

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.