David S. Smith

Victor Cardenas is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Litigation - Environmental and Personal Injury Litigation - Defendants. Victor, who practices law in Houston, Texas, has been recognized since 2025. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Victor is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.

Edward Murphy is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Arbitration, Litigation - Insurance and Personal Injury Litigation - Defendants. Edward, who practices law in Houston, Texas, has been recognized since 2023. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Edward is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.

Jason P. Sharp is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Commercial Litigation. Jason P., who practices law in Houston, Texas, has been recognized since 2025. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Jason P. is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.

Tom has extensive trial and appellate experience in business cases, including oil and gas, breach of contract, and fiduciary litigation for plaintiffs and defendants. He has significant involvement in probate litigation, representing executors, beneficiaries of estates, and guardians in cases that also involve complex business transactions. Mr. Wright has argued cases in the Texas Supreme Court, the United States Courts of Appeals for the Fifth and Ninth Circuits, and most of the fourteen int...

Joseph Rovira is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Bankruptcy and Creditor Debtor Rights / Insolvency and Reorganization Law. Joseph, who practices law in Houston, Texas, has been recognized since 2024. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Joseph is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.

Matt Pacey is a partner in Kirkland's Houston office. His practice concentrates on capital markets transactions, corporate governance and compliance. He regularly represents private equity-backed companies in connection with initial public offerings, particularly in the upstream, midstream and oil field service sectors. He has extensive knowledge of master limited partnership matters and has represented issuers or underwriters in numerous MLP financing transactions, including initial public o...

Christopher C. Wan is an attorney in the Houston office of Cokinos | Young. His practice focuses primarily on resolving complex commercial and industrial construction disputes through litigation and arbitration. Chris’s experience covers a variety of disputes involving refineries, chemical plants, pipelines, water treatment plants, high-rise condominiums, and university buildings, among other commercial and industrial projects. Chris graduated from the South Texas College of Law, where ...

John Zavitsanos is a highly regarded trial lawyer who loves trying cases and loves winning. He has achieved success for a multitude of clients – both defendants and plaintiffs, from big energy companies to lone whistleblowers battling the odds. He has tried almost 100 cases to verdict in litigation that runs the gamut: financial services, oil and gas, construction, complex commercial disputes, director and officer liability, non-compete and trade-secret disputes, real estate development...

Jim Hall is a trial lawyer at Kean Miller based in Houston, Texas, representing businesses and organizations in complex civil litigation. He has experience appearing before state and federal trial courts, the United States Courts of Appeals, and the United States Supreme Court. Clients regularly seek his counsel for strategic guidance in high-stakes matters that require careful case management and a practical approach to dispute resolution. Jim serves as national litigation counsel for compan...

Demetrios Anaipakos is widely considered to be one of the country’s top civil trial lawyers, representing both plaintiffs and defendants in patent and complex commercial litigation for nearly three decades. Among his many high-profile victories, Mr. Anaipakos helped a client obtain, and collect, one of the largest patent judgments in the history of the United States; won jury trials against some of the largest technology companies in the world; and has architected dozens of successful i...