James E. Payne

Susan George is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Real Estate Law. Susan, 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 Susan is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.

Katie Custer is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Family Law. Katie, who practices law in Houston, Texas, has been recognized since 2019. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Katie is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.

Tim George practices administrative law and litigation on behalf of oil and gas owners and operators. Tim represents clients before the Railroad Commission of Texas and the Texas General Land Office. He has helped solve complex problems with leasehold permitting and production; special field rules; rulemaking; salt water disposal injection; unitization and enhanced recovery; environmental compliance and remediation; pipeline transportation; common carrier, common purchaser, and gas utility co...

Allen H. Rustay is a partner at Hicks Thomas LLP and has over 20 years of experience in litigation in Texas State and Federal courts. He has extensive experience in commercial litigation including matters involving commercial disputes, energy, oil and gas, and maritime disputes on behalf of plaintiffs and defendants. He has also litigated theft of trade secrets, breaches of fiduciary duty, and business torts. Formerly affiliated with a large international law firm, Mr. Rustay has been with Hi...

Sam Acker is a business litigator. Sam represents clients in state and federal courts in matters involving fraud, breach of fiduciary duty, breach of contract, partnership and corporate governance disputes, and other business torts. His experience spans several industries and market segments, including real estate, life sciences, oil and gas, construction, and products liability. A substantial portion of Sam’s practice has also been dedicated to representing broker-dealers and registere...

Angel Berbarie is Board Certified in Family Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization, and a partner at Goranson Bain Ausley in Plano. With over 22 years practicing exclusively in family law, Angel has been named to Best Lawyers in America (2021–2026), Texas Super Lawyers (2022–2026), Texas Super Lawyers Rising Star (2012–2018), D Magazine's Best Lawyers in Dallas (2026), and LawDragon's 500 Leading Family Lawyers (2025–2026). She is a Certified Mediator through t...

Jarrod Martin is a partner in Bradley’s Bankruptcy & Creditors’ Rights Practice Group with a nationwide practice representing creditors, debtors, committees, and trustees. With experience in financial restructuring, mergers and acquisitions, and bankruptcy litigation, he is particularly adept at representing parties seeking to acquire distressed assets from a bankruptcy estate, helping them navigate complex transactions to achieve favorable outcomes. Regardless of the party he...

Sam is a shareholder with Wilson Cribbs + Goren who primarily assists clients with transactional matters covering the development, leasing, acquisition, and disposition of all types and classes of real property. Like many of his colleagues, Sam grew up in both the real estate and legal industries, with family members in both. While attending the University of Texas, he began his schooling in real estate in earnest, by studying finance with a focus in real estate and participating in programs ...

A board-certified labor and employment lawyer, Texas Board of Legal Specialization, Claudine Jackson practices in the areas of labor and employment, workplace injuries, medical and professional liability, as well as commercial litigation. Claudine has over 20 years of litigation and trial experience and has tried employment, personal injury, and commercial cases for both plaintiffs and defendants. She has represented parties in arbitration and in claims with the EEOC, Department of Labor, Tex...

Marc Grossberg's primary practice is representing clients in tax controversies at the examination, Internal Revenue Service appeal and trial and federal appeals levels, collection issues and pre-IRS examination compliance issues, including filing and foreign accounts and unique issues. Recent representations include bringing taxpayers "in from the cold," meaning assisting them in becoming compliant with the Internal Revenue Service before the Internal Revenue Service has discovered the non-co...