Best Lawyers in Texas, United States for Appellate Practice
Jim Marrow is an experienced trial lawyer and appellate specialist. He has developed cases and arbitration matters from beginning to end, including appeal. Jim has tried cases on both sides of the docket, winning judgments for plaintiffs and defendants, and has handled civil appeals and mandamus proceedings in state and federal courts. Jim has extensive appellate experience and has successfully obtained several appellate reversals and writs of mandamus for his clients. Jim also has particular...
Russell Post is a board-certified appellate specialist. For the last 18 years, following his clerkship with the Hon. Jerry Smith of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, he has dedicated his practice to civil appeals. He has acted as lead counsel in approximately 100 appeals and has participated in countless others, preparing briefs and presenting oral arguments to the Texas Supreme Court, the Texas appellate courts, and the Fifth Circuit. Russell represents both plaintiff...
Andrew Gould leads the appellate practice at Hicks Johnson PLLC, a litigation boutique with offices in Houston and Chicago. An award-winning former federal appellate prosecutor, Andrew regularly advocates in state and federal appellate courts nationwide. He has served as lead counsel in some 270 appeals and has conducted over 40 oral arguments, including over 25 before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. He also often appears at the trial-court level to assist with complex motion...
R. Brent Cooper focuses his practice on commercial litigation, insurance litigation, and appellate practice. He has had significant experience in the representation of clients before federal and state trial and appellate courts, as well as in arbitration proceedings. He has tried numerous cases covering areas of business litigation, construction litigation, catastrophic personal injuries, complex litigation, intellectual property, constitutional and business tort cases. In his 35 years of pra...
Tasha Taylor has distinguished herself as a coverage litigation and appellate specialist. Tasha handles insurance coverage and extra-contractual litigation involving a wide array of first- and third-party claims in Texas and nationwide. She advises her clients on resolving and managing complex claims arising out of a variety of policies, including commercial general liability, commercial auto, employer’s liability, control of well, director and officer’ liability, excess and umbre...
Paul M. Leopold is a double Board Certified attorney in Family Law and Civil Appellate Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization. He focuses on family law appeals, helping clients across Texas protect their rights in difficult legal situations—like divorce, custody battles, child support issues, or international child abduction cases. With years of experience arguing in both state and federal courts, Paul has a proven track record of handling complex family law appeals. He works cl...
Russ has briefed and argued dozens of appeals, appearing before the Supreme Court of Texas, the Texas intermediate appellate courts, the Fifth and Federal Circuit Courts of Appeals, and the Supreme Court of the United States. He has assisted in or handled all phases of litigation in a wide variety of matters, including products liability, catastrophic personal injury, intellectual property, insurance coverage, employment discrimination, and commercial lawsuits. Before joining the firm, Russ s...
“ The Best Lawyers in Dallas ” – Since 2005, Chad Ruback has consistently been named one of “The Best Lawyers in Dallas” by D Magazine. This is true of only four other appellate lawyers. “ The Best Lawyers in America ” – Chad is included in the “Appellate Practice” section of The Best Lawyers in America. “ Texas Super Lawyers ” – Chad is included in the Thomson Reuters “Texas Super Lawyers” list, which i...
Marianne M. Auld is the managing partner of Kelly Hart and the chair of the firm’s Appellate section. She has briefed and argued dozens of appeals in both state and federal courts of appeals. Marianne began her career as a law clerk on the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. Following her clerkship, she joined Kelly Hart as an associate in the firm’s litigation section, where she worked on a wide range of civil matters for clients including governmental entities ...
John Gsanger is a lawyer recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice areas of Appellate Practice, Personal Injury Litigation - Plaintiffs and Product Liability Litigation - Plaintiffs. John practices law in Houston, Texas Best Lawyers has recognized John Gsanger since 2024. The Best Lawyers recognition is based on a peer-review survey of lawyers in the same geographic region and legal practice area. The recognition reflects the professional regard in which John Gsanger is held by other lawyers.
Formerly a Justice on the Texas Court of Appeals, David Keltner is a highly acclaimed and recognized lawyer in the field of appellate law in Texas. He has served as lead counsel in over 350 appellate decisions and his legal writings have been cited with approval by Texas courts. He has been honored with various prestigious awards and accolades for his outstanding contributions to the legal profession. From 2021 through 2025, he was recognized as a Star Individual by Chambers USA and has recei...
Clients embroiled in bet-the-company appeals and high-stakes litigation call on Dana for the type of broad and deep experience that a savvy, experienced, and skilled appellate lawyer can bring. A board-certified appellate specialist, Dana is recognized as one of the premier appellate practitioners in the state, with particular expertise before the Fifth Circuit and the Supreme Court of Texas. A former Law Clerk for the Fifth Circuit and a former Staff Attorney at the Supreme Court of Texas, D...
Melissa Lorber is a board-certified appellate lawyer who represents businesses in litigation at both the trial and appellate levels, in state and federal courts. She regularly represents clients before the Texas Supreme Court, the Texas Courts of Appeals, and the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals. As a former newspaper journalist, Melissa employs her writing, research, and investigation skills in advocating for her business clients' interests.
Camille Stearns Miller is a lawyer recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice areas of Appellate Practice, Commercial Litigation, Employment Law - Management, Labor Law - Management and Litigation - Labor and Employment. Camille practices law in Rockwall, Texas Best Lawyers has recognized Camille Stearns Miller since 2024. The Best Lawyers recognition is based on a peer-review survey of lawyers in the same geographic region and legal practice area. The recognition reflects the professional re...
Amy M. Pepke is a lawyer recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice areas of Appellate Practice and Commercial Litigation. Amy M. practices law in Houston, Texas Best Lawyers has recognized Amy M. Pepke since 2012. The Best Lawyers recognition is based on a peer-review survey of lawyers in the same geographic region and legal practice area. The recognition reflects the professional regard in which Amy M. Pepke is held by other lawyers.
Our Methodology
Recognition by Best Lawyers is based entirely on peer review. Our methodology is designed to capture, as accurately as possible, the consensus opinion of leading lawyers about the professional abilities of their colleagues within the same geographical area and legal practice area.
The Process
Best Lawyers employs a sophisticated, conscientious, rational, and transparent survey process designed to elicit meaningful and substantive evaluations of the quality of legal services. Our belief has always been that the quality of a peer review survey is directly related to the quality of the voters.
