Business, entertainment firm expands reach in Texas
DALLAS – Veteran commercial litigators Jay Brown, Stephen Wedemeyer and Bruce Wilkin are among a group of seven lawyers helping to launch the newly established Houston office of Shackelford, Bowen, McKinley & Norton, LLP.
Messrs. Brown, Wedemeyer and Wilkin join as partners along with Hilary Borow, Matthew Foytlin and Amparo Guerra. Associate Cameron Dernick is also joining the firm. All are from Winstead PC. Derek Flynn, a Shackelford partner formerly based in The Woodlands, is moving to the Houston office at 717 Texas Ave., 27th Floor.
The new Houston team adds substantial property & casualty insurance and commercial litigation expertise to Shackelford’s existing business and entertainment practices and also expands the firm’s geographic reach within Texas. The firm has offices in Dallas, Frisco, Fort Worth and Austin, as well as Nashville, Tennessee.
“We have been working toward this opening for some time but needed to bring in the right group of attorneys with a focus that complemented what we are already doing,” said firm founder John Shackelford. “The overriding factor in everything we do is how it will benefit our clients. Those benefits are obvious with this talented and respected group of lawyers.”
Mr. Brown notes that the team has been practicing together for a long time. “As a group, we were impressed with Shackelford’s structure, its people and its sharp-eyed focus on helping the client. We are planting a sizeable footprint for Shackelford in Houston and helping grow the office with other disciplines to complement the full-service nature of the firm,” he said.
A Chambers USA-recognized attorney, Mr. Brown is a highly regarded insurance specialist also known for his work in complex, high-exposure energy industry disputes. Board certified in Civil Trial Law and Personal Injury Trial Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization, he has been recognized by Texas Super Lawyers and The Best Lawyers in America. He is a fellow in the American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA) and the American College of Coverage and Extracontractual Counsel.
Mr. Wedemeyer represents individuals, corporations, small businesses, insurers and insurance adjusters in state and federal courts in commercial disputes, as well as catastrophic accidents including personal injury, property damage and business interruption. He is the former chair of Winstead’s insurance/reinsurance litigation practice group.
Mr. Wilkin has significant trial and appellate experience, including leading arguments before the Supreme Court of Texas in commercial, energy, environmental and first-party insurance disputes. He also authored a major treatise on business litigation in federal courts.
“We have clients all over the country, but they all consider us their Texas attorneys,” said Mr. Wedemeyer. “Shackelford is that same kind of firm – Texas roots with a national reach.”
“This is an exciting move for us and our clients,” added Mr. Wilkin. “We are impressed with the genuineness of the Shackelford attorneys and their focus on building the client’s kingdom rather than their own.”
The Houston expansion is among the most significant moves for Shackelford since the 2015 merger of nationally known litigator Jay Bowen’s practice with the firm’s entertainment industry-focused Nashville office. Other recent high-profile additions have included prominent trial lawyers Talmage Boston and David Elrod, as well as respected family law attorneys Mike and Mary Jo McCurley.
Shackelford, Bowen, McKinley & Norton, LLP is a general business, aviation and entertainment law firm with attorneys and offices in Dallas, Houston, Frisco, Fort Worth, and Austin, Texas, and Nashville, Tennessee. Learn more about the firm at http://www.shackelford.law.
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