My Practice
Experience
With almost forty years of legal experience, I provide specialized legal counsel in two areas: Civil Appeals and Insurance Coverage.
I am a Texas native, born and raised in Corpus Christi. I received my economics degree, B.A. cum laude, from Baylor University in 1977. I married my high school sweetheart, Becky McKinney, who then put me through law school. I obtained my first law degree, J.D., from Baylor University School of Law in 1980, where I was selected for Baylor Law Review. After graduation, Becky and I moved to Dallas where my work has always focused on civil appeals and insurance coverage. After 25 years of practicing law, I returned to law school and earned an advanced law degree, an L.LM., from SMU’s Dedman School of Law in 2006. I continue to practice law in Dallas, often called in to assist the main trial counsel on insurance coverage, appeals, or briefing major motions that will be briefed as extensively as an appeal.
Becky is a licensed professional counselor who specializes in marriage and family therapy. We have three adult children, ten grandchildren, and one spoiled dog. We attend Resurrection Lutheran Church. For ten years, our charitable work has included leading a team in "annual medical mission trips" to Honduras to conduct eye exams and distribute prescription eye glasses through Clinica Esperanza in Roatan, Honduras.
I occasionally publish papers on legal topics of special interest and sometime speak on my favorite subject "What Is Justice?". This topic covers the diifferent approaches to justice that are actually applied by appellate courts: the rule-of-law approach, the equitable approach, the systems approach (due process), and the social justice approach. My presentations have been given to various groups, including the State Bar of Texas, the Dallas Philosopher’s Forum, and the University of Texas Alumni Association, L.A.M.P.
Licenses and admissions: I am licensed to practice law in Texas by the Texas Supreme Court (1980) – State Bar No. 16364500; federal courts for the Northern, Southern, and Eastern Districts of Texas; Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals; and the United States Supreme Court. I was Board Certified in Civil Appellate Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization – 1987; re-certified in 1991, 1996, 2001, 2006, 2012, and 2018.
I am qualified to serve as a Mediator under Texas Alternative Dispute Resolution, but limit my mediations to major cases involving appeals and/or insurance coverage issues.
Becky is a licensed professional counselor who specializes in marriage and family therapy. We have three adult children, ten grandchildren, and one spoiled dog. We attend Resurrection Lutheran Church. For ten years, our charitable work has included leading a team in "annual medical mission trips" to Honduras to conduct eye exams and distribute prescription eye glasses through Clinica Esperanza in Roatan, Honduras.
I occasionally publish papers on legal topics of special interest and sometime speak on my favorite subject "What Is Justice?". This topic covers the diifferent approaches to justice that are actually applied by appellate courts: the rule-of-law approach, the equitable approach, the systems approach (due process), and the social justice approach. My presentations have been given to various groups, including the State Bar of Texas, the Dallas Philosopher’s Forum, and the University of Texas Alumni Association, L.A.M.P.
Licenses and admissions: I am licensed to practice law in Texas by the Texas Supreme Court (1980) – State Bar No. 16364500; federal courts for the Northern, Southern, and Eastern Districts of Texas; Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals; and the United States Supreme Court. I was Board Certified in Civil Appellate Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization – 1987; re-certified in 1991, 1996, 2001, 2006, 2012, and 2018.
I am qualified to serve as a Mediator under Texas Alternative Dispute Resolution, but limit my mediations to major cases involving appeals and/or insurance coverage issues.
