Candice is an experienced Civil Litigation Attorney and Cum Laude Graduate of South Texas College of Law (1997). A King & Spalding Alumni, Candice now practices Family Law, Guardianship, Probate and Trust Law. She is President of the Board of ElderLaw Advocates ("ELA") and Attorneys for Special Needs Children ("AFSNC"). She is a relentless advocate for the disabled, elderly and incapacitated.

Valerie is Southeast Texas born and raised and is a proud alumni of All Saints Episcopal School (c/o 2000), West Brook High School (c/o 2004), Rice University (c/o 2008), and Tulane University Law School School (c/o 2014). Before law school, she spent one year teaching English in rural France. She subsequently served two years as a Teach For America Corps Member in Northern California, where she taught seventh grade English as part of Teach For America’s mission to make excellent education equitable for all children and fought for an uncompromising belief in every child. Valerie’s advocacy skills also carry into her volunteer efforts in the Southeast Texas community, where she has served on the Boards of Directors of the Junior League of Beaumont, the Michelle M. Mehaffy Inn of Court, the Jefferson County Young Lawyers Association, and the Foundation for Southeast Texas.

Christopher D. Leavins is a Principal and Member at our Beaumont and Houston offices and has been with Germer PLLC since 2008. He graduated from Texas A&M University with a Bachelor of Science in Economics prior to receiving his Doctor of Jurisprudence at South Texas College of Law. Chris is Board Certified in Commercial Real Estate Law and Residential Real Estate Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization. Chris has extensive experience in representing real estate developers, lenders, and businesses, as well as individuals in complex real estate transactions, financing, leasing, development, subdivisions, shopping centers and office buildings. In addition, he also has experience in estate planning, probate, business acquisitions, commercial litigation, and advising clients on the formation, operation and dissolution of various business entities. Chris has significant public entity representation, including acting as City Attorney and City Prosecutor for local municipalities, as well as representing economic development corporations and emergency service providers. He has been recognized as a Texas Super Lawyer Rising Star, a Thompson Reuters publication, from 2018 – 2022.

Gary W. Coker, a principal with the firm, is a native of Jasper, Texas. For more than 35 years, Gary has represented financial institutions, businesses and individuals primarily in the areas of business organizations and transactions, bankruptcy and creditors’ rights, real estate, health law and estate planning and probate. Gary is rated AV Preeminent by Martindale Hubbell Peer Review Ratings and is licensed to practice in Texas state courts and the United States District Court for the Eastern, Southern, Western and Northern Districts of Texas, as well as the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. He is a member of the State Bar of Texas, Jefferson County Bar Association, Texas Association of Bank Council, and is a Life Fellow of the Texas Bar Foundation. He is Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Baptist Hospitals of Southeast Texas and is an active member of Beaumont’s First Baptist Church. Gary is also a certified mediator.

Robert D. Clements, Jr. is a firm courtroom presence—aggressive when necessary but always aware that people’s lives are in the balance. His goal is to provide the same counsel and same protection to each client that he would give when representing a close friend or family member. Understanding that—even when a litigant’s choice is painful—bad counsel and bad decision-making can seriously exacerbate their losses. Though the United States courtroom is unequaled in the world, it can inflict devastating injury if not handled properly. Robert graduated from the Creighton University College of Law, Cum Laude, in 1981. His last year of law school he attended Southern Methodist University. After six years with an extremely successful Plaintiff’s law firm and three years with Britt, Todd, Hagood & Clements, he founded the Law Office of Robert D. Clements, Jr., in 1989. Though he has handled cases all over the State of Texas, he works primarily in Brazoria, Harris, Galveston, Fort Bend and Montgomery county. Mr. Clements has gained a reputation for skillfully handling difficult and hotly contested litigation where the stakes are high—financially or emotionally. He has represented estates and businesses worth millions of dollars, families in crisis, injured workers and drivers, and homeowners against their insurance company. Mr. Clements is double board certified.