Ryan is a Houston personal injury lawyer who’s recovered the largest verdicts and settlements in history for clients who were catastrophically injured, seriously burned, and tragically killed across Texas, Louisiana, New Mexico and the United States. His record-setting verdicts and settlements have received national media attention, distinguished Ryan as one of the top personal injury lawyers in the country, and qualified him for lifetime membership in both the “Million Dollar Advocates Forum” and the “Multi-Million Dollar Advocates Forum,” organizations limited to less than 1% of the top trial lawyers in the country. In recognition of these and his firm’s many other accomplishments, Zehl & Associates was one of only two law firms in the United States to be consecutively selected as the 2020, 2021, and 2022 “Personal Injury Law Firm of the Year” by Law.com and The National Law Journal. Ryan has been featured on the cover of Texas Super Lawyers magazine (a Thompson Reuters publication), voted as one of the top 100 personal injury lawyers in Texas by the National Trial Lawyers Association, and selected as a “Texas Super Lawyer” and “Rising Star” every year since 2009. After graduating in the top 5 percent of his law school class, Ryan worked as a briefing attorney for Justice Scott Brister of the Texas Supreme Court. When his term with the Supreme Court expired, Ryan joined Gardere’s litigation and appellate group, where he quickly distinguished himself as an aggressive trial lawyer in complex commercial and personal injury cases. Ryan has been interviewed on CNN, Fox & Friends, Good Morning America and news outlets throughout Texas and appeared in almost every major newspaper across the world, including the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, the Washington Post, the International Herald Tribune, Bloomberg, the Houston Chronicle, and the Dallas Morning News.

Mike Tilton is a trial lawyer and a founding partner of Tilton & Tilton LLP. He is a fearless and relentless lawyer for his clients. Mike has helped to obtain millions of dollars for injured clients, taking on oil companies, railroads, trucking companies, drug manufacturers, and some of the largest corporations to ensure that his clients receive the justice they deserve. Growing up as the son of a military father and school teacher mother, Mike learned early on that hard work, preparation, and dedication are the keys to success. He takes these skills and applies them to all areas of trial practice, whether it is negotiating a settlement with insurance adjusters or battling some if the biggest defense firms in the court room. Mike received his bachelor’s degree with honors in Political Science and Psychology from the University of Houston and earned his law degree from the University of Houston Law Center. While in law school, Mike honed his courtroom skills by excelling in numerous advocacy programs and serving as a member of the interscholastic Moot Court team and the Board of Advocates. Immediately following law school, Mike worked at one of the oldest and most prestigious litigation firms in Houston where he participated in his first trial immediately after being sworn in as a lawyer. He later joined another successful plaintiff’s practice where he helped obtain millions of dollars in verdicts and settlements for his clients. Mike has gone to trial and handled cases throughout Texas and in almost a dozen different states Throughout his legal career, Mike has worked on a wide variety of cases, ranging from automobile accidents to complex pharmaceutical litigation with millions of dollars at stake. No matter the size, Mike treats every case with the attention it deserves. He realizes that an injury is one of the most traumatic events his clients will suffer, and therefore fights tooth and nail to get his clients the justice they deserve. Mike’s commitment to his clients and professionalism has earned him numerous accolades. For every year since 2012, Mike’s colleagues voted him as a Texas Super Lawyer Rising Star, an honor bestowed to only 2.5% of all attorneys in Texas. Mike was also nominated as a “Top 40 under 40” by the National Trial Lawyers, an honor given to only 40 trial lawyers in Texas every year. In 2021, Mike was voted as one of the Top 100 Rising Stars in Texas by Super Lawyers and featured in Texas Monthly Magazine.

When Kurt Arnold represents someone, he’s all in. He’s won billions for his clients. In fact, he has recovered more than $1 billion in a single year multiple times and shattered records with his historic verdicts and settlements. He has helped clients recover losses after major maritime disasters such as the Deepwater Horizon and the El Faro. For Kurt, no fight is too difficult or complicated. He refuses to take “no” for an answer. When something bad happens, Kurt fights for his clients, no matter what. He never backs down, no matter how big the challenge. Kurt co-founded Arnold & Itkin at 25 and has since won more than a dozen jury verdicts and settlements in excess of $100 million, over 100 jury verdicts and settlements in excess of $10 million, more than 1,000 recoveries exceeding $1 million, and multiple nationwide product recalls. Kurt’s record-setting verdicts include a $117 million recovery, the largest in single-plaintiff personal injury verdict in Louisiana. He holds a record in Hawaii after securing a $42 million verdict. He broke a U.S. record when he obtained a $44 million verdict on behalf of a single-leg amputee. He’s won record-setting individual recoveries for clients of $92.7 million, $87 million, $81 million, $78 million, and $72 million. Kurt has also achieved record settlements for workplace accidents of $357.7 million and $171 million. Other record-setting results earned by Kurt include: • Largest settlement for an individual burned at a worksite in United States history. • Largest settlement for a wrongful death case in United States history. • Largest settlement for a man killed offshore in United States history. • Largest settlement for families injured in a plant explosion in United States history. • Largest settlement for an undocumented worker in United States history. • Largest settlement for a worker injured in Texas oilfield. • Largest jury verdict for a single amputee in the United States. • Largest jury verdicts in multiple states throughout the country. Kurt consistently receives the legal industry’s highest honors. He has been named to the top 50 Elite Trial Lawyer list by National Law Journal and was recognized by Lawdragon as one of the 500 Leading Lawyers in America. He has been named to the Best Lawyers in America® in Admiralty and Maritime Law and Personal Injury Litigation. He was also asked to join one of the most prestigious organizations in the legal profession: The Inner Circle of Advocates. Serious accidents require the best lawyers. When people get hurt or lose someone they love, they call Kurt. To him, every case is personal. He treats his clients like family, fighting hard to get them the result they need to rebuild their lives. Kurt attended the University of Texas, where he graduated with honors at the age of 19. He then attended the University of Texas Law School and graduated in the top 5% of his class. Kurt is licensed to practice in Texas and Pennsylvania, as well as before the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals and before the U.S. Supreme Court. Kurt lives in Houston with his wife Tara and their children Jaxon and Isla. Kurt and his family attend St. Paul’s Methodist Church and are founders of the Arnold & Itkin Foundation.

Arthur Schechter (1939-2026) was one of the nation’s most respected trial lawyers and maritime advocates, dedicating more than six decades to representing injured individuals, seamen, and their families throughout the United States and around the world. Beginning his legal career in 1964, he helped thousands of clients successfully resolve their cases and rebuild their lives through his tireless advocacy, compassion, and commitment to justice. Over the course of his distinguished career, Arthur represented clients from local seamen’s unions, the National Maritime Union, the Indian Seaman’s Union, the Pakistani Seaman’s Union, and individual mariners across the globe. His reputation for extraordinary client service and courtroom success earned him the admiration of colleagues, clients, and the broader legal community alike. As the founding partner of Schechter, Shaffer & Harris, Mr. Schechter helped build one of the nation’s premier maritime and personal injury law firms. He served the firm for decades as Senior Counsel and lead litigator in complex personal injury and maritime matters. In addition to his legal practice, he served as United States Ambassador to the Commonwealth of the Bahamas from 1998 to 2001, Chairman of Houston METRO, and a partner in a major national litigation firm. Mr. Schechter received numerous honors throughout his career for his legal accomplishments, civic leadership, and public service. Among his many recognitions, he received the Distinguished Public Service Award from the United States Coast Guard, earned Martindale-Hubbell’s AV Rating, and was repeatedly recognized as a Texas Super Lawyer by Texas Monthly magazine. H Texas magazine also named him among Houston’s “Top Lawyers for the People.” Beyond the courtroom, Mr. Schechter devoted substantial time and energy to charitable, educational, and civic organizations throughout Houston and beyond. He served in leadership roles with Congregation Beth Israel, the Jewish Federation of Greater Houston, the American Jewish Committee, SEARCH Homeless Services, the Houston Holocaust Museum, Career and Recovery Resources, and numerous other philanthropic and community organizations. His public service and humanitarian efforts earned recognition from organizations including the NAACP, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the United States Customs Service, Baylor College of Medicine, and many others. Mr. Schechter was admitted to practice in Texas in 1964 and before the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit and the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas. He earned his J.D. from The University of Texas School of Law in 1964 and his B.A. from The University of Texas in 1962, where he participated in the Honors Program and served on both the Dean’s Council and President’s Council. His practice focused extensively on personal injury and maritime law, including Jones Act claims, offshore and maritime accidents, trucking and motor vehicle accidents, railroad accidents, wrongful death claims, products liability, medical malpractice, premises liability, and complex commercial and insurance litigation. Arthur Schechter’s legacy of advocacy, leadership, and public service continues to influence the firm, the legal profession, and the countless individuals and families whose lives he touched. Mr. Schechter received numerous awards for his work, including the highest civilian award given by the United States Coast Guard. He was also been recognized as a Texas Super Lawyer by Texas Monthly Magazine, an honor only given to 5% of Texas attorneys. H Texas magazine also recognized him as one of the Top Lawyers for the People.

AJ Rosenfeld has been an attorney for Schechter, Shaffer & Harris LLP since 2009. He has helped hundreds of individuals and families involved in personal injury accidents recover millions of dollars in compensation. AJ understands that suffering an injury can be a stressful and frightening situation. He keeps a calm presence with his clients and encourages them to focus on their recovery as he handles the nuances of their claim and/ or lawsuit. AJ pays keen attention to the details of every case he handles. He is a fierce advocate and problem solver who stands behind his clients. AJ is a member of the State Bar of Texas, State Bar of Minnesota, the Houston Trial Lawyers Association and the Texas Trial Lawyers Association. AJ has very little spare time, but he loves spending it with his wife and three sons and coaching Little League.

In 1992, Matt Shaffer joined Schechter, Shaffer & Harris, L.L.P., the continuation of a firm that has focused on representing injured men and women since 1964. As a managing partner of the firm, Mr. Shaffer has represented thousands of clients across the United States. Most recently, he successfully settled the largest single victim Jones Act case on record for a client with a brain injury. He has played a significant role in litigation related to several major maritime disasters, including the Deepwater Horizon explosion. Mr. Shaffer takes pride in bringing an experienced and thorough approach to every case. He is dedicated to providing a high level of support for his clients, who are often surprised to get return phone calls and emails from him well after business hours are done. More than 25 years ago, Mr. Shaffer began his career in law by representing large corporate clients. In 1992, he came to SMSH and began using his experience to help working men and women recover damages for on-the-job injuries. Mr. Shaffer is among the small percentage of Texas attorneys who are certified by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization in Personal Injury Trial law. He has previously served as chairman of The Texas State Bar’s Grievance Committee for District 4C. He’s also licensed to practice law in Colorado. Every year since 2006, Mr. Shaffer has been named a Texas Super Lawyer by Texas Monthly Magazine, an honor bestowed on only 5% of the state’s attorneys. He’s also been recognized by H Texas magazine as one of Houston’s Top Lawyers for the People and was selected for inclusion in the 22nd Edition of The Best Lawyers in America (2016) in the practice area of Admiralty and Maritime Law.

Troy A. Williams represents a wide variety of clients and companies who are based locally, nationally, and internationally, and whose industries include retailers (premises liability, general negligence, premises security, products, DTPA), oil and gas (employment, personal injury, OCSLA, DOHSA), construction liability (worksite accidents, contractual indemnity, OSHA), products liability (manufacturing defects, design defects, marketing defects, DTPA, warranty, distribution), property management companies / owners, and restaurants. Troy has achieved an AV Preeminent Martindale Rating while representing three nationally known retailers in hundreds of cases over the course of the last twenty years. Additionally, he handles general liability cases involving motor vehicle accidents, premises incidents, wrongful death, survival, dram shop, construction defect, statutory violations, deceptive trade practices, and contractual disputes. After receiving his Honorable Discharge from the U.S. Army, Troy graduated from the University of Houston (BBA ’90) and South Texas College of Law (JD ’93). Troy’s biography includes: Board of Advocates; Order of the Barristers; Order of the Lytae. National Champion: Craven National Moot Court Invitational, Chapel Hill, N.C. (1992). National Champion and Best Brief: John Marshall National Moot Court Invitational, Chicago, IL (1993). Brief For Petitioner, The Eleventh Annual John Marshall National Moot Court Houston Young Lawyers Association, Competition in Information and Privacy Law, VI Software l.J. 115, 1993; Representative cases include Shell Oil Company v. Khan, 138 S.W.3d 288 (Tex. 2004); Allstate Insurance Co. v. Spellings, 2012 WL 2452051, No. 01-11-01065- CV (Tex. App. – Hou [1st Dist] June 28, 2012); Rehabilitative Care Sys. v. Davis, 43 S.W.3d 649 (Tex. App. – Texarkana, 2001); Lampasas v. Spring Center, 1999 WL 161008 (Tex. App. – Houston (14th Dist.) 1999); Member of Houston Bar Association, State Bar of Texas, Defense Research Institute, Texas Association of Defense Counsel, Texas Bar Foundation, and Houston Bar Foundation.

Gregory Howard is a litigation attorney with Germer PLLC. Greg is a proud native Houstonian, with undergraduate and graduate business degrees from Texas A&M University and a law degree from the University of Houston Law Center. Since graduating law school in 2005, Greg has spent the better part of his legal career as a litigator and advocate in such areas as commercial litigation, real estate, personal injury, and insurance defense, while consistently maintaining a broad exposure to many other facets of business law, property, and contracts. As a highly motivated individual, Greg takes great pride in performing high-quality work and appreciates practicing in a dynamic legal environment.