Bankruptcy

Larry L. Germer is a trial lawyer who has defended clients in major cases in all areas of litigation. He graduated from the University of Texas in 1963 with a Bachelor of Arts degree. In 1966, he received his law degree from the University of Texas School of Law, graduating in the top 5% of his class. He has been recognized as a “Texas Super Lawyer”, a Thompson Reuters publication, annually since 2003. Larry is admitted to practice in the Supreme Court of Texas, Texas state courts, the United States District Court for the Eastern and Southern Districts of Texas, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, and the Supreme Court of the United States. For over 50 years, Larry has handled a heavy civil docket defending corporations and insurance companies in all types of cases, including significant personal injury suits and major commercial cases involving contract, antitrust, class action and public utility issues. He has been active in insurance coverage lawsuits and has published an article dealing with conflicts problems in the insured/insurance company relationship. In recent years, he has been involved in major patent litigation. Larry is a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers, a Life Fellow of the Texas Bar Foundation, a Fellow of the American Bar Foundation, and a member of the Jefferson County Bar Association. Larry has served on the Commission for Lawyer Discipline, a twelve-member board responsible for the grievance process for the State Bar of Texas. As a long-term member of the Texas Association of Defense Counsel, Larry has served on the board as an officer of that organization. He is a past Director of the State Bar of Texas and has served on its Executive Committee. He has served on the Board of the American Board of Trial Advocates and was a Board member and Treasurer of the Texas Young Lawyers Association. He was appointed as a member of a Pattern Jury Charge Committee and the State Rules Committee and has served on a number of other bar-related committees and projects.

Charles W. Goehringer, Jr. joined Germer in 2001. Charlie graduated from Lamar University in Beaumont with a Bachelor of Science, Mechanical Engineering degree in 1980. He received a Masters of Business Administration from Colorado University in Boulder in 1983 and his J.D. from South Texas College of Law in 1995. Charlie began his career with Gulf States Utilities Co. as an engineer in 1981 and became a Unit Superintendent responsible for the operation and maintenance of a 488 MW oil and gas fired electrical generating unit at Sabine Station. In 1988, he was hired by Quantum Chemical Company as a project engineer and became a Maintenance Superintendent in 1991. Charlie began his legal career at the law firm of MehaffyWeber, P.C. in 1995. He is general counsel for a publicly traded company on the NYSE responsible for litigation matters, contract negotiations and SEC compliance. He has extensive experience in business law, construction litigation and patent infringement litigation. He routinely represents employers in OSHA investigations and gross negligence claims. Charlie also represents governmental entities in a variety of matters including business transactions and litigation. He is a member of the Business Law and Construction Law sections of the State Bar of Texas, and Jefferson County Bar Association. He is licensed to practice in all courts in the State of Texas and the United States District Court for the Eastern and Southern Districts of Texas. Charlie has been a registered professional engineer in the State of Texas since 1986. He serves as an arbitrator for the Better Business Bureau and is a member of the Texas Water Conservation Association. Charlie practices in the areas of patent litigation, corporate/SEC, business disputes, commercial litigation, environmental litigation, OSHA defense, real estate transactions and litigation, sale/acquisition transactions, and landlord/tenant disputes.

Roland F. Gonzales is a San Antonio native with a business background. Roland helped run his family’s roofing company of 50 years by estimating projects, negotiating contracts with publicly traded companies, and staging complex retrofit roof projects throughout central Texas. Defending businesses across the State, Roland handles work injury cases, construction and design defect claims, product defect cases, commercial and employment disputes, and complex multi-party cases. Roland litigated one of the largest explosions in Texas history- over 450 plaintiffs with allegations of several hundred million dollars of damages. Roland represents an iconic restaurant brand (with over 800 locations) in commercial and regional franchise issues, labor and employment claims, real estate claims, trademark and branding issues, government affairs, public affairs and regional general liability claims. Roland also represents an NBA team in commercial claims and regularly consults with its legal team on a myriad of issues. In addition, he represents one of the largest privately held ambulance companies in America.

Dedicated to fighting fraud, false advertising and abuse by corporations – We stand for the “little guy” (and gal). Our clients are victims of wrongdoing throughout the United States.

Richard H. Grafton has extensive experience in products liability, personal injury, property damage, breach of contract, and construction defect litigation. Rich has tried cases throughout the State of Texas, including in some of the more notorious venues for corporate clients. Rich has extensive experience defending alleged defects in automobiles, light trucks, school buses, tires, heavy trucks, commercial vehicles, recreational vehicles and trailers, manufactured housing, consumer products, commercial construction projects, and industrial equipment. Rich has an undergraduate engineering degree and spent six years working in the construction industry before attending law school. He later received an M.B.A and his J.D. with honors. Rich relies upon his technical background and business experience, as many cases involve complex engineering and financial issues. Rich is admitted to all federal courts in Texas. He has been recognized in The Best Lawyers in America, by BL Rankings, from 2007- Current. He is “AV” rated by Martindale-Hubbell legal directory, and is a member of Product Liability Advisory Council (PLAC). When not working, Rich is an full time husband and father to three adult children, part time traveler, aspiring outdoorsman, and hunter.

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.

Jason L. Hughes earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Criminal Justice from Lamar University in 1993. Jason started his career as an Officer with the Beaumont, Texas Police Department and was promoted to Detective, assigned to the Special Crimes Unit in 1998. Jason’s extensive background in criminal investigations affords him unique expertise in case investigation and development. Jason earned his Doctor of Jurisprudence from South Texas College of Law Houston in 2006. Jason was on the Dean’s Honor List and received the Phi Delta Phi Highest Grade Awards in Civil Procedure, Evidence and Criminal Trial Advocacy. He also received the Judge Bert Tunks Scholarship Award and the Garland Walker Alumni Association Scholarship Award. Upon graduation from law school, Jason began his legal career with Germer in 2007. Jason is admitted to practice in courts in the State of Texas, the United States District Courts for the Eastern, Southern, Northern, and Western Districts of Texas, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, and the Supreme Court of the United States. He has been recognized as a Texas Super Lawyers Rising Star, a Thompson Reuters publication, from 2012 – 2017 as well as being recognized as a Texas Super Lawyer, a Thompson Reuters publication, in 2025.. He was also recognized as “Appellate Lawyer of the Week” by Texas Lawyer Magazine in September 2011. Hughes Jason L. is a member of the State Bar of Texas, Jefferson County Bar Association, Texas Association of Defense Counsel and Family Law Sections of the State Bar of Texas and Jefferson County Bar Association. Jason also served on the State Bar of Texas Standing Committee on Child Abuse and Neglect from 2009 – 2015. Jason served on the Board of Directors for the Jefferson County Bar Association from 2019-2021. Jason became a member of the Michelle F. Mehaffy Inn of Court in 2019 and a Fellow of the Texas Bar Foundation in 2021.

T.G. is a graduate of the A.B. Freeman School of Business, Tulane University. He subsequently obtained his Juris Doctorate degree from the University of Mississippi School of Law in 1989. T.G. represented corporate and financial creditors in bankruptcy and foreclosure practice in his early career. He then joined Markow Walker, P.A., in 1994, and is the firm’s Managing Shareholder. T.G. devotes his practice primarily to state workers’ compensation litigation in front of the Mississippi Workers’ Compensation Commission on trial and appellate levels, on behalf of employers and insurance carriers, as well as, self-insured employers and their third-party administrators. He participates in various seminars on the subject of workers’ compensation, including presentations at the MWCEA’s Annual Worker’s Compensation Conference, and MASI’s CSIWCP program. T.G. is presently on the Mississippi Workers’ Compensation Education Association Board of Directors and is the current Vice President. He is an approved mediator of the Kid’s Chance Scholarship Mediation Program of the Mississippi Workers’ Compensation Commission.

Wylie Kumler attended New Mexico State University, where he received a B.A. in English in 1998. After graduating from NMSU, Wylie worked as a case manager serving at-risk and homeless adolescents. In 2005, Wylie earned his J.D. from St. Mary’s University School of Law, where he served on the St. Mary’s Law Journal as staff writer and comment editor and interned for the Honorable Edward C. Prado., former U.S. District Court Judge, Western District of Texas. Wylie is an efficient, proactive, and hardworking attorney and legal strategist with over 16 years of civil litigation experience in Texas state and federal courts. He is Senior Trial Counsel at Germer’s Austin office and has represented a wide array of clients. While serving as an Assistant Attorney General, he defended state agencies, elected and appointed state officials, and state employees in civil rights and employment litigation. In private practice, Wylie represents a wide variety of clients including, but not limited to, Fortune 500 companies, small business and individuals whose industries include, among other things, retail, hospitality, real estate development, property management, construction, manufacturing and transportation. Wylie’s practice includes construction law, employment law, insurance law, personal injury defense, premises liability, products liability, torts, and transportation. Wylie is licensed to practice in Texas trial courts, Texas Courts of Appeals, the United States District Courts for the Western, Eastern, Northern and Southern Districts of Texas, and the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. Wylie was selected as a “Texas Rising Star” by Texas Super Lawyers, a Thompson Reuters publication, from 2010 – 2015.

Valerie Ly was born in Houston and grew up in Angleton, Texas. She graduated from Southern Methodist University in 2004 with a degree in Finance. She then received her J.D. from SMU in 2007. While at SMU, Valerie received First Place at the National Entertainment Law Moot Court Competition and served as an intern to a United States Bankruptcy Judge. After law school, Valerie practiced law in Dallas for a few years, worked for an appellate judge, and then moved to Northern California and began practicing civil litigation. Valerie defended public entities, hospitals, health care professionals, individual and corporate defendants involving claims of personal injury, violation of civil rights, professional negligence, and wrongful death. In 2014, Valerie moved back to Houston to be closer to her family and she began her career at Germer. Valerie represents small business owners, corporations, insurance companies and individuals. Valerie’s practice areas include personal injury defense, premises liability, oil and gas litigation, construction liability, and products liability.