Administrative Law

Christy Amuny is an experienced trial lawyer who has tried over 100 cases to verdict. She received her undergraduate degree from The University of Texas (B.A. 1986) and attended Texas Tech School of Law (J.D. 1990). Christy is a native of Southeast Texas. She is licensed in both Texas and Louisiana, and is a member of the State Bar of Texas and the Louisiana State Bar. She is admitted to practice in both state and federal courts in Texas and Louisiana and in the United States Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit. She is Board Certified in Personal Injury Trial Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization, a Diplomate in the American Board of Trial Advocates and a Fellow in the American College of Trial Lawyers. She has served as President of the Jefferson County Bar Association (2006-2007), Chair of the Litigation Section of the State Bar of Texas (2013-2014), District 3 Representative on the State Bar Board of Directors, President of the Texas Association of Defense Counsel (2021-2022) and Chair of the State Bar of Texas Rules Committee (2024-2025). Christy was recognized as a Texas Super Lawyer, a Thompson Reuters publication, in 2004 and from 2006 to 2024. Christy practices in the areas of personal injury defense, insurance law, civil litigation, products liability, premises liability and extra-contractual insurance claims.

Missy K. Atwood is a principal in the Austin office at Germer, PLLC. She has over 25 years of experience in civil litigation, healthcare law and administrative law. She has tried more than 60 cases to verdict as first-chair trial counsel in State District Courts and Federal Courts. She represents clients in a wide variety of complex civil litigation, as both lead counsel and local counsel, including high exposure medical malpractice, products liability, pharmaceutical products liability, construction, anti-trust, insurance coverage, and commercial litigation. She is a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers, a Member of the American Board of Trial Advocates, and is Board Certified in Personal Injury Trial Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization.

Emily Davenport brings over 20 years of legal experience to Germer. Emily represents a wide variety of health care providers in medical malpractice, employment, administrative, and business litigation. She also provides health regulatory and risk management counseling services.

Matt McCracken has more than thirty years of trial, appellate and administrative law experience representing medical, legal, insurance and other professionals as well as product manufacturers, energy companies, telecommunications companies and medical institutions. Matt has defended numerous doctors, nurses and insurance professionals at their respective licensing boards. Matt is a well-known figure at the Texas Medical Board where he guides doctors through the professional disciplinary process and licensure issues. Notably, Matt briefed and argued the seminal case of American Transitional Care v. Palacios; 46 S.W.3d 873 (Tex. 2001) at the Texas Supreme Court. This important decision established minimum standards for preliminary expert reports in medical malpractice cases, and set the standard of appellate review in dismissals of medical malpractice cases under Tex. Rev. Civ. Stat. Ann. Article 4590i §13.01, now Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code Chapter 74. This case has been cited by appellate courts over 5,000 times and continues to instruct and inform judges and lawyers across the State of Texas.

James A. Tatem is a graduate of the University of Texas where he received a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in 1989. He received his Doctor of Jurisprudence degree from South Texas College of Law in 1992. Tatem James A. is admitted to practice before Texas state courts and the United States District Court for the Northern, Southern and Eastern Districts of Texas. Jim has served as a first-chair trial lawyer in a variety of personal injury and property damage cases as well commercial cases. Jim has extensive experience in products liability, premises liability, toxic torts, superfund and environmental litigation, construction litigation, real estate, civil litigation, class and collective actions, commercial litigation, insurance law, mediation/arbitration, and personal injury defense.

Eric Robertson was raised in Port Neches, Texas, before he moved away for school and work. He attended Stephen F. Austin State University in Nacogdoches, Texas, for his undergraduate studies. Then, he attended Texas A&M University School of Law in Fort Worth, Texas. Eric spent his first years as a practicing attorney in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex from 2014 to 2017. Next, Eric served the State of Texas as an Administrative Law Judge in Houston from 2017 to 2022. As he started a family, Eric wanted to be closer to his hometown area and the values he grew up with, and he joined Germer PLLC’s Beaumont office in 2022. Eric practices in the areas of administrative law, civil litigation, personal injury defense, and torts.

Janice M. Byington is a litigation attorney with over 24 years of experience. Her practice focuses on representing hospitals, physicians and a wide range of allied healthcare professionals in connection with health care liability claims, and professional licensing and regulatory matters. Janice was previously licensed and employed as a registered nurse in Central and South Texas hospitals in the intensive care units, coronary care units and neonatal intensive care units.

Alexis M. Filley is an attorney in the Austin office of Germer, where she focuses on health law, representing hospitals, physicians, and healthcare providers. Prior to joining Germer in 2019, Alexis practiced medical malpractice defense in New York City, most recently with Aaronson Rappaport Feinstein & Deutsch, LLP. Alexis began her career as a general litigation attorney and has over ten years’ experience practicing health law/medical malpractice defense. Alexis graduated magna cum laude with a Bachelor of Science in Law & Paralegal Studies from The City University of New York in 2006 and received her Juris Doctorate from Hofstra University School of Law in 2011. Prior to and throughout law school, Alexis was a paralegal for a general litigation firm in New York. During law school, she also served as a judicial intern to the Honorable Jack M. Battaglia of the New York State Supreme Court, Kings County. Alexis is admitted to practice law in the states of Texas, New York, and New Jersey, as well as the United States District Courts for the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York. She is a member of the Austin Bar Association, the Brooklyn Bar Association, the Brooklyn Barrister Editorial Board, the Columbian Lawyers Association, and the Richmond County Bar Association. For six years – 2014 to 2019 – Alexis has been recognized by Super Lawyers, a Thompson Reuters publication, as a New York Metro “Rising Star” in the area of medical malpractice defense and as a Texas “Rising Star” for 2022.

Chris Pearson is a principal at Germer in Austin, Texas. Chris is licensed to practice in Texas and Oklahoma and has over 35 years of experience as a trial attorney. A significant portion of his practice involves defending motor vehicle manufacturers in products liability cases in Texas and throughout the United Sates. He is also regularly called on to defend manufacturers in cases filed under the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act, and to represent manufacturers of motor vehicles and recreational vehicles in “Lemon Law” matters and dealer disputes. Chris graduated from Lamar University in 1980 and received his J.D. in 1984 from Texas Tech University School of Law. Chris was initially admitted to practice law in Oklahoma in 1984, then Texas in 1988. Chris is actively engaged in numerous law-related organizations and over the past 30 years has published articles in various law reviews and bar journals. He also frequently speaks at seminars and other legal meetings on various topics related to his litigation practice. Chris resides with his wife Annette in Austin, Texas.

Vanessa Waldref, former U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Washington, is a partner and founding member of Singleton Schreiber’s Washington office, focusing on environmental protection, wildfire litigation, public entity, consumer and financial fraud, personal injury, Tribal litigation, and civil rights. Ms. Waldref became the United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Washington in October 2021, after being nominated by President Biden and unanimously confirmed by the Senate. Ms. Waldref was the first woman to serve in this role. As U.S. Attorney, Ms. Waldref worked tirelessly to deliver concrete results for residents of Washington, building strong partnerships between federal, state, local, and Tribal law enforcement to make the community safer and stronger. A relentless advocate for clients and her community, Ms. Waldref successfully opened a new Tri-Cities DOJ branch office to better protect Southeastern Washington communities and fight fraud that impedes the environmental remediation of the Hanford Nuclear Site. Ms. Waldref was also a leader within the Department of Justice on Native American Issues, working closely with Tribal Nations to support Tribal sovereignty, protect treaty rights and Tribal homelands, reduce violent crime on Native American Reservations, and address the crisis of Missing or Murdered Indigenous People (MMIP). Ms. Waldref is a nationally recognized leader in environmental enforcement. She was selected by the U.S. Attorney General to chair his Subcommittee on Environmental Justice & Environmental Issues, and she launched Eastern Washington's Environmental Task Force that tackled regional, national, and international cases under the Clean Water Act, Clean Air Act, and federal laws that protect public health and safety. She also spearheaded civil rights enforcement and hate crime prevention efforts across the district. Ms. Waldref continues this community engagement through her leadership as Board President of Human Rights Spokane. Before her appointment as U.S. Attorney, Ms. Waldref served within the Department of Justice as an Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Washington and a Trial Attorney in the Environment and Natural Resources Division. Under Ms. Waldref’s leadership, the Eastern District of Washington played a key role in the Department of Justice’s fraud-fighting efforts, where she and her Fraud and White-Collar team prosecuted civil and criminal fraud matters, launched an award-winning COVID Fraud Strike Force, and recovered hundreds of millions of dollars for taxpayers under the False Claims Act. Ms. Waldref has first-hand experience working with whistleblowers, as well as negotiating False Claims Act cases at the highest level of the Department of Justice. Ms. Waldref is passionate about mentoring the next generation of attorneys and has taught several courses at Gonzaga University School of Law, including Environmental Law, Labor & Employment Law, and Conflict of Laws. Before her federal service, she worked in private practice in Spokane and in Washington, D.C., representing Tribes, companies, labor unions, and individuals in employment, trade secret, and other high-stakes litigation. Ms. Waldref received her B.A., magna cum laude, from Georgetown University, and her J.D., magna cum laude, from Georgetown University Law Center. After law school, she served as a law clerk to the Honorable John D. Bates on the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. Ms. Waldref is a proud Spokanite and loves raising her family in her beautiful hometown.