Farooq A. Esani spent his early years in Karachi, Pakistan. He moved to U.S. in 1986 as a student to attend the University of Houston. Being an immigrant himself, he is passionate about immigration issues and understands the harsh realities of settling and assimilating into a new culture. Mr. Esani did his undergraduate work in the field of Business Administration and earned his Master’s in Accounting and Taxation. As a Certified Public Accountant, he held various financial and tax positions with American General Corporation and Arthur Andersen, LLP. Mr. Esani received his law degree in 1999, graduating Cum Laude. Mr. Esani is authorized to practice law before the Supreme Court of Texas and all Immigration Courts. Mr. Esani served as an Immigration Associate for the prestigious firm of Thompson & Knight, LP until 2000, when he entered the private practice of law. Mr. Esani devotes his practice to family and employment-based immigration, employer sanctions and naturalization, as well as some litigation. As a community leader, Mr. Esani has conducted numerous public seminars on immigration matters. In addition, Mr. Esani serves on the board of various community associations and provides legal assistance to community health and financial institutions. Farooq A. Esani is an active member of the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA), State Bar of Texas and the Houston Bar Association.

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.

Lance has probably sued and deposed more attorneys than any other single lawyer in Texas. Lance’s career into legal malpractice began more than 20 years ago. During law school, Lance served as Editor-in-Chief of the law review and had the distinction of interning for the Texas Supreme Court and the First Court of Appeals. After graduating from law school with honors, Lance served as Briefing Attorney for the First Court of Appeals. The First Court of Appeals has jurisdiction to review cases from the state district and county courts from 14 counties in and around Harris County. There, Lance reviewed appeals and prepared draft and final opinions with the justices assigned to the cases. These cases encompassed every aspect of Texas State law including legal malpractice. Lance had the opportunity to review trial court error, as well as errors made by lawyers handling cases at the trial court level. Subsequently, Lance left the Court of Appeals to enter private practice in Houston, Texas, where he concentrates solely on plaintiffs’ legal malpractice cases. Lance has personally handled and worked on well over 2,000 legal malpractice cases and has handled numerous appeals involving legal malpractice issues. Lance has represented clients from all over the nation, including Oregon, California, Nevada, Utah, Colorado, Idaho, Mississippi, Arkansas, Louisiana, Alabama, Florida, Virginia and, of course, Texas. Lance has spoken at a number of legal seminars and writes articles involving various aspects of legal malpractice and legal ethics. Though not every case is a multi-million dollar legal malpractice case, Lance has handled many such cases and maintains a consistent record of success, some of which are located here https://kassab.law/news/. Lance is a Board Certified Diplomate of the American Board of Professional Liability Attorneys in Legal Professional Liability. Professional liability falls within the umbrella of Legal Malpractice. The Diplomate designation is about competence, character and commitment; three terms that define professionalism and exemplify the high standards the ABPLA sets for all of it Diplomates. Lance has been given an “AV” rating from his peers and the judiciary on Martindale-Hubbell, which means he was deemed as having the highest ethical standards and preeminent legal ability. Lance is also a member of the Million Dollar Advocates Forum and Multi-Million Dollar Advocates Forum, which are two of the most prestigious groups of trial lawyers in the United States. Membership is limited to attorney’s who have won a million and multi-million dollar verdicts and settlements. There are over 5,000 members throughout the country. Fewer than 1% of U.S. lawyers are members. Lance is a member of the State Bar of Texas and is licensed to practice before all Texas state courts and various federal courts, including the United State District Courts for the Southern, Eastern and Western Districts of Texas, the United State Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals and the United States Supreme Court.

David was born in Houston and raised in the Northwest. After high school, David enlisted in the military with the Army National Guard. Prior to his junior year of college, David was deployed to Iraq and Kuwait in Operation Iraqi Freedom III with Task Force Liberty of the 42nd Infantry Division. While deployed, David completed eighteen college credits and was able to sustain a 4.0-grade point average during this period, ultimately earning him academic honors for his personal scholarly endeavor as well as an Army Achievement Medal for his logistical support in the war. After returning state-side and completing his undergrad, David returned to Texas and was admitted into South Texas College of Law Houston. While attending law school, David clerked full-time at The Kassab Law Firm, gaining extensive experience in civil litigation, while focusing almost exclusively in legal malpractice, attorney breach of fiduciary duty claims and legal ethics. During his third year of law school, David obtained his Temporary Trial Card and argued several motions and hearings in court while under the supervision of an attorney. After graduating law school and passing the Texas Bar Exam in 2010, David continued his employment with The Kassab Law Firm as a licensed attorney. Here, David combines his prior military experience with his formal legal and business training, allowing him to work efficiently and effectively under pressure, all in an effort to better serve our clients. While clerking for the Kassab Law firm and since his licensure, David has assisted in the resolution of several high-dollar legal malpractice cases, and has successfully litigated these legal malpractice cases to their resolution against some of Texas’ largest and most prestigious law firms. David has handled legal malpractice cases in Texas State and Federal Courts and has arbitrated cases before the American Arbitration Association. David is licensed to practice law in all Texas courts as well as the federal courts for the Southern and Western Districts of Texas. David is also licensed to practice law in the State of Missouri. David belongs to several professional organizations and is a member of the Texas Bar Association, the Missouri Bar Association, the American Bar Association, Young Lawyers Division, and Houston Young Lawyers Association. David is a published author in the American Bar Association’s Lawyers’ Manual on Professional Conduct, writing on the effects and impact of mandatory legal malpractice insurance link: https://www.bna.com/avoiding-accountability-rise-n57982093773/.

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.

Toby F. Nash is a native of Beaumont, Texas who began his legal career at Germer in 2005. He graduated magna cum laude from Lamar University with a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in Accounting in 2002. Toby graduated in the top two percent of his Texas Tech Law School class, receiving his Doctor of Jurisprudence degree, summa cum laude. While in law school, he served as Comment Editor on the Texas Tech Law Review and was the recipient of the Lamar University/Texas Tech University School of Law Presidential Scholarship. Toby was initiated into the Order of the Coif and the legal honor societies of Phi Kappa Phi and Phi Delta Phi. In November 2005 he was admitted to the State Bar of Texas and is admitted to practice before Texas state courts and the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas. Toby is a member of the State Bar of Texas, Jefferson County Bar Association, Jefferson County Young Lawyers Association, National Association of Railroad Trial Counsel, and Texas Association of Defense Counsel. Toby practices in the areas of Appellate Law, Class Action, Civil Litigation, Commercial Litigation, Family Law, Maritime Law, Personal Injury Defense, Rail Transportation/Railroad, and Transportation and Trucking Litigation.

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.

Since 1988, J.C. Bailey has provided strategic legal solutions in Business and Probate Law. A graduate of Abilene Christian University and Baylor Law School, he is a member of the Order of Barristers, the State Bar of Texas, and the Tarrant County Bar Association. J.C. prioritizes constructive, professional advocacy, aiming for resolution through mediation and arbitration when possible, but he is also a respected trial attorney. Based in the Bedford office, he serves businesses, families, and even Texas Lottery winners with expertise and dedication.

Kim Smith has been advocating for injured workers in Texas since 2000. After earning her law degree from Thurgood Marshall School of Law, she began her career in Workers’ Compensation law, eventually managing her own firm. In 2013, she merged her practice with Bailey & Galyen, where she now leads the Workers’ Compensation Department in the Arlington office. A proud mother of six, Kim balances her passion for family with her dedication to protecting the rights of injured workers across Texas.