Practices in the areas of civil litigation, business and corporate matters, energy, transportation, insurance, environmental issues, land use, real estate, estate planning, and probate. He was admitted to the Texas State Bar in 1994 after graduating the same year from Texas Wesleyan University School of Law (Now Texas A&M). He is also licensed in the State of North Dakota. He is a member of the Insurance Section of the Texas State Bar, in addition to the Native American Law Section. When William J. Brotherton obtained his law degree in 1994 at the age of 44 after five years of night classes, he was the regional manager for BCM Engineers, Inc., a national environmental engineering firm. Prior to becoming an attorney, William worked at developing complex treatment plans for national Superfund sites and RCRA facilities as an environmental scientist. He received his MS in Environmental Science from the University of Texas at Dallas, and his undergraduate degree from the University of North Dakota. After obtaining his law degree, he then went on to teach environmental law as an adjunct professor for 12 years at Texas Christian University, and lectured in environmental and land-use law at the Center for Environmental Research and Training at the University of Texas at Arlington. He has also lectured at Lamar University, the University of North Texas, and the University of Texas at Dallas. William has served as a court-appointed special commissioner to determine the value of condemned property since 2006. Knowledgeable in that area as a result of his experience serving on the Planning & Zoning Commission for Flower Mound, Texas for over 6 years in addition to his service as a director of the Upper Trinity Regional Water District. Besides being licensed in the States of Texas and North Dakota, William is licensed in the United States District Courts for the Northern District of Texas and the Eastern District of Texas. He is also licensed in the Supreme Court of the United States of America.

Heather Barbieri, founding attorney of Barbieri Law, has spent more than 25 years defending individuals facing the most serious and high-stakes criminal charges in Texas. Known for her strategic mindset and unyielding dedication, she has earned a reputation as one of the most formidable defense attorneys in the state. Heather has successfully represented clients accused of complex offenses such as sexual assault, murder, and internet-related crimes—cases that demand both precision and compassion. Her record speaks for itself: over two decades without losing an assault trial by jury. Heather’s leadership is defined by collaboration and meticulous preparation. She developed a 115-point defense checklist to ensure no aspect of a case is ever overlooked, and she draws on the collective insight of her legal team to find creative, effective solutions. Her clients are never treated as case files but as people whose dignity deserves protection. This approach has not only led to courtroom victories but also to the restoration of countless lives disrupted by accusation and uncertainty. Her accomplishments have been widely recognized. Heather is Board Certified in criminal law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization, has been continuously named to the Texas Super Lawyers list since 2013, and has earned honors such as D Magazine’s Best Lawyers in Dallas and Texas Monthly’s Top Women Lawyers. She has served as President of both the Texas Criminal Defense Lawyers Association and the Collin County Criminal Defense Lawyers Association, and is a Fellow of the Honorable Curt B. Henderson Inn of Court. Through every role, Heather’s guiding principle remains the same: every client deserves the strongest defense possible. If you or someone you love is facing criminal charges, you need a legal team that will fight with conviction and care. Contact Barbieri Law today at 972-779-9595 or complete our online contact form to schedule a confidential consultation. Heather and her team are ready to protect your rights, your freedom, and your future.

Lane A. Heginbotham was born in San Antonio, Texas in 1969 and has lived in Bell County, Texas since 1978. He graduated from Ellison High School in 1988.

Charlie Henke is the founding partner of Henke Law Firm, LLP, the predecessor to Henke, Williams & Boll, LLP. The firm was founded in 1992. His practice focuses on the prosecution and defense of commercial and contract disputes, breach of fiduciary duty claims, business tort claims, and probate litigation. He has first-chaired jury trials to verdict in state and federal courts and has handled the arbitration of securities disputes, law firm partnership disputes, and construction claims. Charlie is Board Certified in Civil Trial Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization. Of the more than one hundred thousand attorneys licensed to practice law in Texas, less than one percent hold this distinction. Charlie is a member of various sections of the State Bar of Texas including the Litigation, the Real Estate, Probate and Trust Law, and the Antitrust and Business Litigation sections. He belongs to the Houston Bar Association, and is active in the Litigation (former Chair) and the Probate, Trusts, and Estates sections of the HBA. Charlie was appointed to serve on the HBA Fee Dispute Committee for over a dozen years where he served as an arbitrator of fee disputes between attorneys and their clients. He is a member of the College of the State Bar of Texas and a Life Fellow of both the Texas and Houston Bar Foundations. Charlie has been a member of the Pro Bono College of the State Bar of Texas since 1994. He is a member of the prestigious American Board of Trial Advocates and currently serves as Treasurer of TEX-ABOTA. Charlie was appointed by several Presidents of the State Bar of Texas to serve three terms on the State Bar Standing Committee on Pattern Jury Charges for Business, Consumer, and Employment cases. As a member of this prestigious committee, over 6 years he helped draft the written instructions and questions given to all juries throughout Texas. Charlie was named a "Lawyer on the Fast Track" in business litigation by H Texas Magazine in 2004, has been recognized as one of "Houston’s Top Lawyers" for business litigation since 2005 by the same publication. He has been recognized as a Texas Super Lawyer by Texas Monthly Magazine since 2007. Charlie earned an undergraduate degree in economics from the University of Texas at Austin and a law degree from the University of Houston Law Center where he was active in student governance and alumni relations. Charlie received his license to practice law by the State of Texas in 1992. He is licensed to practice law in the United States Supreme Court, United States Courts of Appeals for the Third, Fifth, Seventh and Tenth Circuits, and the United States District Courts for the Northern, Southern, Eastern and Western Districts of Texas, the Northern District of Indiana and Colorado. An active contributor to his community, Charlie has served on the Board of Directors of several charitable organizations and served as a Director and past President of The Houston Club. Charlie Henke is an active member of the First Presbyterian Church of Houston.

Attorney Josh Mintz is a native Houstonian who grew up around the law, becoming the 7th lawyer in his family when obtaining his J.D. from U.C. Hastings College of the Law (San Francisco) in 2003. Since then, Josh has developed a rare mix of expertise as both a lawyer and businessperson in a wide variety of professional organizations, including the California firm Stradling Yocca Carlson & Rauth, the Am Law 100 international law firm Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman, and the Beaumont, TX based firm Waldman Smallwood. He supplemented this experience with several years managing multi-million dollar business segments for retailers UncommonGoods and Design Within Reach, and the media company behind Dwell magazine. After spending much of his childhood in Southwest Houston, Josh moved to Kingwood in 1990 and later graduated from Kingwood High School in 1996. He spent his first half of college at the University of Michigan (Ann Arbor) as part of the LSA Honors Program, before transferring to the University of Texas (Austin) and graduating with a B.A. in 2000. After several years in New York City, Josh gladly returned home to Houston in 2014 where he now lives with his wife, Dr. Emily Mintz, and their three children.

Leslie R Casaubon is a practicing lawyer in the state of Texas handle employment matters.

Chris A. Blackerby is a successful trial lawyer with 30 years of experience in a wide range of matters focusing principally on product liability and personal injury litigation as well as commercial and patent litigation. He has tried complex cases throughout Texas and elsewhere totaling over $2 billion in controversy. After graduating law school, Chris served as a Briefing Attorney to the Honorable James R. Nowlin in the United States District Court, Western District of Texas. After a successful practice at a large law firm in Austin, Chris joined Germer in 2008. Chris is a “Texas Super Lawyer” and is rated an AV Preeminent Attorney by Martindale-Hubbell. Chris routinely handles complex product liability lawsuits for manufacturers. His clients include tire, automotive, agricultural and construction equipment manufacturers. He has defended cases involving tires, air bags, seatbelts, roof/vehicle structures, rollovers, fires, seats and seat backs and general crashworthiness.

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.

Ian helps claimants obtain the social security benefits they rightfully deserve and secures the money and medical treatment they need to move on from what can be the most difficult period of their lives. A zealous advocate for his clients, Ian believes in treating his clients with the utmost dignity and respectriginally from Boston, Massachusetts Ian graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree from Florida State University in 2002 and received his Juris Doctor from Southern Methodist University in 2005. While at SMU Ian participated in the mock trial team and in the civil litigation clinic. As an attorney, Ian has worked tirelessly on behalf of clients for over a decade. Ian has successfully represented individuals at over 2,000 administrative hearings in all fifty states, including Puerto Rico. Ian thrives on the daily interactions with his clients and excels at formulating creative and unique applications of the law to maximize the return for his clients