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.

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.

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.

Sarah D. Monty-Arnoni is a partner and leader of the immigration practice group of Monty & Ramirez and Board Certified in Immigration and Nationality Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization. She counsels employers in all aspects of employment-based immigration, including nonimmigrant and immigrant visas, permanent residency, citizenship, policy development and compliance with the ever-increasing regulations applicable to both U.S. employers and the foreign nationals whom they employ. Sarah’s clients include families, investors, emerging and mid-sized businesses and large corporations in a variety of industries, such as energy, health care, IT consulting, oil and gas, financial services and the import and export of consumer goods. She also assists clients in performing “immigration due diligence” in preparation for corporate restructures and merger and acquisition transactions. Sarah is passionate about immigrant education issues due to her previous experience as public school bilingual education teacher serving at-risk youth in El Paso, Texas. Sarah has also taught English as a Foreign Language in Spain from 1985-1992 as well as the El Paso Community College from 1992-1995. As an attorney Sarah has served as a law instructor at Thurgood Marshall School of Law, San Jacinto Community College and the University of Houston Small Business Development Center. In May 2013, Sarah was appointed to sit on the Texas Southern University Board of Regents.

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

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.

Kelli B. Smith earned her Doctor of Jurisprudence degree, with honors, from the University of Texas School of Law in 1998. While attending law school, she was a Teaching Quizmaster, an associate editor of the Texas Journal of Women and The Law, and excelled in Moot Court competitions. She has been with Germer since 1998 and has extensive experience handling appeals in state and federal courts, including more than 100 reported and unreported opinions. Kelli is admitted to practice before Texas courts, the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, and the Supreme Court of the United States. Kelli is a member of the State Bar of Texas, Jefferson County Bar Association, Jefferson County Bar Journal Editorial Committee, Texas Association of Defense Counsel, Michelle Mehaffy American Inns of Court, the Appellate Section of the State Bar of Texas, and the Bar Association of the Fifth Federal Circuit. Kelli’s experience is in appellate practice and general civil litigation, including products liability, insurance defense, professional malpractice defense, and class and complex litigation.