San Antonio

We opened our San Antonio office in 1980, which has since grown into a full-service location with more than sixty lawyers in the following areas:

Appellate

• With more than sixty lawyers, we are acclaimed for handling appeals at all levels in state and federal courts, covering the entire range of substantive civil law.
• The core of the firm's appellate team is writing briefs and presenting oral arguments in appeals and other proceedings.
• The firm's appellate lawyers also support trial lawyers by briefing and arguing complex pretrial issues, monitoring trials with a focus on preserving appellate complaints, preparing and objecting to the court's charge and handling critical motions during and after the trial.

Learn more about our appellate team

Bankruptcy and insolvency

• Represent major lending institutions and investment funds in lending and workout matters and in liquidation and reorganization cases.
• Represent real estate investment funds, landlords, contract parties and various litigants in complex bankruptcy and insolvency situations.
• Represent all major oil and gas interest holders in bankruptcy and insolvency situation.
• Handle sales, letters of credit, secured credit, bulk sales and banking transactions and issues.
• Represent trustees, institutional debtors, creditors' committees and petitioning creditors in involuntary and voluntary liquidation and reorganization cases.

Learn more about our bankruptcy and insolvency team

Corporate

• Represent corporations, investment banking institutions and commercial banks in connection with all types of public and private equity and commercial debt financings and offerings of corporate securities.
• Organize and structure of various start-up or developmental entities, with emphasis on medical, computer and Internet technology and joint venture and strategic alliance transactions.
• Handle stock and asset acquisitions, preparation of disclosure documents and compliance with federal and state securities laws.
• Represent many large public companies that have grown from business entities they helped form.

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Environmental

• Represent clients in various aspects of environmental law, including litigation, toxic tort and private damage actions and in business counseling.
• Work with other firm service groups to handle permitting and other administrative proceedings before the Environmental Protection Agency, Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, Texas Department of Health and other agencies.
• Advise and assist clients in evaluating environmental impacts and liabilities arising in connection with real estate and business transactions and bankruptcies.

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Health care

• One of the first major legal practices in the nation to have a distinct group devoted exclusively to health care clients.
• Has an administrative team concentrating on the business and regulatory concerns of health care clients, including medical-ethical questions, medical staff privileges issues and disputes, third-party reimbursement (such as Medicare and Medicaid), Medicare/ Medicaid fraud and abuse, Stark I and II, patient protection and privacy, qui tam actions, false claims, corporate compliance programs and indigent health care matters.
• Has a litigation team involving hospitals, nursing homes, physicians and other health care providers, including medical malpractice defense and medical products liability cases.
• Represent hospitals, physicians and other health care providers in acquisitions, mergers, sales, joint ventures, business organizations and reorganizations, and other forms of affiliations and collaborations.
• Represent business and finance clients in raising capital through the sale of tax-exempt bonds, taxable bonds, notes and equity.
• Assists clients in developing integrated delivery systems.
• Advises nonprofit clients concerning exempt organization issues, unrelated business income, political activity limitations and state and local tax issues and assist in state licensure, permits, certification and other state regulatory issues.

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Labor and employment law

• Provides comprehensive services to local, regional and national employers.
• Represents employers in all aspects of employment litigation, including civil rights, employment-at-will and wrongful discharge issues, enforcement of noncompetition agreements and defense of claims of discrimination, sexual harassment, retaliation, defamation, intentional infliction of emotional distress and related employment tort issues.
• Represents management in National Labor Relations Board proceedings, labor arbitrations, collective bargaining agreement negotiations, union representation elections, OSHA matters and wage and hour disputes.
• Advises on specific employment disputes, counseling in avoidance and preventive measures, development of alternative dispute resolution programs and review of client policies, procedures and handbooks.

Learn more about our labor and employment team

Litigation

• Litigation lawyers comprise one of the largest trial groups in San Antonio and South Texas.
• Encompasses all areas of securities, environmental, lender liability, real estate, aviation, health care, antitrust, oil and gas, civil rights and employment, tax, construction, contract and intellectual property litigation, as well as litigation matters involving state, county and local governmental units.
• Includes all areas of business torts, insurance defense, product liability, fiduciary duty, toxic and environmental torts, medical and legal malpractice, extra-contractual liability, insurance coverage, probate, wrongful discharge and employment tort matters, workers' compensation, aviation and general tort litigation, including all aspects of personal injury and wrongful death litigation.
• Has a special appellate team that handles all aspects of appeals from the entry of judgment through post-trial motions, perfection of the appeal, appellate court motions, appellate briefing and oral argument, as well as original proceedings in emergency matters in the appellate courts; works closely with other lawyers in the litigation department on complex pretrial motions and hearings and on the preservation of error for appeal.

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Public finance

• Services in virtually all areas affecting public entities in Texas.
• Serves as bond counsel, issuers' counsel, underwriters' counsel, trustee counsel and counsel to financial institutions in taxable and tax-exempt transactions for State of Texas agencies, cities, counties, school districts and special districts.
• Provides legal services for financings for municipal-owned gas, electric, waste and water, education, health care, public infrastructure, housing and industrial development and represent issuers, borrowers and financial institutions with respect to ongoing aspects of completed financings.
• Represents public and private entities in ventures, negotiating the development, financing and operation of multi-family housing, hotels, shopping centers, sports and entertainment facilities and other jointly developed public/private ventures.
• Develops and implement creative public/private financing techniques such as tax-increment finance districts, venue tax and revenue financings, tax abatements and non-annexation agreements.
• Serves as general counsel to local governmental and quasi-governmental entities and represent governmental entities in environmental compliance matters.
• Negotiates and draft contractual agreements between federal, state or local government agencies and other parties.

Learn more about our public finance team

Real estate

• Encompasses all aspects of commercial real estate, including acquisitions and dispositions of improved and unimproved real property, leasing, real estate loans and other financial accommodations and land development and land use regulatory matters.
• Negotiates and prepare architect contracts, construction contracts, construction management contracts, operating contracts, brokerage agreements and management agreements.
• Structures and documents business entities involving real property, including corporations, general partnerships, limited partnerships, limited liability companies and single asset special purpose entities.
• Represents landowners, developers and other borrowers in connection with real estate finance matters, including traditional real estate secured loans, joint venture transactions, sale-leasebacks, leveraged leases, project financing, securitized loans, structured financing and off-balance sheet financing, including synthetic leases and related financing techniques.
• Addresses loan participation, regulatory and usury aspects of financing.
• Negotiates and document loan restructures, loan workouts, collateral realization and related remedial matters, including deed in lieu of foreclosure transactions and judicial and non-judicial foreclosures.
• Negotiates and document real and personal property leases, including space leases, ground leases, equipment leases and leveraged leases.
• Negotiates and document the purchase, sale and liquidation of businesses with real property assets.
• Provides counsel regarding land use regulation matters, including zoning, subdivision and building code compliance.
• Negotiates and documents governmental incentive agreements, including tax abatement agreements.
• Negotiates and documents oil and gas transactions.
• Projects include the acquisition, development, sale and financing of unimproved land, office buildings, apartment complexes, retail facilities and shopping centers, restaurants, hospitals and medical facilities, hotels, resorts, golf courses, theme parks, industrial facilities, manufacturing facilities and warehouses.

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Tax and employee benefits

• Represents exempt organizations, including hospitals and other health care parites, universities, foundations, research organizations and other organizations for planning and compliance, tax audits and tax controversies.
• Represents state and local governments in tax-exempt financing, ad valorem tax, truth-in-taxation, tax audits and tax controversies.
• Handles tax planning regarding corporate reorganizations, mergers, acquisitions, utilization of net operating losses and related matters.
• Represents exempt organizations, including hospitals, universities and colleges, public and private foundations, in their planning, charitable giving, as well as federal and state audits, controversies and litigation.
• Performs tax planning involving state and local governments, corporations, S corporations, partnerships, limited liability companies and limited liability partnerships and public finance.
• Addresses Federal and Texas state and local taxation, planning and tax controversies.
• Handles matters regarding federal, state and local tax controversy work, including representing clients in IRS audits and appeals, Texas Comptroller involving sales and use taxes, ad valorem taxes, the resolution of ERISA controversies and in state and federal courts.
• Represents clients in connection with ERISA-related matters, including qualified pension plans, profit sharing, ESOP and 401(k) plans; employee health and welfare plans, including cafeteria plans and COBRA matters; various stock purchases, stock options, incentive stock options and other nonqualified deferred compensation arrangements; alternatives to statutory Texas workers' compensation inclusion.

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Learn more about our employee benefits team

Trusts and estates

• Encompasses all areas of estate planning, including preparing of wills and trusts and rendering advice with respect to estate, gift and generation-skipping taxation matters.
• Represents executors of estates in probating wills and provide legal services relating to transactions arising during the estate administration process.
• Advises on charitable gift planning, disability planning and preparation of marital property agreements, powers of attorney and guardian designations.
• Handles will construction disputes, will contests, estate administration controversies and guardianships.

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Awards

• We are a proud sponsor of the San Antonio Business Journal 2012 Legacy Leaders Program.
• For the eleventh consecutive year, we were chosen as one of the top 25 corporate legal practices in the nation in 2012 by Corporate Board Member.