Texas Trial and Appellate Lawyers

Insurance Law

At Skelton & Woody PLLC, our insurer clients ask us for representation in extra-contractual litigation and appeals, defense of their insureds, and representation in insurance coverage disputes under a broad spectrum of policy forms. As experienced insurance lawyers, we have defended insurers in more than 1,000 bad-faith lawsuits concerning wind and hail policies, hurricane damage, foundation and mold damage, property damage, theft, uninsured motorist and underinsured motorist claims, and fire claims.

The language of the policy matters enormously to resolving coverage litigation. Our firm is experienced at interpreting insurance policies and applying case law to predict how a court is likely to view applicable coverage or exclusions. Our firm also offers coverage litigation representation, provides coverage opinions, files declaratory judgment actions, and serves as settlement counsel in federal and state courts in Texas. We have defended multiple nationwide class actions against insurers. We also have a great deal of experience representing insurers before the Texas Department of Insurance.

Insurers also choose us to fulfill their duty to defend their insured. We have substantial insurance defense experience in a wide range of lawsuits, including those concerning car and truck accidents, employment claims, professional liability, and directors and officers liability. When an insurer is ready to try a case or series of cases, we are ready to try the case in a cost-effective manner, deliver results and protect our clients’ interests on appeal. Our jury trial experience ranges from a $106 million bad-faith coverage lawsuit that resulted in a take-nothing judgment to bad-faith lawsuits involving arson damage, to lawsuits involving accidents, employment law claims, professional liability and claims against financial institutions.

Our attorneys also represent insurers in certain subrogation cases on an hourly basis.

Business Litigation

Skelton & Woody PLLC has represented local, national and international companies in a broad spectrum of business litigation. Our Texas business litigation attorneys bring a depth of knowledge to the kinds of commercial disputes our clients face and work with them to develop effective litigation strategies to yield desirable results. We have a history of defeating claims by bringing dispositive motions, such as motions to dismiss or motions for summary judgment. We are well-equipped to conduct a cost-effective trial when a case needs to be tried.

Local Counsel Services

Our extensive experience in trying lawsuits in federal and state courts has led to our frequently being asked to serve as local counsel to out-of-state firms that include some of the nation’s largest law firms. We know the state and federal judges in our region, allowing us an opportunity to provide out-of-town and out-of-state attorneys with the kind of introduction and assistance that overcomes any disadvantage to appearing in unfamiliar courts. We are hired in the local counsel role because we are adept at becoming integral members of litigating teams. We take on substantive roles, handling hearings, writing briefs, presenting witnesses in trials, selecting juries, arguing appeals, and guiding our colleagues with our knowledge of local rules as well as informal practices. We have served as local counsel to firms such as Kirkland & Ellis, Latham & Watkins, and Bickel & Brewer in a range of significant intellectual property lawsuits and other commercial litigation. Our Texas business litigation lawyers also have worked with a well-known California firm on several lawsuits for the motion picture industry involving pirating of first run films, among other issues. We also have been named directly as local counsel by clients whose general counsel or senior in-house attorneys wanted to assemble the right team. Colleagues at firms with which we regularly work can provide references upon request.

Expert Testimony

Hamp Skelton, who has practiced in Texas for some 38 years, frequently serves as an expert witness regarding reasonable and necessary attorneys’ fees, insurance coverage issues, insurance claims handling, banking and lender issues, antitrust, legal ethics and attorney malpractice, and class actions. He provides detailed expert reports, testifies in depositions and trials, and advises the lawyers who retain him on issues in their cases. Please visit our expert services page to read about some of these cases and see quotes from attorneys who have retained Hamp.

Securities Fraud and Breach of Duty to Investors

Skelton & Woody PLLC represents investors in disputes with financial advisors, brokerage firms, and promotors of investment vehicles through private placement memoranda. Many times, the investor has been required to sign a binding arbitration agreement as part of the closing documents, and we are prepared to try these cases before arbitrators instead of in the courthouse. In 2019, for example, we completed an arbitration on behalf of an individual investor who had put well over $1 million into a privately held company, only to later learn that the company’s founders had misrepresented the company’s finances, plans and affiliations. After a difficult discovery battle and week-long arbitration, our client was awarded all of his investment back with accrued interest, plus the attorney’s fees he spent in pursuing his recovery. We are well versed in the use of the Texas Securities Act to protect defrauded investors and have experience with both state and federal securities laws. In addition to our work for investors, we defend securities suits and governmental actions such as Department of Justice and SEC charges on matters relating to insider trading, the sale of securities and breach of duty.

Statewide Practice

Based in Austin, Skelton & Woody PLLC represents clients throughout Texas. Hamp practiced for several years in Houston and maintains a steady practice there. We have handled and tried cases not only in Austin and its surrounding counties, but in nearby San Antonio as well as in Dallas, Fort Worth, Houston, Beaumont-Port Arthur, Corpus Christi, El Paso, and in smaller counties in Texas. We have handled appeals in courts of appeal throughout the state as well. Call us at 512-651-7000 or contact us via our online form.