Skip to main content
Wright Close & Barger Named Top Appellate Law Firm in Texas for 2019
Texas Lawyer magazine honors Houston-based firm for Professional Excellence
HOUSTON – Civil trial and appellate firm Wright Close & Barger LLP has been named the 2019 Texas Appellate Firm of the Year by Texas Lawyer magazine.
The Houston-based firm is being honored as part of Texas Lawyer’s annual Professional Excellence Awards, which showcase the work and achievements of lawyers and law firms across the Texas legal community. Selection is based on case decisions in 2018. Honorees will be recognized at a Sept. 18 ceremony in Dallas.
“We are thrilled to earn this recognition in a state where there are so many outstanding appellate firms,” said firm co-founder Tom Wright. “What I know is that our team has a tremendous level of knowledge and expertise, and our lawyers work as hard as they can for our clients.”
Headlining Wright Close & Barger’s 2018 case list was a religious discrimination lawsuit at the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. Mr. Wright and firm partners Russ Hollenbeck and Raffi Melkonian successfully represented a woman who was fired from her job with Fort Bend County, Texas, after being denied time off from a Sunday work assignment.
The suit, Fort Bend County vs. Davis, was appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court where Mr. Melkonian argued the case. On June 3, 2019, the Supreme Court ruled 9-0 in favor of the firm’s client. It was Mr. Melkonian’s first oral argument before the high court.
Other significant wins in 2018 included a take-nothing judgment in a multimillion-dollar claim against a contractor in a high-profile construction case; a 5th Circuit decision in a legal malpractice claim; and decisions for two companies in significant personal injury cases.
Wright Close & Barger LLP is a Houston-based civil trial and appellate firm handling complex trial and appellate work for clients across Texas. The firm’s team of experienced attorneys has a track record of achieving favorable resolutions in cases involving catastrophic personal injury, insurance coverage, intellectual property, oil and gas, product defects, commercial disputes, arbitration and mediation, trade secrets, and trust and estate litigation, among others. Wright Close & Barger also assists with pretrial motions, special evidence problems, challenges to expert witnesses, and the critical work on the court’s charge to the jury. To learn more, visit http://www.wrightclosebarger.com.