Matt Williams

While attending law school in Houston, Matt studied international law at the University of Leiden School of Law in the Netherlands. in The Hague, Matt was an intern for the United Nations and worked on a trial team at the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) in 2003. 

Matt also served as an intern for the chambers of Justice Richard Edelman of the Fourteenth Court of Appeals in Houston in 2004 and was a published member of the South Texas Law Review. He was admitted to the Texas State Bar in November 2004. 

In 2013, Matt was selected to become a Fellow with the Texas Bar Foundation. 

Matt has a passion for international travel and adventure, having traveled through more than forty countries on five continents. Matt is bilingual, speaking both English and Spanish. He is married and the proud father of one daughter and triplet sons. In his free time, Matt enjoys General Aviation, and you'll often see him flying over Central Texas in his Piper Saratoga. 

EDUCATION 

• Bachelor of Arts, University of Texas at Austin, 1997
• Doctor of Jurisprudence, South Texas College of Law, 2004

COURT ADMISSIONS 

• State Bar of Texas
• United States District Court for the Western District of Texas
• United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas

HONORS 

• Published member of the South Texas Law Review
• Winner of 2004 Lynne Liberato Award for Distinguished Writing
• Nominee for the Texas Bar Foundation Outstanding Law Review Article Award in 2005
• Member of Phi Delta Phi International Legal Fraternity, Wood Inn
• Member of American Inns of Court, Garland R. Walker Inn

PUBLICATIONS 

• James L. “Larry” Wright & M. Matthew Williams, Remember the Alamo: The Seventh Amendment of the United States Constitution, the Doctrine of Incorporation, and State Caps on Jury Awards, 45 S. Tex. L. Rev. 449 (2004)
• Cited by Lopez v. Aramark Unif. & Career Apparel, Inc., 426 F. Supp. 2d 914, 966 n.12 (N.D. Iowa      2006).
• Cited in the dissent of Christensen v. Grant County Hosp., 96 P.3d 957, 970 n.15 (Wash. 2004).
• 2005 Nominee for the Texas Bar Foundation Outstanding Law Review Article Award.
• Cited in five sections of the legal encyclopedia American Jurisprudence (Am Jur).
• Quoted by the American Judicature Society.
• Cited by twelve other law review articles across the nation.
• Cited in John D. Bessler, Cruel & Unusual: The American Death Penalty and the Founders’ Eighth Amendment (2012).

WINNING APPEALS AUTHORED OR CO- AUTHORED 

• Gray v. Key Ranch at the Polo Club Home Owners Ass’n, Inc., S.W.3d, 2010 WL 143421 (Tex. App.—Austin, 2010, no pet.), unpublished.
• Bruce v. Federal Nat. Mortg. Ass’n, 352 S.W.3d 891 (Tex. App.—Dallas 2011, pet. filed).
• Puentes v. Fannie Mae, 350 S.W.3d 732 (Tex. App.—El Paso 2011, pet. dism’d).

Ruth is an accomplished business litigator who represents both plaintiffs and defendants in state and federal courts in contract, banking litigation, DTPA claims, and other commercial disputes. She demonstrates courage in the courtroom and wisdom in her case preparation.  

As a former construction business owner, she garners trust from her clients when administering transaction advice and provides support when there are litigation claims.  

As Attorney Of Counsel, Ruth brings her extensive experience in the following to the table:

• Overseeing of construction contracts, design-build contracts, construction management agreements, negotiations, purchase and sale contracts, option agreements, easements, leases, operating and maintenance agreements.
• Of Counsel for project financing, facility purchases of property and equipment, and general contracts. 
• Legal management of mergers and acquisitions, dissolutions, financing agreements, risk management strategies, commercial real estate transactions, and debt actions.
• Advising clients in matters of corporate compliance or litigation involving regulatory agencies.
• Strong Appellant practice: U.S. Court of Appeals 5th Circuit, U.S. Court of Appeals 9th Circuit, and Texas 3rd Court of Appeals.  

EDUCATION

Doctor of Jurisprudence. Saint Mary’s Law School, San Antonio, TX, 2006

Master of Arts Sul Ross State University, Alpine, TX, 1999

COURT ADMISSIONS

State Bar of Texas

United States District Court for the Western District of Texas

United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas

COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT

Gateway Church Member and Volunteer

YMCA of Austin Member and Supporter

In law school, Tom drafted amici briefs in three United States Supreme Court cases.  After graduation in 1986, he clerked for the Honorable Douglas W. Hillman, Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Michigan, where he drafted opinions and orders of the court, along with opinions of the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit when Judge Hillman sat there by designation.

Thereafter Tom worked as an associate and of counsel at large law firms in Boston and Austin, and served a stint as regulatory counsel at the largest federal grant program administered by a Texas state agency.  He has also conducted a solo practice since 1993.  In his four decades as a lawyer, Tom has represented individuals, nonprofits, government agencies, small businesses and Fortune 100 global corporations in a diverse array of commercial disputes, garnering successful first-chair trial and appellate experience in state and federal courts across the nation.

Tom's notable cases include the following: 1) defense of national energy company on tort claims arising from explosion of
underground gas storage facility; 2) prosecution of misappropriation of trade secrets claims for Austin software developer in Texas and California federal courts; 3) defense of home nursing care company in action by federal government to revoke Medicare participation rights; 4) defense of product liability claims against vehicle manufacturer in highest-fatality vehicular accident in history of the State of Maine; 5) fraud prosecution of disbarred and suspended lawyers arising from litigation witness and evidence tampering; 5) defense of substantial trucking cargo loss case on behalf of Canadian insurer; 6) successful reversal on appeal of class action certification on tort claims against national recreational vehicle manufacturer; 7) defense in multiple jurisdictions of product liability claims against international vehicle component manufacturer.

HONORS

Tom is the 2010 recipient of the Judge Suzanne Covington Pro Bono Service Award, which is given by Volunteer Legal Services to attorneys who commit extraordinary time to representation of low-income clients.

EDUCATION

University of Michigan, A.B. in English with High Honors, 1982
University of Michigan, A.M. in History, 1986
University of Michigan, J.D., 1986

BAR ADMISSIONS

Tom is admitted to the bar of all four Texas federal district courts, numerous additional federal district courts, and the states of Texas, Illinois, Michigan and Massachusetts.

Pennie received her Paralegal Associates Degree in 1997. She has worked as a Paralegal for 25+ years in both Texas and Washington. 

 Pennie has experience in state, federal, and appellant courts. She is a Notary Public for the State of Texas, and is a member of the Paralegal Division for the State Bar of Texas. 

She has four children, three stepchildren, and nine grandchildren. Pennie and her husband have acquired 5 rescue dogs, who they love to care for and spoil. Pennie loves to travel, explore her Mayflower genealogy, and learn all about history in her free time.