Deepens Firm Capabilities in Insurance, Banking & Finance and Public Law
APRIL 2, 2018 – Husch Blackwell is pleased to announce the firm has added 14 Texas-based lawyers—including eight partners—to its offices in Austin, Dallas and Houston. The group represents a major expansion of the firm’s capabilities in the Texas legal market, particularly in the areas of insurance, banking and finance, eminent domain, government affairs, and governmental disputes.
Husch Blackwell’s national insurance coverage and litigation team is now expanded to include partners Scott L. Davis, David H. Timmins and Jason Heep, as well as Eric Levy, who joins the firm as senior counsel. All four lawyers will practice in the firm’s Financial Services & Capital Markets industry group and reside in the firm’s Dallas office.
The firm’s Banking & Finance group now includes partners Steven S. Camp, W. Brian Memory and Reuben D. Rosof, as well as Matt Crockett and Caleb Rush. All five lawyers will practice in the firm’s Financial Services & Capital Markets industry group and reside in the firm’s Dallas and Houston offices.
Additionally, Kate David and Mike Stafford join the firm’s Public Law team as partners based in the Houston office and will assist private companies, governments, and elected and appointed officials with complex public-law matters. They will be accompanied by associate Phil Morgan; associate Ben Stephens will join the firm later in April. All four lawyers are members of the firm’s Real Estate, Development & Construction industry group.
Mark Vane joins the firm’s Austin office and its government affairs team. Both Stafford and Vane will work closely with the firm’s lobbying and government-affairs consulting affiliate, Husch Blackwell Strategies.
All attorneys join Husch Blackwell from Gardere Wynne Sewell LLP, where Camp served as Chair of its Banking and Finance practice and Davis was the Head of its Insurer Representation Group and the former Co-Chair of its Litigation Department.
“We are very pleased to be joined by this outstanding group of lawyers,” said Husch Blackwell Chairman Greg Smith. “Our firm remains alert to opportunities in the marketplace to grow strategically important industry groups, and we feel that each of these lawyers brings valuable experience and insight to our clients on both the local and national levels.”
“The addition of this high-profile group signals to our clients the depth of our commitment to Texas,” said Paul Eberle, Husch Blackwell’s Chief Executive. “Additionally, our new colleagues represent a major investment by the firm in the industries we serve. Our enhanced capabilities in banking, insurance, and real estate provide a compelling service enhancement for our clients.”
“The banking-side transactional experience we have is a great fit with Husch Blackwell’s existing platform and client base,” said Camp. “The firm’s geographic footprint and client-centered culture also align with the way our team operates and are important to our existing clients.”
“We are very excited about Husch Blackwell’s industry-first approach to client service, as well as its geographic reach," said Davis. “By combining forces with the other lawyers at Husch Blackwell who already service the industry, our team is going to be able to provide end-to-end counsel to our insurance clients, including litigation, transactional and regulatory advice. We also will be able to use our experience in customized loss reserve and mitigation analysis to assist Husch Blackwell’s wide array of non-insurance clients.”
“The way public law and real estate development intersects is unique to each market, but Husch is among a handful of law firms to knit together a top-notch development practice on a regional—or even national—scale,” said Kate David. “I think their ability to build a platform with that kind of breadth speaks to the level of attention the firm places on each market. I’m excited to help the firm grow its presence in Houston and throughout the region.”
Partner Biography Capsules
Insurance Team
Scott L. Davis. Davis is a leading litigator and advisor to companies in the insurance industry. He utilizes cutting-edge analytics and decades of legal experience to develop customized strategies for clients to identify, assess, and mitigate risk. His broad litigation experience includes insurance coverage disputes, environmental disputes (including CERCLA recovery actions), aviation crashes, mass torts, professional malpractice, oil and gas, bankruptcy adversary proceedings, partnership disputes, securities fraud, D&O claims, commercial mortgage-backed securities litigation, and surety claims. He has a J.D., with high honors, from the University of Tennessee College of Law and holds a B.A. from Wright State University.
David H. Timmins. Timmins represents global insurance carriers on a national basis in environmental and other commercial insurance and reinsurance disputes and is a recognized authority on insurance coverage litigation, including the expansion of bad faith liability, allocation of liabilities among multiple policies, and changes in the political and regulatory climate that impact litigation. He earned his J.D. from Washington and Lee University School of Law and holds a B.A. from the University of Texas.
Jason Heep. Heep is a litigator focusing on environmental litigation, insurance coverage and bad faith disputes. He represents small companies to Fortune 50 corporations, routinely advising them on environmental regulatory compliance issues, reinsurance matters and risk management. He is a graduate of the University of Virginia School of Law and has a B.S. in Environmental Engineering from Northwestern University.
Banking & Finance Team
Steven S. Camp. Camp is a long-time banking industry veteran who has closed thousands of loans across a variety of loan types. He was formerly senior corporate counsel at Bank One Corp. and has built a nationally recognized practice, integrating deep banking experience with an understanding of real estate lending, commercial loans, specialty loans, as well as bankruptcy financing and workouts. He is a graduate of Oklahoma City University School of Law and earned his B.A. at the University of Texas.
W. Brian Memory. Memory is a veteran banking and finance lawyer. Prior to entering private practice, Memory served as assistant general counsel and senior vice president at PlainsCapital Bank, where he regularly provided advice to the bank’s executive team, managed the bank’s real estate portfolio, and handled much of the bank’s day-to-day legal affairs. He also has extensive experience in bank mergers and acquisitions. Memory has a J.D. from Emory University School of Law and holds a B.S. from the University of Utah.
Reuben D. Rosof. Rosof maintains a broad finance practice representing both lenders and borrowers across an array of transactions, including workouts and restructurings, asset-based loans (involving varied types of collateral), unsecured loans, lot development loans, construction loans, permanent loans, syndicated loans, acquisition loans, letters of credit as credit enhancement for bonds and the purchase of bonds secured by real estate. He is a graduate of the Vanderbilt University Law School and holds a B.S. from Cornell University.
Public Law Team
Kate David. David is well-recognized throughout Texas as a leading litigator and condemnation attorney, advising both condemnors and property owners on high-stakes claims. She assists private companies, governments, and elected and appointed officials with difficult condemnation, election law, public contracting and constitutional tort disputes. She also has extensive experience handling sovereign, governmental, prosecutorial and qualified immunity issues. Additionally, serving as outside general counsel and special counsel, she advises governmental clients on issues relating to the Open Meetings Act, the Texas Public Information Act, contract negotiation, and general counseling. She graduated with honors from the University of Texas School of Law and holds a B.B.A. from the University of Texas.
Mike Stafford. A former county attorney to Harris County, Texas, Stafford focuses his practice on resolving government-related disputes, including condemnations, regulatory compliance and administrative matters, earning a reputation for obtaining favorable results for both property owners and government condemnors. He also counsels clients in connection with election law disputes. He earned his J.D. from South Texas College of Law and has a B.A. in Chemistry from the University of Texas.