MEET

Richard Schechter

Attorney

Board Certified in Personal Injury Trial Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization

Board Certified Civil Trial Advocate by the National Board of Trial Advocacy

AV rated by Martindale Hubbell

Overview

Richard Schechter formed The Law Office of Richard Schechter, P.C. in 1986, after six years in private practice. In his over forty years of practicing law, Schechter has been responsible for developing and trying the full range of complex civil cases, including nuisance and negligence actions against major oil companies and members of the pharmaceutical industry, product liability suits against some of the largest companies in the world for the design and manufacture of defective products, all types of business disputes, including claims for fraud, tortious interference with contract and violations of the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices-Consumer Protection Act, Jones Act and maritime litigation, FELA and other federal statutory claims, and medical negligence cases. His work often involves delving into complicated issues of science and medicine and working in concert with experts across a wide range of professional fields.

During his career Richard has represented the full spectrum of clients, including Cities, Counties and Hospital Districts, judges, bankers, refinery executives and workers, railroad workers, seamen, offshore and onshore oilfield workers and longshoremen. He has started over 120 jury trials and tried over 80 to a verdict in federal courts in the Eastern and Southern Districts of Texas and the Eastern and Western Districts of Louisiana, in state district courts across Texas and in California, and before administrative law judges. In addition to the cases he has tried, Richard has represented clients in state and federal courts throughout Texas and in California, Michigan, Louisiana, New Mexico and Oregon.

His clients have ranged from as far away as Europe, Asia and South America, to as close as Houston, Galveston and Beaumont, and across the United States. In addition to his trial work, Richard has also handled numerous appeals, including before the Texas Supreme Court, Texas Courts of Appeals and the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, as well as having served as a law clerk for The Honorable Sam Johnson, Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. His knowledge of the law is highly respected, and he has served as an adjunct professor of Admiralty and Maritime Law, spoken to lawyers around the United States about both the law and trial strategies, and testified before committees of both the United States House of Representatives and Senate regarding pending legislation. Richard Schechter has been selected as a Texas SuperLawyer® every year since the award was initiated by Law & Politics (now a Thomson Reuters service).

Richard is married to Olivia Thomas, a fellow lawyer. Together they share five children, five grandchildren, and the hope of welcoming more grandchildren soon. When not working or spending time with his family, Richard enjoys hiking in the mountains and aspires to one day achieve his dream of completing his hike of the Appalachian Trail.

Education & Teaching Experience

Richard Schechter grew up in Austin and is a 1976 graduate of Rice University, where he was on the President’s Honor Roll, selected to Who’s Who in Colleges and Universities and served as Chairman of the Program Council. After graduating he enrolled at the University of Texas School of Law, where he was inducted into the academic honor society and recognized for his outstanding contributions to the law school. He served as a lecturer in Legal Research and Writing as a third-year student, won the Hildebrand Moot Court Competition, the Best Advocate and Best Brief Awards, and graduated with honors in 1979. Schechter later went on to teach Admiralty and Maritime Law for a decade as an adjunct professor at the Thurgood Marshall School of Law.

Professional Experience

After serving for one year as a law clerk for Judge Sam Johnson on the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, Richard Schechter began the private practice of law in 1980. Since 1986 he has headed his own firm. Over the course of his career he has started trial in over 120 cases in cities and towns around Texas and across the United States, and has appeared before appellate courts in Texas and Louisiana. He has represented people from all over the world and taken on the largest companies in the United States, recovering over $3 billion for his clients and cities, counties and communities throughout Texas. In addition to his courtroom work, he has taught legal research and writing to law students, served as an Adjunct Professor of law, testified before the United States Senate and House of Representatives on pending legislation, been appointed by the Texas Supreme Court to serve on committees to advise the Court on potential rule changes, and lectured before his fellow lawyers on developments in the law and trial tactics.

Schechter’s skill, experience and reputation have earned him the honor of being selected by his peers as a Texas Monthly “Texas SuperLawyer©” each year since the establishment of that honor in 2003, and he is rated “AV-preeminent” by Martindale-Hubbell. He is the author of numerous articles, speaks regularly at legal seminars around the United States, and has testified before committees of both the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives.

Certifications & Admissions

Schechter is a Certified Civil Trial Specialist by the National Board of Trial Advocates and is Board Certified in Personal Injury Trial Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization. He is licensed to practice in the States of Texas and Oregon, and is admitted to the Bars of the Supreme Court of the United States, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan, the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana, the United States District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma, and the United States District Courts for the Southern, Eastern, Northern and Western Districts of Texas.

Community Service

Member, SER Board of Trustees
Member, Board of Trustees, Houston Arts Alliance
Chairman and Member of the Board of Trustees, Houston Community College
President of the Houston Chapter of the American Jewish Committee and Advisory Board member of the national organization
Founder and Chairperson of the Houston Chapter of the American Constitutional Society
Senior Fellow of the American Leadership Forum and member of the Selection Committee
Member, Advisory Board, Career and Recovery Resources, Inc.
Member, Houston Police Advisory Commission
Chairman, State Bar of Texas Grievance Committee
Officer and Board Member of the Board of Trustees, Congregation Emanu El
Member, Board of Trustees of Houston Hillel
Member, Shared Decision Making Committee at Jones High School
Member, University of St. Thomas’ Board of Trustees Student Affairs Sub-Committee
Member, Texas Supreme Court Committee on Judicial Appointments
Chairman, Admiralty Section of the American Association of Justice
Testified before both United States House of Representatives and Senate committees
Testified before the Texas Supreme Court regarding proposed rule changes
Served on various committees of the American, Texas and Houston Bar Associations; the American Association of Justice; and the Texas and Houston Trial Lawyers Associations
Provider of Pro Bono legal services through the Houston Volunteer Lawyers program

Reported Cases

FEDERAL APPELLATE COURT OPINIONS

U.S. Fire Ins. Co. v. Villegas, 242 F.3d 279 (5th Cir. 2001)
Williams v. M/V SONORA, 985 F.2d 808 (5th Cir. 1993)
Texas Employer’s Ins. Ass’n v. Jackson, 862 F.2d 491 (5th Cir.1988)(en banc)
Texas Employer’s Insurance Association v. Jackson, 820 F.2d 1406 (5th Cir. 1987)
McClelland Engineers, Inc. v. Munusamy, 784 F.2d 1313 (5th Cir. 1986)
Bobo v. ITT, Continental Bakery, 662 F.2d 340 (5th Cir. 1981)

FEDERAL DISTRICT COURT OPINIONS

Metro v. Exxon Mobil Corp., 2024 WL 3160475 (D. Or. 2024)
Metro v. Exxon Mobil Corp., 2024 WL 1991578 (D. Or. 2024)
County of Multnomah v. Exxon Mobil Corp. 2024 WL 1991554 (D. Or. 2024)
Turner v. Suzlon Wind Energy Corp. 2009 WL 1651550 (S.D. Tex. 2009)
Nagle v. GOM Shelf, LLC, 2005 WL 1515439 (S.D. Tex. 2005)
Gonzalez v. P.T. Pelangi Niagra Mitra Int’l, 196 F.Supp.2d 482 (S.D. Tex. 2002)
Hucker v. City of Beaumont, 147 F.Supp.2d 565 (E.D. Tex. 2001)
Hucker v. City of Beaumont, 144 F.Supp.2d 696 (E.D. Tex. 2001)
Webb v. Ensco Marine, 135 F.Supp.2d 756 (E.D. Tex 2001)
Webb v. Ensco Marine, 121 F.Supp.2d 1049 (E.D. Tex 2000)
LeBlanc v. United States, 732 F.Supp. 1316 (E.D. Tex. 1990)
Texas Employer’s Insurance Association v. Jackson, 618 F. Supp. 1316 (E.D. Tex. 1985)

TEXAS SUPREME COURT

St. John v. Pope, 901 S.W.2d 420 (Tex. 1995)
Brownsville Nav. Dist. v. Izaguirre, 829 S.W.2d 159 (Tex. 1992)
Brown v. Martin Gas Sales, Inc., 1991 WL 105539 (Tex., Jun 19, 1991)

TEXAS COURT OF APPEALS

Albertson Companies, Inc. v. County of Dallas, 2024 WL 2229191 (Tex. App.-Houston [14th Dist.] 2024)
Amneal Pharmaceuticals, Inc. v. County of Dallas, 2024 WL 1863472 (Tex. App.-Houston [14th Dist.] 2024)
In re Purdue Pharma, L.P., 2019 WL 3978431 (Tex. App.-Houston [1st Dist.] 2019)
In re Distributors, 2019 WL 3978430 (Tex. App.-Houston [1st Dist.] 2019)
Irika Shipping S.A. v. Henderson, 2014 WL 7183961 (Tex. App.-Beaumont 2014)
In re Brou, 2004 WL 1946085 (Tex. App.-Houston [14th Dist.] 2004)
In re Tenet Healthcare, Ltd., 2003 WL 22455313 (Tex. App.-Beaumont 2003)
Samples v. Graham, 76 S.W.3d 615 (Tex. App.-Corpus Christi 2002)
Hanson v. Republic Ins. Co., 5 S.W.3d 324 (Tex. App.-Houston [1st District] 1999)
Texas Farmers Ins. Co. v. Deville, 988 S.W.2d 331 (Tex. App.-Houston 1999)
Shockey v. A.F.P., Inc., 905 S.W.2d 629 (Tex.App.-Hous. (14 Dist.), 1995)
Arceneaux v. Lykes Bros. S.S. Co., 898 S.W.2d 313, (Tex.App.-Beaumont 1995)
Arceneaux v. Lykes Bros. S.S. Co., Inc., 890 S.W.2d 191, (Tex.App.-Beaumont 1995)
Prescott v. Kroger Co., 877 S.W.2d 373 (Tex.App.-Hous. (1 Dist.), 1994)
Pope v. St. John, 862 S.W.2d 657 (Tex.App.-Austin)
Wilkins v. Reisman, 803 S.W.2d 822 (Tex.App.-Hous. (14 Dist.) 1991)
Brownsville Nav. Dist. v. Izaguirre, 800 S.W.2d 244 (Tex.App. Corpus Christi, 1990)

Richard Schechter

Overview

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