Joe graduated from the University of Texas School of Law in 1961, and has practiced in both state and federal courts for the past fifty plus years as a civil trial and appellate lawyer.

Joe’s focus is in oil and gas, land title and boundary, condemnation, business torts, and creditors rights litigation and appeals. His oil and gas practice extends to all onshore aspects of the upstream oil and gas industry. Joe is also experienced in resolving land title and boundary disputes, including eminent domain and adverse possession.

He has worked on matters involving such diverse issues as oil field accident insurance coverage, subsequent operations under joint operating agreements, pipeline spill environmental damages, subsidence, oil and gas unitization effectiveness, lease operation transfer after cessation of well production, determination of boundary lines after destruction of witness tree monuments, condemnation of lands for Big Thicket National Preserve, and many other land title and boundary issues.

Joe has appeared in cases in many Texas counties, has argued cases in at least seven Courts of Appeals in Texas, argued eight times in cases before the Supreme Court of Texas, three times before the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, and one time before the Supreme Court of the United States, in Kirby Forest Industries v. United States, 467 U.S. 1 (1984).

He has written law review articles on litigation and has participated as a writer and speaker in State Bar of Texas Continuing Legal Education programs on subjects of real estate, banking, and advanced evidence and discovery. Joe has also authored articles on lawyer professionalism, which have been published in newspapers and legal magazines in Houston and other parts of the country.

Joe is a former President of what is now known as the Houston Young Lawyer’s Association. He was recognized in 2012 and 2013 by H Texas Magazine as one of Houston’s best Oil and Gas Lawyers.