Houston Appellate Lawyer J. Stephen Barrick Named Partner at Hicks Thomas

Appellate specialist handles complex issues on appeal

HOUSTON – Texas-based litigation boutique Hicks Thomas LLP is pleased to announce that Houston appellate specialist and trial lawyer J. Stephen Barrick has been named a partner in the firm.

Mr. Barrick concentrates his practice on civil appeals in state and federal courts. The substantive area of his appellate practice includes contracts, oil and gas, intellectual property, insurance coverage, and catastrophic personal injuries. He has been listed as in the Texas Super Lawyers rating guide every year since 2012, is board certified in civil appellate law, and serves as the firm’s lead appellate lawyer.

Mr. Barrick has played a central role in securing substantial victories for Hicks Thomas clients. In 2012, he drafted the winning appellant’s brief in Allen v. Devon Energy Holdings, 367 S.W.3d 355 (Tex. App.—Houston [1st Dist.] 2012), producing a landmark appellate decision on securities fraud and fiduciary duties in Texas and a highly favorable settlement for the firm’s client. Similarly, in 2014, Mr. Barrick played a critical role in securing a complete victory for the client in an international arbitration proceeding concerning an offshore drilling contract, producing both an appellate victory in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit on arbitrator selection, and an arbitration award in excess of $170 million.

“Steve has repeatedly demonstrated a mastery of difficult legal disputes, proving himself to be an indispensable member of the legal team and an outstanding advocate for our clients,” said Hicks Thomas founding partner John B. Thomas.

Mr. Barrick earned his law degree with high honors at the University of Houston Law Center, where he was a member of the Law Review and Order of the Coif, and earned his bachelor’s degree at the University of California at Berkeley. He clerked for U.S. District Judge John D. Rainey in the Southern District of Texas, and practiced law at Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP for several years before joining Hicks Thomas in 2008.

Founded in 1997, Texas-based Hicks Thomas LLP is a premier litigation firm representing plaintiffs and defendants across the nation with offices in Houston, Austin, Beaumont, and Amarillo, Texas, and in Sacramento, California. The firm provides in-depth experience in cases involving oil and gas, environmental, complex commercial, toxic tort, construction, products liability, corporate governance, securities, banking, insurance coverage, transportation, trade secrets and business litigation. For more information about the firm and its practice areas, visit www.hicks-thomas.com/.