Free Initial Consultation

(Main Office)

Connelly · Baker · Wotring LLP focuses its substantial litigation and regulatory practices on complex environmental cases, toxic torts, major industrial accidents, medical liability, and commercial and business litigation matters. The firm's environmental litigation practice includes toxic torts, property damage cases, and mass personal injury claims. The firm's attorneys have extensive experience in handling catastrophic explosion, accident and disaster cases and emergency response matters. The firm's regulatory practice focuses on environmental regulatory counseling and representation in enforcement, permitting, compliance, real estate and transactional matters, and the firm's attorneys have represented clients at Superfund sites throughout the country. Other substantial practice areas include medical liability, medical device and pharmaceutical cases, as well as complex commercial and business litigation matters.

Statement of Practice

General Litigation Practice. Appellate Practice, Administrative Law, Business Law, Civil Practice, Commercial Litigation, Commercial Mediation, Commercial Torts, Breach of Contract, Commercial Contracts, Contract Fraud, Contract Litigation, Drug and Medical Device Defense, Environmental Cost Recovery, Environmental Law, Health Care Litigation, Hospital Liability Defense, Hospital Negligence, Insurance, Litigation, Medical Malpractice, Medical Malpractice Defense, Drug and Medical Device Litigation, Medical Liability, Negligence, Oil and Gas Litigation, Industrial Accidents, Chemical Explosions, Chemical Products Liability, Explosions, Professional Liability, Train Derailments, Mass Torts, Personal Injury, Premise Liability, Professional Liability Torts, Products Liability, Superfund, Torts, Toxic Torts.

Rate Information

Fixed Hourly Rates
Fixed Fees Available
Free Initial Consultation

Address

700 JPMorgan Chase Tower
600 Travis Street
Houston, TX 77002, (Ft. Bend, Harris & Montgomery Cos.)

Phone

Phone: 713-980-1700
Fax: 713-980-1701

Website

http://www.connellybaker.com

Office Hours

Monday: 08:30 AM - 05:00 PM
Tuesday: 08:30 AM - 05:00 PM
Wednesday: 08:30 AM - 05:00 PM
Thursday: 08:30 AM - 05:00 PM
Friday: 08:30 AM - 05:00 PM
Saturday: By Appointment Only
Sunday: By Appointment Only

MEMBERS OF FIRM

Michael O. Connelly (Member) born Atlanta, Georgia, 1944; admitted to bar, 1969, Texas. Education: Stanford University (A.B., 1966); Emory University (J.D., 1969). Phi Delta Phi; Case Club; International Moot Court Team. Adjunct Professor, Insurance Law, University of Houston Law Center, 1979. Member: Houston (Director, 1995-1997; Treasurer, 1999-2000, 2nd V.P., 2001-2002) and American (Member, Sections on: Litigation; Tort and Insurance Practice; Chairman, Medicine and Law Committee, 1981-1983) Bar Associations; Texas Association of Defense Counsel; International Association of Defense Counsel (Trial Academy Faculty, 1987); Defense Research Institute; American Board of Trial Advocates. Practice Areas: General Litigation Practice; Mass Torts; Chemical Explosions; Litigation; Toxic Torts; Environmental Cost Recovery; Medical Malpractice Defense; Products Liability Defense.Email: Michael O. Connelly

Debra Tsuchiyama Baker (Member) born Washington, D.C., 1958; admitted to bar, 1985, District of Columbia; 1986, Texas. Education: University of Maryland (B.S., summa cum laude, 1981); Georgetown University (J.D., 1984). Recipient, Japanese/American Magoichi Kato Memorial Scholarship for Academic Achievement, 1981. Author and Editor: "Texas Environmental Law Handbook," Government Institute, Inc., 1989 and 1990. Co-Author and Editor: "How to Avoid Environmental Liability in Business Transactions," 43 Southwestern Law Journal 1990; "What Price Innocence? A Realistic View of the Innocent Landowner Defense Under CERCLA," 22 St. Mary's Law Journal 1990; "Bankruptcy -- The Last Environmental Loophole?" South Texas Law Review, 1993; "Getting Busy: Corporate Issues in the Early Stages of Criminal Environmental Investigations," The Journal of Corporation Law, 1997. Adjunct Professor, Environmental Law, South Texas College of Law and University of Houston Law Center, 1995. Member: Houston (Vice-Chair, 1990-1991, Chair-Elect and Co-Founder, 1992-1993, Environmental Law Section) and American (Vice-Chair, 1990-1991 and Chair, 1992-1993, Environmental Law Group Committee; Member, Sections on: Real Property, Probate and Trust Law) Bar Associations. Practice Areas: Environmental Law.Email: Debra Tsuchiyama Baker

Earnest W. Wotring (Member) born Edmond, Oklahoma, 1966; admitted to bar, 1991, Texas; U.S. Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit; U.S. District Court, Southern District of Texas; U.S. Supreme Court. Education: Dartmouth College (A.B., magna cum laude, 1988); University of Chicago (J.D., cum laude, 1991). Briefing Attorney, Honorable Nathan L. Hecht, Supreme Court of Texas, 1991-1992. Member: State Bar of Texas; Houston Bar Association; American Bar Association. Practice Areas: Appellate Practice; Commercial Litigation; Litigation; Medical Malpractice; Negligence; Personal Injury; Products Liability; Drug and Medical Device Defense; Torts.Email: Earnest W. Wotring

John Muir (Member) born Fort Worth, Texas, 1961; admitted to bar, 1987, Texas. Education: Texas Christian University (B.S., magna cum laude, 1983); University of Texas (J.D., with honors, 1987). Member: Houston and American Bar Associations. Practice Areas: Litigation; Toxic Tort Defense; Products Liability Defense; Environmental Cost Recovery; Environmental Litigation; Superfund; Complex Litigation; Explosions; Chemical Explosions.Email: John Muir

David George (Member) born Port Arthur, Texas, June 7, 1969; admitted to bar, 1995, Texas, U.S. Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit and U.S. District Court, Southern District of Texas; 1996, U.S. District Court, Southern District of Texas and Southern District Bankruptcy Court; 1997, U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Texas; 1998, U.S. District Court, Western and Northern Districts of Texas; 2004, U.S. Supreme Court; 2005, Maryland. Education: Baylor University (B.A., 1991; J.D., with honors, 1995). Law Clerk to: Hon. Harold R. DeMoss, Jr., U.S. Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit, 1995-1997; Hon. Joe J. Fisher, U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Texas, 1997-1998. President, the American Civil Liberties Union of Houston, 2002-2003. Board Member, Gulf Regional Advocacy Center, 2003-2005. Named: "Rising Star" by Texas Monthly Magazine, 2004; "Super Lawyer" by Texas Monthly Magazine, 2005; "One of Top Lawyers in Houston" by H-Texas Magazine, 2004-2005. Co- Editor, Appellate Lawyer, 2005—. Member: Houston and American Bar Associations; State Bar of Texas; Maryland State Bar Association, Inc.; American Bar Association. (Board Certified, Civil Appellate Law, Texas Board of Legal Specialization). Reported Cases: Spector v. Norwegian Cruise Lines, 125 S.Ct. 2169 (2005); SMI Realty Management Corp. v. Underwriters at Lloyd' s, ___ S.W.3d ___, 2005 WL 2123726 (Tex. App.-Houston [1st Dist.] 2005); Meekey v. Rick's Cabaret International, Inc., 171 S.W.3d 394, (Tex. App.-Houston [14th Dist.] 2005, pet. denied); Tran v. Macha, ___ S.W.3d ___, 2004 WL 2415100 (Tex. App.-Houston [1st Dist.] 2004). Practice Areas: Appellate Practice; Complex Litigation.Email: David George

ASSOCIATES

Raul M. Calderon (Associate) born San Antonio, Texas, November 30, 1954; admitted to bar, 1980, Texas. Education: Harvard University (B.A., 1977; J.D., 1980). Member: San Antonio and American Bar Associations; State Bar of Texas. Practice Areas: Commercial Litigation; Personal Injury.Email: Raul M. Calderon

Sheryl Sipes Norman (Associate) born 1968; admitted to bar, 1993, Texas. Education: University of Texas at Arlington (B.A., Political Science, 1990); Baylor University (J.D., 1993). Practice Areas: Civil Defense; Personal Injury; Railroad Law; Federal Employers Liability Act (FELA); Railroad Accidents and Injuries; Railroad Crossing Accidents; Railroad Liability; Railroad Litigation; Train Derailments.Email: Sheryl Sipes Norman

Glenda Hobbs Kirsch (Associate) born San Saba, Texas, May 23, 1954; admitted to bar, 1987, Texas and U.S. District Court, Southern District of Texas and Eastern District of Wisconsin. Education: University of Houston (B.A., 1979; J.D., magna cum laude, 1987). Member: State Bar of Texas. Languages: Spanish. Practice Areas: Litigation.Email: Glenda Hobbs Kirsch

Allison Miller (Associate) born Cincinnati, Ohio, 1977; admitted to bar, 2002, California (Inactive); 2004, Texas. Education: Northwestern University (B.S., 1999); Pepperdine University School of Law (J.D., with honors, 2002). Law Clerk to Hon. Earl S. Hines, Eastern District of Texas, 2002-2003. Member: Houston Bar Association; Houston Young Lawyers Association; State Bar of Texas. Languages: French. Practice Areas: Environmental Law; Environmental Contamination; Environmental Cost Recovery; Environmental Litigation; Groundwater Contamination; Hazardous Materials and Substances; Hazardous Waste; Property Remediation; Superfund; Toxic Chemicals; Water Pollution; Business Litigation; Commercial Litigation.Email: Allison Miller

Amy Nilsen (Associate) born Houston, Texas, December 22, 1974; admitted to bar, 2000, Texas; 2001, U.S. District Court, Southern District of Texas; 2002, U.S. Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit. Education: University of Colorado, Boulder (B.A., 1997); University of Houston, Houston Law Center (J.D., magna cum laude, 2000). Author: "Speaking Out Against Passive Parent Child Abuse: The Time Has Come to Hold Parents Liable for Failing to Protect their Children," 37 HOU. L. REV. 253 (2000). Speaker: "24 Hours: When Every Minute Counts," American Society for Healthcare Risk Management Conference, 2005. Member: Houston Bar Association; State Bar of Texas. Practice Areas: Appellate Practice; Commercial Litigation; Litigation; Medical Malpractice; Negligence; Personal Injury; Torts; Drug and Medical Device Defense; Oil and Gas Litigation.Email: Amy Nilsen

OF COUNSEL

John D. Cleland (Of Counsel) born Durham, North Carolina, 1968; admitted to bar, 1998, North Carolina; 1999, Texas. Education: Wake Forest University (B.A., cum laude, 1990); Tulane University of Louisiana (J.D., magna cum laude, 1998). Order of the Coif. Recipient, Certificate in Admiralty and Maritime Law. Member: Houston and American Bar Associations; State Bar of Texas. Practice Areas: Litigation.Email: John D. Cleland

SENIOR ATTORNEY

Mainess Gibson (Senior Attorney) born Quanah, Texas, April 12, 1944; admitted to bar, 1973, Texas, U.S. District Court, Southern District of Texas and U.S. Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit; 1980, U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Texas; 1990, U.S. District Court, Western District of Texas. Education: West Texas State University (B.S., 1968); University of Houston (J.D., 1973). Member: Houston and American Bar Associations; State Bar of Texas (Member, Real Estate, Probate and Trust Law Section); National Association of Railroad Counsel. Practice Areas: Railroad Law; Federal Employers Liability Act (FELA); FELA Occupational Hearing Loss; Railroad Accidents and Injuries; Railroad Crossing Accidents; Railroad Liability; Railroad Litigation; Train Derailments.