Frost Brown Todd Opens Houston Office
Firm adds eight attorneys, including four from the former firm McFall, Breitbeil & Eidman
Frost Brown Todd (FBT) is expanding its Texas presence with a new office in Houston. Zenobia Harris Bivens, a Houston native, will act as the office’s member-in-charge. The firm has already brought on eight additional attorneys with experience in a variety of industries, including energy, construction, manufacturing, health care, sports & entertainment, and finance.
“Our clients have been requesting a Houston location for some time,” said FBT Chairman Robert Sartin. “Attorneys from several markets across our nine-state footprint already do work in the area, including many who operate out of our Dallas office. The business community and the legal profession are facing unprecedented challenges. Though many law firms have found it necessary to retract, FBT has created a solid foundation that makes this a pivotal time to expand. We want to support our clients and help them succeed in all circumstances.”
Several of the attorneys join FBT from their former firm McFall, Breitbeil & Eidman, P.C., from which they bring their boutique commercial and oil & gas sector litigation practice. They include Members Kenneth Breitbeil, Greg Eidman, Courtney Gahm-Oldham, and Associate Stephen Crowder. Former XFL Houston Roughnecks President Brian Michael Cooper returns to private practice as a member at FBT. Members Cleve Glenn and Patrick LaRue recently joined from Lewis Brisbois, and Member Ken Bullock joins from Munsch Hardt.
“The foundation of this office represents the future needs of Houston’s growing industries,” said Bivens. “We are excited to bring our considerable depth of industry knowledge and understanding of the Houston market to FBT. As we continue to grow, we want the Houston office to reflect the diversity, energy, and strong ties to the community that are integral to Houston’s culture, particularly right now as we all face significant challenges. That is why each of our attorneys is committed to civic engagement. We routinely handle pro bono cases and volunteer for organizations like the Boy Scouts, Houston Cares Animal Rescue, and autism advocates Hope For Three. We look forward to continued service to our community and dedication to our clients.”
About Our Houston Attorneys:
Member-in-Charge Zenobia Harris Bivens is a trial attorney. Her practice focuses on business litigation, including intellectual property, oil & gas, real estate, and contract disputes. Bivens also has extensive experience with civil and criminal government enforcement proceedings involving NASA, the Department of Housing and Urban Development, Health and Human Services, and the Department of Defense. She has won numerous jury verdicts and significant trial court decisions, including a successful appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court. She has represented numerous pro bono clients in criminal proceedings, leading to dismissal, jury acquittal, or expunction. Bivens serves as a mock trial coach and adjunct professor for the University of Houston Law Center Trial Advocacy Program. She has been named a Texas Super Lawyers “Rising Star,” a “Top Woman Lawyer” in Texas Monthly, and a “Top Houston Lawyer,” by Houstonia Magazine. At the start of her career, Bivens served as a law clerk at the Texas Supreme Court (Hon. Dale Wainwright, ret.) and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit (Hon. Carl E. Stewart).
Member Kenneth R. Breitbeil has more than 30 years of litigation experience across Texas. Breitbeil is admitted to practice in all federal district courts in Texas, as well as the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth and Second Circuits and the U.S. Supreme Court. Breitbeil has tried and won numerous commercial and personal injury cases in many venues across Texas, both state and federal, including representing companies as plaintiffs on contingency and creative blended fee arrangements. Notably, he was one of the lawyers primarily involved in a successful appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court, which reversed a Fifth Circuit ruling. His litigation experience includes trying cases involving breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty, trade secret misappropriation, real estate, banking, and defending legal malpractice and personal injury claims. Breitbeil is a Texas Monthly “Texas Super Lawyer” and one of “Houston’s Top Lawyers,” according to Houstonia Magazine. He is also a dedicated youth league coach in basketball and baseball.
Member Kenneth W. Bullock is a litigator with extensive experience in the energy and maritime industries. He has represented a variety of onshore and offshore drilling and exploration companies, operators, oil field service providers, pipeline operators, and heavy construction companies in both state and federal courts in Texas and throughout the U.S. Bullock also represents energy, refining, construction, manufacturing and other clients in connection with internal investigations, emergency response and catastrophic loss investigations, as well as Occupational Safety and Health Administration inspections and defending against citations and penalties before the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.
Member Brian Michael Cooper has served as president of two professional sports teams, most recently the XFL Houston Roughnecks, where he received recognition for his work in the national media. A four-time Super Lawyers Texas Rising Star with over 20 years of experience as an attorney, executive, and advisor, Cooper has guided sports, entertainment, media, retail, finance, and energy companies through all aspects of corporate transactions and operations projects. His transactional practice has included the negotiation of player and coach contracts, marketing, licensing, and sponsorship agreements, arena, stadium and facility leases, operating agreements, and content distribution agreements. As president of the NBA G-League RGV Vipers, he negotiated the first hybrid affiliation agreement between an NBA team and NBA G-League team. In addition, Cooper is also active in the Houston community including his service as a member on the boards of Positive Coaching Alliance and Longitude.
Member Greg Eidman is part of FBT’s Energy and Private Equity industry teams. He is a business trial lawyer with an impressive track record of successfully handling high stakes and contingency fee cases for companies, private equity groups, and entrepreneurs. His clients have included Fortune 500 companies and publicly traded energy companies in the upstream, midstream, and downstream sectors. As a leader in the legal and civic community, Eidman has been repeatedly honored by his peers for his successes in the legal profession and for many years he has served on the boards of numerous Houston charitable organizations.
Member Courtney B. Gahm-Oldham is part of FBT’s Construction practice group and Energy industry team. She has experience in risk mitigation, dispute resolution, and trial work. She has represented both small independent businesses and Fortune 500 companies in a variety of industries, from construction and fabrication to environmental to transportation and fitness. Gahm-Oldham volunteers her time volunteering with Houston’s First Baptist Church, assisting the legal needs of animal rescues, and low-income individuals and serves as a board member of the Houston Cares Animal Rescue. She also obtained a Top 100 Verdict in Texas for 2019.
Member Cleve Glenn is a member of FBT’s Energy and Private Equity industry teams. He is a corporate lawyer and licensed certified public accountant who has C-suite energy industry experience and has previously served as in-house counsel and chief financial officer for an oilfield services company. Glenn regularly advises clients on commercial contract matters and complex transactions, including buy-side and sell-side mergers and acquisitions, control and minority investments, growth equity investments, and joint ventures.
Member J. Patrick LaRue is a member of FBT’s Mergers & Acquisitions practice group. He focuses on corporate counseling and advisory services, corporate governance, mergers and acquisitions, health care transactions, finance, commercial real estate and leasing transactions. He has experience serving clients in a variety of industries, primarily in health care, financial services, and private equity. LaRue volunteers his time as a Merit Badge Counselor for the Boy Scouts of America, Sam Houston Area Council. He also serves as Committee Chairman for Hope For Three (an autism advocacy non-profit organization) and has been a member of its board of directors since inception.
Associate Stephen P. Crowder is a current Texas Super Lawyers “Rising Star” with experience in a broad array of disputed subject matter, including real estate issues, business disputes, health care, financial institutions, and fiduciary obligations. A graduate of Baylor Law School, Crowder interned for judges in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Mexico and the New Mexico Supreme Court.