Andrews Kurth Appellate Practice Strengthened

HOUSTON – Andrews Kurth recently announced that Kendall M. Gray has been board certified in Civil Appeals by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization.

To receive the certification, Gray had to meet exacting requirements, including devoting his practice to civil appellate law matters for at least three of the last five years, having the requisite oral arguments before state or federal appellate courts, attending civil appellate continuing education classes, having lawyers and judges evaluate him, and passing a rigorous day-long examination, which only 27% of the applicants passed.

Gray directs Andrews Kurth’s Appellate Practice Group in the firm’s Houston office. Andrews Kurth’s Appellate Practice Group represents appellants or appellees in all types of civil actions, handling cases from post-verdict through final appeal. Andrews Kurth has broad experience with appeals involving multimillion-dollar judgments for some of the nation’s highest-profile corporations. The firm works with trial lawyers inside and outside to obtain summary judgments and other pre-trial rulings and to preserve error throughout the trial and jury charge phases of the case.

Gray has represented clients in state and federal appellate courts including the US Supreme Court, the US Courts of Appeal for the Fifth and Ninth Circuits, the Supreme Court of Texas and many intermediate courts of appeal. His practice includes a variety of complex commercial, medical malpractice and toxic tort matters as well as a particular focus in disputes involving employee benefits, managed care and ERISA. The disputes commonly require complex written and oral advocacy on such topics as ERISA preemption, federal jurisdiction, and the admissibility and reliability of scientific or medical evidence.

Active in the community, Gray is an ordained elder in the Presbyterian Church U.S.A. and attends Houston’s First Presbyterian Church with his family. As a member of the Houstonian Hammerheads Cycling Team, Gray raises money to support the Lone Star Chapter of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society through the BP MS150 Bicycle Tour from Houston to Austin, for which he was among the top 300 fundraisers in 2005.

For more than a century, Andrews Kurth LLP has built its practice on the belief that “straight talk is good business.” Real answers, clear vision and mutual respect define the firm’s relationships with clients, colleagues, communities and employees. With more than 400 lawyers and offices in Austin, Beijing, Dallas, Houston, London, Los Angeles, New York, The Woodlands, and Washington, DC, Andrews Kurth represents a wide array of clients in all areas of business law.