Justice Murry B. Cohen leads the firm’s Texas appellate practice. Justice Cohen served for more than nineteen years on the Court of Appeals for the 1st District of Texas in Houston, deciding civil and criminal appeals from fourteen Texas counties. Elected to four terms from 1982 to 2000, he was the highest-rated appellate judge (1997, 1999, 2001) and highest-rated (of 118 judges) incumbent state judge (1997, 1999) in Houston Bar Association polls. He was named Appellate Judge of the Year in 1994 by the Texas Association of Civil Trial and Appellate Specialists, and in 1997 was recommended by the Texas Democratic Congressional Delegation to the president for nomination to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit.

Having been certified in Civil Appellate Law and in Criminal Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization, Justice Cohen focuses on appeals in Texas and federal courts and on trial procedure, including dispositive legal motions, jury charges and post-trial motions. He has represented oil companies, insurance companies, hospitals, nursing homes, publishers, railroads, electric companies and individuals in trials and appeals in cases of breach of contract, libel, personal injury, bad faith insurance practices, injury to real estate, condemnation and alleged criminal conduct. These have included proceedings for injunction, writs of mandamus, writs of prohibition, motions to recuse and objections to the judge’s authority to preside. He has prosecuted and defended criminal cases ranging from minor misdemeanors to capital murder, and has served as a federal court special master, as a mediator in trial and appellate cases, as an arbitrator for AAA and CPR, and as an expert witness on attorney’s fees.

Justice Cohen received his B.A. in 1967 from the George Washington University and his J.D. in 1972 from the University of Texas. He is a life fellow of both the Texas Bar Foundation and the Houston Bar Foundation. He served as an adjunct professor at the University of Houston Law Center from 1989 to 1994, teaching seminars in appellate procedure and advocacy, and at South Texas College of Law from 1991 to 1993, teaching seminars in appellate practice.

Justice Cohen writes and speaks frequently on litigation-related topics. His recent articles and speeches include—

• “Preservation of Error in Probate Litigation” (presented to Attorneys in Tax and Probate, November 4, 2008)
• “Oral Advocacy in the Trial Court and on Appeal” (with 14th of Appeals Justice Eva Guzman, 5th Circuit Judge Jennifer Elrod and Professor Gerald Treece), South Texas College of Law Advanced Civil Trial Seminar (February 22, 2007)
• “Did We Kill an Innocent Man?” (with Barry Scheck) (Houston Chronicle, April 30, 2006)
• “Punitive Damages,” State Bar of Texas Advanced Civil Appellate Practice Course (September 9, 2005)
• “When a Creditors’ Committee Dies, Does its Pending Appeal Die Too?” (American Bankruptcy Institute Journal, December 2004-January 2005)
• “Post-Verdict Preservation of Error,” State Bar of Texas Advanced Civil Trial Course (November 10, 2004)
• “Preserving Error for Appellate Review and Avoiding Malpractice,” Houston Bar Association (November 5, 2004)
• “Daubert in 2004: 10 Topical Approaches to Attacking Expert Testimony” Houston Bar Association Appellate Section (October 20, 2004)
• “Presenting Oral Argument” (with Texas Court of Appeals Justices Dori Garza, Ann McClure, Brian Quinn and Bea Ann Smith), State Bar of Texas Advanced Civil Appellate Course (September 9, 2004).

Justice Cohen has been consistently recognized as one of the top Texas appellate lawyers every year since 2006 by Chambers USA, which recognizes him as “an impressive attorney, both inside and outside the courtroom.” In 2010, Texas Monthly named Justice Cohen one of the top 100 lawyers in Texas and from 2003 through 2009, one of the top 100 lawyers in the Houston region. For the last five years, he has been listed in The Best Lawyers in America (2006-2010), in appellate law, bet-the-company litigation and commercial litigation.