News & Insights

Lightfoot Joins with Levinthal Wilkins to Expand Houston Office

January 6, 2020

Lightfoot, Franklin & White LLC continues the strategic expansion of its Houston office by joining with trial boutique Levinthal Wilkins PLLC. Partners Jared I. Levinthal and Robert A. Wilkins, along with associate Kaitlyn M. Faucett, will join the firm and bring their experienced staff. 

“Jared and Rob have a stellar reputation in Texas and around the country as talented trial lawyers, and we are pleased to have them as part of our growing Houston office,” said Lightfoot managing partner Melody Eagan. “They are a perfect fit, along with Kaitlyn, for the vision we have for this location as a substantial presence. We look forward to working with them as we represent our many clients in Texas and across the U.S.”

The firm has more than 60 trial lawyers, with 14 licensed to practice in Texas. Lightfoot opened its Houston office in 2017 in an effort to meet demand from existing Texas clients who consistently expressed a desire for the firm to have a base of operations within the state. With the addition of Levinthal, Wilkins and Faucett, Lightfoot now has seven lawyers practicing in the Houston office.

“When Lightfoot came to Houston three years ago, we took notice,” said Levinthal. “We were already familiar with the firm’s national presence and reputation as a top-tier trial firm. After getting to know Lightfoot’s lawyers and its culture, Rob and I realized that joining them would benefit our clients and provide us with a solid platform and an accomplished, much deeper team to handle our growing commercial practice.”

“At Levinthal Wilkins, we created a special kind of practice, based on hard work, strategic thinking, attention to detail, and — most important of all — the highest degree of care for our clients’ needs,” said Wilkins.  “Jared and I had to be certain that any firm we joined would share our approach and unwavering values. Our new colleagues at Lightfoot are of similar mind and have created a standout litigation firm with a nationwide reputation for excellence.  In short, it’s the perfect next step for us.”

Levinthal represents plaintiffs and defendants in all types of litigation, including complex commercial cases with millions of dollars — and often the company itself — at stake. He has practiced since 1997 and handles disputes involving commercial and business issues, product liability, professional malpractice, intellectual property, insurance coverage and bad faith, serious personal injury and wrongful death. Since 2013, Levinthal has routinely been named a “Super Lawyer” in the Texas Monthly listing of top attorneys in the state, and he was named one of the top 100 lawyers in Houston by Super Lawyers for 2019. Last year, Levinthal obtained a jury verdict for almost $15 million as lead trial counsel in a multi-party commercial fraud case in federal court in Houston.

Wilkins has practiced for 18 years, representing both plaintiffs and defendants in state and federal courts as well as before arbitral tribunals. He has a particular focus on commercial litigation involving the oil and gas industry, including business divorce cases, fiduciary duty issues, breach of contract claims, securities disputes and related matters. Wilkins has also handled personal injury and tort litigation, First Amendment issues and intellectual property disputes. He has been recognized as a Texas “Super Lawyer” by Texas Monthly every year since 2014. Twice in the past two years, operating as lead counsel, Wilkins has secured complete take-nothing arbitration awards and obtained — in both cases — an award of all costs and legal fees for his clients.

Faucett focuses her practice on civil litigation matters. After graduating from law school, she served as in-house counsel at a boutique oil and gas company in Houston, where she advised the company on issues related to title rights, contracts, litigation and corporate finance. During her time with Levinthal Wilkins, she tried multiple cases and arbitrations.