MEET
Richard Schechter
Attorney
Board Certified in Personal Injury Trial Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization
Board Certified Civil Trial Advocate by the National Board of Trial Advocacy
AV rated by Martindale Hubbell
Overview
Richard Schechter formed The Law Office of Richard Schechter, P.C. in 1986, after six years in private practice. In his over forty years of practicing law, Schechter has been responsible for developing and trying the full range of complex civil cases, including nuisance and negligence actions against major oil companies and members of the pharmaceutical industry, product liability suits against some of the largest companies in the world for the design and manufacture of defective products, all types of business disputes, including claims for fraud, tortious interference with contract and violations of the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices-Consumer Protection Act, Jones Act and maritime litigation, FELA and other federal statutory claims, and medical negligence cases. His work often involves delving into complicated issues of science and medicine and working in concert with experts across a wide range of professional fields.
During his career Richard has represented the full spectrum of clients, including Cities, Counties and Hospital Districts, judges, bankers, refinery executives and workers, railroad workers, seamen, offshore and onshore oilfield workers and longshoremen. He has started over 120 jury trials and tried over 80 to a verdict in federal courts in the Eastern and Southern Districts of Texas and the Eastern and Western Districts of Louisiana, in state district courts across Texas and in California, and before administrative law judges. In addition to the cases he has tried, Richard has represented clients in state and federal courts throughout Texas and in California, Michigan, Louisiana, New Mexico and Oregon.
His clients have ranged from as far away as Europe, Asia and South America, to as close as Houston, Galveston and Beaumont, and across the United States. In addition to his trial work, Richard has also handled numerous appeals, including before the Texas Supreme Court, Texas Courts of Appeals and the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, as well as having served as a law clerk for The Honorable Sam Johnson, Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. His knowledge of the law is highly respected, and he has served as an adjunct professor of Admiralty and Maritime Law, spoken to lawyers around the United States about both the law and trial strategies, and testified before committees of both the United States House of Representatives and Senate regarding pending legislation. Richard Schechter has been selected as a Texas SuperLawyer® every year since the award was initiated by Law & Politics (now a Thomson Reuters service).
Richard is married to Olivia Thomas, a fellow lawyer. Together they share five children, five grandchildren, and the hope of welcoming more grandchildren soon. When not working or spending time with his family, Richard enjoys hiking in the mountains and aspires to one day achieve his dream of completing his hike of the Appalachian Trail.