COGHLAN CROWSON - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES, MEMBERSHIPS, & AFFILIATIONS
Job Titles:
- School of Longview, past President of Board of Trustees
Job Titles:
- Founding Attorney, 1954 - 2007
Job Titles:
- Business Partners
- Founding Attorney, 1927 - 2016
Attorney Westbrook brings with him an eight-year career as an independent petroleum landman and began law practice with the Midland firm of Stubbeman, McRae, Sealey, Laughlin & Browder, working exclusively with Jad Davis. In 1991, joined the law firm of Sharp, Price, Griffith and McCollum, with a concentration in Commercial and Energy litigation. He then joined the firm of Coghlan, Crowson, Fitzpatrick & Westbrook in 1994.
Job Titles:
- Partner
- LLP in 2001 As an Associate
James started his legal career working for U.S. District Judge, William M. Steger. James next joined Coghlan Crowson LLP in 2001 as an associate and worked his way up to partner with the Firm by 2008. James left for a stint as Deputy General Counsel in Houston, Texas with a publicly-traded energy company. He rejoined the Firm as a partner in 2009 and handles litigation and transactional matters related to eminent domain, utilities, businesses, and all aspects of midstream and upstream oil and gas. James has successfully navigated his clients through major right-of-way acquisition projects, real estate acquisitions, and sales, major mechanical equipment failures in wells, compressor stations, and processing plants, land title issues, and disputed business transactions.
Josh Ellis joined Coghlan Crowson in 2022, and he supports the firm's litigation practice. His primary areas of practice are commercial, consumer, and employment litigation.
Josh has an extensive background in labor and employment law, having worked for three global labor and employment law firms. He represents both employees and employers with claims involving employment discrimination, harassment, retaliation, wage and hour violations, unfair competition, noncompetition, and trade secrets. Also, he has assisted employers with reduction in force, including conducting WARN and disparate impact analysis.
Additionally, Josh has considerable experience with both prosecuting and defending against consumer claims, including the Deceptive Trade Practices Act (DTPA), the Residential Construction Liability Act (RCLA), the Fair Debt Collection Act (FDCPA), and the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA).
Josh is an East Texas native, originally from Atlanta, Texas. After spending fifteen years in Dallas working for some of the world's largest law firms, Josh was excited to return home to East Texas to serve its residents and businesses.
Education
UNT Dallas College of Law, Dallas, TX
Mike is a native East Texan who grew up in Longview and began his trial practice in Northeast Texas in 1990. He joined Coghlan Crowson, LLP as a partner in 2008.
He has an active litigation practice representing clients in lawsuits and on appeal in will contests, probate and trust disputes, contested guardianships, breach of fiduciary duty cases, business disputes, oil and gas matters, and professional liability cases.
He is board certified by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization in Civil Trial Law (1999) and Civil Appellate Law (1996)
Education
Bachelor of Arts, cum laude, Baylor University, 1986