PIERCE & O'NEILL - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Manager
- Senior Paralegal
- Senior Paralegal / Case Manager
Barbie Jones is a senior paralegal/case manager. She has over thirty-five years of civil litigation and trial experience. She has worked with Mr. Pierce since 2003. Ms. Jones provides support to Messrs. Pierce, Cohen, and Ms. Livingstone.
Job Titles:
- Senior Paralegal / Case Manager
Job Titles:
- Association, Director, 1978 to 1979
Job Titles:
- Selected Lawyer of the Year, Oil & Gas Law
Job Titles:
- Attorney
- Members of the American Board of Trial Advocates
"If I ever get in trouble, he's the first man I'll call. He runs a tight ship and plays the game with both feet on the ground. He did a phenomenal job."
Jack O'Neill has been trying large complex cases for over 45 years. His experience in the courtroom involves many cases that have been widely publicized.
Mr. O'Neill was co-trial counsel for UPR, Inc. in its attempted takeover of Pennzoil. He was lead counsel for Mitchell Energy Corporation in the company's effort to overturn a $204 million judgment rendered against the company in a case tried for the company by another law firm. On appeal, argued by Mr. O'Neill, the case was reversed in its entirety and judgment was rendered in favor of Mitchell. He was lead trial counsel for Mitchell Energy in a related case in which plaintiffs sought $750 million for alleged contamination of their properties by natural gas and hydrogen sulfide. After a three-month trial, the jury rendered a unanimous verdict in favor of Mitchell. He was lead trial counsel for plaintiffs in the highly publicized Key 1-11 gas well blowout case in the Texas Panhandle, the largest blowout of a gas well in continental United States history. After a trial lasting over two and a half months, the jury returned one of the largest verdicts in Randall County, Texas history in favor of Mr. O'Neill's clients. He was lead trial counsel for a well-known Houston oil and gas company in a fraud case in which the plaintiff sought damages in excess of $100 million. After a two-month trial, the jury returned a verdict for Mr. O'Neill's client, and a take-nothing judgment was entered by the trial court. Mr. O'Neill has successfully tried many other cases relating to virtually all aspects of the oil and gas industry.
Mr. O'Neill is a former director of the Litigation Section of the State Bar of Texas. He also is a member of the American Board of Trial Advocates.
Jesse Pierce has more than forty-five years of litigation experience and has tried many types of cases in state and federal courts of Texas and other states. He specializes in civil trials of cases dealing with complex energy and commercial issues. Mr. Pierce is Board Certified in Civil Trial Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization and is a Commercial Arbitrator for the American Arbitration Association. Mr. Pierce has been inducted into the Litigation Counsel of America, a trial lawyer honorary society composed of less than one-half of one percent of American lawyers. Fellows are selected based on effectiveness and accomplishment in litigation, both at the trial and appellate levels and on the basis of a superior ethical reputation. He is licensed to practice in Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Pennsylvania, and Ohio.
Mr. Pierce represents both plaintiffs and defendants, and has represented clients in many types of complex litigation, including oil and gas, environmental, product liability, interpretation and enforcement of contracts, temporary restraining orders, trade secrets, franchising, real estate, ERISA claims, securities and corporate matters, franchising disputes, copyright and entertainment matters, and a variety of fraud, usury, and Deceptive Trade Practices matters, and has extensive experience in class action litigation. Mr. Pierce frequently lectures at continuing legal education seminars and was a drafter of the Texas Pattern Jury Charges for Oil and Gas Cases.
Job Titles:
- Litigation & Trial Support Specialist
Susan Parrish Forney v. William H. Forney, Sr., et al. Court of Appeals for the First District of Texas at Houston. Affirmance on appeal of jury verdict for client in $100,000,000 fraud case.
Job Titles:
- Litigation & Trial Support Specialist