STEPHEN D. SUSMAN, born Houston, Texas; admitted to bar: 1965, Texas; 1999, District of Columbia; 2000, New York; 2002, Colorado.
In 1980, Stephen Susman founded Susman Godfrey, the first firm in the southwest to limit its specialty to commercial litigation. The firm now has 90 lawyers in offices in Houston, Dallas, Seattle, Los Angeles, and New York.
Who's Who Legal: The International Who's Who of Business Lawyers has twice named Susman the Leading Commercial Litigator in the World just as The National Law Journal's featured him as one of the nation's top ten litigators, and The Best Lawyers in America recognized him as being included in the distinguished group of attorneys who have made the list for 25 years or longer.
Although the stakes are high and the challenges immense in his private practice, that doesn't stop Susman from tirelessly pursuing issues of justice and reform. Teaching lawyers around the world effective advocacy, instituting reforms in the civil justice system, and through ABA Task Forces on which he serves, improving jury comprehension, streamlining class actions, and promoting efficient trials are top priorities in his dedication to law. Currently serving on the Texas Supreme Court's Advisory Committee, Susman has been instrumental in discovery rule revision, tantamount to making trials quicker and less expensive. Appointed to serve on both the ABA's Section of Litigation Trial Attorney Advisory Board and the Commission on the Impact of the Economic Crisis on the Profession and Legal Needs, Susman dedicates a tremendous amount of time with these endeavors as well as positions with the American Constitution Society, The Yale Art Gallery Board, The University of Texas Law Foundation Board and Development Board, and The University of Houston Law Foundation Board, just to name a few.