Meridian Lawyers

Mr. Akerly is the founding partner in Akerly Law PLLC, Dallas, Texas. He graduated from Texas Tech University School of Law in 1982 with honors. He clerked for the Honorable Mary Lou Robinson, United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas. He has over 30 years of experience as a litigator, teacher and speaker in federal and state court, trial and appeal courts. Mr. Akerly has been selected to the 2019 Texas Super Lawyers list, which marks his 10th consecutive year for this honor. The Super Lawyers list recognizes no more than five...

Twenty-three-year, AV Preeminent® (5.0), Super Lawyer managing six-attorney-law firm.

Construction Services:

* Mechanics' Liens
* Bond Claims
* Letter of Credit Claims
* Construction Defects
* Foundation Defects
* Product Liability/Defects
* Collections
* Lien Foreclosure
* Construction Contracts
* Employment Agreements
* Loan Documents
* Bankruptcy Claims

Real Estate Services:

* Purchase and Sale Agreements
* Entity Formation
* Takedown Agreements
* Loan Documents
* Foreclosure
* Eviction
* Land Use
* Trespass
* Bankruptcy Creditor Representation

I represent individuals and small-to-midsize businesses in a variety of litigation matters, with a primary emphasis on contract and construction disputes.

With more than 30 years of experience, Mr. Finley has worked with hundreds of clients to develop estate plans, wills, trusts, family limited partnerships, limited liability companies, powers of attorney, and other ancillary documents. He advises clients on critical structural and business formation issues, and provides counsel to clients involved in federal tax controversies and disputes with the IRS.

Tiara A. Thomas is an attorney, speaker, and philanthropist. Throughout her career, she has helped her clients get the justice they deserve for being injured in both commercial and non-commercial vehicle crashes. In addition to personal injury, Tiara has represented clients in complex civil litigation claims, including breach of contract claims, civil fraud claims, Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act claims, & more! In 2022, she was selected as a “Top 40 Under 40 Attorney,” an honor given to only the top 40 under 40 African American lawyers in each state or region with reputations for providing excellent legal representation in their...

Carl L. Evans, Jr. is an Equity Partner at McCathern in the law firm's Dallas, Texas office and he practices in the areas of non-subscriber employer defense, trucking, liquor liability, employment, commercial, construction, subrogation, tort and insurance litigation. Mr. Evans has an extensive litigation and trial background, having tried numerous cases in state and federal courts. He has also obtained defense verdicts in arbitrations involving claims of fraud, negligence, breach of contract and breach of warranty. In addition, Mr. Evans has successfully represented numerous clients in summary judgment motions that have included claims for bad faith, fraud, negligence, premises liability,...

Mark R. Basile started his career at Shea & Gould in New York City and throughout the course of his career has, and continues to represent small publicly traded companies in securities and corporate finance litigation in both state and federal courts around the country. Mr. Basile won a landmark decision (2021) for small public companies in the New York Court of Appeals that agreed that certain corporate funding instruments are subject to NY's criminal usury laws. Mr. Basile is also a Professor of Law & Entrepreneurship at The Jacob D. Fuchsberg Law Center in New York teaching a course that he...

Marty Jo Taylor advocates against family violence so children can grow up free from pain and insecurity. A mother of one son, she is a strong advocate for children and works diligently to keep them safe and secure.

She assists families with navigating the legal system during this sensitive and often traumatic time. She never rushes through the process and uses her mediation training skills to develop workable solutions instead of adding fuel to the fire.
Clients with questions about their case know they can count on Marty Jo to take the time to examine the facts and the...

I devote my practice to family law and business litigation matters, both in the courtroom and at the negotiating table, especially when these two areas of law collide. My unique experience includes navigating clients through family and business law disputes involving complex divorce and property issues, child custody, and CPS matters, as well as breach of contract cases, high-stakes securities and fiduciary matters, shareholder and insolvency litigation, malpractice lawsuits, real estate matters, and labor and employment disputes.

Mr. Clint Broden is board certified in the area of criminal law and criminal appellate. His practice is limited to criminal defense work. He has received an "AV" rating from Martindale Hubbell, the highest rating available. He was voted by his peers as a "Super Lawyer" in criminal defense from 2004 - Current. From 2011 - 2013, D Best named him a "best attorney" in Dallas in the field of criminal defense. Although he handles all types of criminal cases, Mr. Broden specializes in complex, criminal cases in federal court at both the trial and appellate level. He...

Chad West has dedicated his career to protecting the rights of individuals who are facing difficult legal circumstances. Throughout his career, he has worked on a vast variety of cases ranging from complex litigation suits to car wreck cases to workplace injury cases generating over $200 million in verdicts, judgments, and settlements. Chad's practice focuses on civil litigation, personal injury, and car accidents. After growing up on a farm in Southern Illinois, Chad attended and graduated from Washington University in St. Louis and was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the United States Army. He served in...

Samantha’s primary goal is to assist clients in their time of need, whether they were injured or need help navigating a complex family situation. Samantha understands that personal injury and family law cases are extremely emotional and stressful for her clients. There is no one size fits all solution so Samantha works with her clients to understand their specific circumstances and needs to find a solution that makes sense.

Ms. Maria McIntyre was born near Columbus, Ohio in 1975. Her mother is of Vietnamese descent and immigrated to the United States in the late 1960s. Ms. McIntyre has resided in the Dallas- Fort Worth area since childhood. She graduated with honors from Texas Christian University in 1998 with a Bachelor of Science (B.S.) in Political Science. In 2002, Ms. McIntyre earned her Juris Doctor (J.D.) from Texas Wesleyan University School of Law.

Ms. McIntyre realized her passion for U.S. immigration law at an early age. Ms. McIntyre observed the challenges her mother faced as her mother began immigrating her siblings...

Claudia V. Cubias is a graduate of the Saint Louis University School of Law. She has years of experience in immigration field working for a boutique firm in Dallas before attending law school and volunteering at non-profits as a law student. Ms. Cubias family migrated to the United States in the late 80s from El Salvador and Mexico. Her family’s immigration story inspired her to become an attorney to help those in similar need. Ms. Cubias is fluent in written and spoken Spanish.

Michael Kelsheimer focuses his practice on the employment law needs of Texas businesses and executive employees. He recognizes that the cost and expense of litigation make resolving employment disputes challenging. To help avoid these concerns, he utilizes his experience in and out of the courtroom to prevent or quickly resolve employment disputes through proactive employer planning and timely advice. When a dispute cannot be avoided, Michael relies upon his prior experience as a briefing attorney for the United States District Court and his extensive experience in employment and commercial lawsuits to secure favorable resolutions for his clients. Michael has experience in...

Ms. Neal was admitted to the Texas Bar in 2012, after graduating with her Juris Doctorate from St. Mary’s University School of Law and Master of Arts in Communication Studies from St. Mary’s University earlier that year. She also holds a Bachelor of Journalism from The University of Texas at Austin, where she graduated in 2007. After working in civil defense litigation immediately after law school, Ms. Neal chose to devote the majority of practice to Family Law, wishing to spend more time in making a direct difference in her clients’ lives by vigorously advocating on their behalf. She...

Attorney Roy Petty has practiced law over 23 years in Texas, Florida, and Arizona. Roy is Board Certified in Immigration & Nationality Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization. Roy has developed creative solutions to get his clients their immigration benefits. He successfully has litigated cases against the United States government in various District Courts and Courts of Appeals. His lawsuits have pushed the government to grant benefits to his clients, changed bureaucratic policies, and reduced delays in the processing of his clients' cases. Roy is in his fifteenth year of hosting "La Hora Legal" (Legal Hour),...

Judge Gibson is a former civil trial judge with over two decades of experience representing real people, small and emerging businesses in consumer, contract, insurance, deceptive trade practices, fraud, and general business cases. Judge Gibson has tried over 600 cases and, in the last decade, has secured judgments, verdicts, and settlements for his clients in excess of $25,000,000.

Summary Statement Matthew E. Yarbrough is a renowned expert in digital discovery. He has 20 years legal and investigative experience working both as an Assistant U.S. Attorney and in private legal practice. He is a trial lawyer with extensive jury trial experience in both civil and criminal matters. The Yarbrough Law Group focuses on complex business litigation, including intellectual property, cybercrimes, government investigations, internal investigations, financial fraud, and technology-related litigation. Mr. Yarbrough served as head of the Cybercrimes and Criminal Intellectual Property Task Force for the Department of Justice and was tapped by former Texas Attorney General John Cornyn to be...

I began my career in Los Angeles, defending doctors and hospitals in malpractice suits. After relocating to Texas in 1999, I have focused on representing those injured by the negligence of a third party.

AV Rated
40 plus years of experience
Less than 14% of attorneys throughout the entire United States are “AV” Rated
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We have limited our practice to Estate Planning and Taxation. And we are dedicated to giving you the legal solutions and tools you will need to plan and build for your future with confidence.


Member of The College of the State Bar of Texas
The College of the State Bar of Texas is an honorary society of lawyers who are among the best trained attorneys in Texas. Members are qualified attorneys who are interested in both high ethical standards and improved training for...

I have been practicing law for 30 years. I obtained my law degree from Texas Wesleyan University School of Law in 1994 and graduated in the top 10% of my class. I am licensed to practice in Texas and North Dakota and in all federal courts in Texas and North Dakota plus the Supreme Court of the United States. Before I obtained my law degree, I worked as an environmental engineer for 10 years and before that I was a brakeman/conductor for the Burlington Northern Railroad and a trainmaster for the Colorado & Southern Railway. I wrote about my railroad...

Attorney John Haugen has been serving the needs of his community and nation for his entire life. He graduated from West Point and then went on to spend five years as an U.S. Army Captain. After he was honorably discharged, he continued his higher education at USC, then received his Juris Doctor as Texas Wesleyan School of Law. Currently, he is a member of the Dallas County Bar Association, Denton County Bar Association, and the Tarrant County Bar Association. He is licensed to practice in all Texas courts, and advocates for clients who are facing family law matters, criminal defense...

Mr. Sessions is Board Certified in Civil Trial Law by the Texas Board of Leagal Specialization since December, 1991. He is experienced in handling complex litigation in state and federal trial and appellate courts, and arbitrations. His practice includes prosecution and defense of claims, primarily in business-related litigation. In 2008, Mr. Sessions obtained a $22,178,403 unanimous jury verdict in the case of Sovereign Cherokee Nation Tejas v. Frank P. Hernandez, which ranked No. 98 in VerdictSearch's top 100 Verdicts of 2008. Mr. Sessions has been counsel of record in multiple litigation matters involving more than $10 Million in...

Our practice is limited to serious injury and death claims, injuries from riding lawnmowers, and other dangerous products, traumatic brain injuries, injuries at amusement parks, injuries on dangerous premises, chemical exposure injuries, train derailments, and other railroad related injuries to person and property. Although our practice focuses on cases primarily in Texas, we also have pursued cases in Alabama, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Main, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, New York, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, and Washington. We are fully licensed in Texas and Montana. It is our belief that when...

Alyssa Krahmer founded Krahmer Law Firm, PLLC in 2017 after over 20 years of practicing for large corporations. Equipped with this experience and knowledge of legal solutions used by large companies, Alyssa’s goal was to bring the same level of service to smaller organizations and individuals. Her firm’s mission was to perform high quality legal work, to charge fair prices for it, and to constantly evolve to respond to the changing needs of the firm’s clients. Areas of law include: contracts, trademarks, entity formation, lease review, franchise, merger & acquisition, employer-side employment law and wills.

Grady K. Bergen is a partner at Griggs Bergen LLP, a law firm specializing in intellectual property with offices in Dallas, Texas. He is a registered patent attorney with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and is licensed to practice in Texas and Missouri. Mr. Bergen earned his Juris Doctorate from Baylor University School of Law in 1992, and holds a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Oklahoma, completed in 1988. His legal practice focuses on patents, trademarks, copyrights, and related intellectual property matters. With a background in engineering, Mr. Bergen is experienced in handling cases across various technology...

A founding partner of Steckler Wayne Cochran PLLC (“SWC”), Stuart Cochran is a civil trial lawyer with almost twenty years of experience litigating, trying, arbitrating, and mediating complex commercial, class action, and personal injury cases in state and federal courts across the nation. Stuart has a nationally-recognized consumer class action practice, and he is frequently brought in to cases outside of Texas due to his experience. More locally, Stuart handles complex commercial cases and catastrophic personal injury cases. Stuart’s practice is unique in that he handles cases for both plaintiffs and defendants. Stuart has helped recover...

Diana Weitzel is a dedicated attorney at the Law Office of Bryan Fagan, bringing a deep commitment to family law and a strong passion for advocating for families and children. A proud graduate of Texas Wesleyan School of Law, Diana holds a Juris Doctor degree, as well as an Executive MBA from Texas Christian University and a Bachelor of Science from Indiana State University. Licensed to practice in Texas, and admitted to the Northern and Eastern District Bankruptcy Courts, Diana also holds certifications as a Mediator, Family Law Mediator, Guardian Ad Litem, and in Collaborative Law. She has been honored with...

Justin Martin – Lawyer, Marketing & Sales Executive, Entrepreneur.
Mr. Martin spent most of his early professional career in ownership, sales, and operations roles. After many successful years, Mr. Martin decided to pursue his law license, which required returning to complete his undergraduate degree. While working fulltime, he received his BA and was accepted into and completed what is now known as Texas A&M School of Law. In 2010, Mr. Martin joined his childhood best friend, in the formation of Godsey Martin, P.C., where he is a shareholder and serves as CEO of IJustGotHit.com. Since 2010, the law firm has...