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S. Shawn Stephens

Ms. Stephens leads the Houston office’s appellate practice. She has been Board Certified in Civil Appellate Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization since 1995 and has handled hundreds of appeals, amicus briefs, post-trial matters, dispositive motions, mandamus actions and charge conferences. She has helped clients overturn significant monetary judgments and has established new legal principles. Ms. Stephens has been named a “Texas Super Lawyer” in the area of appellate law by Texas Monthly magazine every year since 2003.

Known as an outstanding appellate advocate, Ms. Stephens argued three appeals on the same day for a major automobile manufacturer—resulting in three wins.

Ms. Stephens has handled high-profile, unusual and interesting cases during her career. For example, she represented an amicus in the Texas congressional redistricting cases in the United States Supreme Court. In another amicus filing, she represented a group whose members included two former governors, numerous retired chief justices/associate justices from supreme courts of various states and a former ABA president in a significant First Amendment case in the United States Supreme Court.

Ms. Stephens also successfully represented an amicus in the “Kennewick Man” appeal in the Ninth Circuit. This case involved an archeologically significant 9,000-year-old skeleton and presented the court with an issue of first impression as to whether the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act applied to the remains. The dispute involved a disagreement over ownership of and entitlement to study the skeletal remains of “Kennewick Man,” the oldest and most intact skeleton ever found in the northwest part of the United States. Study of this skeleton may dispel the “Bering Strait Ice Bridge” theory of how the Americas were populated. This case was the subject of much media attention, including a PBS special, several books and several law review articles.

Ms. Stephens’ practice includes both state and federal appeals. Her practice involves jury charge preparation and argument, preparing and arguing post-trial and dispositive motions, trial-level error preservation, interlocutory appeals and mandamus actions, as well as traditional appeals. The substantive areas addressed are broad and include: employment matters; gas pipeline issues; toxic tort matters; class certification issues; procedural issues; discovery disputes; evidentiary sufficiency matters; First Amendment and other constitutional issues; punitive damages; oil, gas and energy issues; bankruptcy matters; arbitration; automotive dealer litigation; and general commercial matters. Ms. Stephens also has substantial commercial trial experience.

Ms. Stephens serves on the Executive Committee of the Texas Supreme Court Historical Society, is a past President of the Texas Association of Trial and Appellate Specialists, is a former member of the Council of the Houston Bar Association’s Appellate Section and is a member of numerous other professional associations. She served a term on the Executive Committee of the ABA Council of Appellate Lawyers and on the Houston Bar Association’s appellate section. Ms. Stephens is also a former Board member of the Houston Volunteer Lawyers Program. Ms. Stephens is a frequent and highly rated speaker on trial and appellate topics.

Ms. Stephens was appointed by Governor Rick Perry to be a Commissioner of the Texas Commission on the Arts and currently serves as Vice Chair of the Commission. She was named a 2011 “Woman of Distinction” by CCFA and one of Houston’s 50 Most Influential Women by Houston Woman Magazine. Ms. Stephens is presently serving on or has served on the boards of numerous civic, educational and charitable institutions. These include the Board of Trustees of the Houston Ballet Foundation and Houston Ballet Guild (former president); the Boards of Directors of the Houston Symphony League, Houston Zoo, Inc., Zoo Friends, Inc. (former president), Theatre Under The Stars, Stages Repertory Theatre, Girls Inc. of Greater Houston (former president) and South Texas College of Law; South Texas College of Law Alumni Association (President) and South Texas College of Law Board of Visitors.

Ms. Stephens is an alum and a former member of the Executive Committee of the Texas Lyceum, a select group of 96 Texas leaders, and a member of the American Leadership Forum Class XXIII. Ms. Stephens is also active in her church, Christ Church Episcopal Cathedral, where she previously served as a member of the Vestry.