JAMES
W. UPTON
 Born
Toledo, Ohio, September 25, 1960; admitted
to bar, 1988, Texas; U.S. District Court,
Southern District and Western District of
Texas, United States Fifth Circuit Court
of Appeals. Education: University of Houston,
University Park (B.S., 1985 Cum Laude); South
Texas College of Law (J.D., 1988). Recipient,
American Jurisprudence Awards, Family Law
and Criminal Law. Member: Corpus Christi,
San Antonio and American Bar Associations;
State Bar of Texas (Member, Sections: Tort
and Insurance Practice, Litigation and Labor
and Employment); Defense Research Institute;
Texas Association of Defense Counsel.
Jim has been trying cases in South Texas since 1990 and has received verdicts from Brownsville (Cameron County) to Laredo (Webb County) to Carrizo Springs (Dimmit County) to San Antonio (Bexar County) to Victoria (Victoria County) to Port Lavaca (Calhoun County) to Rockport (Aransas County) to Corpus Christi (Nueces County) and many other South Texas counties. The majority of these cases have involved personal injury and death claims resulting from traumatic events associated with automobile/trucking accidents, industrial accidents and product liability claims.
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KEVIN F. MICKITS 
Kevin F. Mickits was born in Toledo , Ohio but was raised in the Waco , Texas area, graduating from Midway High School in 1981. He attended Southwest Texas State on a football scholarship. He played tight-end for Coach Jim Wacker and was a member of two Division II National Championship teams. Kevin received a Bachelor of Science in Education with specializations in Political Science and History. While finishing his studies, he married his wife, Julie, of Hillsboro , Texas.
Since
the time he was young he wanted
to teach young adults and coach
athletics. Before graduating college,
he was hired by the Northeast Independent
School District as a teacher and
coach. Kevin taught school for
three years before deciding to
return to school to pursue a law
degree at Texas Tech School of
Law. During his tenure at Texas
Tech, he was a two time member
of the National Mock Trial Team
and the recipient of the first
ever J. Hadley Edgar Advocacy Award.
This award was presented to the
top trial advocate at Texas Tech
School of Law.
While attending Texas Tech, he discovered an interest in litigation which is the main focus of his practice today. As he explains, “The similarity between teaching and trying lawsuits is quite remarkable. The only difference is that a jury is less than half the size of a classroom and typically there are no behavior problems. Litigation is nothing more than persuasively ‘teaching'
the jury. In either venue, you have to evaluate
your audience and present the evidence in
a logical and understandable manner. The
most important trait of a litigator is the
ability to communicate.”
Kevin graduated
from Texas Tech in 1991 and was licensed
the same year. He was hired as an associate
in Corpus Christi , Texas and tried his first
case to verdict during his first nine months
as a lawyer. After practicing only four years,
Kevin left the Corpus Christi firm to help
form Upton , Mickits and Hardwick. The firm
is now Upton, Mickits and Heymann, LLP.
Since 1991
Kevin has tried numerous cases involving
negligence, product liability, prescription
miss fills, premises liability, premises
security, defamation, Deceptive Trade Practices,
breach of contract, auto and trucking liability
and others. The facts of the cases were all
different, but the general approach is the
same: know your case better than the other
side and have a plan as to how the case will
be presented to the jury so that it is logical,
simple and above all, factually honest.
When he is
not in the court room or on the road associated
with the legal field, Kevin enjoys reading
history and political biographies, writing,
spending time with his family and watching
baseball.
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JOHN C. HEYMANN
Born
Corpus Christi, Texas, June 8, 1952; admitted
to bar, 1989, Texas; U.S. District Court,
Southern District of Texas. Education: University of Texas, Austin (B.B.A., 1974; M.B.A., 1976); University of Texas (J.D., 1988 With Honors). Recipient, American Jurisprudence Awards, Criminal Law and Contracts; West Publishing Co. Hornbook Award. Member: Corpus Christi and American (Natural Resources Law Section) Bar Associations; State Bar of Texas (Member, Sections: Oil, Gas and Mineral Law); Board Certified, Oil, Gas and Mineral Law, Texas Board of Legal Specialization.
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DANIEL
JOHN DAVIS
Dan
has been practicing law since 1985.
His primary practice areas are Real
Estate Law, Contract Law and Probate
Law. Dan is board certified in Commercial
Real Estate Law by the Texas Board
of Legal Specialization. He graduate
with his Juris Doctor from St. Mary's
University of San Antonio in 1985.
In 1976, he graduated from the University
of Dallas with a Bachelor of Arts
in Political Philosphy. As Director
of Undergraduate Admissions for the
University of Dallas , Dan gained
a great deal of management and business
skills. He has honed these skills
further as a small business owner
while also practicing law.
His
memberships include the Corpus
Christi Bar Association, the
State Bar of Texas, section
membership in the Real Property,
Probate and Trust Law section
of the State Bar and law school
membership in Phi Delta Phi,
and honors legal fraternity.
Dan was born in Chicago , Illinois
in1954.
Dan
has raised three children
and is married to Theresa Mader.
In his spare time,
he paints in the graduate student
painting studio at Texas
A&M
Corpus Christi where
he is pursuing a Master
of Arts.
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JOSEPH P. FINEGAN 
Joe
has been practicing law since 1988, concentrating
in insurance defense and related issues.
He has been licensed in New York State since
1988 and has been licensed in Texas since
2002. He received his undergraduate degree
from the State University of New York in
1982 and his law degree from New York Law
School in 1988. Over the course of the last
two decades, he has dealt with an alphabet
soup of insurance-related issues, ranging
from D & O, to E & O,
to CGL, to PI.
He was born
in New York City , on St. Patrick's Day,
in 1959, and practiced law in lower Manhattan
for over a decade. He can attest that the
winters in south Texas are a lot friendlier
than on Wall Street. He's enjoyed that way
in which his experience fits into the level
of sophistication the firm brings to its
practice. (He's also enjoyed the fajitas
and barbecue.)
Joe and his
wife, Verena, make their home in Corpus Christi
with their family of two dogs and three cats.
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 DAVID
L. GARRISON
David's practice includes representation of his clients' interests involving oil, gas and mineral title issues; matters involving general corporate transaction issues; and areas involving real estate, probate, wills and trusts. These services include preparation of oil and gas title opinions, structuring, negotiating and documenting transactions for his clients' business success, as well as preparation of wills and trusts and other estate planning documents for his clients' piece of mind. David completed his Bachelor's Degree in Agriculture Economics from Texas A&M
University in 1980. Thereafter, he pursued
a career in banking until the mid 1980's.
He then enrolled in Texas Tech University
School of Law where he received his Law Degree
in 1989. David is licensed to practice law
in Texas and is a member of the Corpus Christi
Bar Association, the Corpus Christi Association
of Professional Landmen, the American Association
of Professional Landmen, and the Texas Bar
Association. David and his wife Lavonne have
two beautiful Golden Retrievers and are members
of the First United Methodist Church . His
hobbies include hunting, fishing, golf, travel
and boating.
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GUY
J. GORLICK 
Guy Gorlick is an associate in the firm's San Antonio office. Guy's practice focuses on litigation in the areas of business law, personal injuries, professional liability, and insurance. Guy has successfully represented individuals and local, national, and international companies in the trial and appellate courts of Texas , California and Hawaii . Guy
received his B.A. from the University of
California at Los Angeles (1988, cum laude )
and his J.D. from Loyola Law School , Los
Angeles (1991).
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CAROLE NOVAK HARROD 
Carole
was raised in the small community of Pleasanton
, Texas . Carole received her Bachelor of
Journalism with a concentration in broadcast
journalism from the University of Texas in
1990. She worked as a television reporter
before deciding to return to school to further
her education. At the University of Houston
Law Center, Carole discovered a way to combine
her reporting talents and knowledge of the
law and concentrated her legal education
in litigation. While in law school, Carole
was invited into membership by Phi Delta
Phi, Order of the Barons and the Houston
Law Center Law Review. Her article was selected
for publi1cation, "Judicial Gap-Filling
in WARN Claims," 32 Houston Law Review,
Vol. 1125 (1996).
Carole graduated
cum laude in 1996 and started her career
as a litigator in Corpus Christi that same
year. Carole has extensive experience in
jury trials. She has represented both companies
and individuals in a wide variety of cases
involving personal injury, deceptive trade
practices, shareholder disputes, insurance
coverage, and breach of contract.
Carole and
her husband Marc are members of the First
United Methodist Church of Corpus Christi
and enjoy spending time with their daughters.
Admitted to practice law: Texas 1996; U.S. District Court for Southern District of Texas 1996
| Practice Areas |
| Personal
Injury Litigation |
|
| General
Civil Litigation |
|
| Commercial
Litigation |
|
| Insurance
Defense |
|
| |
|
| Memberships and Professional Recognitions |
| State
Bar of Texas |
|
| Corpus Christi Bar Association, member |
| San Antonio Bar Association, member Texas Association of Defense Counsel |
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CELINA LEAL
Celina was born
in Kingsville, Texas, May 29, 1979;
admitted to bar, 2005, Texas . Education: Texas
A&M University - Kingsville (B.A.
, cum laude, 2000). The University
of Texas School of Law (J.D., 2005). Member: Corpus
Christi and San Antonio Bar Associations;
State Bar of Texas ; Corpus
Christi Young Lawyers Association.cleal@umhlaw.com
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K.
CLIFFORD LITTLEFIELD
Cliff
received his Bachelor of Business
Administration in Finance from
the University of North Texas
in 1993. He then received his
Doctor of Jurisprudence from
Texas Tech University School
of Law in 1996.
After graduation,
Cliff moved back to his hometown of Corpus
Christi with his wife, Donna, where he has
established a thriving legal practice. The
cornerstone of his practice is representing
corporate clients in all capacities ranging
from transactional matters to complex litigation.
These clients range from Fortune 500 companies,
such as Berkshire Hathaway and Ford Motor
to local businesses, such as Texas Champion
Bank. However, Cliff still believes his most
important work is serving his community with
a willingness to represent individuals in
need of legal services. Regardless of the
size of the client or the problem, he devotes
the same level of attention and care to the
situation which is why he has become so valued
to the community and to Upton, Mickits and
Heymann, L.L.P. over the past decade.
| Areas of Practice |
| Real Estate |
| Commercial |
| Consumer |
| Corporate |
| Bankruptcy |
| Probate |
| |
| Education |
| Texas Tech University School of Law, JD - 1996 |
| University of North Texas , BBA, Finance - 1993 |
| |
| Bar Admission |
State of Texas , 1996 |
United States District Court, Northern, Southern, Eastern
and Western Districts of Texas, 1997 |
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| Employment |
| 1994-1997 - Porter, Rogers, Dahlman and Gordon. P.C. |
1998-Present - Upton , Mickits and Heymann, L.L.P. |
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GREGORY
J. PETERSON
Born Tarzana , California
, July 19, 1979 ; admitted to bar: 2008,
Texas . Education: Utah State University (B.A., 2004); St. Mary's University School of Law (J.D., 2008) Phi Delta Phi Legal Fraternity-Tarlton Inn, Pro Bono Certificate. Member: State Bar of Texas, San Antonio Bar Association.
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TINA A. TREVINO
Born
Corpus Christi , Texas , July 4, 1973 ; admitted
to bar, 2000, Texas . Education: Southwest
Texas State University (B.A. 1996); Thurgood
Marshall School of Law (J.D., 1998). Member : Corpus
Christi Bar Association; State Bar of Texas
(Member, Sections: Tort and Insurance Practice;
Litigation); Texas Association of Defense
Counsel; Corpus Christi Young Lawyers Association;
Coastal Bend Women Lawyer's Association.
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