FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Andrews Myers Welcomes Two New Shareholders in Houston: Jim D. Aycock and J. Ryan Schmidt
HOUSTON, TX (February 21, 2019) — Andrews Myers is pleased to announce the addition of two new Shareholders to the firm’s Houston office, Jim D. Aycock and J. Ryan Schmidt. The new shareholders represent and expand upon several of the firm’s key practice areas: complex commercial litigation, financial litigation, energy litigation, construction and energy transactional law, corporate matters and real estate.
JIM D. AYCOCK – Jim Aycock is a trial attorney whose practice includes a wide variety of complex commercial litigation matters in state and federal courts, as well as domestic and international arbitrations, for both plaintiffs and defendants. His practice focuses primarily on financial litigation, energy matters, real estate disputes, and general business disputes. Over the course of his 17-year law career, Jim has commonly represented national and regional banks, private and publicly-held energy companies, as well as private corporations and partnerships.
In financial litigation, Jim’s experience includes intercreditor disputes, lien enforcement, complex collection matters, lender liability claims, and asset seizures for various financial institutions and mezzanine lenders. His financial legal acumen is complimented by his previous career as Vice President at Compass Bank and Wells Fargo Bank, where he provided lending, investment and trust services to commercial and private banking clients. Jim’s energy litigation experience includes upstream disputes such as surface owner claims, lease and gas purchase contract interpretation, AMI disputes, operator removal and royalty disputes. Other commercial litigation matters include complicated partnership disputes and business tort litigation as well as premises and product liability cases.
Jim received his Juris Doctor degree from University of Houston Law Center and a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in finance from Texas A&M University.
Jim Aycock can be reached at 713-351-0371 or via email.
“It’s an exciting time to join Andrews Myers,” said Ben Westcott, Co-Managing Shareholder. “I, along with others at the firm, have personally known Jim for many years and am honored to have him join our litigation practice group. His reputation for excellence and wealth of experience, combined with the strategic growth of our impressive litigation bench, make him a perfect fit for AM.”
J. RYAN SCHMIDT – Ryan Schmidt’s practice focuses on transactional law, with an emphasis on construction, commercial real estate and corporate transactions. He has significant experience representing a wide range of clients in drafting and negotiating complex construction contracts under multiple project delivery systems, purchase orders, master service agreements, joint ventures, forming corporate entities and entity selection, teaming agreements and strategic alliances. Ryan has both law firm and in-house experience working with clients and team members to proactively develop value-driven solutions to complex problems, which is crucial to his role as outside general counsel to several clients.
His corporate and real estate transactional experience includes formation and governance issues, mergers and acquisitions, and the acquisition, disposition and leasing of commercial and industrial real estate. He has worked with businesses locally, nationally and internationally on a variety of projects, including office, retail, hospitality, industrial, LNG, pipeline, utilities, shipping and refineries.
Ryan received his Juris Doctor degree from Texas Tech University School of Law and a Bachelor of Arts degree from St. Edwards University.
Ryan Schmidt can be reached at 713-351-0358 or via email.
“We are delighted that Ryan has joined our transactional practice group, working with our many construction, corporate and real estate clients.” said Patrick Hayes, co-managing shareholder of Andrews Myers. “He brings a sought-after skill set and knowledge base of transactional law that our clients will certainly appreciate, and we welcome him to the firm.”
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Founded in 1990, Andrews Myers is a Texas-based corporate law firm with more than 45 attorneys and offices located in Houston and Austin. Firm attorneys counsel on transactions, disputes and all business related issues with a keen focus on the primary practice areas of construction, real estate, corporate, energy, employment, finance and bankruptcy-creditors’ rights. The firm plays an integral role on a wide range of projects, providing timely and cost-effective solutions to the most complex problems facing entrepreneurs and middle-market industry leaders throughout the state. For more information please visit www.andrewsmyers.com.
PRESS CONTACT
Cynthia Birdwell
Director of Marketing
713.850.4218
cbirdwell@andrewsmyers.com
