Houston Firm Announces New Appellate Team Leader

Houston Firm Announces New Appellate Team Leader Victor Thomas, Sorrels Law in Houston.[Courtesy Photo.]
Victor Thomas joins Sorrels Law as head of the firm's Appellate Team in Houston. "Vic Thomas brings to our team an amazing background as a board-certified civil appellate law lawyer with over 30 years of appellate and trial court experience representing both plaintiffs and defendants in personal injury and business litigation cases," noted Randy Sorrels (co-founder of Sorrels Law). "This is a huge addition to our team to help protect the rights of our clients in all aspects of their cases, and he will be in charge of the growing volume of appeals and complex legal issues that arise from serious, high stakes litigation," said Alex Farias-Sorrels, (a co-founder of Sorrels Law.

After graduating magna cum laude from Baylor University in Waco, Texas (B.B.A in economics and finance) and from SMU Dedman School of Law, Thomas' work experience includes being a partner in his own law firm, working as an appellate attorney in a "Big Law" law firm, working as a briefing and appellate attorney at a plaintiff's firm with a nationwide practice, and working as an attorney for the 14th Court of Appeals in Houston for seven years. He has analyzed and briefed cases of all sizes in the pre-trial, trial, post-trial and appellate stages. He has represented clients in many trials and in over 80 appeals in the Texas, Louisiana and federal appellate courts, including the United States Supreme Court.

Thomas is part of the appellate team handling the appeal in the Cruz vs. Allied Aviation case—the largest personal injury, actual damages verdict for an injured worker in a contested case in United States' history. His past successes include: (1) obtaining the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit's affirmance of a $71 million arbitration award to a plaintiff for the defendant's reckless breach of a farm-out agreement for an international oil and gas lease; (2) assisting with obtaining a $44 million arbitration award for his client based on claims for securities fraud and minority shareholder oppression; (3) obtaining a Texas court of appeals' reversal of a judgment n.o.v. and the rendition of a judgment for $4.35 million for the surviving family of a man who perished in a motel fire.

His vast experience and success in representing defendants provides Thomas with a deep understanding of defense strategies and how to plan for them. For example, Thomas's briefing persuaded: (1) a Texas court of appeals to grant a motion for en banc reconsideration and reverse an $8.2 million judgment for a plaintiff who was injured while removing copper wire from an energized transformer; and (2) persuaded the Texas Supreme Court to reverse a $15.7 million award of compensatory damages to a plaintiff who was injured in an accident with a truck driver because the trial court erroneously admitted evidence of the truck driver's illegal alien status.