Thomas R. McDade

Retired

,

Houston

McDade_Tom-SML

Direct: 713.951.6229

Mobile: 713.854.1101

Fax: 713.951.3720

Direct: 713.951.6229

Mobile: 713.854.1101

Fax: 713.951.3720

McDade_Tom-SML
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Tom McDade has been declared a legal “Legend” by the Dallas Times Herald, “Mattox v. McDade: Tough Legends Collide” (August 14, 1983)

Tom has the presence and confidence of a man who knows how to get things done in the law. His esteemed almost 60-year career has involved him in virtually every type of case not only in Texas, but throughout the country. Tom is willing to do whatever his clients’ success demands, having fought big business, gone to battle for families and individuals, and served his country as a fighter pilot and officer in the United States Air Force.

Lawyers frequently have Tom appear as an expert witness in legal malpractice cases and cases involving attorneys’ fees. He is experienced in Alternative Dispute Resolution and has served numerous court appointments and party agreements as arbitrator (both neutral and party appointed) and as a mediator.

Tom was a senior partner at Fulbright & Jaworski and a member of the Senior Advisory Committee. After 30 years, Tom left Fulbright & Jaworski to help form McDade Fogler, LLP, where he practiced for over 15 years prior to joining Beck Redden.

Expand All
  • Representative experience
    • Tom has prosecuted or defended cases for large and small corporations, small businesses, important business and sports leaders and for the common man. Tom also regularly defends intra-state & inter-state gas pipelines and has never lost a “take-or-pay” case .
    • Tom has a winning track record and has been involved in numerous billion dollar and “Bet-the-Company” cases. His most notable victory did not involve money. Instead, it involved injunctive relief. In 1979, Tom successfully enjoined the United States of America, the then US Attorney General, (the Honorable Griffin Bell), the U.S. Secretary of Energy, and the US Attorney of the Southern District of Texas from seeking an indictment of oilman Albert B. Alkek, under a particular federal regulation. Such a result is and was unprecedented and is unique in American jurisprudence.
    • In the case entitled the Houston Oilers v. John Matuzak, Tom challenged the NFL’s Standard Player Contract and in a 2-1 decision, the dissenting Justice found the NFL’s Standard Player Contract to be void because of unconscionability. The Houston Oilers were advised to mitigate the dissenting view and in exchange for not pursuing the matter further, the Oilers promptly traded John Matuzak to the Kansas City Chiefs in exchange for Curly Culp. Kansas City thereafter traded Matuzak to the Oakland Raiders and the lots of both Houston and Oakland changed for the better.
  • Honors & Awards
    • Texas Lawyer’s Go-To Guide, named one of the top 135 attorneys in the state; and recognized as a Top Five attorney in the discipline of Energy Law, 2002
    • Recognized by Chambers USA, “Leaders in Their Field,” 2005-2012
    • Recognized in Thomas Reuters Texas Super Lawyer, 2002-2007
    • Recognized in Best Lawyers in America, 1983
    • Listed in International Who’s WhoWho’s Who in AmericaWho’s Who in the WorldWho’s Who in American Law and the National Register of Whose Who for over 30 years
    • Recognized as a Martindale-Hubbell (AV) rated attorney for over 50 years
  • Professional Activities & Memberships
    • Texas Bar Association
    • Houston Bar Association
    • American Bar Association
    • Fellow:
      • American College of Trial Lawyers, 1980
      • American Bar Foundation
      • Texas Bar Foundation
      • Houston Bar Foundation
    • American Board of Trial Advocates, Advocate
    • Tonahill Society
    • Other Honors
      • Order of St. John (Member by Appointment of Her Royal Highness Queen Elizabeth II, 2020)
  • Community Involvement

    Tom McDade has been involved with numerous pro bono representations in all manner of cases. He as represented claimants and respondents in family matters, personal injury,criminal and commercial matters.

    Volunteer attorney in the “Lawyers Serving Warriors” program of the National Veterans Legal Service Program.

    Formerly

    • Member, Board of Visitors of Thurgood Marshall School of Law, Texas Southern University
    • Program Faculty, Columbia Law School, New York City: CLE program: “The Trial of an Antitrust Case”
    • Board of Directors, The Coastal Corporation (NYSE:CGP)
    • Board of Directors, El Paso Corporation (NYSE:EP)
    • Board of Directors, Equity Corporation International, Lufkin, TX (NYSE:EQU)
    • Board of Directors, Smith Industries, Inc., Houston, TX
    • Advisory Board of Directors, Johnson City Bank, Johnson City, TX
    • Board of Directors, San Felipe Bank, Houston, TX
    • Board of Directors, InterFirst Bank, San Felipe, Houston, TX
    • Board of Directors: Texas Department of Corrections for the State of Texas (1983); appointed for six-year term by Governor Mark White
    • Texas Aviation Hall of Fame, formerly Vice Chairman and Member of Executive Committee

    Affiliations and Distinctions

    • The Caterpillar Club (date of jump, March 4, 1957)
    • Lone Star Flight Museum, Pathfinder, Galveston, TX
    • Naval Aviation Museum Foundation, President’s Council, (former Trustee), Pensacola, FL
    • Grand National Quail Club, Shooters Council, Enid, OK
    • Licensed pilot, single and multi-engine, land, commercial and full instrument ratings
    • Bandera Bulldog Award Sponsor, Bandera County Senior High School, Bandera County, TX
    • The Tiger Award and the Teaching Excellence Award Sponsor, Neville High School, Monroe, LA
    • Recipient of The Excalibur Award from the American Cancer Society in 1997, 2000, 2002, 2003
    • Alumnus of the Year Award, Neville High School, Monroe LA, 1999
    • Member of VICTORY (Houston, TX), a branch of The American Cancer Society
  • Military Service
    • Commissioned Officer, United States Air Force, January 1956, active duty April 1956 – April 1959, fully instrument rated, single engine jet fighter pilot; Honorable Discharge, USAF Res., March 1968; discharge rank: Captain.
ACTL Logo BADGE_AV PREEMINENT

State Bar of Texas

United States Supreme Court

U.S. District Court for the Northern, Eastern, Southern and Western Districts of Texas

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, Eleventh Circuit and the Temporary Emergency Court of Appeals

Tom has been admitted pro haec vice in numerous state and federal courts in the United States and Canada

L.L.B., The University of Texas at Austin, 1962

B.B.A., The University of Texas at Austin, 1956

Texas A&M University, 1954

Thomas R. McDade

Retired,

Houston

McDade_Tom-SML

Direct: 713.951.6229

Mobile: 713.854.1101

Fax: 713.951.3720

Direct: 713.951.6229

Mobile: 713.854.1101

Fax: 713.951.3720

McDade_Tom-SML

Tom McDade has been declared a legal “Legend” by the Dallas Times Herald, “Mattox v. McDade: Tough Legends Collide” (August 14, 1983)

Tom has the presence and confidence of a man who knows how to get things done in the law. His esteemed almost 60-year career has involved him in virtually every type of case not only in Texas, but throughout the country. Tom is willing to do whatever his clients’ success demands, having fought big business, gone to battle for families and individuals, and served his country as a fighter pilot and officer in the United States Air Force.

Lawyers frequently have Tom appear as an expert witness in legal malpractice cases and cases involving attorneys’ fees. He is experienced in Alternative Dispute Resolution and has served numerous court appointments and party agreements as arbitrator (both neutral and party appointed) and as a mediator.

Tom was a senior partner at Fulbright & Jaworski and a member of the Senior Advisory Committee. After 30 years, Tom left Fulbright & Jaworski to help form McDade Fogler, LLP, where he practiced for over 15 years prior to joining Beck Redden.

Expand All
  • Representative experience
    • Tom has prosecuted or defended cases for large and small corporations, small businesses, important business and sports leaders and for the common man. Tom also regularly defends intra-state & inter-state gas pipelines and has never lost a “take-or-pay” case .
    • Tom has a winning track record and has been involved in numerous billion dollar and “Bet-the-Company” cases. His most notable victory did not involve money. Instead, it involved injunctive relief. In 1979, Tom successfully enjoined the United States of America, the then US Attorney General, (the Honorable Griffin Bell), the U.S. Secretary of Energy, and the US Attorney of the Southern District of Texas from seeking an indictment of oilman Albert B. Alkek, under a particular federal regulation. Such a result is and was unprecedented and is unique in American jurisprudence.
    • In the case entitled the Houston Oilers v. John Matuzak, Tom challenged the NFL’s Standard Player Contract and in a 2-1 decision, the dissenting Justice found the NFL’s Standard Player Contract to be void because of unconscionability. The Houston Oilers were advised to mitigate the dissenting view and in exchange for not pursuing the matter further, the Oilers promptly traded John Matuzak to the Kansas City Chiefs in exchange for Curly Culp. Kansas City thereafter traded Matuzak to the Oakland Raiders and the lots of both Houston and Oakland changed for the better.
  • Honors & Awards
    • Texas Lawyer’s Go-To Guide, named one of the top 135 attorneys in the state; and recognized as a Top Five attorney in the discipline of Energy Law, 2002
    • Recognized by Chambers USA, “Leaders in Their Field,” 2005-2012
    • Recognized in Thomas Reuters Texas Super Lawyer, 2002-2007
    • Recognized in Best Lawyers in America, 1983
    • Listed in International Who’s WhoWho’s Who in AmericaWho’s Who in the WorldWho’s Who in American Law and the National Register of Whose Who for over 30 years
    • Recognized as a Martindale-Hubbell (AV) rated attorney for over 50 years
  • Professional Activities & Memberships
    • Texas Bar Association
    • Houston Bar Association
    • American Bar Association
    • Fellow:
      • American College of Trial Lawyers, 1980
      • American Bar Foundation
      • Texas Bar Foundation
      • Houston Bar Foundation
    • American Board of Trial Advocates, Advocate
    • Tonahill Society
    • Other Honors
      • Order of St. John (Member by Appointment of Her Royal Highness Queen Elizabeth II, 2020)
  • Community Involvement

    Tom McDade has been involved with numerous pro bono representations in all manner of cases. He as represented claimants and respondents in family matters, personal injury,criminal and commercial matters.

    Volunteer attorney in the “Lawyers Serving Warriors” program of the National Veterans Legal Service Program.

    Formerly

    • Member, Board of Visitors of Thurgood Marshall School of Law, Texas Southern University
    • Program Faculty, Columbia Law School, New York City: CLE program: “The Trial of an Antitrust Case”
    • Board of Directors, The Coastal Corporation (NYSE:CGP)
    • Board of Directors, El Paso Corporation (NYSE:EP)
    • Board of Directors, Equity Corporation International, Lufkin, TX (NYSE:EQU)
    • Board of Directors, Smith Industries, Inc., Houston, TX
    • Advisory Board of Directors, Johnson City Bank, Johnson City, TX
    • Board of Directors, San Felipe Bank, Houston, TX
    • Board of Directors, InterFirst Bank, San Felipe, Houston, TX
    • Board of Directors: Texas Department of Corrections for the State of Texas (1983); appointed for six-year term by Governor Mark White
    • Texas Aviation Hall of Fame, formerly Vice Chairman and Member of Executive Committee

    Affiliations and Distinctions

    • The Caterpillar Club (date of jump, March 4, 1957)
    • Lone Star Flight Museum, Pathfinder, Galveston, TX
    • Naval Aviation Museum Foundation, President’s Council, (former Trustee), Pensacola, FL
    • Grand National Quail Club, Shooters Council, Enid, OK
    • Licensed pilot, single and multi-engine, land, commercial and full instrument ratings
    • Bandera Bulldog Award Sponsor, Bandera County Senior High School, Bandera County, TX
    • The Tiger Award and the Teaching Excellence Award Sponsor, Neville High School, Monroe, LA
    • Recipient of The Excalibur Award from the American Cancer Society in 1997, 2000, 2002, 2003
    • Alumnus of the Year Award, Neville High School, Monroe LA, 1999
    • Member of VICTORY (Houston, TX), a branch of The American Cancer Society
  • Military Service
    • Commissioned Officer, United States Air Force, January 1956, active duty April 1956 – April 1959, fully instrument rated, single engine jet fighter pilot; Honorable Discharge, USAF Res., March 1968; discharge rank: Captain.
ACTL Crest
AV Preeminent Award

Commercial Litigation

Energy Litigation

Employment & Executive Employment Litigation

State Bar of Texas

United States Supreme Court

U.S. District Court for the Northern, Eastern, Southern and Western Districts of Texas

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, Eleventh Circuit and the Temporary Emergency Court of Appeals

Tom has been admitted pro haec vice in numerous state and federal courts in the United States and Canada

L.L.B., The University of Texas at Austin, 1962

B.B.A., The University of Texas at Austin, 1956

Texas A&M University, 1954