Firm History

About Us | Firm History

The Founder

When a young, self-taught lawyer from rural Texas founded the law firm of Kennerly & Warnken in 1912, he probably never realized the impact he would have on future generations of attorneys. Thomas M. Kennerly received no formal legal education, but taught himself the law by reading every law book he could get his hands on. He also apprenticed for a judge in Giddings, Texas, before passing the state bar exam at the tender age of 18. Shortly thereafter, Kennerly embarked on a legal career that would span several decades and affect Texas jurisprudence for generations to come.

The present-day Houston law firm of Crain, Caton & James, which institutionalized its name in 1988, traces its roots back to this humble law firm founded by a visionary young man from Giddings, Texas.

Because of an ongoing affiliation with the Houston Oil Company, the firm’s attorneys found themselves devoting most of their time and energy during the early years to what Everton Kennerly fondly refers to as “land law in the East Texas oilfields.” During the early 1900s, the Houston Oil Company owned or controlled about 800,000 acres of timberland in East Texas and Louisiana. This enormous amount of acreage kept firm attorneys busy with a host of legal issues. As a result, the firm played a key role in shaping the modern-day interpretation of real estate and energy law in Texas. Although the firm eventually branched into other areas of law, these early years began a strong tradition of oil, gas and real estate law that continues at Crain, Caton & James today.

In addition to the traditional areas of oil, gas and real-estate law, the modern-day Crain, Caton & James provides legal services in a range of other specialties. Those areas include administrative, appellate, banking and financial services, bankruptcy and creditors’ rights, business planning and taxation, commercial litigation, employment and labor law, energy, environmental, estate planning, fiduciary litigation, insurance and personal injury, intellectual property, international business transactions, probate, trust and guardianship, real estate, and securities. The firm is particularly strong in the areas of probate and environmental law.

Several firm attorneys are considered by colleagues to be experts in their fields, including Sharon Brand Gardner and Sarah Patel Pacheco, who co-authored the textbook, Texas Probate Practice Guide, as well as Robert R. Wisner, who wrote the text, Usury and the Texas Credit Code.

The firm, which is presently comprised of 30 plus attorneys, has consistently received the highest possible rating awarded by Martindale Hubbell. Its attorneys hail from a range of Ivy League schools, as well as top-notch state universities.

Over ten (10) of the attorneys affiliated with the firm have become noted jurists on both the federal and state benches. Four members of the firm have at one time served as president of the Houston Bar Association.