Howard L. Close

Howard L. Close


Wright Close & Barger, LLP

Recognized since 2005

Houston, Texas

Practice Areas

Commercial Litigation

Personal Injury Litigation - Defendants

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Howard is a trial lawyer. He has tried and arbitrated complex personal injury, commercial and intellectual property cases all over the state. From patent and trade secret litigation in northeast Texas to multiple death and burn cases along the Texas-Mexico border, to massive coverage cases in Beaumont, he and his trial team have handled the difficult assignments. He has tried state and national class actions, medical device, oil & gas, nursing home, insurance coverage and intellectual property matters in both state and Federal Court in the toughest jurisdictions in Texas. He also has extensive appellate experience, having argued at all levels of the Texas Appellate system and in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.

Howard is AV Preeminent rated by Martindale-Hubbell, the highest level of peer rated professional excellence. Every year since 2003, Howard has earned selection to Thomson Reuters’ list of Texas Super Lawyers® (2003-present) in Civil Litigation, Insurance Coverage, Intellectual Property Litigation, as published in Texas Monthly. In 2008-present, Howard was listed among the Top 100 Super Lawyers in Houston. In addition, since 2005, Howard has been included on BL Rankings, LLC’s list of Best Lawyers in America® (2005-present) in the categories of Commercial Litigation and Personal Injury Litigation-Defense. Howard was also named to the list of “Top Rated Lawyers” in Texas (2010-present) in the area of Intellectual Property Law, by ALM and Martindale-Hubbell. Howard is also a Fellow of the prestigious Litigation Council of America. In 2023, Howard was named one of the top 500 litigators in America in the field of Commercial Litigation by Law Dragon.

Contact & Links
Location
  • One Riverway, Suite 2200
    Houston, TX 77056
Education
  • The University of Texas, J.D., graduated 1981
Bar Admissions
  • United States, State Bar of Texas
Affiliations
  • State Bar of Texas - Member
  • Defense Research Institute - Member
  • Texas Association of Defense Counsel - Member
  • American Bar Association - Member
  • Houston Bar Association - Member
  • American Association for Justice - Member
  • Litigation Council of America - Fellow
Court Admissions
  • Supreme Court of the United States
  • United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
  • United States District Courts for the Eastern and Southern Districts of Texas

Recognized in The Best Lawyers in America® 2025 for work in:
  • Commercial Litigation
  • Personal Injury Litigation - Defendants
Special Focus:
  • Civil Litigation
Awards:
  • Best Lawyers in America, Commercial Litigation and Personal Injury Litigation-Defense, 2005-2025
  • AV Preeminent Rating by Martindale-Hubbell
  • Texas Super Lawyers by Thomson Reuters, 2003-2024
  • Best Law Firms in 2018-2024 with a National Tier 1 ranking in Appellate, by U.S. News and Best Lawyers. The firm also has Tier 1 rankings in Houston for Commercial Litigation, Personal Injury Defense, and Appellate Practice.
  • Top 100 Super Lawyers in Houston, 2008-2010
  • Fellow of the prestigious Litigation Council of America
Additional Areas of Practice:
  • Litigation - Insurance
  • Litigation - Intellectual Property
  • Oil and Gas Law
  • Personal Injury Litigation

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Publications

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