Attorney Profiles

James M. Harris, Jr.

Born: El Paso, Texas, March 29, 1958.

Admitted to Bar, 1983, Texas; U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Texas and U.S. Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit, 1983; U.S. Supreme Court, 1987; U.S. District Court, Southern District of Texas, 1988; U.S. District Court, Western District of Texas, 1989; U.S. District Court, Northern District of Texas, 1990.

Education: University of Texas at El Paso (B.B.A., 1980); Texas Tech University (J.D., Cum Laude, 1983).

Member: State Bar of Texas; Jefferson County Bar Association; American Bar Association; Texas Association of Defense Counsel; and Defense Research Institute.

Mr. Harris served as Texas Counsel for a major asbestos defendant for many years and currently acts as Texas Counsel for another asbestos defendant in several counties that have large asbestos dockets. He has also successfully defended a number of well-known corporations in Jones Act, Maritime and Admiralty cases in state and federal courts. He has also successfully defended numerous serious injury and death cases for nationally known insurance companies and corporations. Mr. Harris continues his work defending clients in these and other areas of civil litigation.

Thomas W. Duesler

Born: Beaumont, Texas, July 15, 1954.

Admitted to Bar, 1983, Texas; U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Texas, U.S. Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, 1984; U.S. District Court, Southern District of Texas, 1985; U.S. Supreme Court, 1993; U.S. District Court, Northern District of Texas and Western District of Texas, 1999.

Education: Texas A&M University (B.S., 1976); Baylor University (J.D., 1983).

Legal Fraternity: Delta Theta Phi.

Member: State Bar of Texas; Jefferson County Bar Association; Defense Research Institute, Chemistry and the Law Committee of American Chemical Society; Texas Association of Defense Counsel; Maritime Law Association; and Bar Association of the Fifth Federal Circuit; (Board Certified – Personal Injury Trial Law, Texas Board of Legal Specialization).

Richard W. Hatfield

Born: Quang Tin Province, Vietnam, May 1, 1970.

Admitted to Bar, 1994, Texas; U.S. District Court, Eastern and Southern Districts of Texas, 1996.

Education: University of Texas at Austin (B.A., Cum Laude, 1991); University of Houston Law School (J.D., 1994).

Member: State Bar of Texas; Jefferson County Bar Association; Jefferson County Young Lawyers Association, Board Member (1999-Present); Texas Association of Defense Counsel; and Defense Research Institute.

John S. Morgan

Born: New Orleans, Louisiana, January 23, 1964;

Admitted to Bar in Louisiana in 1990, and in Texas in 1991.

Education: Duke University (A.B., 1986, summa cum laude); Tulane Law School (J.D., 1989, cum laude); Order of the Coif; Member, Volume 62-63 and Associate Editor, Volume 63, Tulane Law Review. Law Clerk to the Hon. A.J. McNamara, U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Louisiana, 1989-1990.

Member: Texas Young Lawyers Association; State Bar of Texas; Jefferson County Bar Association; Chamber of Commerce Beaumont. Substantial trial experience with three to six weeks per year spent in jury or non-jury trials.

Publications: “Landry v. Hoepfner: The Fifth Circuit Orders Jury Trial for the Offense of Driving While Intoxicated,” 62 Tul. L. Rev. 653 (1988); “The Junking of the Fourth Amendment: Illinois v. Krull and New York v. Burger,” 63 Tul. L. Rev. 600 (1988). Instructor, Legal Research and Writing, Tulane Law School, 1988-1989. Graduate: 1997 Defense Counsel Advanced Trial Academy, sponsored by the International Association of Defense Counsel.