Legal 500 released its 2026 U.S. rankings, recognizing Gibbs & Bruns among the nation’s leading litigation firms. The firm earned Tier 1 rankings in Commercial Disputes – Boutique Firms, Securities Litigation: Plaintiff, and Energy Litigation: Oil & Gas, a distinction we have maintained in the latter category since 2007.
Gibbs & Bruns also received national recognition in Legal 500’s Leading Trial Lawyers, with three ranked partners, and General Commercial Disputes where the firm is one of just 10 firms ranked in the top three tiers nationwide.
In addition, the firm is recognized with Legal 500’s prestigious Client Satisfaction rankings, a proprietary distinction based on direct client feedback collected by Legal 500 researchers since 2018. The firm’s honors include recognition for Lawyer & Team Quality and Billing & Efficiency.
Gibbs & Bruns has high-quality and experienced lawyers across the firm and they work together well as a team. They have a well-deserved reputation handling professional liability matters. Their written advocacy and briefing is top notch.
Commercial Disputes – Boutique Firms
Gibbs & Bruns – Tier 1
Gibbs & Bruns is one of only nine firms nationally recognized in the Tier 1 category for Commercial Disputes – Boutique Firms, underscoring the firm’s reputation for handling complex, high-value litigation at the highest level.
Houston-based Gibbs & Bruns LLP is particularly prominent in commercial litigation in the energy sector, and the firm is equally skilled in jury trials, commercial settlements and arbitration proceedings, and has acted in the Texas Business Court and before an array of national courts. Other specialist areas in which the firm has experience in litigation span legal malpractice cases, where the group has established relationships with national full-service firms; banking and securities disputes for both defendants and plaintiffs; and class action suits in the technology sector. With a deep and experienced bench, the practice heads are Kathy Patrick, who has acted as lead trial counsel in antitrust class actions for claimants and defendants alike and on a range of high-value civil lawsuits, Barrett Reasoner, who leads on private client, breach of contract disputes, and malpractice claims, energy litigation specialist Michael Absmeier, and Ashley Kleber, who represents law firms, energy companies, and private clients. Firm founder Robin Gibbs also integrates his oil & gas transactional experience on major pieces of commercial litigation.
Leading Lawyers
Barrett Reasoner
Leading Associates
Conor McEvily
Key Lawyers
Robin Gibbs
Kathy Patrick
Mike Absmeier
Ashley Kleber
Energy Litigation: Oil & Gas
Gibbs & Bruns – Tier 1
Gibbs & Bruns is ranked Tier 1 in Energy Litigation: Oil & Gas, an elite distinction shared by only five firms nationwide, including four Am Law 100 firms. The firm has held this Tier 1 ranking continuously since the inaugural U.S. edition of Legal 500 in 2007.
Gibbs & Bruns is excellent at oil and gas and energy litigation.
Barrett Reasoner is an excellent trial lawyer with a graceful, effective style.
Anthony Kaim is thoughtful, smart, strategic and a great writer.
Barrett Reasoner is a seasoned, experienced litigator and trial lawyer. He is very strategic, good on his feet, and effective.
Gibbs & Bruns LLP is a Houston-based litigation boutique engaged exclusively in high-stakes business and commercial disputes. The firm is widely noted for its high-value, precedent-setting work across the energy, oil and gas, and technology sectors, acting for clients as both plaintiffs and defendants in complex, bet-the-company matters. Co-head Kathy Patrick is a trusted adviser to energy companies in headline disputes. Fellow co-head Barrett Reasoner handles a diverse docket of energy and oil and gas trials. Founder Robin Gibbs remains a respected figure in the sector. Brian T. Ross, Sam W. Cruse III, and Anthony N. Kaim further reinforce the firm’s depth in complex energy litigation and arbitration.
Key Lawyers
Robin Gibbs
Kathy Patrick
Barrett Reasoner
Sam Cruse
Brian Ross
Mike Absmeier
Ayesha Najam
Ashley Kleber
Anthony Kaim
General Commercial Disputes
Gibbs & Bruns – Tier 3
Legal 500 ranks Gibbs & Bruns in Tier 3 for General Commercial Disputes, placing the firm among an elite group of just 10 firms recognized in the category’s top three tiers nationwide.
Robin Gibbs is a top-notch trial lawyer who you can rely on to work hard on your case.
Barrett Reasoner is an excellent trial lawyer with good judgment and effective advocacy. He is well-connected and well-liked in the legal community.
Gabriel Kaim is a hard-working, up-and-coming trial partner.
Michael Doman is a hard-working, rising star associate that you want on your trial team.
Houston-based litigation powerhouse Gibbs & Bruns LLP oversees major trials and appeals, with a particular concentration in energy, financial services, and complex commercial litigation. At the helm are Kathy Patrick, who is frequently entrusted with bet-the-company trials, major appeals, and multi-party disputes, and Barrett Reasoner, a veteran in business and contract conflicts, including claims framed in fraud, fiduciary duty, and professional liability. The firm’s co-managing partners, Michael Absmeier and Ashley Kleber, anchor the next layer of leadership: Absmeier is widely recognized for leading energy and commercial trials, while Kleber is a go-to litigator for sophisticated business disputes, including professional liability matters. Additional depth comes from Gabriel Kaim and Robin Gibbs, whose practices are rooted in high-level commercial litigation, private client and fiduciary disputes, while Brian Ross handles a mix of contracts, fraud, and operational disputes for energy and infrastructure clients. Michael Doman is another key name to note.
Key Lawyers
Robin Gibbs
Kathy Patrick
Barrett Reasoner
Brian Ross
Mike Absmeier
Ashley Kleber
Gabriel Kaim
Michael Doman
Leading Trial Lawyers
Among only 40 lawyers nationwide recognized in Legal 500’s Leading Trial Lawyers rankings, Gibbs & Bruns stands out with three lawyers ranked among the top four tiers: Kathy Patrick in Tier 1, Robin Gibbs in Tier 2, and Barrett Reasoner in Tier 4. Their inclusion reflects the firm’s exceptional depth of trial talent and national reputation for handling high-stakes disputes.
Kathy Patrick – Tier 1
Partner at Gibbs & Bruns LLP, Kathy Patrick is trusted by her clients for her expertise in antitrust and other commercial matters, including leveraged buyouts and corporate indemnities, with recent work including the defense of Google against claims from the Texas Attorney General alleging that they have monopoly power in the digital advertising space. She is also representing a number of retail companies, including Target, Macy’s and Staples, in an antitrust case against Visa and Mastercard which alleged that, as credit card networks, they imposed supracompetitive interchange fees on retailers accepting payments with their credit cards and restrained competition for card acceptance – several of the retail companies have settled favorably throughout 2025. Additionally, Patrick is representing Fannie Mae in a damages lawsuit against 9 major banks – including JPMorgan and Deutsche Bank – accusing them of manipulating the London interbank offered rate.
Robin Gibbs – Tier 2
Robin Gibbs, founding partner at Gibbs & Bruns LLP, remains an expert Texas-based trial lawyer, called on by his clients for his skills and experience in antitrust and fiduciary-duty claims, among other cases. His recent work highlights include the ongoing defense of Google against a major antitrust and deceptive trade practices act lawsuit filed by the Texas Attorney General, alleging that Google has monopoly power in the online display advertising space and is carrying out anticompetitive practices.
Barrett Reasoner – Tier 4
Barrett Reasoner of Gibbs & Bruns LLP has over three decades of litigation experience, working across the full range of commercial matters, with a recent focus on antitrust matters – a major example in this space is his continued work representing a number of retail companies in their MDL case against Visa and Mastercard, alleging that the card companies imposed supracompetitive interchange charges, violating federal antitrust laws. He is also currently representing an Am Law 50 firm against fiduciary duty and legal malpractice claims from a fintech startup, and against other malpractice claims regarding an oil-and-gas transaction.
Securities Litigation: Plaintiff
Gibbs & Bruns – Tier 1
Kathy Patrick is recognized as a Hall of Fame lawyer in Securities Litigation: Plaintiff, an elite designation reserved for leading practitioners at the very top of the field.
Hall of Fame
Kathy Patrick
About Legal 500
Every year Legal 500’s team of over 150 researchers, technologists, data analysts, journalists and content specialists collate and review 60,000+ data-submissions from law firms and conduct interviews with thousands of leading law firm partners. On the demand side, Legal 500 analyses confidential data from 300,000+ commercial law firm clients to benchmark law firms and lawyers by practice area; industry; jurisdiction; as well as by proprietary client satisfaction metrics, NPS®, and other qualitative and quantitative criteria.
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