Eugene W. “Chip” Brees joined the firm in May 2002 after almost 26 years as a personal injury defense lawyer. With his background and trial expertise, Mr. Brees adds a unique component to the firm’s plaintiff practice.
Mr. Brees was born in Alabama, raised in Maryland (south of the Mason-Dixon line), and educated in Texas. He is both an Aggie with a Bachelor of Science from Texas A&M University and a Longhorn with a Juris Doctorate from the University of Texas. After graduating from law school in 1976, Mr. Brees began working for the law firm of Thompson & Knight in Dallas. He was a trial lawyer in the Dallas office until 1986, when he moved to the firm’s Austin office. During his nearly 26 years as a defense attorney, Mr. Brees handled a wide variety of insurance defense and personal injury work involving medical malpractice, product liability, chemical and drug liability, industrial and motor vehicle accidents, toxic tort, mass tort, insurance bad faith, and business litigation claims. He served as national counsel for a major manufacturer in fluorochemical litigation and Texas counsel for other manufacturers. Mr. Brees has tried over 75 cases to verdict in both state and federal courts, the vast majority of which have resulted in favorable verdicts for his clients.
Despite his success as a defense attorney, for many years Mr. Brees felt compelled to represent plaintiffs. He felt empathy for the plights of the people who were injured at the hands of the defendants whom he was representing. In May 2002, he was offered the opportunity to join the personal injury attorneys at our Austin, Texas firm and to transfer his expertise to the plaintiffs’ side. Mr. Brees seized the opportunity and, since then, he has focused on representing injured persons and their families in cases involving serious personal injury or wrongful death. Mr. Brees continues to practice in both state and federal courts. He represents plaintiffs in medical malpractice and birth injury cases against doctors, nurses, and hospitals and in cases involving the United States government under the Federal Tort Claims Act. He also represents plaintiffs in a wide variety of other cases, including wrongful death; automobile, truck, and bicycle accidents; aircraft crashes; products liability; and premises liability.
Mr. Brees is a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers and the International Academy of Trial Lawyers. He is certified in Personal Injury Trial Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization. He has been named a Super Lawyer by Thomson Reuters every year since 2003 and has been listed in The Best Lawyers in America by Woodward White, Inc. every year since 2003.
Mr. Brees is a member of the Capital Area Trial Lawyers Association, Texas Trial Lawyers Association, and American Association for Justice. He is also a member of the American Board of Trial Advocates.
Mr. Brees has been admitted to practice before the Supreme Court of Texas; the United States District Courts, Northern, Southern, Eastern and Western Districts of Texas; and the U.S. Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit.
Bar Admissions
- Supreme Court of Texas
- The United States District Courts
- Northern District of Texas
- Southern District of Texas
- Eastern District of Texas
- Western District of Texas
- The U.S. Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit
