Representative Clients 

• Wilsonart, LLC
• Metropolitan Life Insurance Company

Ken Rhodes is a seasoned trial lawyer with more than thirty-five (35) years of experience resolving high-exposure wrongful death, personal injury, product liability, and commercial cases through numerous favorable jury verdicts, arbitration awards, summary judgments, and settlements. His practice is primarily focused on cases involving product liability, premises liability, wrongful death, car accidents, truck accidents, asbestos and other chemical exposures, insurance disputes, business transactions, and various other negligence matters involving significant injuries and/or property damage.

Ken works with clients across a wide variety of industries, including global, national, and regional business institutions, insurers, and individuals. Few lawyers can match Ken’s experience in resolving challenging disputes in jurisdictions from coast to coast, whether it involves serving as hands-on lead counsel managing every detail from case inception through trial or working with a local litigation team.

He currently serves as National Coordinating Counsel for a product manufacturer, National Trial Counsel for a product manufacturer, and as a member of a four (4) person National Trial Team Counsel for a Fortune 500 Company. These leadership roles have given Ken the unique opportunity to represent clients in sixteen (16) states, including Texas, Arkansas, California, Delaware, Florida, Illinois, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Wisconsin.

Although Ken’s practice is largely focused on high-stakes personal injury cases, he also has deep experience in handling complex business litigation involving a variety of issues, including contract disputes, business interruption losses, business torts, wrongful discharge, trade secret theft, breach of non-compete agreements plus much more. Ken is also in high demand to provide expert witness testimony in cases involving many issues, including insurance coverage, reasonableness of settlements, attorney fees, and numerous liability and risk assessment issues.

Education

• J.D., cum laude, South Texas College of Law Houston (1987)
• B.S., Louisiana State University (1983)

Bar Admissions

• Texas (1988)
• Illinois (2013)

Court Admissions

• United States District Court, Southern District of Texas
• United States District Court, Northern District of Texas
• United States District Court, Eastern District of Texas
• United States District Court, Western District of Texas
• Supreme Court of Texas
• Appellate, District and County Courts of Texas
• Supreme Court of Illinois
• Appellate and Circuit Courts of Illinois

Practice Areas

• Wrongful Death & Personal Injury Litigation
• Product Liability Litigation
• Toxic Tort - Asbestos Litigation
• Commercial Litigation
• Property Damage - Business Interruption Litigation
• Fiduciary Litigation
• Trucking Accidents
• Automobile Accidents
• Motorcycle Accidents
• Fire Litigation

Honors

• Best Lawyers in America-Lawyer of the Year-Product Liability Defense Litigation-Austin, Texas. 2023.
• Best Lawyers in America-Lawyer of the Year-Product Liability Defense Litigation-Houston, Texas. 2021.
• Best Lawyers in America-Personal Injury Defense Litigation. 2013-2023.
• Best Lawyers in America-Personal Injury Plaintiff Litigation. 2013-2023. 
• Best Lawyers in America-Product Liability Defense Litigation. 2013-2023.
• Texas Super Lawyer. 2005-2024.
• Houstonia Magazine Top Lawyer in Houston, Texas. 2019 and 2021.
• Life Fellow in the Texas Bar Foundation. 2004-Present.
• Conferred full membership in the National Order of the Lytae. 1987.

Organizational Involvement

• State Bar of Texas
  • Insurance Law Section
  • Litigation Section
  • Consumer and Commercial Law Section
• State Bar of Illinois

Representative Experience

Wrongful Death

• Obtained no liability jury verdicts for product manufacturer-contractor in two wrongful death cases in Hopkins County, Texas.
• Obtained defense jury verdict for product distributor in Dallas County, Texas.
• Obtained defense jury verdict for product installer distributor in two cases in Milam County, Texas.
• Obtained summary judgments for product manufacturer in two wrongful death cases in Harris County, Texas.
• Obtained favorable settlements in numerous cases due to proper case development.

• Handled many personal injury cases based on multiple legal theories including negligence, negligence per se, strict liability, intentional tort, conspiracy, breach of warranty, and gross negligence. Obtained favorable jury verdict for product seller rebrander in nine cases in Milam County, Texas.
• Obtained summary judgment for product manufacturer in multi-million dollar case pending in Tarrant County, Texas.
• Obtained favorable settlements in numerous cases due to proper case development.

• Successfully represented product manufacturers, contractors, premise owners and researchers in toxic tort cases pending in multiple jurisdictions throughout the United States based on asbestos related-injuries.
• Obtained favorable jury verdicts in multiple cases including deceased and living mesothelioma claims, deceased and living cancer claims and non-malignant disease claims.
• Obtained summary judgments and favorable settlements in multiple cases due to proper case development.

• Represented product manufacturer in breach of contract case pertaining to the construction of a public water intake facility involving a premise owner, general contractor and component part manufacturer.

• Obtained voluntary dismissal of subcontractor in residential foundation defect case.

• Successfully defended employee in a case by former employer asserting claims for breach of non-compete agreement and theft of trade secrets in bench trial in Harris County, Texas.
• Obtained summary judgments for three employers asserting the “exclusive remedy defense” under of the Texas Workers Compensation Act in cases pending in Dallas, Tarrant and Harris Counties, Texas.

• Testified in deposition and trial as a retained expert witness on insurance coverage pertaining to products and non-products coverage in CPR Institute for Dispute Resolution; In the Matter of the Arbitration between ACandS, Inc. and Travelers Casualty and Surety Co. pending in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Case involved hundreds of millions of dollars of available nonproducts coverage.
• Retained attorney fee expert in Cause No. 2008-74658; Multi-District Litigation Docket No. 08-0725; In Re: Deep South Crane & Rigging Company – Crane Collapse Litigation; Cause No. B182-113; Jacqueline Allen, et. al. (Intervenors) v. Deep South Crane & Rigging Investments, LLC, Lyondell Petro Chemical Corporation and Houston Refining LP, et al. (Defendants); In the 60th Judicial District Court of Jefferson County, Texas. Case involved crane collapse resulting in 4 wrongful death and 125 injury personal claims.
• Testified in deposition as a retained expert witness on employer liability and reasonableness of settlements under Texas and Louisiana law in Chicago Bridge & Iron Company v. Certain Underwriters at Lloyd’s London & Certain London Market Insurance Companies in the 284th District Court of Montgomery County, Texas; Cause No. 06-12-12485 - CV.
• Testified in deposition as a retained expert witness on contractor liability, reasonableness of settlements, and reasonableness of attorney fees under California, Illinois, and Indiana law in the 284th District Court of Montgomery County, Texas.

• Obtained no liability finding in favor of product manufacturer in Cause No. P109-0036-10-00; USAA Casualty Insurance Company v. Pentair Water Treatment. Case involved property damages due to alleged product failure.
• Obtained no liability finding in favor of product manufacturer in Cause No. P109-00206-11-00: Maryland Casualty v. Pentair Water Treatment. Case involved property and business interruption damages due to alleged product failure.
• Obtained no liability finding in favor of product manufacturer in Cause No. P109-00177-13-00; Chubb Group of Insurance Companies v. Pentair Filtration, Inc. Case involved property damages due to alleged product failure.
• Obtained defense finding due to spoliation of evidence in favor of product manufacturer in Cause No. P109-00308-14-00; Sentinel Insurance v. Pentair Water Treatment consolidated with Hartford Lloyd’s Insurance v. Pentair Water Treatment. Cases involved proprietary damages due to alleged product defect.

Speeches and Presentations

• “Bostic Causation - Texas and Beyond,” Harris Martin's Midwest Asbestos Litigation Conference - St. Louis, Missouri. (September 18, 2014)
• “Considerations in a Successful Personal Injury Case - Defense Perspective,” Houston Bar Association at South Texas College of Law (June 26, 1998)