Welcome to Stevens Baldo & Lighty PLLC
A Texas Civil Litigation Defense Firm
with Offices in Beaumont and Houston
The attorneys of SBL are a team of skilled, experienced trial and appellate lawyers focused on civil litigation defense in the disciplines of general civil litigation defense, insurance defense, personal injury and death case defense, construction litigation, mass toxic tort defense, and workers’ compensation. SBL also handles complex contractual matters, OSHA compliance and response, administrative matters, and appellate law. SBL’s goal is to resolve every lawsuit or legal conflict efficiently, effectively, and economically.
SB&L GUIDING PRINCIPLES
Stevens Baldo & Lighty PLLC’s practice is based upon the simple premise that consistently delivering maximum value to clients builds long-term client relationships. The firm seeks to achieve maximum client value through application of the following principles:
- Discipline, speed, and determination in achieving agreed litigation strategies and financially successful outcomes.
- Recognizing that legal representation is most effective in an environment of openness, plain speaking, and mutual support.
- Providing candid advice from the outset.
- Exceeding client expectations through greater efficiency, creativity, and better use of resources.
- Sharing responsibility for a successful outcome among all the firm’s lawyers and staff.
- Assuring that every action taken is necessary or adds value to the client’s cause.
The successful and long-standing relationships we have developed with our clients are a testament to the soundness of these guiding principles.
SB&L Practice Expertise
The best value we can provide to our clients is protecting them from the risk of conflict in the first place. To that end, we routinely advise clients on measures that can be taken in order to avoid a conflict before it develops. When a conflict does arise, the firm seeks to achieve the earliest possible resolution that is compatible with the client’s goals and objectives. To do this we routinely engage in Alternative Dispute Resolution, including mediation, arbitration, or various permutations of these techniques.
SB&L has a successful record in post-trial matters and appeals, including the preparation and presentation of motions, writs, briefs and, ultimately, arguments to the state and federal appellate courts. The firm handles appeals of cases it has tried as well as cases that have been tried by other firms. Our appellate lawyers frequently become involved in a case before the actual trial to assist in pre-trial matters, trial matters, research of legal issues, preservation of error, charge preparation and objections.
Beginning with the nation’s first asbestos case, tried in 1969 in Beaumont , the Southeast Texas area has remained on the cutting edge of toxic tort litigation. SB&L is recognized as a leader in defense efforts and has the proven ability to take the forefront in complex multiparty actions. Our attorneys collectively have decades of experience in defending toxic tort claims, having actively participated in numerous precedent-setting cases.
SB&L defends personal injury claims of exposure to asbestos, silica, welding fumes, radiation, formaldehyde, benzene, ceramics, heavy metals (e.g. lead, cobalt, nickel), solvents, paints, insecticides, herbicides, excessive noise levels, and other industrial hazards. In such cases, we have represented product manufacturers, safety equipment manufacturers, construction companies, ship owners, distributors/retailers, and premise owners.
SB&L defends manufacturers, distributors, and sellers from product liability claims, including those arising in the areas of transportation, construction, industrial equipment, consumer goods, and in the petrochemical industries. We have experience in design and manufacturing strict liability claims, related claims for alleged misrepresentation, breach of express or implied warranty, violations of the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act, negligence, and punitive damage claims.
We have represented manufacturing and distributing clients in the following areas:
-
Consumer Goods
-
Refinery Equipment
-
Motor Vehicles
-
Asbestos Products
-
Chemicals
-
Pharmaceutical, Medical Device, and Other Health Care Product Liability Litigation
-
Toxic Tort Exposure Litigation (Chemical, Environmental, and Occupational)
-
Transportation Product Liability Litigation
-
Latex Gloves
-
Welding Rods
-
Safety Equipment
-
Silica
-
Sporting Goods
SB&L has an extensive workers’ compensation practice defending the interests of insurance carriers and employers in benefit and medical review disputes before the Texas Workers’ Compensation Commission (TWCC) throughout Texas. We provide support for all areas of workers’ compensation claims, from the inception of the claim through the appeals process. The firm also helps insurance carriers and employers recover compensation from responsible tortfeasors through the assertion of subrogation claims.
Distinguished Firm
Get the Legal Guidance You Deserve
Trust SB&L Experience
And Expertise
SB&L has remained lean. We have purposely avoided having too many lawyers in multiple office locations. By remaining lean, we are able to provide high quality service and avoid one of the fundamental problems with modern law practice, the pressure to perpetually feed an onerous overhead structure through the performance of work that adds no value to the client’s cause.
Meet The Attorneys
Take a few minutes to get to know the award winning and recognized Attorneys at SBL
R. LYN STEVENS
Member
NICK BALDO
Member
DON LIGHTY
Member
MICHAEL K. ROSE
Member
ELLEN VANNAH
Of Counsel
RICK W. THAMM
Of Counsel