Larry R Veselka

Practice Areas

Energy | Data Centers

Career

Since 1976, Larry Veselka has won significant victories in trial and on appeal. During this time, he has been actively engaged in trying more than 80 jury trials and a similar number of bench trials and administrative proceedings across Texas and in Arkansas, Colorado, California, Illinois, Louisiana, Pennsylvania, Nevada, New York, Oklahoma, Wyoming, and Washington, DC.

In addition, Larry has briefed and/or argued more than 60 appellate matters before various Texas Courts of Appeals; the Texas Supreme Court; the Wyoming Supreme Court; and the US Court of Appeals for the Fifth, Tenth, Eleventh, and DC Circuits.

Starting out primarily handling oil and gas litigation and energy regulatory proceedings – and returning to that practice cyclically ever since – Larry has handled numerous securities, contract, fraud, Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act, and business tort cases, mostly for clients in the energy industry. Since the revolutionary development of shale production in Texas more than 10 years ago, he has focused once again mostly on oil and gas trials, arbitrations, and regulatory proceedings.

Along the way, he has advised insureds and insurers on coverage issues, and has successfully tried claims for coverage and bad faith. Larry has prosecuted and defended securities and consumer class actions, as well as shareholder derivative matters.

Besides the complex civil cases that predominated in the early years of his practice, Larry has handled white-collar criminal matters at the grand jury, pre-trial, trial, and appellate stages, as well as Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) investigations and prosecutions – since the late 1980's.

Larry is active in the Houston-area civic and legal communities. He is a member of the Houston chapter of the American Board of Trial Advocates and the American Bar Association's Litigation and Criminal Justice Sections. He is a Texas Bar Foundation Sustaining Life Fellow and a Houston Bar Foundation Fellow. And he is a former member and among the founders of the Houston Lawyer Chapter of the American Constitution Society.

Other notable career highlights include serving full time as Administrative Assistant to then-Lieutenant Governor Bill Hobby while attending the University of Texas Law School full time. In 1985, the Governor of Texas appointed Larry as Regent of Texas Southern University, a position he held for six years.

Professional Memberships

American Bar Association, Litigation and Criminal Justice sections

American Board of Trial Advocates, Houston Chapter

American Leadership Forum

Fellow, Houston Bar Foundation

Houston Bar Association, Federal Practice, Litigation, and Oil, Gas & Minerals sections

Houston Lawyer Chapter of the American Constitution Society

Alumnus, Leadership Houston

State Bar of Texas, Antitrust and Business Litigation, Criminal Justice, Litigation section, and Oil & Gas Energy Resources Law

Sustaining Life Fellow, Texas Bar Foundation

Twice appointed by the US District Court for the Southern District of Texas to serve on the Merit Selection Panel for Magistrate Judges