McDowell Hetherington LLP is proud to announce that three of its lawyers – Kate Easterling, Blaire Bruns Johnson and Jason Richardson — have been named to the 2016 Texas Rising Stars list.

The annual list of Texas’ top up-and-coming lawyers is based on a statewide poll of attorneys. Nominees must be age 40 or younger or have been in practice for fewer than 10 years. Only 2.5 percent of Texas attorneys are included in the list, which appears in the April 2016 editions of Texas Monthly and Texas Rising Stars magazines.

Ms. Easterling, a senior attorney in the Houston office, was recognized as a “Rising Star” in business litigation — making her a five-time Texas Super Lawyer Rising Star. Ms. Easterling handles commercial disputes, energy litigation, tort claims, and personal injury claims across the country.

Ms. Johnson, a partner in the Houston office, has achieved great results for the firm’s clients in an array of civil litigation, including financial services litigation; life, health and disability insurance litigation; employment-related litigation; oil-and-gas industry litigation; and stop-loss insurance litigation. Particularly, Ms. Johnson has a growing practice in ERISA litigation both in Texas and across the country. Ms. Johnson was recognized as a “Rising Star” in insurance coverage.

Mr. Richardson, an associate in the Houston office, has a successful practice representing broker/dealers and financial advisors in securities arbitration proceedings before the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority. Mr. Richardson also represents financial services and insurance companies in a wide variety of commercial litigation matters, including claims of life insurance fraud and employment disputes. Mr. Richardson is admitted to practice in Texas, Florida, Illinois, and Utah state courts. Mr. Richardson was recognized as a “Rising Star” in securities litigation.