Flahive, Ogden & Latson, Attorneys at Law, P.C.

What the firm defends

The firm defends employers and insurers when workers file on-the-job injury claims. Its work runs before three state agencies, through every level of the Texas state courts, and into the federal jurisdiction. That spread across forums shows the firm follows a claim wherever it lands.

Workers' compensation defense is the core of the firm's work. Flahive, Ogden & Latson represents Texas employers and insurers in every field office of the Texas Division of Workers' Compensation. In my opinion, that field-office coverage is one of the more concrete facts on the site, because it points to routine appearances across the whole state.

A long run in one field

The firm says it has done this work since the early 1940s. That start reaches more than eighty years back, though the site gives a decade and not a specific year. The firm also describes itself as Texas' oldest workers' compensation and employment injury defense firm.

Long service in a single field shapes how a firm works. Decades inside workers' compensation defense build familiarity with the agencies, the hearing officers, and the rhythm of Texas claims. As a reviewer, I read the early-1940s start as the firm's clearest signal about its depth here.

Texas treats workers' compensation differently from most states. Private employers there can choose whether to carry comp coverage at all, and those that do gain limits on their liability for workplace injuries. That structure gives insurers and covered employers a defined system to work within, and it keeps a steady stream of disputes for firms on the defense side.

Where the firm operates

The firm keeps offices in four Texas cities: Austin, Dallas, Houston, and San Antonio. Those cities cover the state's main population centers. The firm also says it appears in every field office of the Texas Division of Workers' Compensation, so its footprint reaches past the four office cities.

A multi-city setup fits work that follows the state's field offices. Hearings in these cases happen where the injured worker's claim is filed, so a firm that appears across the state saves clients from bringing in separate local counsel for each venue. The four offices give the firm staffed bases in the metros that generate much of that caseload.

The service lines it names

Three areas make up the firm's stated work, and each covers a different stage or forum of injury litigation. The first is workers' compensation defense, where the firm answers claims brought by injured workers for the employer or carrier. The second covers district court defense and subrogation protection, which moves a dispute into the civil courts and pursues recovery of payments an insurer has already made. The third is Defense Base Act and Longshore defense, a federal track for injuries tied to overseas government contracts and maritime work.

The client side matters here. Employers and their insurance carriers pay compensation benefits, so they hold the defense side of these disputes. A firm on this side reviews whether an injury is compensable, how much is owed, and whether a third party shares responsibility.

How the team is built

The attorney directory lists 18 lawyers. The firm describes its attorneys as board certified. Alongside the lawyers, it runs support departments for medical dispute resolution, benefit disputes, and records requests, which are routine workstreams in workers' compensation cases.

The directory names other attorneys as well, among them Bernie Paredes, Brittni B. Coleman, Chuck Finch, Claire A. Smith, Greg Solcher, Jeremy Lord, Kevin S. Poteete, Nancy H. Ippolito, and Paul B. Stone. Each name carries a link to a fuller bio.

Board certification in Texas runs through the Texas Board of Legal Specialization. A lawyer earns it by passing an exam in a defined area and showing substantial practice in it, then renews it over time. The credential is one marker among several that clients use when they weigh a defense team.

Attorneys the site profiles

James Riley Sheffield III is a shareholder in the Austin office. He earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Texas in 1977 and a law degree from Texas Tech University School of Law in 1980. His practice covers personal injury defense and workers' compensation matters such as car accident cases.

Alex Scheer holds a BBA in international business from Texas Tech University's Rawls College of Business and a law degree from Texas Wesleyan University School of Law, now the Texas A&M University School of Law. Scheer joined Bailey & Galyen in 2013 to work in its workers' compensation department and has practiced at Flahive, Ogden & Latson since 2016.

Jessica MacCarty earned her law degree from Baylor University in 2011. Her practice covers civil appellate matters, insurance, personal injury litigation, and workers' compensation. The appellate work is worth noting, since it means the firm has someone who carries claims past the trial stage.

What the practice areas involve

Some general context helps readers new to this side of the law. Workers' compensation defense in Texas runs largely through the Division of Workers' Compensation, where disputes over benefits and medical care move through defined steps before they reach the courts. A defense firm argues the employer or carrier's position at those steps.

The dispute path has clear rungs. A benefit review conference tries to settle the issues informally. A contested case hearing puts evidence before a hearing officer. A party that disagrees can seek review by an appeals panel, and after that, judicial review moves the matter into state district court. A defense firm may work one claim across several of these rungs.

Subrogation and district court work

Subrogation works on a separate track. When an insurer pays a claim and a third party shares fault, subrogation is the route to recover part of that payment from the party responsible. District court defense puts those and related disputes in front of a civil judge or jury.

Two of the firm's named support functions point to common flashpoints in these cases. Medical dispute resolution deals with fights over whether a treatment is reasonable and necessary and who pays for it. Records requests keep the documentary side moving, since comp claims turn heavily on medical and wage records. Both functions support the daily work of a claim.

Federal injury defense

The Defense Base Act extends federal workers' compensation coverage to civilian workers on overseas military bases and government contracts, and Longshore claims cover maritime and harbor workers. These matters run under the U.S. Department of Labor's Office of Workers' Compensation Programs, with claims decided by federal administrative law judges. The state comp process and this federal one run on separate tracks, and the firm lists both on its site.