Bayne, Snell and Krause

Focus and practice areas

The firm practices civil litigation from a base in San Antonio, Texas. Bayne, Snell and Krause centers its work on disputes that reach a courtroom or an arbitration panel. The practice areas it names include civil litigation, business litigation, and personal injury, along with insurance bad faith, oil and gas law, probate litigation, breach of contract, partnership and shareholder disputes, commercial real estate litigation, construction litigation, and insurance claims.

Most of those areas fall on the commercial and property side of litigation. They involve contracts, ownership, and money that two sides read differently. A smaller share, such as personal injury, brings in individual claimants. The common feature is a contested matter that a court or arbitrator has to resolve.

The kinds of disputes the firm handles

Each named area follows its own path, and the firm gathers a wide set under one civil litigation banner. Civil litigation itself is the broad category: any non-criminal dispute that one party brings against another. Personal injury sits inside it, where a claimant seeks compensation for harm caused by another party's negligence, often through settlement and, if that fails, trial.

Insurance and contract claims

Insurance bad faith claims usually start after an insurer denies or delays a claim the policyholder considers valid. The question for a court is whether the insurer had a reasonable basis for its decision, and the answer turns on the claim file and the policy language. Insurance claims work, listed separately, covers the underlying demand for payment before any bad faith question arises.

Breach of contract matters ask a court to read an agreement and decide who failed to perform, then measure the loss that followed. These cases often hinge on a few clauses and the conduct of the parties after signing. The remedy is usually money, set at the amount that puts the wronged party where the completed deal would have left them.

Ownership and property disputes

Partnership and shareholder disputes raise questions of fiduciary duty and often force an accounting between co-owners in conflict. Probate litigation runs through a probate court, where will contests and disputes among heirs and executors get decided. Commercial real estate litigation covers leases, purchase agreements, and title questions tied to business property.

Construction litigation brings owners, contractors, and subcontractors into the same case over defects or unpaid work. Oil and gas law adds mineral leases, royalty payments, and surface rights. In my opinion, that spread of subjects points to a general civil practice with a commercial center of gravity.

Courtroom and arbitration work

The firm frames its attorneys around trial practice, and its listed work includes both court cases and arbitration. The two forums run differently. A courtroom case follows public rules of procedure and can reach a jury, while arbitration is a private process decided by one or more arbitrators the parties select.

Board certification in civil trial law ties to that first forum. It measures trial experience, so it speaks to how the attorneys handle a case that goes the distance in court. Clay Snell's record, as the firm states it, includes both trial and arbitration matters across Texas. Arbitration awards are usually final, with narrow grounds for a court to review them.

How the team is built

Two attorneys carry the firm's name in its public profiles: Barry Snell and David C. "Clay" Snell. Both practice civil trial law. Between them they have nearly 80 years of combined courtroom experience, according to the firm.

Both are Board Certified in Civil Trial Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization. That credential comes from a state program that asks a lawyer to document trial experience and pass an examination in the field. It is an optional certification, and it points to a sustained focus on courtroom work.

Both attorneys also hold an AV Preeminent Peer Review Rating from Martindale-Hubbell. That rating comes from peer reviews of a lawyer's legal ability and ethical standards. As a reviewer, I read two shared credentials across a two-attorney firm as a sign of consistent standards inside the office.

Where the firm practices

The firm has represented clients in Texas and New Mexico since 1974. Its base is San Antonio, and its stated service area covers South and Central Texas, with Bexar County and Universal City among the places it names. Clay Snell has represented clients in both courtroom and arbitration proceedings across Texas.

Work in two states adds a layer to some matters. Oil and gas law, one of the firm's listed areas, follows separate statutes and lease customs in Texas and New Mexico. A firm that takes such matters in both has to track each state's approach to mineral rights and royalty disputes. The same holds for real estate and probate, where local rules and county courts shape how a case moves.

What the record shows

The firm was founded in San Antonio in 1974. That places its presence in one market across five decades. The founding year appears plainly on the firm's own site, as do the names and certifications of its two attorneys.

Its public credentials are the kind a reader can check. Board certification in civil trial law is recorded by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization, and the AV Preeminent rating is published through Martindale-Hubbell. Both point to outside review of the attorneys' trial work.

Individual practice depth

The attorney records add detail beyond the firm's general litigation categories. Barry Snell's stated focus includes consumer law and employment litigation. He also handles class action litigation, a form of case in which one or more named plaintiffs pursue claims on behalf of a defined group. His record identifies construction disputes as another part of his civil trial practice.

David C. "Clay" Snell's profile reaches several narrower types of claims. His personal injury work includes litigation involving commercial vehicles and 18-wheelers. That focus places part of his practice in disputes arising from accidents involving business-operated trucks. His record also identifies consumer and insurance litigation.

Clay Snell handles commercial landlord-tenant litigation as well. Those cases concern the relationship between businesses occupying property and the owners who lease it to them. This focus gives the firm's commercial real estate work a specific leasing dimension at the attorney level.

Education and career chronology

Both listed attorneys earned their law degrees from St. Mary's University School of Law. Barry Snell received his JD in 1970. Clay Snell received his JD in 1999. The record gives a Texas admission-year hint of 1971 for Barry Snell and 1999 for Clay Snell.

These dates provide a clearer view of the experience behind the two-attorney practice. Barry Snell's legal education began the earlier career, while Clay Snell joined the profession close to three decades later. Their profiles therefore reflect different career periods within the same office and the same San Antonio law school tradition.

Fee arrangements

The firm accepts certain matters on a contingency-fee basis. Under that arrangement, the attorney's fee depends on a recovery rather than hourly billing alone. The record limits this option to certain cases, so availability turns on the type and circumstances of the matter. Prospective clients would need to confirm the applicable terms for their own claim directly with the firm.

Office details

The office is at 239 E. Commerce Street in San Antonio. This places the firm's physical location on a central city street rather than identifying San Antonio only as a general market. The listed telephone number is 210-756-7220, and the firm's website is bsklaw.com. These details provide direct points of contact for inquiries about case fit and fee terms.