Burns & Black, PLLC

Focus and the shape of the practice

Based in San Antonio, Texas, the firm has offered legal services since 1981. Michael J. Black founded it and runs it as managing partner. Its core work is civil litigation, which it handles in both state and federal courts across Texas. Both individuals and businesses come to the firm, and a client can arrive with a dispute already in court or with a matter that needs handling before any lawsuit begins.

The firm takes on mediations, arbitrations, and appeals as well as trial work. The named practice areas cover administrative law, business law, commercial and construction law, consumer law, employment law, estate planning and probate, insurance defense, professional license defense, and real estate law. Mediation and alternative dispute resolution sit alongside them. That spread points to a practice organized around disputes and the deals that produce them.

Consumer and business work in detail

Two of the firm's areas carry more detail on its own pages, and those are consumer law and business law.

Consumer claims

On the consumer side, the firm handles breach of warranty claims, Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act claims, disputes with retailers, and automobile lemon law cases. The Deceptive Trade Practices Act gives a consumer a route to recover economic damages when a seller misleads them. Breach of warranty claims come up when a product fails to meet the promise made about it, whether that promise was written or implied by the sale. Claims against retailers cover a fault in the goods or a broken agreement with the store.

Lemon law in Texas covers new vehicles with defects that a dealer cannot fix after a fair number of attempts. A complaint generally goes to the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles, where an administrative judge hears the matter. The judge can order a repair, a replacement vehicle, or a refund. These consumer matters often turn on the paper trail: the purchase record, the warranty terms, and any written exchange between buyer and seller.

Business and corporate work

On the business side, the firm handles contracts, corporate matters, and entity formation. Entity formation covers the setup of a company as a corporation, a limited liability company, or a partnership. Contract work includes drafting agreements and enforcing them when a party breaks the terms. Corporate matters take in the ongoing decisions a company faces once it is running, covering governance questions and disputes among owners.

Other areas the firm covers

Employment law covers the working relationship between staff and employers. Common matters include wage disputes, claims over termination, and questions about workplace policy. An employment dispute can settle through a demand letter and negotiation, or it can move to a state or federal court. The firm lists this area among the work it does for individuals and businesses.

Estate planning and probate deals with wills, trusts, and the transfer of property after a death. Probate is the court process that confirms a will and settles what a person leaves behind. When someone dies without a will, Texas intestacy rules decide who inherits, and probate still runs through the court. Real estate law, another listed area, covers the purchase, sale, and use of property, along with the disputes that grow out of those deals.

Defense and regulatory matters

Insurance defense work usually starts when a policyholder faces a lawsuit and the insurer assigns counsel to defend it. The lawyer answers the complaint, manages discovery, and either settles the claim or defends it at trial. Professional license defense follows a different track. It runs through the agency that issued the license, and a hearing there can end in dismissal, a warning, a suspension, or the loss of the license.

Administrative law deals with the rules and decisions of government agencies, and much of it plays out in hearings rather than open court. Commercial and construction law reaches contracts and disputes tied to building projects. Construction disputes often involve defective work, delays, or unpaid invoices among owners, contractors, and subcontractors.

How the team is built

Michael J. Black is the founder and managing partner. The firm credits him with decades of experience in civil litigation and mediation. Daniel Teklu works as an associate attorney.

Support staff fill out the office. Carlos Campos is a law clerk, and Thomas Duckworth is the accountant and office manager. Paralegals and an administrative assistant handle other daily work. As a reviewer, I read this as a small firm where a compact group of lawyers and staff carries the caseload.

Litigation, mediation, and appeals

Civil litigation makes up the center of the firm's work. A civil case generally opens with a petition, then moves through discovery where each side gathers evidence, and reaches either a settlement or a trial. Discovery can include written questions, document requests, and depositions where a witness answers under oath. The firm handles these cases in Texas state courts and in federal court.

Mediation gives the parties another route. A neutral mediator meets with both sides and works toward a settlement they can accept. Michael J. Black brings mediation experience to this part of the practice, and the firm offers alternative dispute resolution as a stated service. Arbitration works differently, since a private decision-maker hears the dispute and issues a ruling that binds the parties.

Appeals complete the litigation work. An appeal asks a higher court to review a lower court's decision for legal error. The higher court reads the record and the written arguments, and it can affirm the decision, reverse it, or send the case back. The firm has carried this litigation work in San Antonio since 1981.

What the record shows

The firm's public facts are steady and consistent. It has operated since 1981, it lists a single San Antonio office, and it names its attorneys and support staff. In my opinion, a firm that publishes its founding year, its office, and its named team makes itself straightforward to check. The pages name Michael J. Black as founder and managing partner and Daniel Teklu as associate attorney, backed by a law clerk, an office manager, paralegals, and administrative staff.