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Mr. Mussalli is a civil litigator top rated (AV) by Martindale-Hubbell who handles cases all over the country. He is licensed to practice law in Texas and New York. He began his legal career in New York City in 1995 as an associate with a large insurance defense firm. While in New York, his practice areas included medical malpractice, products liability, toxic tort, construction, premises and automobile liability. In 1998, he relocated to The Woodlands, Texas and has since expanded his areas of practice to include complex commercial and business, serious personal injury and probate and estate litigation matters. Prior to establishing his own practice, Mr. Mussalli was a principal at Cokinos, Bosien & Young in the firm’s Houston office and most recently, spent over three years as a partner at Gauntt & Kruppstadt in The Woodlands, Texas.
Mr. Mussalli has first and second-chaired many cases to jury verdict in various courts in New York and Texas and is often retained by other attorneys as trial counsel. Among the past cases in which Mr. Mussalli has had shared responsibility have been two major marine construction disputes: one involved the Deepwater Nautilus and the other concerned Pride Kansas. Both cases involved very complex technology and business integration, extremely voluminous project files, multiple parties, extensive analysis of critical path failures, coordination of trades and substantial damages or potential exposure. In addition, he has also prosecuted and defended wrongful death and serious personal injury cases both on construction sites and plants as well as elsewhere.
He also has extensive experience in alternative dispute resolution of cases through mediation and arbitration under the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) and American Arbitration Association (AAA) rules. His clients include both large and small business entities as well as individuals.
Mr. Mussalli earned his B.A. in Psychology from St. John’s University, New York in 1992 and his J.D. in 1995 from St. John’s University School of Law. He is a lifetime member of Psi Chi, the National Honor Society in Psychology. As an undergraduate student, he competed nationally as a charter member of the University’s Mock Trial Team and returns to his alma mater yearly to assist with judging. While in law school, he was named a Senior Board member of the Moot Court Honor Society and received numerous awards for his advocacy skills. He often volunteers his time as a judge for the University of Houston School of Law and South Texas College of Law internal trial competitions.
Mr. Mussalli has authored many articles and given presentations on federal procedure, personal injury and professional liability, including architect liability. Written works and presentations include: Co-Author, Free Speech, Liability in Personal Injury Lawsuit, New York Law Journal, January 1998; Author, Tick-Tock: Rules on the Removal Clock, The Review of Litigation, Vol. 19 (Winter 2000), reprinted with permission in State Bar of Texas Construction Law Newsletter, February, 2000; Author, From Med-Mal Cases to Design Defect Claims: Exploring Expert Affidavits in Suits Against Architects and Engineers, Texas Lawyer, February 19, 2007; Conference Faculty Member and Presenter, Liability and Causes of Action for Design Errors and Omissions, The Basics Course in Texas Construction Law sponsored by the State Bar of Texas Construction Law Section, October 29, 2010; Speaker, Legislative and Case Law Update: Rules to Live By for the Texas Architect, August 20, 2004, AIA, Houston Chapter.
Mr. Mussalli is a member of the Montgomery County Bar Association, the Woodlands Bar Association, the Woodlands Young Lawyers Association, the Harris County Bar Association and the Houston Young Lawyers Association. He is a member of the Litigation and Construction sections of the State Bar of Texas. In addition to being licensed to practice in Texas, he is also admitted to practice in both New York State Supreme and various federal courts.
Mr. Mussalli was named a life member of the Million Dollar Advocates Forum and was recognized as one of Houston‘s “Top Lawyers Under 40” by H Texas Magazine in 2004, 2005 and 2006. In addition, in 2008 and 2009, his name appeared in the Super Lawyers “Rising Stars” edition published by Law and Politics in connection with Texas Monthly. Approximately 2.5% of the best up-and-coming attorneys in the state are honored with this distinction as a result of a survey process, including personal observations and credential review by an attorney led research team.
He serves as chair of the Indian Springs Residential Design and Review Committee in the Woodlands, Texas and is also a member of The Woodlands Parks and Recreation Advisory Council.
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Amanda Mussalli's practice focuses on performing transactional work and supporting the firm's litigation cases. After distinguishing herself in law school as a Law Review member of St. John's University School of Law, receiving numerous academic honors and successfully participating in the school's trial advocacy competitions, she began her legal career at Bangser, Klein, Rocca and Blum, L.L.P., a mid-town Manhattan boutique firm located in the historic Helmsley Building on Park Avenue. While an Associate there, she worked under the tutelage of legendary civil litigator, Robert Blum, on a variety of cases ranging from co-op/condominium disputes to very contentious probate and matrimonial litigation.
In 1998, she and Mr. Mussalli relocated to The Woodlands, Texas and her practice areas shifted to the energy and construction industries. Initially, she accepted a position working at Shell Oil Company and provided litigation support in defending complex, multi-party cases. Thereafter, she joined the Houston office of Cokinos, Bosien & Young as an Associate, where she had the unique opportunity to work exclusively on-site with one of the firm's then clients, Jacobs Engineering Group Inc. While working at Jacobs, she reviewed and negotiated EPC, EPCM and CM contracts with owners and contractors as well as other contractual agreements with a variety of subcontractors and material suppliers. She also counseled business, contract and procurement teams, including the drafting and negotiation of numerous complex indemnification provisions. After serving in this capacity for approximately 3 years, Ms. Mussalli elected to focus her energies on raising her young children and volunteering in local causes yet remained active in the legal community.
Presently, she assists in the firm's Business/Corporate Law, Commercial Litigation, Construction Law and Wills, Trusts and Probate Practice areas and is a very active volunteer in several organizations in The Woodlands.
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Ms. Freeman joined the firm in November 2009. She handles all types of civil disputes with an emphasis on complex commercial cases. Ms. Freeman has handled cases in the areas of breach of contract, securities fraud, fraudulent and negligent misrepresentation, real estate, insurance bad faith, breach of non-compete agreements, misappropriation of trade secrets, consumer protection and lien foreclosure, among others. She has first and second chaired numerous civil trials in state and federal courts as well as arbitration. She represents both large and small businesses as well as individuals. Ms. Freeman successfully arbitrated a complex franchise dispute involving eleven franchise owners and obtained a favorable award. She has also successfully negotiated settlements through mediation.
Ms. Freeman is licensed to practice in Texas and Colorado. She began her legal career at the downtown Denver firm of Allen & Vellone, P.C., where she practiced complex civil litigation. She graduated from the University of Denver College of Law after serving as a Staff Editor of the University of Denver Law Review. While in law school, she received numerous awards and honors, including winning the Hoffman Trial Advocacy Competition, and the Natural Resources Appellate Competition. Ms. Freeman was also a member of the College of Law’s American Bar Association Trial Team, which competed against other national teams. In addition to successfully completing her academic course load and excelling in other activities, she was a legal intern for the United States Department of Labor, Office of the Solicitor, assisting in labor and employment cases. Ms. Freeman received her B.A. in Political Science from the University of Colorado at Boulder as a member of the Phi Beta Kappa honor society. As an undergraduate, she was the Co-Caption and National Qualifying Attorney of the University’s Mock Trial Team.
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Amy is a magna cum laude graduate of Texas A&M University and graduated in the top 10 percent of her class. She received a Bachelor of Business Administration Degree in Marketing in 2008 and was recognized with University Honors as well as Business Honors distinctions. Upon completing her undergraduate degree, she immediately began pursuing her legal education at South Texas College of Law. While at South Texas, Amy was the President of the Alternative Dispute Resolution Advocates, through which she initiated a large-scale Peer Mediation training program for middle school students, an intramural tournament for South Texas students, and facilitated multiple speaker events. She also served as a Director on the Board of Advocates and as the President of the Aggie Law Students Association. Additionally, Amy travelled with the South Texas Mediation, Negotiation, and Mock Trial competition teams. Most notably, she competed in the International Commercial Mediation Competition hosted by the International Chamber of Commerce in Paris, France, where South Texas ranked in the top 10 teams. Amy earned the American Jurisprudence Award in both Negotiations and Marital Property & Homestead. After successfully completing her law studies, she received her Juris Doctor from South Texas in 2011, graduating in the top quarter of her class.
In 2009, Amy served as a Judicial Clerk for the Honorable Tim Taft in the 1st Court of Appeals in Houston, Texas and for the Honorable Fred Edwards in the 9th District Court in Montgomery County, Texas. In the summer of 2010, she interned for Thompson, Coe, Cousins, & Irons, LLP. Amy began clerking for The Law Office of Matthew J. Mussalli, P.C. after completing the Texas State Bar Exam in 2011. Upon her admission to the Texas State Bar, Amy began her current role as an Associate.
Amy is a member of the Woodlands Bar Association, the Texas Young Lawyers Association, Montgomery County Bar Association, the State Bar of Texas, the Texas Aggie Bar Association, the Montgomery County A&M Club, the ABA Young Lawyers Division and the South Texas Young Alumni Mentor Program. Amy is also a qualified mediator under Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code § 154.052 and has aided many parties in reaching successful resolution of their disputes.
Amy ranked number 1 in her graduating class at The Woodlands High School and resides in The Woodlands with her husband, Kyle.