Brendan graduated from the University of Texas School of Law with Honors after receiving his bachelor’s degree in philosophy from Brandeis University.
Brendan served as president of the Brandeis Academic Debate and Speech Society and performed with great distinction. Brendan achieved many successes in his debate career, including winning the nation’s most prestigious tournament, the Harvard University Debate Tournament. Brendan continues his passion for debate by coaching and supporting debate initiatives wherever they pop up.
During law school, Brendan interned for the Honorable Judge Gregg Costa of the Southern District of Texas, now of the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals. Brendan also served Austin’s needy through the University of Texas Housing and Worker’s Rights clinics. These programs guaranteed Brendan’s long-term interest in a legal career that would serve folks who need help and not those who are already at the top.
After law school and despite his better judgment, Brendan worked for large international firms for several years. This experience provided him with great insight into the mind of large companies and insurance agencies. However, Brendan could not square the work with his desire to help those in need. In an effort to correct his karma, Brendan worked in a low-income elementary school for two years, where both his first and second-grade students averaged almost two full years of growth in the one year he was with them.
Brendan is now back on the right side of the law, using his legal training, diligence, and a wide variety of experiences to assist his clients.
What Brendan Handles
As managing counsel at VB Attorneys, Brendan carries a rotating caseload of 50 to 60 matters, concentrated in maritime and admiralty and in commercial trucking wrongful death and catastrophic personal injury litigation. He is the lead drafting attorney on dispositive motions practice — summary judgment, Daubert and exclusion, and discovery sanctions briefing — in complex, multi-party cases, and he regularly briefs and litigates issues under the Jones Act, the general maritime law, and the Limitation of Liability Act.
In his personal life, Brendan is a gold medal-winning Brazilian jiu-jitsu competitor, an avid basketball watcher and player, and an amateur chef.