Koogler, Lee D.

Ray Thomas is a board certified civil trial lawyer and name partner with the McAllen law firm of Kittleman, Thomas & Gonzales, LLP, a 17 lawyer South Texas law firm.  A Fellow of the International Society of Barristers and an Advocate with the American Board of Trial Advocates, Thomas has successfully litigated a broad range of complex civil cases on both sides of the docket, including catastrophic injury and wrongful death, anti-trust and business torts, construction and environmental, class actions, consumer fraud, insurance bad faith and professional liability.  Thomas has won several multi-million jury verdicts and settlements, obtaining more than $250 million in verdicts, judgments and settlements for his clients, including two cases listed in the Top 100 Verdicts in 2005 and 2006 as reported by The National Law Journal.

 Thomas is an AV-Rated lawyer (Preeminent 5.0 out of 5) through Martindale Hubbell Peer Review Rating Service.  Also designated by his peers multiple years as a Texas Super Lawyer, as published in Texas Monthly, Thomas has been an invited speaker and panelist for audiences in the United States, Mexico and Central America, though the engagement he is most proud of is having been asked to give the  commencement address to the graduating seniors of his hometown community.  Thomas has appeared in national and international media, such as ABC News, Univision, Televisa, Telemundo, U.S. News & World Report, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Reforma, El Universal, El Sol de Mexico, Milenio, The Texas Lawyer, and the ABA Journal, on topics ranging from specific cases to issues facing the legal profession.

 Thomas has served his profession as a Director of the State Bar of Texas, President of the Texas Young Lawyers Association, Commissioner of the Texas Access to Justice Commission, as well as numerous other bar related positions.  Appointed by the Texas Supreme Court, Thomas served several years on the Grievance Oversight Committee.  Thomas is a frequent speaker at continuing legal education seminars, including the Advanced Civil Trial Seminars sponsored by Texas Bar CLE.  A recognized authority on cross-border litigation, Thomas was appointed as honorary counsel to the Mexican Consulate in McAllen by the government of Mexico, a position he continues to serve.  In 2004, Thomas received special recognition by the Governor of Zacatecas, Mexico, for his legal work on behalf of migrant families.

 Thomas serves his community through various civic organizations, including the Vannie Cook Children’s Cancer Foundation and the Board of Governors for the Boys & Girls Club of McAllen.  He is a former President of the Club and the Chair of a Capital Campaign which successfully raised more than $5 million to build a new, state-of-the-art club house for underprivileged youth.

 Married more than 22 years and an active father, Thomas is an ordained permanent deacon in the Roman Catholic Church.  He is an active partner in GOSPA Records, a Christian recording studio, record label, and music publisher dedicated to helping young artists spread the Gospel through inspiring music, video and television programming.