In 1951, he founded his own Houston-based firm specializing in plaintiff's trial work.

Relying on paralegals to screen new filings, for example, may occasionally lead to missing out on a chance to bring a co-defendant into the case or to present an unusual defense, said Jack B. Manning, whose Houston-based firm of Bean & Manning is Owens-Corning's regional coordinator for eight Southwestern states.

Arthur M. Dula, president of Space Commerce Corporation, a Houston-based firm that markets Soviet space goods and services, including access to Mir, agreed.

Mr. Racicot appeared at the gathering, which included top party officials and lobbyists from the Houston-based firm - who were entertained by a mariachi band - even before he made his way to the party meeting itself.

He, along with Frederick James MacKie, Jr., created the Houston-based architectural firm Mackie and Kamrath.

Mr. Canion, 47 years old, characterized the approach of his Houston-based firm, the Insource Management Group, as novel.

Last month, the Ford Motor Company abandoned a $6.9 billion bid to buy Daewoo Motors, and a week ago, a group of investors led by Nabors Capital, a Houston-based firm, walked away from a proposed $480 million purchase of the Hanbo Steel Company.

Terry Tottenham, who specializes in medical malpractice and product liability defense work in Austin, Tex., for the Houston-based firm of Fulbright & Jaworski, said: "The defense side may not be able to tug at the heartstrings, but it can certainly clarify difficult medical concepts for the jury to understand.

In 2004 the Houston-based firm approached the corporate arm of Haisla council regarding a potential construction project for a barge-based LNG facility.