“Why do I love my job? Because when we win a case, we make a positive difference for someone who has been wronged.”
Biography
Nick Morrow is a Houston trial attorney and co-founder of Morrow & Sheppard LLP. He represents injured workers and their families in catastrophic injury and wrongful death cases — Jones Act and offshore/maritime injuries, oilfield and industrial explosions, commercial trucking (18-wheeler) collisions, and FELA railroad claims — across Texas and the Gulf Coast. After more than a decade defending major corporations and insurers as an equity partner at Fulbright & Jaworski, he now uses that insider knowledge exclusively for plaintiffs.
From growing up in a small town to succeeding at the highest levels of corporate law, Nick has a unique life experience. This helps him understand his clients’ needs, solve complicated problems, negotiate settlements with large and powerful companies, and connect with judges and juries. Most importantly, he is fiercely loyal to his clients.
Nick is a fourth-generation Texan. He grew up in a middle-class family in Sealy. He was brought up in a home that valued hard work, honesty, and loyalty.
Nick did well in school. He was one of the first Sealy High School graduates to receive admission to an Ivy League school, Cornell University. Despite making the Dean’s List at Cornell, Nick was called back home to the University of Texas at Austin, where he graduated college with high honors. He then received a scholarship and graduated with honors from the University of Texas School of Law, the number one ranked law school in Texas.
While still in law school, Nick was recruited and offered a job at Fulbright & Jaworski (now Norton Rose Fulbright), one of the world’s largest and most prestigious defense trial law firms. As he moved up the ranks, Nick distinguished himself from among thousands of lawyers at Fulbright and was promoted to equity partner, the equivalent of an owner of the law firm.
His many years at Fulbright taught Nick how to handle every facet of a lawsuit, including how to try cases and negotiate settlements at the highest level. He also learned how large corporations and insurance companies do business, and how they value and settle lawsuits.
During his time at Fulbright, Nick handled breach of contract, patent, and personal injury cases involving millions of dollars. In some cases, more than a billion dollars were at stake.
Nick has been a member of several professional defense organizations and was asked to serve on the Board of Directors of the Texas Association of Defense Counsel, a preeminent organization for civil defense trial lawyers in Texas.
Fulbright provided both great experience and long-term security, but something was missing. Having grown up in a small Texas town, Nick wanted to represent ordinary people and small businesses, folks who cannot afford Fulbright.
To do that, Nick decided to start a contingency fee firm, where lawyers front all the fees and case expenses for clients who cannot afford them and only get paid when their clients win. He partnered with his longtime friend from law school, John D. Sheppard, to found Morrow & Sheppard LLP.
Pro Bono
Nick is proud to have represented numerous indigent clients for free on a pro bono basis. Nick has been privileged to represent several indigent women and children who required legal assistance through the Houston Volunteer Lawyers Program. He has also participated in the Veterans’ Legal Clinic in Houston.
Personal
Nick is married to Amanda, a native Houstonian, and real estate agent. They have been blessed with twin boys, Robbie and Tommy, who surprised everyone when they were born at only 24 weeks —four months early. The Morrow family attends St. Luke’s Methodist Church in Houston. Although his work and his family occupy most of his time, Nick does enjoy watching college and pro football. While his basketball-playing days have come and gone, he occasionally gets the blood flowing by jogging or attempting to play golf.
Notable Verdicts & Settlements
- $20.6 million — Confidential settlement for multiple workers who suffered catastrophic burn injuries in a Texas oil-industry explosion (2025). Oilfield explosion / burn injury. Co-counsel.
- $12.6 million — Settlement at trial for a sign rigger who suffered electrocution and burn injuries on the job, recovering against third parties beyond the employer (2025). Workplace electrocution / burn injury.
- $12.56 million — Settlement for plaintiffs severely injured in a separate Texas oilfield explosion (2025). Oilfield explosion / burn injury. Co-counsel.
- $9.8 million — Settlement for a client who suffered a traumatic brain injury. Catastrophic injury.
- $8 million Jones Act settlement — Settlement reached days before trial for an injured tugboat seaman; through roughly ten depositions the firm exposed the employer’s attempt to walk back its own initial investigation findings. Jones Act / tugboat / maritime injury. Case details
- $7+ million jury verdict — Unanimous verdict against CenterPoint Energy and homebuilder Westwind Homes after a failure to seal a gas valve caused a Laredo home to explode; jury found defendants 100% responsible, affirmed on appeal (2017; aff’d 2020). Residential gas explosion. Texas Lawyer coverage
- $4 million — Wrongful-death settlement reached during trial in a Houston apartment-complex negligent-security case, after jurors had already found the complex negligent (2019). Negligent security / wrongful death.
- $3.2 million Jones Act jury verdict — Unanimous offshore maritime verdict (including $1.5 million in punitive damages) for a deckhand injured during a personnel-basket transfer in the Gulf of Mexico; affirmed by the U.S. Fifth Circuit. Jones Act / maritime injury. Case details
- $3 million jury verdict — Dallas County verdict for a client whose foot was crushed by a hydraulic jack at a convenience store, resulting in the amputation of three toes; defendants denied the incident occurred and offered nothing before trial. Premises liability. Case details
- $1.35 million jury verdict — Verdict for a crab fisherman aboard the F/V Time Bandit (of Discovery’s “Deadliest Catch”) who suffered fractures when a firework exploded prematurely during filming. Maritime / commercial fishing / Jones Act. Case details
- $1.305 million settlement — Recovery for a person seriously injured by a homemade “potato gun” — believed to be one of the largest reported settlements of its type. Product / personal injury. Case details
- $1.1 million — Settlement for an injured railroad worker after the railroad disputed liability under the Federal Employers’ Liability Act. FELA / railroad injury.
Awards & Recognitions
- Texas Super Lawyers (Thomson Reuters) — selected 2019–2024 and 2026 in General Litigation, Energy & Natural Resources, Personal Injury, and Transportation/Maritime. View profile
- Best Lawyers in America — recognized since 2024. View profile
- Multi-Million Dollar Advocates Forum — Life Member — one of the most selective trial-lawyer groups in the country; membership is limited to attorneys who have secured million- and multi-million-dollar verdicts and settlements (fewer than 1% of U.S. attorneys qualify). View profile
- America’s Top 100 High Stakes Litigators (2026) — recognition reserved for attorneys who handle matters exceeding $2 million, roughly the top 0.5% of practicing attorneys. View profile
- Avvo “Superb” Rating, 9.3/10 — based on experience, industry recognition, and professional achievement. View profile
- Martindale-Hubbell — peer-reviewed attorney profile. View profile
- Board of Directors, Texas Association of Defense Counsel (former) — invited to the governing board of the preeminent civil-defense trial-lawyer organization in Texas.
- Published Author — co-author, Examining the Standard of Care for Failure to Divert During In-Flight Emergencies, 13 Issues in Aviation Law & Policy 361 (2014).
Professional Organizations
Education
- Cornell University (attended)
- University of Texas at Austin (B.A., with high honors)
- University of Texas School of Law (J.D., with honors)
Admitted to Practice
- All Texas state and federal courts
- Federal Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals
- In the past, to represent clients in other states, Nick has been admitted to appear on a temporary basis in a number of jurisdictions, including Michigan and Louisiana.
