Attorney Bio James Stilwell - Stilwell, Earl & Apostolakis LLP

Martin-Earl-and-Stilwell---James-Stilwell

James H. Stilwell

Managing Partner

T: 281-419-6200

F: 281-419-0250

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The most rewarding aspect of their practice is helping people, which is why they chose law as a profession. They have a genuine passion for working with individuals on their estate planning to ensure that everything goes as planned. This includes making sure that assets are distributed according to the individual’s wishes.

They also find great satisfaction in assisting families during difficult times, such as when they’ve lost a loved one. By guiding them through the process, they help ease their grief and provide peace of mind that everything will be handled in accordance with the deceased person’s desires.

In their real estate practice, they assist clients with significant transactions like buying and selling homes, renting real estate, or resolving property easement matters.

In civil litigation, they don’t just act as advocates for their clients but also provide counsel and guidance throughout the often stressful litigation process, ensuring that it aligns with their clients’ preferences.

Outside of their legal practice, they have been actively involved in community service. They have served as an officer and vice president of the Woodlands Bar Association, chaired the Chamber of Commerce in the Woodlands, and presided over Leadership Montgomery County, an organization dedicated to leadership development in the county. They have also been involved in the precursor entities of the Woodlands Township, which is the local form of government in the Woodlands. Currently, they are concluding their role as the president of the Woodlands Arts Council, an organization known for organizing popular events such as The Woodlands Waterway Arts Festival. Their law firm shares their commitment to community service and strives to be an active contributor to the community in which they are located.

About James

James H. Stilwell is the Managing Partner and one of the Founders of the law firm. He handles a wide-range of litigation matters, and also regularly prepares estate planning documents and helps clients with business transactions. He is “AV” rated by Martindale-Hubbel (its highest ranking both as to skill and ethics), was named one of Texas’ top ranked lawyers across the areas he practices in, has a 10.0 rating on the AVVO platform, and in the past has been recognized by Thompson Reuters from 2009-2010 as a “Super Lawyer” for his Will and Trust litigation work. James is also an accomplished appellate lawyer having numerous published opinions by various Texas Appellate Courts, including the Texas Supreme Court.

James also has an extensive background of service to his community, including having served as the Chairman of Leadership Montgomery County, the Chairman of the Woodlands Area Chamber of Commerce, one of the Founders and Directors of The Woodlands Charities, Inc., Vice President of The Woodlands Bar Association, member of the Memorial Hermann-The Woodlands Medical Center Advisory Board, as well as having served numerous other non-profits in and around Montgomery County, Texas. He is deeply involved in his church, has served in leadership positions both in his local church and with the Houston-North District of the United Methodist Church, and many times as a Delegate to the Texas Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church.

James is married to Janet (an ordained deacon in the United Methodist Church) and has 2 adult daughters, Sarah and Maggie.

Practice Areas

Education

Publications and Presentations

Publications

"The Chicken or the Egg - Insurance and Indemnification Clauses in the Same Contract." Corporate Counsel publication (2007).
“When Actions Speak Louder Than Words: The Case for a Quasi-Estoppel Exception to the Statute of Frauds.” 22 Rev. Litig. 69 (2003).
“Texas Premises Liability Jury Definitions, Instructions, and Questions for Criminal Actor Cases – A Pattern to Ease the Madness?,” 17 Rev. Litig. 259 (1998).
“Walking the High Wire: Practical Possibilities for Regulatory Responses to the Electromagnetic Field Quandary,” 15 Rev. Litig. 141 (1996).

“Straddling the Wire: Electromagnetic Fields and Personal Injury Suits,” 14 Rev. Litig. 545 (1995).

Presentations

Coordinating Client Assets (presentation at Financial Advisors Compliance meeting, Montgomery County, 2019).
What Happens When I’m Gone? (Presentations at multiple venues in 2011-2018)
FOF & COL, not BFF LOL (Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law presentation for M.C. CCL#2 Brown Bag CLE – 2016).
Business Owner Overview of the Texas Open Carry Law (Presentations to Woodlands Area Chamber of Commerce – 2016; and M.C.B.A. – Law Day 2016).
OMG not LOL: Employer Liability for Employee’s Who Text/Talk While Driving; Woodlands Area Chamber of Commerce, Annual Employment Law Update (October 2013, October 2010).
Business Planning for Uncertain Times: Dealing with the Killer D’s – Death, Disability, Divorce, Departure and Downturn. Presented to Woodlands Chamber of Commerce, seminar series (July 2013, August, 2009).
Rainmaking Panel (Presentation for Woodlands Bar Association, Small Firm Section 2012).
Pursuing Attorneys’ Fees (Presentation for “Lawyers Who Stare at Goats” CLE Sponsored by WBA and M.C. 9^th District Court – 2010).
Opening Statements: This is not your Father’s Oldsmobile; Oral Advocacy CLE - Lone Star Corporate College (September 2010).
“What Every Lawyer Should Know about Wills and Powers of Attorney” – Presentation to Woodlands Bar Association (July 2009, 2010 and 2011).
“Creditor Exempt Assets: When You Can’t Take it With You, and the Creditors Can’t Take it Either,” Wills & Probate Institute, South Texas College of Law CLE (2007).
“Opening Statements for the 21st Century,” The Jury Trial 2007 CLE, Houston & Dallas (August 2007).

Appellate Cases

Interests