Stephen Pate focuses his litigation practice on property insurance matters, Directors and Officers insurance matters, business interruption issues, CGL insurance matters, builders risk matters, commercial general liability insurance disputes, fraud, and various other extracontractual litigation matters. Over a 30 year career in coverage work, he has tried more than 45 first-party extracontractual cases to verdict. Prior to joining the firm, Stephen had been partner in the Houston office of an international law firm since 1994.
A Fellow of the American College of Coverage Counsel, in May 2017 Stephen was elected to a three-year term on the Board of Regents and was re-elected to a second three-year term in 2020. ACCC was established in 2012 and is composed of preeminent lawyers representing both insurers and policyholders involved in coverage and extracontractual matters. Since 2006 he has also been recognized by Chambers and Partners USA in Insurance-Texas. The Texas Supreme Court Historical Society presented Stephen with the 2021 President's Award, which honors the members who has made outstanding service contributions to the Society. Stephen is also a member of the American Board of Trial Advocates, the American Law Institute, the Federation of Defense & Corporate Counsel, and Law360's Editorial Advisory Boards: Insurance.
Stephen received his bachelor’s degree, magna cum laude, from Vanderbilt University. Stephen earned his law degree from Vanderbilt University Law School. While in law school, he was research editor for the Vanderbilt Journal and he is a member of Phi Beta Kappa.
Stephen provides very effective counsel with deep understanding of complex issues.