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The Southern District of Texas, for Houston business disputes.
The Southern District of Texas is the federal court for Houston, Galveston and South Texas, and its bankruptcy court is one of the busiest in the country for large Chapter 11 cases. We take business and bankruptcy matters there.
What we handle
- Contract and commercial litigation
- Removal and remand
- Chapter 11 and bankruptcy litigation
- Registering and enforcing a federal judgment
- Restaurant and commercial lease disputes
- Appeals to the Fifth Circuit
How we approach it
The district sits in Houston, Galveston, Victoria, Corpus Christi, Laredo, Brownsville and McAllen. Harris County is in the Houston Division and Galveston County in the Galveston Division.
Our Houston-area work has been in the state courts, including a Galveston County garnishment dissolved and both of the plaintiff’s summary judgment motions denied. Federal court in Texas · Northern District · Eastern District · Western District · Southern District · bankruptcy courts.
The court’s rules on AI
Southern District of Texas. General Order 2025-04: the signer answers under Rule 11 regardless of whether AI drafted any part of a filing. Some judges add a step — Judge Ganjei in Houston requires a certificate on every motion, response and reply, naming the model, and Judge Olvera in Brownsville a certificate with the scheduling order.
Fifth Circuit. No AI rule, by choice: it proposed a certificate in 2023 and dropped it, warning that using AI is no excuse for an otherwise sanctionable filing.
Checked against each court’s own rules and orders on 5 November 2026 for John Henry’s talk “AI in Modern Litigation” at the Eastern District of Texas Bankruptcy Bench Bar Conference. Rules change; the full reference, with every order cited, is on the AI in litigation page.
Questions people ask
Which federal court covers Houston?
The Southern District of Texas, Houston Division.
Where do appeals from the Southern District go?
To the Fifth Circuit, in New Orleans.
Do you take Houston cases?
Yes.