Professional Experience
Prior to being elected to the 13th Court of Appeals, Justice Greg Perkes had 20+ years of experience in private practice. He was the principal attorney of The Perkes Law Firm, P.C. His legal practice focused on Appellate Law, Litigation, and Commercial Transactions. He is board certified by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization in Civil Appellate Law, and he was formerly a Certified Hearing Examiner for the Texas Education Agency, Division of Hearings & Appeals. Before opening his law firm, he was affiliated with the law firm of Cohn, Casstevens & Bircher, P.C. (formerly Wood & Burney). Prior to beginning private practice, he served as a Briefing Attorney for the late Hon. Norman Utter, Sr. Associate Justice, Thirteenth Court of Appeals for the State of Texas.
Active Bar Involvement
Justice Perkes is licensed to practice in the State of Texas and before the United States District Courts for the Southern District of Texas, the United States Courts of Appeal for the Fifth Circuit, and the Supreme Court of the United States of America. He holds memberships in the State Bar of Texas, including the Civil Appellate Law section, and in the American Bar Association, Bar Association for the Fifth Federal Circuit and Corpus Christi Bar Association. He served as the Course Director for the Corpus Christi Bar Association's Annual Civil Appellate Law Seminar since inception in 1997, and served on the Continuing Legal Education, Law Day and other committees through the years. In the Corpus Christi Young Lawyers Association, he served as Vice-President and Secretary and as Chairperson of Fundraising, Law School for Non-Lawyers, and the Outstanding Young Lawyer Award. He was the Secretary and an Editorial Board Member for Corpus Christi Lawyer Magazine for a number of years. He is currently an Associate Editor for The Appellate Advocate, the State Bar of Texas Appellate Section Report.
Education/Distinctions
Justice Perkes graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with a BA in 1983 and from St. Mary's University School of Law in 1987 with a JD. Distinctions include Phi Delta Phi Legal Honor Fraternity, Senior Associate Editor of St. Mary's Law Journal, tie for American Jurisprudence Award in Contract Law, American Jurisprudence Award in Police Misconduct-Civil Rights Litigation, and "Who's Who in American Law Schools." Justice Perkes has consistently received an AV peer review rating from Martindale Hubbell and is a Fellow Member of the College of the State Bar, having been a member for more than 20 years. He was the recipient of the 2009 S.B.A./S.B.D.C. "Small Business Champion" Award.
Community Leadership
A graduate of Leadership Corpus Christi XIX, Justice Perkes remains active in the community. He served on the Board of Directors and Steering Committee for Leadership Corpus Christi (Class XXVII and XXXVII), served on the Board of Directors and as Sergeant of Arms for the Corpus Christi Rotary Club. He has also served on the Board of Directors for public and non-profit organizations, including Coastal Bend Regional Park Foundation (President), Corpus Christi Building Standards Board (Chair), Corpus Christi Symphony Board (Director), and Flint Hill Resources Community Action Council. He was co-organizer of the Corpus Christi Chamber of Commerce's "Doing Business with Mexico" program and chaired various committees. In addition, Justice Perkes served on the YMCA Teen & Outreach Services Board (Chair), Mariposa Art Foundation (Director), Corpus Christi Parks & Recreation Advisory Board (Vice-Chair), Corpus Christi Insight Steering Committee (Chair), Business Alliance Leadership Council (Director), and Corpus Christi's Bold Future, among others.
Speaker/Panelist Publications
Justice Perkes has spoken at numerous legal education and business seminars on topics such as "Civil Trial Law," "Civil Appellate Law," "Original Proceedings-The Writ of Mandamus," "Interlocutory Appeals," "Summary Judgments," "Journalism and the Law," "Business Start-Up Essentials," "Business Incorporation and Partnership Considerations," "Succession Planning," "Construction Contract Law," "Construction Lien Law," "Real Estate Law," and "Landlord-Tenant Law." He has written articles on legal matters including, without limitation, Primer on Civil Appellate Law, "Summary Judgment - A Practice in Transition" and "The Trial Attorney's Best Ally - The Civil Appellate Specialist," as well as articles for seminar course materials.
Personal
Justice Perkes was born in 1960 in Chicago, Illinois and was raised in McAllen, Texas. He became an Eagle Scout and received a God and Country Award at the age of 14, attended the American Legion's Boys State, and awarded the "Double Ruby" from the National Forensic League. He has served as an Assistant Scoutmaster for the Boy Scouts of America (12+ years) and received adult leadership training including the Woodbadge Award. He is married to Rachel Barchus Perkes, and they have two sons, Andrew and Christopher.
Updated: 15-Mar-2012
