Edward Burton 'Ward' Goolsby
Top rated Business Litigation attorney in Houston, Texas
Ahmad, Zavitsanos & Mensing, PLLC
Practice areas: Business Litigation
Licensed in Texas since: 2014
Education: University of Houston Law Center
Selected to Super Lawyers: 2026 
Selected to Rising Stars: 2021 - 2024 Ahmad, Zavitsanos & Mensing, PLLC
1221 McKinney StSuite 2500
Houston, TX 77010 Phone: 713-655-1101 Email: Edward Burton 'Ward' Goolsby Visit website
Edward “Ward” Goolsby is an Emmy Award-winning investigative report turned trial lawyer. The vital skills he learned in the newsroom have translated to successes in the courtroom, including a $40+ million jury verdict. He understands that clients want a lawyer who can get to the bottom of the issues, tell a persuasive and engaging story grounded in facts and thorough research, and command credibility in front of judges and juries. Ward does all of this and more.
He focuses on complex commercial litigation, trade secret litigation, oil and gas-related litigation, and employment litigation. Ward has tried several cases to verdict, where he has played key roles in giving opening and closing statements, examining witnesses, and crafting successful trial strategies from start to finish.
He has been named to the Texas Rising Stars and Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch lists for his excellence in business litigation.
Before becoming a lawyer, he worked in television news, both as a reporter in Lansing, Michigan, and as a news producer in Houston.
First Admitted: 2014, Texas
Professional Webpage: https://azalaw.com/our-attorneys/edward-goolsby/
Verdicts / Settlements (Case Results)
- Mr. Goolsby helped an energy industry client obtain a critical June 2020 injunction to stop a former employee from improperly using confidential client information to aid a competitor. At the injunction hearing, Mr. Goolsby cross-examined the president of the competing company. See more here. , 2020
- In 2025, as lead counsel, represented SpaceX in a dispute against Cards Against Humanity, filed in Cameron County, Texas. , 2025
- In 2025, as lead counsel, tried a confidential arbitration related to a construction project and cross examined the president of the opposing party and direct examined three key fact witnesses, including the client’s project manager., 2025
- In 2024, tried a confidential arbitration in San Franscisco, California, and cross examined the former president of the opposing party and direct examined two key fact witnesses., 2024
- In 2023, tried a confidential arbitration related to oil and gas issues in Houston, Texas, and did direct examinations of a key fact witness and expert witness., 2023
- In 2021, as lead counsel, successfully secured the dismissal in favor of Turkey Leg Hut on all claims that had been brought against it. See more here., 2021
- Mr. Goolsby was lead counsel in a March 2020 proceeding before U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit where he successfully opposed United Airlines’ mandamus designed to stop discovery in a race discrimination case. The case attracted media attention in California., 2020
- In mid-2018 he successfully defended a family-owned insulation company against a negligence suit. He took three witnesses on direct examination, cross examined a fourth witness, and delivered a closing argument., 2018
- In January 2019, Mr. Goolsby argued before the Delaware Supreme Court on behalf of CITGO Petroleum Corporation in Sunline Commercial Carriers, Inc. v. CITGO Petroleum Corp., 2019
- His trials also include a 2017 victory for an energy client suing an insurance company that refused to pay for an offshore rig’s hurricane damage. He played an instrumental role in the presentation of the evidence in a six-week trial that ended in a $41.6 million jury verdict that included $27.3 million in punitive damages and $10.9 million for bad faith. The case was one of the top 100 2017 verdicts in the nation according to the National Law Journal., 2017
Educational Background
- Northwestern University, Medill School of Journalism, B.S. summa cum laude in Journalism and Political Science - Josephine B. and Newton N. Minow Prize in Communications – Outstanding communication skills and an accomplished academic and campus career (Fall 2010), William C. Fyffe Memorial Award – Best broadcast journalism student at Northwestern (Spring 2010)
- University of Houston Law Center, JD. summa cum laude - Ranked #5 of 253, Order of the Coif, Order of the Barons, Editor in Chief – Houston Law Review Board 51, Writer for ABA Media Alerts Project for Fifth Circuit cases (Spring 2013), Tutor for Prof. Craig Joyce’s Torts class (Fall 2012), Mock Trial Team Member (Fall 2011 – Spring 2013), American Law Institute CLE Scholarship and Leadership Award (Spring 2014), Susman Godfrey L.L.P. Award for Outstanding Paper in the Area of General Litigation (Spring 2013), LEX Certificate Awards – Highest Grade in Legal Research and Writing, Constitutional Law, Property, and Law Practice Strategies (2011 – 2012)
Scholarly Lectures / Writings
- Why So Serious? Taking the Word “Seriously” More Seriously in Plain Error Review of Federal Sentencing Appeals, 51 Hous. L. Rev. 1449 (2014)
Honors
- Board of Directors of the Houston Law Review (April 2014 – present); Emmy Award – Anchor/News Director for the Best Student Newscast, as selected by the Chicago/Midwest Chapter of the National Academy of Arts and Sciences (Fall 2011)
Office location for Edward Burton 'Ward' Goolsby
1221 McKinney St
Suite 2500
Houston, TX 77010
Selections
- Super Lawyers: 2026
- Rising Stars: 2021 - 2024