Erik A. Knockaert

As a founding attorney of his own law firm, Erik A. Knockaert brings two decades of experience to represent clients in Houston, Texas and throughout the state.  His practice is divided between personal injury trial law and business litigation.  As a chemical engineer and trial attorney, Mr. Knockaert draws on both his technical and legal backgrounds to advocate for clients in a variety of industries.

Mr. Knockaert manages Plaintiff personal injury cases large and small.  From vehicle wrecks to employee assaults, nonsubscriber work injuries, and mass shootings, Mr. Knockaert takes care of his clients though final judgment.  He has access to doctors who can recommend future treatment or diagnose brain injuries with the latest technology.  Mr. Knockaert also handles Federal Tort Claims Acts (FTCA) cases against the government for assaults and truck wrecks.  Mr. Knockaert has experience bringing a mass shooting case to trial, caused by domestic violence of a Fort Hood soldier.  He is also involved in the litigation against the Air Force for the Sutherlands Springs church shooting, which was the worst in Texas history.  Early in the church shooting litigation, the court dismissed all pleadings except for the complaint that Mr. Knockaert wrote, and the court allowed all other Plaintiffs to replead similarly.  

Mr. Knockaert is experienced at resolving business disputes, as either a Plaintiff or Defendant, and he works with his clients to set a budget and execute a strategy.  He has often helped business partners who split up, and he has managed complex multi-party lawsuits since he was a young associate.  Working at his own law firm, Mr. Knockaert has first-chair trial experience leading the defense of a nine-figure dispute over a failed property development, where he secured dismissal of all claims against the main money-connection after a three-week racketeering trial in federal court.  If patents, copyrights, or trademarks are involved, Mr. Knockaert can help resolve ownership and write contract language for parties to move forward with their businesses.  Mr. Knockaert has also handled international arbitration in oil and gas.  

Mr. Knockaert is a respected legal writer and experienced at appeals.  He has briefed cases up to the Texas Supreme Court, where he recently won a medical malpractice appeal with gross negligence at issue for a house fire alleged to be caused by hospice care of a dying veteran.  Mr. Knockaert has also briefed several cases to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.

Mr. Knockaert graduated cum laude in 1997 with his Bachelor of Science in chemical engineering from Texas A&M University. He then completed an accelerated program for his Master of Engineering in 1998.  After working a year at Exxon Chemical, Mr. Knockaert enrolled at the University of Texas School of Law, where he was awarded his Juris Doctor with honors in 2002.  Admitted to practice in Texas, he is also admitted to practice before the U.S. District Courts for the Southern, Eastern, and Western Districts of Texas, the Fifth Circuit and the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office.

Following law school, Mr. Knockaert was trained at prestigious law firms in Houston before venturing out on his own practice in 2012.  He handles all phases of litigation, including budget planning, document management, depositions, expert witnesses, motions practice, and trial. 

Mr. Knockaert's combination of litigation results and scientific knowledge have led his fellow professionals to select him as a Super Lawyer.  Active in several organizations, he is a member of the Houston Trial Lawyers Association.