Colvin, Saenz, Rodriguez & Kennamer, LLP, is a law firm based in Brownsville, Texas, representing clients in civil litigation throughout the southern half of the state. The firm’s roots span over a half-century of history in the Rio Grande Valley of Texas.

The firm’s origins began when, in 1950, the General Solicitor for the Missouri Pacific Railroad (the firm’s first major defense client) called together two Brownsville attorneys suggesting that a merger of their firms would better allow them to represent the Railroad.

Thus, the firm of Sharpe, Cunningham & Garza was born and began representing the Rio Grande Valley business community in civil litigation. In fact, the Missouri Pacific/Union Pacific Railroad has been a major client of the firm for over 50 years.

Over the next decades, Reynaldo G. Garza was appointed to the bench as the first Hispanic federal district court judge, and Mr. Cunningham and Mr. Sharpe parted ways. T. Gilbert Sharpe joined forces with another established Brownsville attorney, Benjamin Hardy. The firm of Hardy & Sharpe ultimately became the firm of Hardy, Sharpe & Rodriguez when 1968 UT law graduate Eduardo Roberto Rodriguez made partner. Ben Hardy and Eduardo Roberto Rodriguez asked Norton A. Colvin to become their partner in 1975, renaming the firm Hardy, Rodriguez & Colvin. When Ben Hardy took of counsel status upon his retirement in 1984, the firm became Rodriguez & Colvin, and when Mitchell C. Chaney made partner in 1987, the firm took the name of Rodriguez, Colvin & Chaney.

The firm’s focus for 50 years has been excellence in preparing for and conducting trial throughout South Texas for local, regional and national clients. The firm has developed expertise in the areas of products liability law, labor and employment law, insurance coverage, toxic torts, professional malpractice and general negligence, among other substantive areas of trial work. In the area of products liability law, the firm has for the past half-decade served as regional counsel for Ford Motor Company, as well as represented numerous manufacturers of diverse products such as electrical equipment, motor vehicles, tires, construction equipment, Christmas tree lights, bedding, industrial equipment and firearms.

As the firm has grown, so have its resources. In 1993, after outgrowing its old offices in the former Coca-Cola bottling company offices in downtown Brownsville, the firm moved to larger quarters with a continued strong historical tradition — the 1912 Cameron County Jail Building. The firm’s partners participated in renovation of the building, which has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is the site of a Texas Historical marker. “La Carcel” (“Jail” in Spanish), which appears at the top of the webpage, has become a recognized landmark on the Brownsville skyline and is a symbol of the firm’s dedication to preservation of Brownsville’s heritage. Colvin, Chaney, Saenz & Rodriguez, L.L.P., is also a major supporter of Brownsville community events, ranging from sponsoring the award-winning zoo’s annual fundraiser to members’ service on the boards of such local institutions as schools, churches and charities.

The lawyers at Colvin, Saenz, Rodriguez & Kennamer, LLP, now practice products liability law, labor and employment law, insurance coverage, toxic torts, professional malpractice and general negligence regularly throughout the southern half of the state of Texas (see map in the section labeled “practice areas”). In 1995, the firm established first a McAllen and then a Harlingen office to better serve the Rio Grande Valley community.