Christopher Lavorato Profiled for Pro Bono Work
Christopher Lavorato of Howry, Breen & Herman recently sat down with the Austin Bar Association's official magazine, Austin Lawyer, to talk about his life and career. The profile was dedicated to his extensive pro bono work, and in particular, all the things he’s done to help veterans.
Below, we take a closer look at the topics explored in the article, including his time in the military, the beginnings of his legal career, his arrival at Howry, Breen & Herman, and his continued passion for assisting members of the armed services.
Lavorato’s Early Career
Lavorato began his career in the United States Army, where he served as an aviation officer piloting UH-60 Blackhawks. During his time in the service, Mr. Lavorato provided flight support for counter-drug groups in the Republic of Panama and served as a headquarters company commander for an Apache battalion in Operation Desert Thunder in the Persian Gulf.
Although he was passionate about military service, Chris was also passionate about the law. He graduated from the University of Santa Clara School of Law in 2002 and went to work for his father’s law firm in Monterey County, California shortly thereafter. For eight years, he practiced family law, criminal defense, and handled personal-injury lawsuits. After moving on from Monterey County, Lavorato headed to the San Francisco Bay Area to work for a large Plaintiff’s law firm. There, he served as co-lead counsel for Economic Loss Class Plaintiffs in the Toyota Unintended Acceleration case, which ultimately resulted in a settlement for the class members.
He also concentrated on complicated civil litigation, aviation accidents, wrongful deaths, and serious injury. Austin Lawyer details how it was during this time period where he co-founded Veteran Lawyers of San Mateo County. It was then that Lavorato first put his legal acumen to work helping military veterans, along with serving on boards for a local bar association, trial lawyer association, and state consumer protection organization.
Lavorato’s Work at Howry, Breen & Herman
Lavorato joined us at Howry, Breen & Herman in 2015. Here, he has continued to achieve a superior level of excellence in civil litigation, focusing on the following practice areas: product liability, construction defects, business and commercial litigation, commercial injury, and wrongful death.
The profile goes on to mention how Chris has continued his volunteer work with the Austin Bar Foundation, where he lends his time and advice to the legal clinic for military veterans. Many of the people whom he helps there would not be able to afford legal counsel without the free advice provided by the clinic. Recently, he finished a case where he recovered full benefits for a Vietnam veteran who was initially denied coverage by his insurance company after an auto accident. When Lavorato is not doing pro bono work with veterans or fighting for his clients at Howry, Breen & Herman, he finds time to serve on the board of directors for The Playful Child Foundation and teach as an adjunct professor of legal studies at Austin Community College.
To date, Lavorato has also appeared on the 2015 Northern California Super Lawyers® list and the Texas Super Lawyers® list, by Thomson Reuters (2015-2020) and he is AV® Rated by Martindale-Hubbell® (since 2014). Recently, he and fellow attorneys at our office, Sean Breen and Glen Wilkerson, won a multi-million dollar settlement on behalf of hundreds of condominium owners in a construction defect case here in Austin.
We are proud to have a decorated veteran and accomplished lawyer like Chris Lavorato on our side. He’s one of the things that makes our firm great, along with our extensive courtroom experience and commitment to our clients. Our trial attorneys at Howry, Breen & Herman have proven that we are lawyers you can trust. Read the article here.
To speak with an experienced Austin trial attorney like Christopher Lavorato, call our office at (512) 430-4844 or contact us online today.