By Wade Gene
Directories rank lawyers. The state licenses them into specialties. Those are two different processes, and Todd Mensing holds credentials from both: a Band 1 ranking in Chambers USA’s 2026 guide, and Board Certification in Civil Trial Law from the Texas Board of Legal Specialization. The certification is the older, harder-earned one. It required a formal application, a documented trial record, and a written exam administered by the state bar’s own specialization board, not a research call from a directory analyst.
Mensing earned it in January 2011. His trial record has kept growing since: more than 60 cases tried over roughly 25 years of practice, though the certification itself only reflects what he’d completed at the time he earned it, not his full career total today.
A Credential Built on Testing, Not Just Time
Texas certifies lawyers across dozens of practice areas, and civil trial law sits among the tougher categories. It requires significant documented first-chair or significant trial experience before a lawyer can even sit for the exam. That bar separates lawyers who’ve actually tried cases from lawyers who litigate up to the courthouse steps and settle before a jury or judge ever rules.
Chambers USA ranked Mensing Band 1 for general commercial litigation in Houston this year, a separate credential built on client interviews rather than an exam. Out of an estimated roughly 10,000 Houston-area litigators, Chambers only designated 13 as being in Band One. (Another of those spots is occupied by Mensing’s partner, firm founder John Zavitsanos.) Two different evaluators, two different methods, landing on the same lawyer.
Why the Distinction Matters to Clients
Choosing outside counsel for a dispute headed toward trial is a narrower search than choosing counsel for a deal likely to settle before it reaches a courtroom. Board certification gives a company one data point tied specifically to trial competence, verified by the state bar rather than by the lawyer’s own firm. That’s part of why it tends to show up early in a litigator’s biography instead of buried near the bottom.
Clients vetting litigation counsel for a high-stakes matter often ask about trial experience point-blank. A state-verified certification answers that question without asking anyone to take the lawyer’s own firm at its word.
More than 20 legal specialties carry certification in Texas, and civil trial law is among the smaller set that requires demonstrated courtroom experience rather than written work product alone. That’s a real distinction from certifications built mainly around document review or transactional practice. Attorneys also have to complete continuing legal education in the certified area and reapply periodically to keep the designation current. Board certification, in other words, is an ongoing standard, not a credential earned once and forgotten. The renewal requirement is exactly why it still carries weight years after a lawyer first earns it, rather than freezing in place the moment it was awarded.
A lawyer who lets the certification lapse without completing the required continuing education has to reapply from scratch instead of simply renewing, which may be part of why many practicing litigators skip pursuing a specialty certification unless they plan on meeting the requirements over the long run. Mensing’s has stayed current since January 2011, spanning 15 years of renewal cycles in the same specialty.
