In Memory Of Paul W. Gertz, 1950-2017:
Beaumont trial lawyer Paul Withington Gertz exhausted his final appeal on October 21, 2017; he was 67 years old. Paul was a beloved advocate, partner, husband, father, and friend. He will be remembered for his kindness, generosity, leadership, sense of humor, and infectious laugh.
Paul Gertz practiced law for over forty years – thirty of which were spent in southeast Texas with an additional eight years of practice in the state of Colorado. Paul returned to Beaumont, Texas in 2013 to join his son Ryan at the The Gertz Law Firm.
After graduating with Honors from SMU Law School, Paul joined the firm Orgain, Bell & Tucker in Beaumont. He quickly began to represent people sued in automobile accidents and businesses sued for personal injuries and for other business matters. For years, Paul Gertz was in trial nearly every month in many of the various courts of East Texas. As his experience grew, so did the size of the cases he handled. Paul Gertz quickly became a trial lawyer respected by Judges, fellow attorneys, as well as his clients.
After being a partner for nearly twenty years at Orgain, Bell & Tucker, he left that firm to form the firm of Germer Gertz. The new firm grew from three attorneys to sixty-five attorneys with offices in Beaumont, Houston, and Austin. His skill in representing people who were hurt in accidents was further sharpened when he started his own law firm in the Aspen area of Colorado, where he practiced for 8 years, before returning to Beaumont.
Paul was small in stature, but an enormous advocate for his clients. The highest compliment he would pay someone else was to describe them as a “real lawyer.” Paul was one of those and his reputation in the Southeast Texas legal community lives on through his son Ryan and the Gertz Kelley Law Firm.