Featured Lawyer: Andrew J. Cobos

WHEN YOU FIRST MEET ANDREW COBOS, it’s hard to tell that he’s an incredibly successful attorney. That’s because unlike most attorneys, Andrew doesn’t spend a lot of time or money on appearances.

For most attorneys, appearances matter—a lot. They preach it repeatedly in law school and industry conferences. Lawyers are well known for their big spending on luxurious offices, expensive cars, and big advertising to woo future clients.

Yet, despite his success, Andrew proudly drives around an old, beat-up Jeep Wrangler, plastered with mud from outdoor excursions and decals of his alma mater, West Point – instead of driving around in a Lamborghini like other peers who’ve achieved his level of success. In fact, unless he is taking a deposition or is in the courtroom, most days, you’ll find Andrew in flip flops, shorts and a t-shirt in his modest, no-frills office near downtown Houston.

Other attorneys who have come to know Andrew look at him with a mixture of bewilderment and awe as he seems to defy the paradigm of what it takes to be successful in a cutthroat profession in one of the most competitive legal markets in the country.

Never spending a dime on advertising, clients still flock to Andrew.

In his relatively short, 10-year tenure as a practicing attorney, Andrew has amassed an impressive portfolio and reputation. In the past two years alone, the firm has recovered over $33 Million and has represented clients ranging from CEO’s to professional athletes. Most recently, over 2,200 US military veterans have trusted him to represent each of them in a defective military earplug lawsuit against 3M.

As we sat with Andrew for our interview, we were frequently interrupted by calls from clients, both new and old. As we watched and listened, right from the start it was clear – people simply trusted him.

But perhaps it’s not simple at all.

Andrew’s story before he ever became a lawyer reveals far more about his meteoric rise as a respected and highly acclaimed attorney.

A born and bred Texan, Andrew came from humble roots in El Paso, Texas.

Andrew’s father, a high-school principal and US Army veteran, made an honest but modest living and adhered to a strict budget that prioritized his children’s education and college funds. Andrew’s Mother was a speech therapist. During Andrew’s early years, the family budget didn’t allow for any frills.

“In one of my earliest memories, I remember going to the local supermarket with my mother and seeing her meticulously calculate every penny of food in the basket,” Andrew recalls.  “One day, she was staring at a box of cereal on the supermarket shelf, her hand on the calculator. Suddenly, she broke down in tears, realizing that we couldn’t afford it.”

But money and material things were never things that Andrew’s parents focused on. Instead, they stressed discipline, hard-work, and integrity.

And family. Always family.

Those lessons took root with the Cobos children.

Andrew’s older brother, Mark, received an appointment to attend the United States Military Academy at West Point – a path Andrew would go down just a few years later. And in 1999, Andrew received an appointment to the esteemed Academy.

On September 11, 2001, Andrew was just beginning his junior year at West Point.

Andrew Cobos at West Point (2003)

“On one of the days following those tragic events,” Andrew recalls, “the Commandant gathered all of the cadets in an auditorium and bluntly stated, ‘you are going to war.’” He pauses before adding, “At that point it became serious. Leading soldiers in combat is a matter of life and death. I wondered if my 21-year-old self was ready for that challenge.”

Andrew’s transformation at West Point was dramatic. “I was a bit of jokester and troublemaker in school,” he said. “I walked a lot of disciplinary hours,” explaining that “walking hours” is a punishment where Cadets literally march, back-and-forth, across the quad with a rifle on their shoulder. “My company mates laughed when I told them chose to serve in the Military Police Corps. They thought I was joking because I was always toeing the line.”

Why the Military Police?  Andrew goes on to explain, “the combat role of a Military Police officer is to work with the local population and to try to solve problems without using force…I just wanted to help people overcome their challenges.”

Just six months after graduating from West Point in 2003 and being commissioned as a US Army Officer, his boots were on the ground, in Iraq.

“It was during my second deployment to Iraq when my platoon was assigned to train and work with the Iraqi police in complex policing and combat operations around Baghdad,” Andrew recalls.

“This particular period was especially chaotic – Saddam Hussein had just been removed from power and the country was in the early stages of reinstituting a new government and voting on a constitution.”

“In the absence of a government and legal system, I personally witnessed many occasions where the Iraqi police and citizens took justice into their own hands, resulting in abuses and devastating consequences that only brought more instability to Baghdad and the country at large.”

Cobos (2nd from left, front) as a platoon leader in Iraq in 2004

So, Andrew spent time on daily basis sitting with and educating the Iraqi Police Commander on the importance of human rights, the rule of law, and a fair justice system.

“I was explaining basic concepts that we, as Americans, take for granted. But these were completely new concepts to the Iraqis.  It was a terribly slow and painful process.  But over time, these concepts would sink in a little at a time.  Eventually, they began to appreciate the importance of concepts like due process and the rule of law – and why they were necessary for establishing lasting peace and prosperity.  I saw how fragile peace was – and that America could just as easily devolve into what I was witnessing in Iraq.”

And one needs to look no further than recent history to see just how fragile peace truly is in our own country.

“I never had any interest in being involved in law or politics.  But apathy, ignorance, and disengagement with the political process are the very first symptoms of a nation’s demise.  And so, it was in Iraq that I vowed to be involved in our legal and political process and made plans to attend law school.”

“I never had any interest in being involved in law or politics.  But apathy, ignorance, and disengagement with the political process are the very first symptoms of a nation’s demise.  And so, it was in Iraq that I vowed to be involved in our legal and political process and made plans to attend law school.”

And so, after discharging from the U.S. Army in 2009, Andrew returned to school. He was admitted to the University of Houston’s Law School and Business School and was one of the first students to graduate with both a J.D. and an M.B.A in a short three years.  Typically, law school itself lasts three years, but Andrew tackles all obstacles with the focus and determination of a war fighter.  Recognizing his promise as a leader in the Texas political and legal landscape, Andrew was appointed by the Texas Governor to the University of Houston Board of Regents and was later appointed by a different Texas Governor to the Texas Veterans Land Board.

Fast forward to today, and the Cobos Law Firm has amassed an impressive portfolio of legal victories on behalf of a staggering array of clients, ranging from worldwide security companies to elderly widows who he represents pro bono.

But the most impressive part is that none of his clients come from advertising. In fact, Andrew doesn’t do advertising.  Most of Andrew’s clients come from word-of-mouth recommendations from past clients.

And clients don’t just like Andrew. They seem to love him. In fact, many keep in touch with him long after a case has concluded. And why wouldn’t they? Andrew gives them his direct cell phone number.

“There’s an expression in business that the customer is always right.  I don’t believe that because it’s not truthful.  My philosophy is to treat each client like family – not a customer.”

Andrew adds, “What good is it to tell a family member only the things they want to hear when they’re asking you for advice? It’s more important to be truthful while keeping the other person’s best interests in mind.  I don’t treat my clients any different. I think, ‘If this person were my mom or dad, what advice would I give them in this same situation?’”  Andrew shrugs and says, “I think clients just kind of feel that from me.”

Despite all his success, Andrew keeps true to his upbringing.  With a wife and children of his own, he sticks to a strict budget, split between his daughters’ college funds, family vacations to Disney World, and household essentials.  In addition, he invests heavily, both in time and money, in the Houston community.

On a corner table, tucked back in the depths of Andrew’s office, behind boxes of client files, lie numerous community awards. A glass figurine containing Andrew’s name lists him as “one in five outstanding young Texans.” A similar glass plaque lists him as “one in five outstanding young Texans.” There is a Houston Business Journal 40 under 40 poster sitting, unhung, on the floor behind his desk.

Andrew lights up when tells me about $50,000 in scholarships that his firm just endowed to the University of Houston—one to the Law Center and the other to the business school for a program supporting urban entrepreneurship in underserved communities. I asked him why he didn’t replace his old jeep with the money instead of giving it away. His response was “priorities” followed up with “and I love that old jeep.”

Andrew takes a break for a moment in our interview to microwave a frozen Hot Pocket. He graciously offers me one which I politely decline.

As he sits back down to finish our interview in his faded Mickey Mouse graphic t-shirt, shorts and flip flops, I suddenly understand. I can’t help but laugh as I imagine Texas’s most successful plaintiff’s lawyers screaming in frustration at his success, despite defying all convention.

Andrew Cobos is a maverick.  And clients love him for it.