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The Clifford Law Firm, PLLC: A Former Seyfarth Shaw Department Chair Now Runs His Own Houston Employment Practice

Dennis Clifford once chaired the Houston employment and labor department of Seyfarth Shaw, an international law firm; he now runs his own Houston practice, is Board Certified in Labor and Employment Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization, and has been profiled by Chambers USA specifically for his “noted expertise in unpaid compensation litigation.”

At a Glance

Origin and Background

Dennis Clifford earned his J.D. from the University of Houston Law Center in 2005 and was admitted to the Texas bar the same year. Before founding his own practice, he was a partner at Seyfarth Shaw LLP, an international firm, where he chaired the firm’s employment and labor department in Houston — institutional-scale litigation experience he brought with him into his own boutique. He is also a former faculty member of the National Institute for Trial Advocacy and a former mock trial coach at the University of Houston Law Center.

Practice Concentration

The firm handles employment litigation including wrongful termination, discrimination and harassment claims, unpaid overtime and wage class actions, severance disputes, and non-compete matters. Awesome Attorneys is disclosing directly that the firm represents both employees and employers — its own marketing materials describe it as protecting employee rights on one page and providing employer-side “defense of almost any employment matter” on another, a genuinely mixed practice rather than a one-sided one. See this Houston Employment & Labor directory for how this compares to firms that represent only one side. Clifford also serves as an arbitrator and mediator in employment disputes, a role distinct from litigation representation.

Track Record

As is typical for employment litigation practices, the firm does not publish a table of case outcomes with dollar figures, and Awesome Attorneys did not identify one. What is independently verifiable is Clifford’s 2005 bar admission, his prior partnership and department leadership at Seyfarth Shaw, and his continuous Super Lawyers and Best Lawyers recognition over multiple years, including a Chambers USA profile specific to unpaid-compensation litigation.

Client Voice

Attributed testimonials on the firm’s own site describe Clifford’s guidance as “sound” and delivered “at the highest levels of professionalism,” and reference his passion for the work. Awesome Attorneys did not identify a pattern of negative or unresolved reviews warranting disclosure for this firm, though independent third-party review volume (Avvo, Yelp) was more limited than for some other firms in this category.

Beyond the Courtroom

Clifford’s teaching record is documented and specific: a former faculty member with the National Institute for Trial Advocacy (NITA), a national trial-skills training organization, and a former mock trial coach at the University of Houston Law Center — sustained trial-advocacy education work rather than a single credential.

Recognition for This Houston Employment & Labor Attorney

Clifford holds Board Certification in Labor and Employment Law from the Texas Board of Legal Specialization, the credential this publication requires before using “specialist” language. He has been named to Super Lawyers (2016–2024) and Best Lawyers, and Chambers USA — a peer-review legal ranking service distinct from marketing-program awards — profiled him specifically for unpaid-compensation litigation expertise.

Texas Legal Backdrop

Texas follows the doctrine of at-will employment, meaning an employer can generally terminate a worker for any reason or no reason absent a legally protected exception such as discrimination or retaliation. Wage-and-hour class actions under the Fair Labor Standards Act — a named specialty here — follow a distinct federal “collective action” opt-in procedure rather than the opt-out class mechanism used in most state-court class actions. None of this is legal advice; a specific employment matter should be evaluated by a licensed attorney based on the actual facts involved.

Awesome Attorneys Assessment

The Clifford Law Firm’s clearest, most checkable differentiator is Dennis Clifford’s institutional pedigree — a former Seyfarth Shaw partner and department chair, later profiled by Chambers USA for unpaid-compensation litigation specifically — now available through a boutique practice rather than a large firm’s rate structure. The honest trade-off: this is a mixed-representation firm, taking both employee and employer-side matters, so a prospective client needs to confirm directly which side the firm would represent them on for their specific dispute, rather than assuming a one-sided advocate. For a complex wage-and-hour class action or a “bet-the-company” employment matter needing Big Law-caliber litigation experience, this background is a genuine, checkable differentiator.

Methodology and Sourcing

This profile was researched from The Clifford Law Firm, PLLC’s official website (cliffordemploymentlaw.com), the State Bar of Texas’s public attorney lookup confirming license, office address, and board certification, and the firm’s Super Lawyers published attorney profile.

Publisher Disclosure and Independence Notice

Awesome Attorneys is an independent legal directory and editorial publication. This profile was not paid for, commissioned, or reviewed by The Clifford Law Firm, PLLC prior to publication. Awesome Attorneys may in the future offer sponsored placement products to attorneys and firms, including this one, but sponsorship has no bearing on the editorial content, inclusion, or findings of this profile.