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Attorney Advertising. The information on this profile does not constitute legal advice and no attorney-client relationship is formed by reading it. Past results described do not guarantee similar outcomes.
At a Glance
| Firm | Cook Keith & Davis, A Professional Corporation |
| Founded | January 1, 1994, by Darrell W. Cook |
| Key attorneys | Darrell W. Cook; Catherine A. Keith, Office Managing Partner; Stephen W. Davis |
| Office | 6688 N. Central Expressway, Suite 1000, Dallas, TX 75206 |
| Focus | Landlord representation, commercial lease disputes, construction liens, judgment collection |
| Who they represent | Landlords, property managers, and commercial tenants — the firm does not represent residential tenants |
| Fee structure | Not publicly posted; contact firm directly |
Origin & Founder History
Darrell W. Cook founded the firm on January 1, 1994, after an earlier career as a Certified Public Accountant at two international accounting firms, BDO Seidman and Coopers & Lybrand, and a stint as an adjunct accounting professor at SMU’s Cox School of Business. Cook holds a 1982 accounting degree from Oklahoma State University and a law degree from Southern Methodist University, and has practiced as a Texas attorney for more than three decades. Catherine A. Keith joined the firm and was named Office Managing Partner in 2016; her practice centers on commercial litigation and landlord-tenant matters, including representing a commercial property management company across multiple Texas apartment complexes and defending general contractors against municipal code-violation claims.
Practice Concentration
Cook Keith & Davis is built around a specific commercial niche: representing landlords, property managers, and commercial tenants in Texas real estate and collections disputes. The firm handles evictions, writ-of-possession proceedings, eviction appeals, security-deposit disputes, commercial lease disputes, and construction-related mechanic’s-lien matters for contractors and subcontractors on both the collecting and defending sides. The firm is explicit that it does not represent residential tenants, referring individuals in that position to the Dallas Bar Association or Texas Tenants’ Union — a client-side boundary worth stating plainly for readers evaluating the firm.
Track Record
Published case summaries on the firm’s site describe representing a Dallas property owner in successfully resolving a temporary-injunction suit brought by the City of Dallas, obtaining a temporary restraining order and injunction on behalf of a business partner against partners diverting business (matter settled), and representing a lender against a printing company where the firm obtained an injunction preventing asset transfers, ultimately securing full debt repayment through a court-ordered asset sale after the debtor filed bankruptcy. These are the firm’s own published case summaries; Awesome Attorneys did not independently verify docket details or confirm the described outcomes against court records.
Client Voice
Reviews of this firm are genuinely mixed, and that mix is disclosed here rather than smoothed over. Aggregated third-party reviews show a 2.1-star rating across 11 reviews on one review platform, with a documented pattern of some clients citing dissatisfaction with communication and customer service, while others — including reviews specifically praising attorney Ninna Salom’s responsiveness and case updates — describe successful outcomes and attentive service. Some of this split likely reflects the nature of the firm’s collections and eviction practice, where reviews can come from opposing parties (debtors, evicted tenants) rather than the firm’s actual landlord or lender clients, but Awesome Attorneys did not verify reviewer identity and presents the rating as reported.
Beyond the Courtroom
The firm markets itself on responsiveness and a deliberately small-firm model — its own materials state attorneys “respond to client emails, even on weekends” and describe a client base that includes both Fortune 500 companies and family-owned businesses. The firm has invested in remote-work infrastructure predating the pandemic, which it presents as part of a broader client-service philosophy.
Recognition
No Texas Board of Legal Specialization certification in Real Estate Law, Commercial Law, or Civil Trial Law was located for any attorney at the firm as of this profile’s research. No Super Lawyers or Best Lawyers recognitions were confirmed for the firm’s named attorneys. This is disclosed directly: the firm’s public materials do not claim such honors, and Awesome Attorneys did not locate them independently.
Texas Legal Backdrop
Commercial evictions in Texas proceed under the forcible-entry-and-detainer procedure in Texas Property Code Chapter 24, a summary process distinct from ordinary civil litigation. Contractors and subcontractors pursuing unpaid work rely on Texas Property Code Chapter 53, which governs mechanic’s and materialman’s liens, including strict notice deadlines that vary by the claimant’s position in the contracting chain. Judgment collection in Texas is governed by post-judgment procedures under the Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code, including turnover orders and writs of execution used to reach a debtor’s non-exempt assets. None of this is legal advice; a landlord, contractor, or judgment creditor with a specific matter should consult counsel about the applicable deadlines.
Awesome Attorneys Assessment
Cook Keith & Davis’s strength is a clear, consistently applied client identity: landlords, commercial property managers, lenders, and contractors get a firm built around collections speed and litigation aggressiveness, not a general real estate practice trying to serve every side of every transaction. Darrell Cook’s CPA background is a genuine differentiator for judgment-collection and asset-recovery work, where financial forensics matter as much as litigation strategy.
The honest trade-off is the mixed review record. A 2.1-star aggregate rating, even accounting for the likelihood that some reviewers are adverse parties rather than clients, is a real data point a prospective landlord or lender client should weigh against the firm’s own stated case results and the specifically positive, named reviews of individual attorneys’ responsiveness. This firm is not a fit for anyone seeking residential tenant representation — it says so itself — and its narrow collections-and-landlord focus means it is not the right choice for a straightforward real estate purchase or closing.
Methodology & Sourcing
This profile was compiled from the firm’s own website (cookkeithdavis.com and dallaslandlordlawyer.com), attorney biography pages for Darrell W. Cook and Catherine A. Keith, State Bar of Texas licensing records, and third-party review aggregation (Birdeye, ReachAttorneys). The 2.1-star, 11-review figure is drawn from a single third-party aggregator as of the research date and may not reflect the firm’s current standing on other platforms; readers should check current reviews directly before relying on this figure.
Publisher Disclosure & Independence Notice
This profile is an independent editorial article published by Awesome Attorneys. Awesome Attorneys does not endorse, recommend, or warrant any lawyer or law firm profiled on this site, and inclusion in this series is not paid placement. Facts in this profile were researched from public sources as described in the Methodology & Sourcing section and are current only as of the research date.