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Todd is a 5th generation
Upshur County native who can trace his roots back to his great
great grandfather who was a citizen of the Republic of Texas
that settled in Upshur County after returning from fighting in
the War of Northern Aggression. Todd's grandfather
Tully Reynolds was the U.S. MARSHALL for the Eastern District
of Texas in the sixties.
Appointed by President Kennedy and then re-appointed by
President Johnson.
Mr. Reynolds' constant efforts to help the poor and
disenfranchised had a great effect on Mr. Tefteller. Todd was born in
Gilmer in 1960 four blocks from the law office. Todd serves on the
Gilmer ISD school board, and was absent from the county for
only three years while he attended law school in Houston. Todd is married to
JoEllen Tefteller and they are the parents of three Texas
Longhorn sons, Jarom, Clayton and Andy. Clayton #27 was on the
Longhorn football team when the Horns won the National title
in 2005. Hook'em
Horns!
Todd graduated from South Texas
College of Law in Houston Texas in 1984 with honors, finishing
4th of 102 in his class and 1st of 135
on the Texas Bar Exam from his class on the March 1985 bar
exam. Todd was
licensed by the Texas Supreme Court on his 25th
birthday (May 10, 1985) and has been trying cases ever
since. At the age
of 31 on January 31, 1992 Todd was one of the youngest
attorneys in the State to be certified as a specialist in
Civil Trial Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization, a
mark reserved to less than 1% of Texas attorneys which
requires extensive documented trial experience, rigorous peer
review, and a written comprehensive examination by the
Board. Back in
the eighties nobody could afford to incur the costs of
depositions and big time pre-trial discovery so we simply had
to try everything from homicide and domestic relations cases
and on down. When
I first applied to take the certification test the Board at
first told me I lacked "substantial involvement" because I had
only been in the game 5 years, but when they looked at my
record they changed their minds. Todd passed it on his
first attempt and has practiced as a certified trial lawyer 18
of his 23 years ever since. Mr. Tefteller also
prosecutes and defends cases in the federal courts.
Todd primarily handles tort
and injury cases, criminal cases, probate, domestic relations
and hard civil cases, focusing primarily on high profile cases
that usually draw media attention. Todd also handles a
good deal of cases brought against public officials. Frequently the
government will indict someone by a grand jury that doesn't
hear both sides of the story. Then the indictment is
always leaked to the media. Those cases are real
challenges because the public assumes guilt if indicted and
your client's mug shot is on TV. Not only do we have to deconstruct the government's
case but we have to inoculate the potential jury pool from the
negative publicity to assure the client receives the best fair
trial money can buy. Todd also has two
undergraduate degrees in police science and criminal justice
that gives him a good sense of scene investigation and witness
contamination.
Most people who are catastrophically injured are at a
disadvantage because while they are in critical care the
insurance company or corporate defendant already has trained
professionals at the scene and are contacting witnesses to try
to posture their client in the best possible
position.
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