About Varghese Summersett (Lawyers: Personal Injury, Criminal Defense, Family and Divorce) · Fort Worth
Varghese Summersett PLLC is a boutique Texas law firm headquartered in downtown Fort Worth at 300 Throckmorton Street (One City Place Building), founded in 2014 by former Tarrant County prosecutor Benson Varghese and his wife and law partner Anna Summersett. The firm operates as three specialized divisions — criminal defense, personal injury, and family & divorce law — staffed by roughly 20 attorneys and about 60 total team members across four Texas offices (Fort Worth, Dallas, Southlake, and Houston). Its criminal defense team holds six Board Certified specialists in Criminal, Juvenile, and Family Law from the Texas Board of Legal Specialization, and has tried more than 700 jury cases to verdict. The firm is consistently recognized by Inc. 5000, Best Lawyers, Texas Super Lawyers, Forbes Advisor, and Fort Worth Inc., and holds more than 1,200 five-star Google reviews.
Varghese Summersett was launched in 2014 when Benson Varghese, then a prosecutor in the Tarrant County District Attorney's Office, left to hang his own shingle in a small 10-by-15 office with $9,000 borrowed from his uncle. His wife and former DA colleague Anna Summersett joined him, and the firm quickly grew into one of the fastest-growing practices in North Texas, earning Inc. 5000 recognition three times. Today it fields roughly 20 attorneys across four Texas offices — Fort Worth (headquarters), Dallas, Southlake, and Houston — plus a service area extending into Fort Bend County. The criminal defense division is composed entirely of former prosecutors and includes five Board Certified specialists (three in Criminal Law, two in Juvenile Law), with the team having collectively tried more than 700 cases to Texas juries and been featured on 48 Hours, Dateline, Forensic Files, and Court TV. The personal injury division, led by Ty Stimpson with partners Damian Williams and Benson Varghese himself (a former insurance adjuster before law school), focuses on catastrophic injury, trucking collisions, and wrongful death. The family and divorce division, led by Turner Thornton and Craig Jackson (a former Tarrant County Associate Judge and Board Certified Family Law Specialist), handles divorce, custody, child support, prenuptial agreements, adoption, and high-net-worth property division. The firm is deeply embedded in Fort Worth civic life, supporting Habitat for Humanity (Cowtown Brush Up), the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Tarrant County, the Kimbell Art Museum, the Fort Worth Museum of Science & History, the Rotary Club of Fort Worth, Tarrant County Volunteer Services, and WORTH, and it runs multiple scholarship programs (Autism Scholarship, Down Syndrome Scholarship, Criminal Justice Changemaker Scholarship, and the Elena Rios Memorial Scholarship). The firm maintains 24/7 availability and offers free consultations.
- In business
- Founded 2014 (approximately 11 years)
- Owner
- Benson Varghese (Founder and Managing Partner) and Anna Summersett (Founding Partner)
- Serves
- Four Texas offices: Fort Worth (Tarrant County, HQ), Dallas (Dallas County), Southlake (Northeast Tarrant County), Houston (Harris County), with service into Fort Bend County. Personal injury cases handled across Texas. Criminal defense in Tarrant, Dallas, Denton, Collin, Parker, Wise, Johnson, Ellis, Clay, Archer, and Montague counties. Family law in Tarrant, Dallas, Denton, Collin, and Wise counties. Specific communities served include Fort Worth, Arlington, Southlake, Keller, Colleyville, Grapevine, Hurst, Euless, Bedford, North Richland Hills, Mansfield, Burleson, Crowley, Haltom City, Saginaw, Grand Prairie, Weatherford, Benbrook, and Haltom City.
- Rating
- 4.9 stars across 1,300+ verified reviews (Trustindex aggregate of Google reviews); the firm cites more than 1,200 five-star Google reviews on its own website.
Firm Overview and Headquarters
Varghese Summersett PLLC is a boutique Texas trial law firm headquartered on the 7th floor of the One City Place Building at 300 Throckmorton Street in downtown Fort Worth. Founded in 2014 by Benson Varghese and Anna Summersett, the firm has grown from a single 10-by-15 office into a multi-office practice with roughly 60 team members, including approximately 20 attorneys, organized into three specialized divisions. The Fort Worth office sits two blocks from the Tim Curry Criminal Justice Center, four blocks from the Tarrant County family and civil courthouses, and seven blocks from the Eldon B. Mahon Federal Courthouse — close enough that attorneys regularly walk to court.
- Headquarters: One City Place Building, 300 Throckmorton Street, Suite 700, Fort Worth, TX 76102
- Phone: (817) 203-2220
- Fax: 817-900-9129
- 24/7 availability
- Three divisions: Criminal Defense, Personal Injury, Family & Divorce
- Approximately 20 attorneys and 60 total team members
Three Specialized Practice Divisions
Every Varghese Summersett attorney practices exclusively within one of the firm's three divisions, allowing deep specialization. The Criminal Defense division is composed entirely of former state and federal prosecutors and includes six Board Certified specialists. The Personal Injury division is led by attorneys who started their careers on the prosecution or insurance side, giving them insider knowledge of how insurers value and attack claims. The Family & Divorce division combines skilled negotiators, experienced litigators, and licensed mediators, including a former Tarrant County Associate Judge.
- Criminal Defense — former prosecutors only, Board Certified specialists, 700+ jury trials
- Personal Injury — insider insurance perspective, contingency fee cases
- Family & Divorce — Board Certified Family Law Specialist, former Associate Judge Craig Jackson
Criminal Defense Practice
The criminal defense team defends people charged with everything from DWI to capital murder, plus federal cases and juvenile matters. Senior partners include Benson Varghese, Anna Summersett, Tiffany Burks (Criminal Defense Lead), Christy Jack, Letty Martinez, Mike Hanson, Lisa Herrick, and Alex Thornton. Three attorneys are Board Certified in Criminal Law, two in Juvenile Law — together the highest tier of Texas Board of Legal Specialization credentials, awarded to fewer than 10% of practitioners in any specialty. The team has been featured on 48 Hours, Dateline, Forensic Files, and Court TV.
- DWI (Class B, Class A, felony DWI, DWI with child, ALR hearings)
- Intoxication manslaughter / intoxication assault
- Assault (Class C through aggravated assault with deadly weapon)
- Murder, manslaughter, and capital murder
- Sex crimes
- Drug defense
- Gun crimes and family violence
- Federal criminal defense
- White collar criminal defense
- Juvenile defense
Personal Injury Practice
The personal injury division advocates for victims of negligence and wrongful acts, securing compensation for medical bills, lost wages, and other damages. Lead attorney Ty Stimpson is a former Dallas County and Tarrant County prosecutor and was named a Super Lawyers Rising Star (2025), Fort Worth Inc. 40 Under 40 (2025), and Texas Bar Foundation Fellow (2024). Partner Damian Williams is recognized on the Lawdragon 500 Leading Plaintiff Consumer Lawyers list (2024 and 2025). Senior Counsel Katie Steele brings six years as a Tarrant County ADA plus prior insurance defense experience. Associate Taylor Brumbaugh represents clients across Texas.
- Car wrecks
- 18-wheeler and commercial trucking accidents
- Motorcycle crashes
- Workplace and oilfield injuries
- Construction-site injuries
- Premises liability
- Defective / dangerous products
- Catastrophic injury
- Traumatic brain injury (TBI)
- Wrongful death
Family Law and Divorce Practice
The family division handles divorce, custody, child support, protective orders, paternity, adoption, prenuptial and postnuptial agreements, spousal maintenance, grandparent rights, and fathers' rights. Partner Craig Jackson is Board Certified in Family Law and a former Associate Judge in Tarrant County who presided over thousands of family and divorce matters. Partner Turner Thornton leads the family law group and has handled thousands of cases across DFW, with a strategy of pushing for resolution when it serves the client and trying the case when it does not. The team negotiates from a trial-ready position and serves Tarrant, Dallas, Denton, Wise, and (to a limited extent) Collin counties.
- Divorce (contested, uncontested, high-net-worth)
- Property division (community and separate property, business valuations)
- Child custody (conservatorship, possession, emergency orders)
- Child support (establish, modify, enforce)
- Spousal maintenance / spousal support
- Prenuptial and postnuptial agreements
- Adoption (stepparent, relative, private, adult)
- Paternity (acknowledgments, suits to establish, DNA disputes)
- Protective orders (for and against)
- Grandparent rights
- Fathers' rights
- Mediation and enforcement
Office Locations Across Texas
Varghese Summersett operates four physical offices serving Tarrant, Dallas, and Harris Counties plus Fort Bend County, with cases extending across North Texas and the Gulf Coast. The Fort Worth headquarters is the original location; the Dallas office is in the central business district; the Southlake office serves Northeast Tarrant County; and the Houston office, plus Fort Bend County coverage, anchors the Gulf Coast presence.
- Fort Worth (HQ): 300 Throckmorton Street, Suite 700, Fort Worth, TX 76102 — (817) 203-2220
- Dallas: 2100 Ross Avenue, Suite 950, Dallas, TX 75201 — (214) 903-4000
- Southlake: 3120 Sabre Drive, Suite 110, Southlake, TX 76092 — (817) 415-1575
- Houston: 2925 Briarpark Drive, Suite 850, Houston, TX 77042 — (281) 805-2220
- Fort Bend County: served from the Houston office
Founder and Leadership Team
Benson Varghese is the founder and managing partner. Born in Kerala, India, he was raised partly in Dallas and partly in a small village where he ran his father's rubber plantation as a teenager — an experience he credits with shaping his work ethic and entrepreneurial drive. He earned a BBA from SMU's Cox School of Business and a JD from Texas Tech University School of Law (2009), then served as a prosecutor at the Tarrant County District Attorney's Office before launching the firm in 2014. He is Board Certified in Criminal Law, has tried more than 100 jury cases, and is also the founder of the legal tech company Lawft and the author of Tapped In: Lessons for Law Firm Growth. Anna Summersett is the founding partner, a former Tarrant County prosecutor, and Board Certified in Criminal Law. Practice leads include Tiffany Burks (Criminal Defense), Ty Stimpson (Personal Injury), and Turner Thornton (Family Law).
- Benson Varghese — Founder and Managing Partner
- Anna Summersett — Founding Partner
- Tiffany Burks — Criminal Defense Lead
- Ty Stimpson — Personal Injury Lead
- Turner Thornton — Family Law Lead
- Christy Jack — Trial Attorney
- Damian Williams — Personal Injury Partner (Dallas)
- Katie Steele — Personal Injury Senior Counsel
- Craig Jackson — Family Law Partner (Board Certified, former Associate Judge)
- Mike Hanson — Board Certified Juvenile Law
- Lisa Herrick — Board Certified Juvenile Law
- Letty Martinez — Board Certified Criminal Law
- Alex Thornton — Senior Associate, Criminal Defense
- Taylor Brumbaugh — Associate, Personal Injury
Awards, Recognition, and Reviews
Varghese Summersett has been recognized by Inc. 5000 three times as one of America's fastest-growing companies, named a Fort Worth Chamber Small Business of the Year, listed as one of the Best Companies to Work for in Fort Worth by Fort Worth Inc. for four consecutive years, and recognized as a DFW Favorite across multiple categories. Individual attorneys have been listed in Best Lawyers in America (2026), Texas Super Lawyers, Forbes Advisor's Best Lawyers in Texas, the Lawdragon 500, and 360 West, Southlake Style, D Magazine, Fort Worth Magazine, and Texas Monthly. The Fort Worth Star-Telegram named the firm Gold Winner for Best Divorce Lawyer. In 2025, the firm received the Richard L. Knight Rotary Minority Business Award from the Downtown Fort Worth Rotary. Client-side, the firm advertises more than 1,200 five-star Google reviews; third-party trackers (Trustindex) show a 4.9-star aggregate across 1,300+ verified reviews.
- Inc. 5000 — three-time honoree
- Best Companies to Work for in Fort Worth — four consecutive years
- DFW Favorite — three consecutive years
- Best Lawyers in America 2026
- Texas Super Lawyers — multiple attorneys
- Forbes Advisor Best Lawyers in Texas
- Lawdragon 500 Leading Plaintiff Consumer Lawyers (Damian Williams, 2024–2025)
- Richard L. Knight Rotary Minority Business Award (2025)
- 1,200+ five-star Google reviews; 4.9 stars across 1,300+ reviews on Trustindex
Community Involvement and Scholarships
The firm runs an active philanthropy and community program led by the Benson Varghese family's belief in giving back. Varghese Summersett sponsors and supports the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Tarrant County, Habitat for Humanity (including the Cowtown Brush Up volunteer program), the Rotary Club of Fort Worth (Downtown), the Kimbell Art Museum, the Fort Worth Museum of Science & History, WORTH (the Next Generation of Philanthropists), Tarrant County Volunteer Services, the Tylan Wallace Youth Football Camp, and local schools and nonprofits including the Wayne Ward Memorial Golf Tournament and the Fort Worth Paralegal Association. The firm has also driven legislative advocacy, helping pass the Athena Alert — a statewide emergency notification system for missing children.
- Elena Rios Memorial Scholarship — $1,000 (later $1,500) annual award with Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Tarrant County
- Criminal Justice Changemaker Scholarship — $1,000 annual award for law school students
- Autism Scholarship — $500 annual award for youth with autism
- Down Syndrome Scholarship — $500 annual award for students with Down syndrome
- Adoption Teddy Drive — teddy bears donated to children in Tarrant County Family Courts on adoption day
- Boys & Girls Club Back-to-School Bash — supplies for underserved students
- Athena Alert advocacy — helped pass statewide missing-children notification system
- Over $35,000 awarded to 56 students across the country via special needs scholarships
Memberships and Professional Affiliations
Attorneys at the firm hold memberships across the local, state, and national bar, plus specialty legal associations. These include the Texas Bar Foundation (Fellow), College of the State Bar of Texas, Eldon B. Mahon Inns of Court, American Inns of Court, Tarrant County Bar Association, Tarrant County Young Lawyers Association (past board member), Tarrant County Criminal Defense Lawyers Association (board member), Dallas County Criminal Defense Lawyers Association, Texas Criminal Defense Lawyers Association, Texas District and County Attorneys Association (past member), Federal Bar Association, American Bar Association, Federalist Society, National College for DUI Defense, National Rifle Association (lifetime member), and Christian Trial Lawyers Association (lifetime member). Benson Varghese is also an adjunct faculty member at Baylor Law School and a Steer Fort Worth member.
- Texas Board of Legal Specialization — 6 Board Certified specialists firmwide
- Texas Bar Foundation Fellow
- American Inns of Court / Eldon B. Mahon Inns of Court
- Baylor Law School adjunct faculty (Benson Varghese)
- Rotary International — Downtown Fort Worth
- Christian Trial Lawyers Association — lifetime member
Client Experience and Operations
The firm operates 24/7 because criminal and personal-injury emergencies don't happen on a business schedule. Consultations are free and confidential. The website offers online scheduling for each practice area and direct office phones for each location. Public reporting indicates the Fort Worth office gives all full-time female employees Gucci bags and male employees RIMOWA luggage for Christmas, a small reflection of a workplace culture that has earned four straight Best Companies to Work for honors.
- Free initial consultations
- Online scheduling for criminal, family, and personal injury matters
- 24/7 phone availability
- Walking-distance proximity to Tarrant County courthouses
- Recognized for employee benefits, work-from-home and vacation policies, wellness initiatives, and diversity