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Originally from Kyle, Texas, Cesar Ornelas is a first-generation college graduate and attorney. Licensed in Texas, Cesar Ornelas’s nationwide practice is entirely contingency fee-based and consists of a wide variety of catastrophic personal injury and death cases. He has represented countless victims of catastrophic accidents across the United States. Cesar Ornelas has devoted his entire career to giving a voice to the voiceless and has made it his duty to ensure that big corporations do not take advantage of ordinary individuals. His success in and out of the courtroom translates through his diligence, discipline, and perseverance.
Cesar Ornelas started to practice law after graduating from St. Mary’s Law School in record time. He has been handling catastrophic personal injury and death cases since his first day in practice. Since becoming a lawyer, Cesar Ornelas has done significant work for his clients throughout the state of Texas and the United States.
Cesar Ornelas is a member of the State Bar of Texas and the Texas Trial Lawyers Association. Additionally, he has been named as a life member of the Million Dollar Advocates Forum and the Multi-Million Dollar Advocates Forum. The Million Dollar Advocates Forum is recognized as one of the most prestigious groups of trial lawyers in the United States and less than 1% of U.S. lawyers are members.
In the spring of 2021, Cesar was selected to be a part of The National Trial Lawyers Top 40 Under 40, an invitation-only program extended exclusively to those trial lawyers practicing civil plaintiff and/or criminal defense law.
Cesar Ornelas continues to give back to the community. He has provided thousands of children with a Christmas with toy drives, hundreds of families with Thanksgiving meals, and thousands of shoeless children with brand new Nike and Reebok shoes.
Q: How do you build trust with a client?
A: We start to build trust with a client at the start of our relationship with them. We do this by being transparent with our services, understanding their expectations, and listening to their needs. The event that brought them to us can often be a traumatic experience and clients look to their attorney for guidance. From the get-go, we will set the expectations and give real-life examples of similar cases that we have handled in the past to help put them at ease.
Q: How do you keep clients informed about the status of their cases?
A: Communication is the key to a successful relationship with a client. We use proven systems to let them know what to expect in regard to their case. Progress reports and emails are sent to keep them informed every step of the way. In the end, nothing beats face-to-face communication.
Q: How do you manage a client who is unhappy with a judge’s ruling?
A: The first thing I do is find a way to relate to the client and make acknowledge how they are feeling. Then I will walk them through every possible outcome. Next, I will explain the judge’s ruling, make sure they understand it, and dissect why they ruled in that particular way for their case.
Q: Tell me about a time when you had to deal with a difficult client.
A: Most of the time, our clients themselves are not difficult but just going through a traumatic event in their lives. We find it important to be empathetic in listening to the issues they have, and really be able to adapt to their needs. We try to always see their point of view and understand what they’re going through. We look at things through our client’s eyes and are here to help them solve the issues they brought to us.
Q: Can you talk us through a current issue affecting personal injury law firms in Texas?
A: Tort reform is a big one currently. Texas is a state that has had constant Tort reform. This doesn’t only affect firms like Cesar Ornelas Law but affects our clients tremendously.
