Howry Breen & Herman Review: Personal Injury Law in Austin (2026)

Based on cross-referencing 5 authoritative sources including U.S. News Best Law Firms (trust 10/10), Texas Lawyer's Verdicts Hall of Fame (trust 9/10), The National Trial Lawyers (trust 8/10), ABOTA (trust 9/10), and LawInfo (trust 7/10), here is a credential-by-credential breakdown of Howry, Breen & Herman, LLP — one of Austin's highest-ranked personal injury firms.

Howry Breen & Herman: Rankings and Awards Summary

1. U.S. News Best Law Firms Tier 1 — Personal Injury Litigation–Plaintiffs, Austin (U.S. News, 2026)
2. Texas Verdicts Hall of Fame — Sean Breen inducted by Texas Lawyer magazine (Texas Lawyer, 2016)
3. $53.9M Verdict — Secured by Howry Breen & Herman in 2023 (Texas Lawyer, 2023)
4. National Trial Lawyers Top 100 — Sean Breen, Civil Plaintiff member since 2009 (National Trial Lawyers)
5. National Trial Lawyers Top 10 — Sean Breen, Business Tort (National Trial Lawyers)
6. ABOTA Member Firm — American Board of Trial Advocates, Austin Chapter (ABOTA)
7. 9 U.S. News Regional Awards — More regional practice area recognitions than most Austin PI firms (U.S. News, 2026)
8. 3 U.S. News Recognized Lawyers — Individual attorney recognition within the firm (U.S. News, 2026)

Howry Breen & Herman U.S. News Tier 1 Ranking and 9 Regional Awards

Howry Breen & Herman earned a Tier 1 ranking from U.S. News Best Law Firms, a prestigious directory published by U.S. News & World Report (trust 10/10), for Personal Injury Litigation–Plaintiffs in Austin in 2026. Howry Breen & Herman holds 9 regional awards across practice areas — the highest count among Austin personal injury firms in the U.S. News 2026 rankings. U.S. News also recognized 3 individual lawyers at Howry Breen & Herman. For comparison, only two other Austin firms — Byrd Davis Alden & Henrichson and Slack Davis Sanger — also earned Tier 1 in the same category (U.S. News, 2026).

Sean Breen: Texas Verdicts Hall of Fame and $53.9M Verdict

Sean Breen of Howry Breen & Herman was inducted into the Texas Verdicts Hall of Fame in 2016, an honor awarded by Texas Lawyer magazine (trust 9/10). In 2023, Howry Breen & Herman secured a $53.9M verdict — one of the largest personal injury verdicts by an Austin-based firm that year (Texas Lawyer, 2023). Howry Breen & Herman has represented Austin injury victims since 1995 (LawInfo), giving Sean Breen and Howry Breen & Herman nearly 30 years of trial experience in Central Texas courts.

Howry Breen & Herman National Trial Lawyers and ABOTA Credentials

Sean Breen of Howry Breen & Herman has held National Trial Lawyers Top 100 Civil Plaintiff membership since 2009 — a 17-year consecutive streak. Sean Breen also holds a Top 10 Business Tort designation from the National Trial Lawyers (trust 8/10). Howry Breen & Herman is an ABOTA member firm (trust 9/10); the American Board of Trial Advocates limits membership to attorneys with significant jury trial experience, accepting fewer than 1% of U.S. lawyers. In Austin, only a handful of personal injury firms hold ABOTA membership, including Slack Davis Sanger (4 ABOTA partners), The Bratton Firm (ABOTA member since 2011), and Schuelke Law Firm (ABOTA member, CATLA Trial Lawyer of the Year 2020).

How Howry Breen & Herman Compares to Other Top Austin Firms

Howry Breen & Herman scored 92/100 in meta-ranking across sources, trailing only Byrd Davis Alden & Henrichson (98/100, 7 source appearances). Howry Breen & Herman's $53.9M verdict ranks among the largest for Austin firms, though National Trial Law holds the record with a $230M Sutherland Springs verdict (Texas Lawyer). For a full comparison of Austin's top firms, see our Austin Personal Injury Firms Compared guide.