Bryant S. Banes

Bryant Banes has been the managing partner of Neel, Hooper & Banes, P.C. since September 2006. In 2012, Chambers USA recognized Mr. Banes as a leading lawyer in labor and employment law with a special emphasis in government contracts. He is the only attorney in Houston, Texas who is a member of the Wage & Hour Defense Institute, and regularly litigates FLSA collective actions on behalf of employers. Mr. Banes is also the only lawyer listed nationally as a BTI Client All-Star service in government contract compliance and is rated AV Preeminent by Martindale-Hubbell.
Bryant Banes litigates all types of civil matters before federal and state courts and boards, and has briefed and argued numerous times before U.S. and State Courts of Appeal. He has unique and extensive expertise in all matters arising out of government contracts, including business development and teaming, performance and workforce issues, compliance, audits and investigations, and litigation.

Before joining Neel, Hooper & Banes as a shareholder in 2006, Bryant defended complex litigation of all types, including nationwide class actions, in private practice. From 1998- 2002, Bryant was with the U.S. Department of Justice, where he was a trial attorney representing the United States government. While at the Department of Justice, he successfully prosecuted or defended multimillion dollar government con-tract and employment claims. He has extensive experience, and is a frequent author and lecturer in the areas of government procurement law and federal employment law.

Prior to his stint with the Justice Department, Bryant served his country as a JAG officer in the U. S. Army for eight years on active duty, and retired in 2010 at the rank of lieutenant colonel. As a military attorney, Lieutenant Colonel Banes has led and conducted complex and diverse contract litigation before the Armed Services Board of Contract Appeals and protests before the Government Accountability Office, the Small Business Administration, and the Federal Courts. He served as the Pentagon’s expert on consumer law and estate planning during his tenure there, and drafted regulations and legislation regarding same. He also supervised a legal office responsible for meeting the legal needs of 60,000 soldiers, retirees, and their family members. He prepared numerous troops prior to their deployment overseas in Operation Desert Storm, participated in the relief effort for civilians in Hurricane Andrew, and led a team of attorneys providing free probate assistance to the families of the victims of the 9/11 terrorist attack on the Pentagon. During 2004, he served a one-year tour as the Chief of Procurement and Fiscal Law and the Legal Advisor to the Chief Engineer in Iraq during Operation Iraqi Freedom, where he was awarded the Bronze Star Medal, the Meritorious Unit Citation, and the Combat Action Badge.

Bryant Banes has taught as an adjunct professor at both George Mason University and the U.S. Army’s Judge Advocate General’s School, and earned the Parachute Badge from the U.S. Army Airborne School. He is a member of the American Bar Association’s Public Contract Law Section, and the National Contract Management Association’s Space City Chapter.