Cullen McDonald

Houston, TX4 years experience

About Cullen McDonald

Cullen McDonald is an appellate attorney at Armstrong Lee & Baker LLP in Houston, where he handles critical motions, briefing, and appeals in complex and high-stakes personal injury cases. His practice spans products liability, premises liability, wrongful death, catastrophic injury, and maritime matters in both state and federal courts.

Cullen earned his Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Northwestern State University, where he played NCAA Division I baseball and earned Southland Conference Commissioner's Honor Roll recognition from 2016 to 2019. He earned his Juris Doctor magna cum laude from Louisiana State University's Paul M. Hebert Law Center in 2022, where he served as Senior Editor of the Louisiana Law Review, was named a Paul M. Hebert Scholar, and published an article on federal pleading standards.

Before joining Armstrong Lee & Baker in 2025, Cullen practiced at The Ferguson Law Firm and Jackson Walker LLP, gaining experience in probate, fiduciary, guardianship disputes, and appellate litigation. He is admitted to the Texas and Louisiana State Bars, the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, and federal district courts in Texas. He was recognized by Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch for Appellate and Personal Injury Litigation (2024-2025).

Proven verdicts and settlements at Armstrong Lee & Baker

These results are credited to Armstrong Lee & Baker. A result appears under an attorney's own name only when a published source names them as counsel on the case.

$4.5 millionVerdict

A Texas appeals court affirmed a $4.5 million jury award for Jerry Thomas, an East Texas man who lost his hand at a sawmill in Rusk, holding that the owner never established an employment relationship and could not invoke the workers' compensation exclusive-remedy defense.

Texas Twelfth Court of Appeals (Tyler); trial court: 2nd District Court, Cherokee County · 2026Workplace InjuryRead the full story →
Verdict

Armstrong Lee & Baker won reversal of a federal preemption dismissal, reviving negligence claims brought by the family of a Tyson Foods meatpacking worker who died of COVID-19 after a coworker with a known positive test continued coming to work.

U.S. Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit · 2025Wrongful DeathRead the full story →

Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. Each case is unique and depends on its own facts.

Practice areas

Education

Louisiana State University Paul M. Hebert Law Center
Business Administration, 2022
Northwestern State University
Undergraduate

Bar admissions & credentials

State Bar of Texas
State Bar of Louisiana
State Bar of U.S. Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit
State Bar of U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Texas
State Bar of U.S. District Court, Southern District of Texas
Houston Young Lawyers Association
Texas Trial Lawyers Association

Awards & recognition

Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch - Appellate and Personal Injury Litigation (2024-2025)
Paul M. Hebert Scholar

Other attorneys at Armstrong Lee & Baker

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Proven verdicts and settlements from other Houston firms

The Lanier Law Firm
The Lanier Law Firm
$4.85 Billion Vioxx MDL Settlement for Heart-Attack and Stroke Victims
The Buzbee Law Firm
The Buzbee Law Firm
$1.1 Billion Verdict for Child Left Brain-Damaged by Oil-Fortune Heir
Arnold & Itkin
Arnold & Itkin
$2.07 billion · Cobb County Jury Awards John Barnes $2.065 Billion in Roundup Cancer Trial
Williams Hart & Boundas
Williams Hart & Boundas
$15.3 billion · Texas Recovers $15.3 Billion From Tobacco Industry in Landmark 1998 Settlement
The Ammons Law Firm LLP
The Ammons Law Firm LLP
$812 Million Verdict for Family of Worker Killed in Pecos Chemical Plant Explosion, Part of $1.6 Billion

Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. Each case is unique and depends on its own facts.