Mary Kate Raffetto
Partner
,
Direct: 713.951.6223
Fax: 713.951.3720
Direct: 713.951.6223
Fax: 713.951.3720
For Mary Kate, the heart of client service comes down to critical listening.
An experienced trial and appellate specialist with a background in education, Mary Kate understands the power of communicating complex ideas with clarity and precision. Her skill as an orator and diligent pursuit of her clients’ interests allow her to be a highly effective courtroom advocate.
Mary Kate has significant trial and appellate experience representing both plaintiffs and defendants. She represents sophisticated clients in a variety of industries and has developed nuanced expertise in handling complex products liability, commercial, employment, catastrophic personal injury, and securities matters. Her trial experience includes giving opening statements, handling legal issues, and undertaking direct and cross examinations of experts and fact witnesses.
Mary Kate has served as a first-chair attorney on both trial and appellate matters, participated in more than fifteen trial teams across the country, and has argued in both state and federal appellate courts. As a result, Mary Kate is uniquely positioned to serve in trial or appellate roles. Her ability to use compelling storytelling to engage audiences coupled with a careful attention to record preservation makes her an effective advocate and a trusted advisor to her clients.
Mary Kate has been named in Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch in Commercial Litigation (2022-2025) and recognized as a Texas “Rising Star” in Business Litigation by Thomson Reuters Super Lawyers (2022 – 2024). She was also named to Lawdragon 500 X – The Next Generation (2023), a list honoring the 500 most outstanding young lawyers in the country.
Before joining Beck Redden, Mary Kate clerked for the Honorable Xavier Rodriguez of the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas. During her clerkship, she gained valuable insight into federal motion practice and procedure. Mary Kate graduated from The University of Texas School of Law where she served as an Associate Editor of the Texas Law Review and a Teaching Quizmaster for the David J. Beck Center for Legal Research, Writing, and Appellate Advocacy.
Prior to law school, Mary Kate taught high school mathematics in San Antonio, Texas through Teach For America for two years. She remains passionate about education and serves on the Houston Urban Debate League’s Young Professionals Council and as a member of the Board of Directors for the Partnership for the Advancement and Immersion of Refugees, an organization dedicated to assisting refugee youth enrolled in Houston’s public schools.
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Honors & Awards
- Recognized as On the Rise Winner by Law.com and Texas Lawyer, 2024-2025
- Recognized in Chambers USA in Litigation: General Commercial (Texas), 2025
- Lawdragon 500 Leading Plaintiff Financial Lawyers, 2024-2025
- Lawdragon 500 X – The Next Generation in Appellate and Commercial Litigation, 2024
- Named in The Best Lawyers in America: Ones to Watch in Commercial Litigation, 2022-2025, Appellate Practice, 2025
- Recognized as a “Rising Star” in Business Litigation by Thomson Reuters Super Lawyers – Texas, 2022–2024
- San Antonio Independent School District “Rising Star” Teacher of the Year, 2010–2011
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Publications & Presentations
- Presenter, “Handling Your First Excursions: Things I Learned From My First Depositions & Discovery Hearings,” Texas Association of Defense Counsel Spring Meeting (May 2023)
July 1, 2025
June 18, 2024
July 16, 2018
June 6, 2025
June 5, 2025
August 15, 2024
May 24, 2024
March 20, 2024
January 3, 2024
August 17, 2023
April 24, 2023
March 22, 2023
January 24, 2023
August 18, 2022
March 22, 2022
November 4, 2021
September 23, 2021
August 19, 2021
March 19, 2021
Mary Kate Raffetto
Partner,
Houston
Direct: 713.951.6223
Fax: 713.951.3720
Direct: 713.951.6223
Fax: 713.951.3720
Mary Kate has served as a first-chair attorney on both trial and appellate matters, participated in more than fifteen trial teams across the country, and has argued in both state and federal appellate courts. As a result, Mary Kate is uniquely positioned to serve in trial or appellate roles. Her ability to use compelling storytelling to engage audiences coupled with a careful attention to record preservation makes her an effective advocate and a trusted advisor to her clients.
Mary Kate has been named in Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch in Commercial Litigation (2022-2025) and recognized as a Texas “Rising Star” in Business Litigation by Thomson Reuters Super Lawyers (2022 – 2024). She was also named to Lawdragon 500 X – The Next Generation (2023), a list honoring the 500 most outstanding young lawyers in the country.
Before joining Beck Redden, Mary Kate clerked for the Honorable Xavier Rodriguez of the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas. During her clerkship, she gained valuable insight into federal motion practice and procedure. Mary Kate graduated from The University of Texas School of Law where she served as an Associate Editor of the Texas Law Review and a Teaching Quizmaster for the David J. Beck Center for Legal Research, Writing, and Appellate Advocacy.
Prior to law school, Mary Kate taught high school mathematics in San Antonio, Texas through Teach For America for two years. She remains passionate about education and serves on the Houston Urban Debate League’s Young Professionals Council and as a member of the Board of Directors for the Partnership for the Advancement and Immersion of Refugees, an organization dedicated to assisting refugee youth enrolled in Houston’s public schools.
-
Honors & Awards
- Recognized as On the Rise Winner by Law.com and Texas Lawyer, 2024-2025
- Recognized in Chambers USA in Litigation: General Commercial (Texas), 2025
- Lawdragon 500 Leading Plaintiff Financial Lawyers, 2024-2025
- Lawdragon 500 X – The Next Generation in Appellate and Commercial Litigation, 2024
- Named in The Best Lawyers in America: Ones to Watch in Commercial Litigation, 2022-2025, Appellate Practice, 2025
- Recognized as a “Rising Star” in Business Litigation by Thomson Reuters Super Lawyers – Texas, 2022–2024
- San Antonio Independent School District “Rising Star” Teacher of the Year, 2010–2011
-
Publications & Presentations
- Presenter, “Handling Your First Excursions: Things I Learned From My First Depositions & Discovery Hearings,” Texas Association of Defense Counsel Spring Meeting (May 2023)
July 1, 2025
June 18, 2024
July 16, 2018
June 6, 2025
June 5, 2025
August 15, 2024
May 24, 2024
March 20, 2024
January 3, 2024
August 17, 2023
April 24, 2023
March 22, 2023
January 24, 2023
August 18, 2022
March 22, 2022
November 4, 2021
September 23, 2021
August 19, 2021
March 19, 2021