In May, Coats Rose lost a beloved partner, colleague and friend when Bill Coats passed away. On behalf of the Coats Rose family and the Houston legal community, we would like to thank everyone who reached out to our firm during this difficult time.
In the office, Bill was a Director, a member of the firm’s Management Committee and head of the Construction/Surety Section within Coats Rose. But he was much more than that to each of us – a valued and trusted friend, teacher and a caring and devoted community leader.
During his years in the legal field, Bill enjoyed unparalleled success through hard work, dedication and an astute business sense. Because of his leadership and innovation, the firm has grown from a single location to six offices with practice groups spanning areas never contemplated at the time of the firm’s founding in 1981. We owe much of our firm’s integrity, leadership, and values to Bill. He will forever live in our hearts and minds as we continue his legal mission with the sense of decency and ethics in which he so ardently believed.
Bill was also a dedicated family man and community member, working closely with Trees for Houston, a nonprofit group he co-founded in 1982, as well as many other organizations over the years such as Scenic Houston, Hermann Park Conservancy, Houston Community College Foundation and Quality of Life. His passion for improving the lives of those around him was unrivaled.
Bill’s memory and spirit live on within Coats Rose, as we continue to dedicate ourselves to the tenants he valued most: service, honesty and hard work. Bill will always be a cornerstone of our practice, and we are forever grateful to him for all that he has done.