Malish & Cowan, PLLC

Meet Our Attorneys

Chris Malish

Chris Malish holds a B.A. from the Plan II Honors Program at the University of Texas at Austin and a J.D. from the University of Texas School of Law. At the University, Chris received scholarships for both his undergraduate and graduate studies and lettered on the Longhorns' 1990 Southwest Conference championship football team. At the School of Law, he taught legal research and legal writing.

Chris represents clients before federal and state trial and appellate courts, administrative agencies, and licensing boards. Chris successfully represented the appellant in a landmark administrative law case, Employees Retirement System v. McKillip, which defines the powers of administrative judges at the State Office of Administrative Hearings.

Chris Malish has bench and jury trial experience before courts of several jurisdictions, representing both plaintiffs and defendants in cases from North Carolina to California, Texas to Illinois, and much of the states in between. For regulated individuals and entities, Chris has helped secure licenses in near-hopeless cases and helped affected parties successfully navigate hundreds of regulatory proceedings. For plaintiffs, Chris Malish has secured injunctions against competitors for unfair competition and theft of trade secrets; large awards for those wrongfully terminated in retaliation for filing workers' compensation claims, for those retaliated against for reporting employer wrongdoing, and for those injured through the negligence of others. For defendants, cost-effective representation has included dismissal of frivolous suits at early stages, successful defense of multi-million dollar claims tried to conclusion, and favorable settlements to avoid risks and costs of trial.

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Claiborne "Clay" L. Cowan

Clay brings an abundance of experience in the areas of estate planning, probate, and federal tax planning and controversy to Malish & Cowan, PLLC. In addition to being a licensed attorney, Clay is a certified public accountant, who won the Young CPA of the Year Award in 1997.

Clay is Board Certified in Estate Planning and Probate Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization. In addition to advising clients on estate planning and tax savings strategies, he has represented clients before the Internal Revenue Service and Texas area probate courts. Clay helps define clients' needs and implements innovative solutions to wills, trusts, and estate planning problems. His representation of clients before courts has included administrations of decedents' estates as well as trust administration.

Clay graduated from the University of Texas where he received his B.B.A., M.P.A., and J.D. He is a member of numerous professional associations, including the Austin Bar Association, State Bar of Texas, and Central Texas Estate Planning Council. Clay is also active in the community, and is a past-president of the Young Men's Business League (YMBL).

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Jennifer Monday Goldman

Jennifer’s practice involves probate, estate and gift tax planning, including the preparation of wills, trusts, family limited partnerships, limited liability companies and other estate planning documents. She offers marital property planning in the drafting of prenuptial and postnuptial agreements. Jennifer also assists in planning for incapacity through the use of powers of attorney, advanced medical directives, and guardianships.

Jennifer graduated with honors from the University of Texas at Austin with a B.A. from the Plan II Honors Program and a J.D. from the University of Texas School of Law. Her experience prior to Malish & Cowan includes practicing law at Vinson & Elkins, LLP. in both their Austin and D.C. offices.

She is married with three children and has worked extensively in the Austin community, including the Junior League of Austin, the Elizabeth Ann Seton Board, the Seton Development Board, Dell Children’s Council, Dell Children’s Trust, and her children’s preschool and elementary schools.