A lawsuit was filed against longtime El Paso attorney Patrick Gordon and three of the firm’s attorneys last week. The lawsuit alleges that Gordon, and attorneys Cynthia Canales, Rob Edwards and Joshua W. Snider violated the attorney client relationship in a divorce case originally filed in 2022, which led to millions in losses.
Patrick Gordon, a shareholder in the El Paso law firm Gordon, Davis, Johnson, Shane and Snider, is one of the original shareholders of the law firm that was established in 1994 by Andrew Krafsur. Krafsur, who died in 2019, is best known for founding Spira Footwear, which developed a spring-loaded shoe that was marketed as being banned for use in competitive running in 2007. In fact, it was never banned. The shoe manufacturer closed in 2016 but was later reopened as an online store. Krafsur was also a bankruptcy attorney at the firm before his death.
Gordon was appointed as a member of the Texas Transportation Commission on February 12 by Texas Governor Greg Abbott. Gordon had previously served on the Rio Grande Compact Commission, originally appointed by Rick Perry and reappointed by Abbott.
Court documents in a divorce case filed last month alleges that the lawyers violated their attorney client relationship with Rocio Castellanos-Duran in her divorce against her husband. According to the court documents, Castellanos-Duran owns a software company in México that her then-husband brought to the U.S. through a Texas company formed with the help of the law firm in 2002.
The court documents go on to allege that since early 2000, the law firm has prepared several business and personal documents for Castellanos-Duran and her husband, Juan Gerardo Duran. The court filings list several legal documents prepared and filed by the law firm for both the wife and the husband from 2000 through around 2022.
About a year before Juan Gerardo Duran filed for divorce from Castellanos-Duran, one of the attorneys for the law firm, Joshua Snider who is also named in the lawsuit, filed paperwork transferring a $526,715 home to Juan Gerardo Duran’s daughter without the approval of Castellanos-Duran the court filings allege. Castellanos-Duran claims the house is community property which she lost because of the law firm’s negligence in not protecting her interests as her lawyers.
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Juan Gerardo Duran filed divorce proceedings on April 5, 2022, through local attorney Doris Sipes. But on September 15, 2023, Juan Gerardo Duran substituted his lawyer with Rob Edwards and Cynthia Canales, who are both named in the lawsuit and work at the law firm with Pat Gordan.
Castellanos-Duran alleges in her court filings that the lawyers’ actions caused her to lose assets worth $10 million, half of the marital assets.
The divorce trial was held on November 3, 2025, where Castellanos-Duran allegedly discovered many of the lawyers’ misdeeds that caused financial losses for her.
Last week, on February 24, 2026, Rocio Castellanos-Duran filed the lawsuit against Patrick Gordan, the law firm and the three attorneys. In it, she seeks over $1 million in damages against Gordon, the law firm and the three attorneys.
The lawsuit accuses the lawyers of breach of fiduciary duty, negligent representation, legal malpractice, and fraudulent concealment.
The lawsuit also seeks exemplary damages from the lawyers alleging that their actions were “grossly negligent, reckless, wanton and culpable conduct and in utter indifference to the rights” of Castellanos-Duran.
Attorney Troy Brown represents Castellanos-Duran in this case. Brown previously represented Max Grossman in his case against attorney Angelica Carreon-Beltran who was ordered by the court to stop representing Grossman’s former partner. Grossman accused the attorney of violating his attorney-client confidentiality. On October 22, 2025, the court disqualified Carreon-Beltran.
No trial date has been set for this lawsuit. We will continue to follow this case and bring you updates as they become available.