Biography
Sam Crecelius is senior counsel in the Dallas office of Cokinos | Young. Sam’s practice focuses on insurance coverage and risk management, particularly representing clients in all phases of insurance coverage and contractual risk transfer disputes, fighting to secure the insurance coverage and indemnity his clients paid for. Sam is a decorated United States Army combat veteran, having served in Iraq from 2006 to 2007. Sam knows the value of hard work, discipline, and perseverance in the face of adversity, and he leverages his real-world experience for each client to obtain a favorable outcome. Sam has been married to his wife for 18 years. They have two sons, ages 17 and 10.
Education
- Texas A&M University School of Law – J.D., summa cum laude, 2017
- University of Dallas – B.A., 2002
Recognitions & Distinctions
- Recognized in Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch® in America for Commercial Litigation, Construction Law, and Insurance Law (2024–2026)
Representative Experience
- Obtained favorable appraisal award for homeowner clients against their insurance carrier, with a net recovery by the clients of nearly $6 million, in addition to the recovery of attorneys’ fees and statutory interest on the claim amount.
- Secured insurance coverage for oilfield operator client’s additional insurer on $9.5 million mediated settlement in dispute over the application of a pollution exclusion to bodily injury claims resulting from jobsite explosion.
- Obtained funding from client’s personal lines and excess insurance carriers for $5 million settlement of wrongful death claims.
- Secured insurance coverage for energy-asset owner/operator client’s defense against Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) action seeking $40 million in damages.
- Contributed to principal Patrick Wielinski’s 6th Edition of Insurance for Defective Construction, a renowned national treatise on commercial general liability insurance in construction defect litigation.
- Recovered client’s incurred defense costs as part of a favorable settlement with insurance carrier for bodily injury and wrongful death claims related to client’s oilfield pressure control services.
- Secured $8.9 million from general contractor client’s liability carriers to settle claim against client for water damage from allegedly defective work.
- Obtained $1.1 million settlement for property developer client from insurance carriers for general contractor and subcontractors for defective construction claims relating to client’s commercial property development.
- Secured $1.25 million settlement for commercial property owner following mediation of disputed coverage for copper theft.
- In numerous other cases, Sam has secured a liability defense for clients whose carriers disputed coverage for a lawsuit, saving the client defense costs that can approach six figures or more in each case.
Publications
- “Order from the Courts: A Uniform Approach Begins to Emerge on the Texas Anti-Indemnity Act’s Effect on an Additional Insurer’s Duty to Defend,” Construction News, December 2025
- “Texas Negligence Case Holds Lessons for Construction Cos.,” Law 360, August 26, 2021
Memberships & Affiliations
- American Bar Association: Forum on Construction Law
- State Bar of Texas
- Insurance Law Section
- Construction Law Section
- Dallas Bar Association
- Construction Law Section
- Tort & Insurance Practices Section
- Dallas Association of Young Lawyers
- Member, Texas Bar College
Admissions
- State Bar of Texas
- United States District Courts: Northern, Eastern, Southern, and Western Districts of Texas
- United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit