Winning a counterclaim isn’t easy, particularly when the iconic Texas cattle industry is the topic at hand.

But Vinson & Elkins partners Jim Reeder and Jason Powers of Houston wrangled a verdict of $23.2 million in actual damages and $1.8 million in exemplary damages for client HeartBrand Beef Inc., a Texas-based cattle company. The counterclaim win came in HeartBrand Beef’s dispute with a Colorado cattle ranch about the sale of a herd of cattle; the breed is called “Akaushi.”