Representative Experience Includes:

• Represented royalty interest holders in a fixed-versus-floating royalty dispute involving the proper construction of a 1933 oil and gas royalty deed containing a double-fraction clause, in which the operator sought to overturn 85 years of consistent payments calculated on a fixed 1/32 royalty. The Texas Supreme Court ruled in the clients’ favor, reversing the court of appeals’ adoption of a floating royalty construction and remanding for further consideration of the presumed-grant doctrine.
• Represented large West Texas ranch in various lawsuits seeking to enforce terms of oil and gas leases and surface use agreements against various operators in the Permian Basin.
• Obtained a judgment of $7.6 million following a bench trial on behalf of an international energy trading company in a contract dispute with a Houston Ship Channel terminal operator. The trial court found that the terminal operator breached the agreement by failing to provide contracted dock access and by instituting an unauthorized preference fee structure.
• Represented an oil and gas exploration and production company in a dispute concerning the unlawful drainage of a common reservoir in the Outer Continental Shelf.
• Represented a Fortune 100 midstream company in an arbitration proceeding concerning termination rights of various agreements involving a natural gas pipeline and gas processing plant.
• Represented numerous royalty owners against an oil and gas operator, asserting that the operator improperly deducted post-production expenses from royalty payments in violation of the add-back provisions in the governing oil and gas leases.

• Represented an individual plaintiff in a partnership dispute against her former business partners and their affiliated entities, asserting claims for breach of the partnership agreement, wrongful exclusion from the partnership, and fraud by omission. Following trial in Harris County District Court, the jury found in favor of the client on each of her claims, awarding over $6 million in damages. The judgment was affirmed by the Houston Fourteenth Court of Appeals.
• Represented a physician, both individually and derivatively on behalf of his medical practice, in a business-divorce dispute against his two physician-partners and their jointly-owned urology practice. Following a two-week jury trial in Montgomery County, Texas, the jury returned a verdict in favor of the client on his claims for breach of contract and breach of fiduciary duty, awarding millions of dollars in damages.
• Obtained jury verdict in favor of an individual client in a breach of contract dispute with an automobile franchise. After deliberating for less than one hour, the jury awarded full damages on the client’s breach of contract claim and attorney’s fees.
• Obtained jury verdict in a partnership dispute involving a textile business, where a former employee claimed to be a partner seeking a one-half share of the business and damages in excess of $10 million. After a three-week trial, the jury returned a verdict in favor of the client, rejecting all of the plaintiff’s claims and finding in favor of the client on its counterclaims.
• Obtained a jury verdict on behalf of Hewlett Packard in a lawsuit involving a breach of contract claim against an electrical service provider.

• Defended an Am Law 100 law firm in a case involving allegations of malpractice in connection with patent prosecution. Following a three-week jury trial, the trial court entered a take-nothing judgment in favor of the client, which was affirmed on appeal by the Dallas Court of Appeals.
• Defended AmLaw 100 firm in a case alleging malpractice arising out of an alleged drafting error of agreement between shareholders of a large privately held business.  After the conclusion of a three-week trial, the case settled on confidential terms.
• Defended a leading international insurance brokerage firm in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas against claims by a Texas public school district seeking in excess of $14 million in actual damages arising out of Hurricane Harvey property damage. The court granted the brokerage’s motion to dismiss in its entirety
• Successfully defended a prominent plaintiff’s lawyer at trial against accusations of improperly deducting expenses from a large, mass-tort settlement. After a two-week trial, the jury returned a verdict dismissing all of the plaintiffs’ claims. The jury verdict was affirmed by the Houston Fourteenth Court of Appeals.

• Defended one of the nation’s largest real estate brokerage firms in an arbitration proceeding involving breach of fiduciary duty, fraud, and negligent misrepresentation claims. After a three-day hearing, the Arbitrator found no liability and awarded a take-nothing judgment dismissing all claims.
• Obtained summary judgment on behalf of a New York-based mortgage securities company in an arbitration where a large group of plaintiffs brought fraud, deceptive trade practices, and negligence claims arising out of real estate purchases, seeking in excess of $100 million. The arbitrator dismissed all claims with prejudice.

• Secured take-nothing summary judgment on behalf of a large airline company in a case where the plaintiff alleged the airline breached its contract of carriage. On appeal, the judgment was affirmed in all respects. Served as lead counsel in both the trial court and appellate proceedings.
• Successfully defended a major airline company in a class action dispute where the putative class was seeking tens of millions of dollars in alleged damages for fuel surcharges. Following the filing of a motion to dismiss, the plaintiffs dropped their claims.

• Represented an international chemicals company in a trade secrets dispute involving a method for manufacturing polyethylene.
• Defended a Canadian telecommunications and wireless equipment company in a patent infringement dispute concerning sixteen patents related to smartphones.

• Secured take-nothing summary judgment on behalf of a large financial institution in a dispute where the plaintiff was seeking damages in excess of $20 million for alleged wrongdoing involving the sale of auction rate securities.

Professional Activities & Community

• Board of Trustees, The Fay School
• Fellow, Texas Bar Foundation
• Houston Bar Association

• State Bar of Texas
• U.S. Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit
• U.S. District Court, Southern, Western, Northern and Eastern Districts of Texas

• J.D., cum laude, Baylor Law School
  • Senior Executive Editor, Baylor Law Review
  • Leon Jaworski Scholar for Outstanding Advocates
• B.A., with honors, University of Texas at Austin

• Friend or Foe?: Responsible Third Parties and Leading Questions, 60 Baylor Law Review 261 (Winter 2008)
• Co-Author and Speaker,Co-Author and Speaker, Rulings and Trends: A Case Law Update on the Energy Industry, 76th Annual Energy Law Conference, Institute for Energy Law, The Center for American and International Law, Houston, Texas, February 2025
• Speaker, Damages Update, presented at the Texas Bar CLE on Advanced Evidence and Discovery, 2009
• Contributing Author, Sanctions and Ethical Obligations in E-Discovery, University of Texas Technology Law Conference, 2009
• Speaker, Is Your Company’s Non-Compete Clause Enforceable?, Houston Material Handling Society, 2011

• Chambers Spotlight Texas guide, Houston, Commercial Litigation — 2026
• Texas Super Lawyer, Thomson Reuters, Business Litigation — 2020-2025
• Texas Rising Star, Thomson Reuters, Business Litigation — 2014-2019