Concentration

Summary

Representative Engagements

• Represented foreign energy company in obtaining dismissal of a multibillion-dollar lawsuit for lack of personal jurisdiction (Moncrief Oil Int’l v. OAO Gazprom, 481 F.3d 309 (5th Cir. 2007)) (briefed and argued)
• Represented investment bank in obtaining reversal of billion-dollar jury verdict in securities-fraud case. (Morgan Stanley & Co. v. Coleman (Parent) Holdings Inc., 955 So. 2d 1124 (Fla. App. 2007))
• Successfully represented domestic energy company in ERISA stock-drop class action presenting issues of first impression in the Fifth Circuit. (Kirschbaum v. Reliant Energy, Inc., 526 F.3d 243 (5th Cir. 2008)
• Assisted in persuading Second Circuit to reverse injunction against Remote Storage DVR under various provisions of Copyright Act and in persuading Supreme Court to deny certiorari (Cartoon Network LP v. CSC Holdings, Inc., 536 F.3d 121 (2d Cir. 2008), cert. denied, 129 S.Ct. 2890 (2009))
• Persuaded Fifth Circuit to reverse bench-trial verdict in a fiduciary-duty case relating to oil and gas leases. (Fisher v. Miocene Oil & Gas Ltd.,335 Fed App’x 483 (5th Cir. 2009)) (briefed and argued)
• Successfully opposed U.S. Solicitor General’s petition for certiorari in case involving method for calculation of estate tax on stock in closely-held companies (Comm’r v. Estate of Jelke, 129 S.Ct. 168 (2008))
• Persuaded Ninth Circuit to reject United States’ interlocutory appeal of key evidentiary ruling in criminal prosecution against domestic energy company, resulting in ultimate dismissal of all charges on favorable terms (United States v. Reliant Energy Servs., Inc., 188 Fed. App’x 629 (9th Cir. 2006))
• Successfully represented maker of nutritional supplements in the Fifth Circuit against claims of age discrimination by a company executive (White v. Omega Protein Corp., 226 Fed. App’x 360 (5th Cir. 2007)) (briefed and argued)
• Persuaded Fifth Circuit to affirm dismissal of $200 million civil RICO and state-law claims against Canadian energy company on collateral-estoppel and limitations grounds (DeShazo v. Nations Energy Co. Ltd., 286 Fed. App’x 110 (5th Cir. 2008))
• Represented bank in successful motion for rehearing persuading Corpus Christi Court of Appeals to affirm summary judgment in case involving Texas statute governing corporate fiduciaries. (Wood v. Victoria Bank & Trust Co., 170 S.W.3d 885 (Tex. App.─Corpus Christi 2005, pet. denied)
• Obtained affirmance of summary judgment in favor of large pharmaceutical company in Fifth Circuit appeal involving federal and state product-liability claims (Sanchez v. Abbott Labs., Inc., 134 Fed. App’x 654 (5th Cir. 2005))
• Represented white-collar criminal defendants in Fourth Circuit appeal of bank fraud convictions (United States v. Agnew, 147 Fed. App’x 347 (4th Cir. 2005)) (briefed and argued)
• Obtained dismissal of former CIA operative’s constitutional claims against senior Executive Branch official. (Wilson v. Libby, 498 F.Supp.2d 74 (D.D.C. 2007))
• Drafted numerous amicus briefs on behalf of corporate and nonprofit clients in various courts of appeals and the U.S. Supreme Court.

Publications, Speeches and Presentations

• "Can Privilege Rulings Be Immediately Appealed?" National Law Journal, February 27, 2006 

• "The Supreme Court of Texas: A Balanced Court," Federalist Society for Law & Public Policy, 2008

• "An Educated Observer’s Guide to the Sotomayor Confirmation Hearings," (with Jeff Oldham) Houston Bar Association Appellate Section, Houston, July 2009; University of Houston Law School (with Jeff Oldham), October 2009 
• "U.S. Supreme Court’s 2008 Term in Review," Moderator, Houston Federalist Society, Houston, July 2009; Panelist, University of Texas School of Law, Austin, September 2009   
• "How to Draft a Cert Petition and Brief in Opposition," Panelist, TexasBar Bill of Rights CLE Course, Houston, May 2009 
• "The Supreme Court’s Decision in Boumediene v. Bush," Panelist, Ave Maria School of Law, Ann Arbor, April 2009
• "The Debate Over Federal Preemption," Panelist, University of Texas School of Law, Austin, Februrary 2009
• "The Upcoming Term of the Texas Supreme Court," Panelist, Dallas Federalist Society, Dallas, October 2008
• "New Media and the Courts," Panel Moderator, University of Arizona’s Rehnquist Center for Constitutional Structures, Tucson, September, 2008
• "U.S. Supreme Court’s 2007 Term in Review," Thomas Cooley Law School, Lansing, April 2008; Fund for American Studies’ Legal Studies Institute, Washington DC, June 2008
• "The Legacy of Chief Justice Rehnquist," Texas Tech University Law School, Lubbock, November 2007
• "The 2006 Term and the Future of the Roberts Court," Fund for American Studies’ Legal Studies Institute, Washington DC, July 2007; St. Mary’s Law School, San Antonio, September 2007
• "U.S. Supreme Court’s 2006 Term in Review," Panelist, Houston Federalist Society, Houston, June 2007; University of Texas Law School, Austin, August 2007
• "What to Expect From the Roberts Court," Baylor Law School, Waco, April 2007; University of Georgia Law School, Athens, April 2007
• "Separation-of-Powers Tug of War in the Supreme Court’s Terrorism Cases," Georgia State University Law School, Atlanta, April 2007
• "Chief Justice Rehnquist Remembered," Guest Host, Online Discussion, www.washingtonpost.com, September, 2005