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elisabeth butler baker botts houston
elisabeth butler baker botts houston
Elisabeth Butler
Senior Associate
[email protected]
DETAILS
Practices
Appellate and Supreme Court
Energy Litigation
Litigation
Trade Secrets
Details
Overview
Overview Admissions & Affiliations Experience News Thought Leadership
Practices
Appellate and Supreme Court
Energy Litigation
Litigation
Trade Secrets

Overview

Elisabeth Butler is a member of the firm's Appellate Practice Group. Her practice covers a variety of complex commercial matters, including energy litigation, ERISA, trade secrets, and other significant disputes. She represents clients in state and federal courts of appeals, including the United States Supreme Court at the certiorari stage. Elisabeth has argued cases before the United States Courts of Appeals for the Fifth and Ninth Circuits. She also represents clients at the trial level and in arbitration, where her practice focuses on drafting dispositive motions.

Prior to joining Baker Botts, Elisabeth clerked for Chief Judge Priscilla Richman of the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals.

Admissions & Affiliations

  • State Bar of Texas
  • United States Courts of Appeals for the Fifth, Seventh, Ninth and Federal Circuits
  • United States District Courts for the Southern and Western Districts of Texas
  • Houston Bar Association
  • Houston Young Lawyers Association
  • J.D., The University of Texas School of Law 2019
    with high honors
    Chancellors
    Order of the Coif
    Associate Editor, Texas Law Review
    Dean's Achievement Award in Conflict of Laws
  • A.B., Public Policy Studies, University of Chicago 2016
    with general honors

Experience

United States Supreme Court

  • Successfully opposed petition for certiorari in in high-profile intellectual property dispute in which Court called for the views of the Solicitor General (Apple Inc. v. Qualcomm Inc., No. 21-746)
  • Successfully opposed petition for certiorari in church property dispute implicating First Amendment rights (All Saints Episcopal Church (Fort Worth) v. The Episcopal Diocese of Fort Worth, et al., Nos. 20-534 & 20-536)

Federal Appeals

  • Successfully represented intervenor electricity generator, obtaining holding that bankruptcy court erred in entertaining $335 million adversary claim arising out of Winter Storm Uri because court should have deferred to state proceedings under Burford v. Sun Oil Co. (In the Matter of Just Energy Grp., Inc., 57 F.4th 241 (5th Cir. 2023))
  • Served as lead attorney on appeal obtaining reversal of a dismissal of a prisoner’s § 1983 claim that his Fourth Amendment rights were violated by a strip search (Cook v. Horsely, No. 21-10671, 2023 WL 2447448, at *1 (5th Cir. Mar. 10, 2023))

State Appeals

  • Secured affirmance of take-nothing judgment on jury verdict on misappropriation of trade secrets claims (FMC Technologies, Inc. v. Murphy, 679 S.W.3d 788 (Tex. App.—Houston [1st Dist.] 2023, pet. denied))
  • Secured affirmance of $147 million breach of contract award and persuaded Texas Supreme Court to deny review after full briefing on the merits (Targa Channelview LLC v. Vitol Americas Corp., 653 S.W.3d 330 (Tex. App.—Houston [14th Dist.] Sept. 13, 2022, pet. denied))

Trial and Arbitration Matters

  • Drafted pre- and post-hearing briefing in breach of contract dispute arising out of Winter Storm Uri, securing arbitration award entirely in renewable energy client’s favor, including attorneys’ fees
  • Drafted pre- and post-hearing briefing in breach of contract dispute over the recovery by an oil and gas producer of more than $40 million in costs relating to a Gulf of Mexico production platform, securing arbitration award entirely in producer’s favor, including attorneys’ fees
  • Prepared summary judgment briefing for Fortune 500 power generator defending against claims seeking to enforce right of first refusal and block $1.8B asset sale.
  • Secured dismissal of breach of contract and fraud claims relating to an alleged deal for the purchase of alcoholic beverages (ROKiT Drinks LLC v. Landry's Inc., No. 4:22-CV-01551, 2023 WL 6282832, at *1 (S.D. Tex. Sept. 26, 2023))
  • Defeated class certification in putative ERISA class action involving over 4,000 participants (Myers ex rel. Seventy Seven Energy Inc. Ret. & Sav. Plan v. Admin. Comm., Seventy Seven Energy, Inc. Ret. & Sav. Plan, No. CIV-17-200-D, 2021 WL 4471613, at *5 (W.D. Okla. Sept. 29, 2021))