The right approach to litigation
For more than 60 years, Cox Smith has represented the business community in state and federal courts throughout Texas, and more recently, in arbitration proceedings and in other forms of alternative dispute resolution. In any controversy, we try to reach a solution that makes business sense – including trying the case to verdict and handling the appeal. We are known in courthouses around the state and are not reluctant to pursue aggressive trial strategies.

Our group of more than 30 litigators is frequently recognized by industry and other awards. We are nominated for these rankings by clients and peers, and a number of our lawyers are Board Certified in Civil Trial Law and Civil Appeals Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization. This depth of litigation skill means we can help you evaluate your dispute and outline a cost effective strategy to help you manage your risk.

We help the client analyze the risk to both parties in the lawsuit, to develop a negotiation strategy and analyze the “zone of agreement” possible between the parties. Our litigators prepare for mediation or settlement conferences with the same careful attention to detail we give to trials – because we define “winning” as reaching the best results as efficiently as possible. We provide clients with appellate representation from entry of judgment through briefing and argument in federal and state appellate courts.

Contract disputes
We work directly with the senior management and in-house counsel of public and private companies to help enforce their agreements. We analyze complex business documents and understand the “art of the deal.” We help clients work through ambiguities and disputes to obtain the intended business result.

Business torts
While contracts and statutes may seem to control business matters, often common law “torts” may add requirements and potential liability to a business transaction. We help clients navigate around claims of tortuous interference with contract, negligence, negligent misrepresentation, bad faith, breach of fiduciary duty, fraud, conspiracy, aiding and abetting, libel, slander, business disparagement, theft of trade secrets, and infringement of intellectual property rights, just to name a few.

Unfair business practices
Cox Smith litigation lawyers are recognized by some of the most prestigious legal organizations in the country for their work in antitrust law. We advise clients on the antitrust litigation implications of all aspects of their business decisions involving acquisitions, contracts and sales agreements, distribution arrangements, marketing strategies and pricing. In addition, Cox Smith lawyers have significant experience in defending and prosecuting claims under RICO, the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act, trade secrets and covenant not to compete laws and other statutory and common law claims.

ENERGY / REAL PROPERTY LITIGATION

Energy litigation
We represent our clients in virtually any dispute that arises during the normal course of energy company operations. Our familiarity with the energy industry enables us to try, settle, arbitrate or mediate controversies aggressively and efficiently, including those that involve:

• Lease termination
• Disputes with royalty and working interest owners
• Oilfield service and other operating contracts
• Trespass and surface damage disputes
• Gross negligence claims
• Debt offset issues

Because we understand our clients’ business we can often help devise creative business transactions that resolve an acrimonious situation by helping the parties work together as partners.

Condemnation
Our lawyers know how to resolve disputes over land use rights, thanks to our substantial knowledge of administrative condemnation proceedings and our working relationships with the appointed commissioners in many Texas counties. Our sound, sensible approach helps get projects done, as we use thorough knowledge of administrative condemnation procedures to formulate solutions that both landowners and municipal authorities can agree on.

An important part of our public law work is representing public utility clients in land use issues, particularly eminent domain and right of way disputes. Cox Smith also represents upstream oil and gas operations in their disputes with investors and landowners, although we also represent midstream and downstream companies. Finally, we counsel landowners in easement disputes and lease disputes, and purchase and sale rights for water.

Real Estate/Construction/Ad Valorem
Real Estate Disputes. A big part of doing business involves real property. Our litigation attorneys help clients in a variety of disputes involving real estate, including lending transactions, partition of ranches, easements, real property and mineral leases and ad valorem taxes.

Construction. Because of their complexity, even the best-planned construction projects can require dispute resolution upon completion. Cox Smith lawyers regularly litigate, mediate and arbitrate claims over cost, design and project management. Players in the industry turn to us for representation – owners, general contractors, subcontractors, material suppliers, and manufacturers – spanning projects from large residential properties, commercial shopping centers, schools, office buildings, hotels and industrial manufacturing plants.

These disputes typically involve multiple parties and are highly fact-intensive, and we use our industry knowledge to efficiently resolve problems in ways that control expenses and time for our clients.

Ad Valorem Disputes. Cox Smith represents and assists business property owners, managers and fiduciaries, tax consultants, appraisers and other tax professional and property owners in appraisal disputes involving real estate and business personal property. We handle ad valorem tax matters throughout the state, and our areas of representation include property valuation, disputes over equal and uniform taxation, charitable, religious and other exemption issues; and special-use valuation (including agricultural special-use open space value for grazing, farming, timber production, conservation easements and wildlife management). Our goal is to establish a fair valuation for our clients’ property if the proposed valuation seems out of line with current market value.

FINANCIAL SERVICES

Cox Smith represents lenders, borrowers, insurers, insureds, brokers, investors, fiduciaries, beneficiaries and professionals in a wide variety of litigation and arbitration. We have the support of experienced estate planning and tax attorneys and use analysis of the tax code to find creative and cost effective solutions to disputes.

Financial institutions
Cox Smith lawyers take an aggressive approach to cases. We understand that getting to the courthouse quickly and prosecuting the case aggressively often increases the likelihood of recovery. At the same time, our litigators are also business-minded lawyers. We take a practical approach to handling cases. We analyze cases in the early stages to help the client determine the cost effectiveness of litigation and structure a course of action to meet the clients’ objectives. We maximize the use of technology to efficiently create and manage documents and staff cases efficiently.

Our banking litigation lawyers have experience with a wide range of issues involving lending, collection of debts and asset recovery, including:

• Loan collection and avoiding the pitfalls relating to loan collection
• Lender liability claims
• Bank fraud
• Check kites
• Lending limits
• Inter-bank disputes, such as priorities questions
• Bank deposit, payment, certificate of deposit and letter of credit matters
• Electronic funds transfers
• Investment of overnight funds
• Lien validity on real and personal property
• Residential and business homestead claims
• Unfair trade practices
• Loan practices, forged checks and endorsements and other issues under Articles 3 and 4 of the UCC
• Issues regarding various types of accounts (single party, multiple party, trust accounts, accounts to minors)
• Execution on judgments
• Writs of sequestration
• Writs of attachment
• Writs of garnishment
• Turnover orders
• Injunctions and temporary restraining orders

We also counsel financial institutions on operational issues, such as letters of administration, powers of attorney, trusts, probate and guardianship issues.

Officer and director liability
Our litigation lawyers have advised and represented financial institutions and their officers and directors in director and officer liability claims, civil and criminal investigations involving the FDIC, Office of the Comptroller, Justice Department, Office of Thrift Supervision and Texas State Attorney General’s Office. We also have experience counseling and defending officers of financial institutions against claims for breach of fiduciary and bad faith.

Fiduciary litigation
Trust officers, executors, administrators, guardians, beneficiaries, officers and directors, partners, investment advisors, ERISA fiduciaries and other professionals have long trusted Cox Smith litigation lawyers to advise them and protect their rights in disputes involving fiduciary obligations. Cox Smith litigation lawyers help fiduciaries understand and fulfill their unique obligations and aggressively represent them in lawsuits. Our litigators have the support of tax lawyers, estate planners, corporate lawyers and energy lawyers to formulate creative solutions to complex problems.

Securities
We represent issuers, broker-dealer firms and individuals in private securities fraud litigation, including extensive involvement in class actions and in arbitration proceedings before the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (formerly the NYSE and NASD).

Insurance
Cox Smith defends a number of the country’s largest insurance carriers in litigation involving coverage disputes and bad faith claims. Cox Smith also represents business policyholders on defense and coverage. In addition to counseling insurance carriers and policyholders, we have represented insurance brokers, agents, third party administrators and adjusters in similar disputes and lawsuits. This comprehensive representation of key players in the insurance industry also enables us to better assist our business and individual clients who have questions or disputes about their insurance coverage, particularly in the areas of liability coverage, employee benefits and workers’ compensation. Because we have a practical understanding of the interests in all sides of insurance disputes, we are often able to provide counseling and representation on virtually all aspects of insurance needs.

Services to insurance carriers
Fraud Litigation. We represent insurance companies and affiliated agents in fraud claims based on alleged misrepresentations in sales of insurance products and securities, including annuity products. Our work in this area also includes defending insurers facing individual and class action lawsuits alleging omissions or misrepresentations of premium charges and service charges for life insurance products.

Coverage Litigation. We defend national insurers in a broad range of coverage-related controversies, including “bad faith” claims and other litigation over policy coverage and terms. When these disputes arise, we litigate both first-party and third-party claims.

Class Action Litigation. Our defense of insurance companies in class action lawsuits involves disputes over alleged misrepresentation/omissions of premium and service charges for life insurance products, as well as ERISA class action lawsuits alleging improper calculation of benefits and improper offsets of other income benefits.

Services to insureds
Employee Benefits. Insureds and third-party administrators have engaged us as counsel in numerous lawsuits against their Insurers involving alleged improper claims handling, improper denial of benefits, breach of fiduciary duty, and discrimination claims under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA).

Workers’ Compensation. Our firm has prosecuted claims for alleged premium fraud in workers compensation programs.

Coverage. We counsel and represent insureds in policy placement and coverage disputes involving property and casualty, life and accident, employer liability, commercial liability, and professional liability directors and officer’s liability policies.

Services to agents and brokers
Litigation. Our lawyers represent individual insurance agents, brokers, and brokerage agencies in client claims resulting from the sales of life and health insurance, property and casualty insurance, or annuities and other insurance products. Many of the cases that we handle require us to resolve allegations of misrepresentation, inadequate coverage or product unsuitability.

Regulation. In addition to claims and coverage litigation, we defend brokers and agencies in actions by the Texas Department of Insurance, including defense against allegations that they have violated the Texas Insurance Code or other consumer protection statutes.

HEALTHCARE/IP

Healthcare
Cox Smith litigation lawyers represent a number of clients from the healthcare industry, including public and private hospitals, large physician groups, medical device manufacturers and pharmaceutical companies. Cox Smith’s healthcare litigation practice group has handled a variety of litigation matters for healthcare clients including payer disputes, anti-kickback and Stark, peer review disputes, products liability, medical malpractice and intellectual property.

We undertake healthcare litigation defense as general counsel to hospitals, provider organizations, physicians, suppliers, and healthcare retailers. This includes handling such issues as staff relations contract disputes, patent infringement litigation, bankruptcy and reorganization, and regulatory enforcement actions.

Intellectual Property
Although our goal is always to help clients avoid infringement conflicts, we have full capabilities to defend their interests in Texas state courts and federal courts nationwide. Our experience encompasses all aspects of intellectual property disputes, including infringement of patents, copyrights, trademarks, service marks and trade secrets.

ALTERNATIVE DISPUTE RESOLUTION

The face of litigation continues to evolve. In addition to trials in federal and state courts, clients turn with increasing frequency to alternative methods of resolving disputes. These include mediation, in which the parties to a dispute state their positions before a trained mediator, who uses “shuttle diplomacy” to try to resolve disputes. In addition, more and more agreements include arbitration clauses, whereby parties agree to be bound by the decision of one or more neutral third parties who act like “private judges.”  Cox Smith lawyers handle disputes in all of these forums. Our lawyers have experience in international arbitration as well as national, state and local arbitrations.