I have represented both plaintiffs and defendants in a wide variety of complex litigation matters, including patent infringement cases, insurance coverage disputes, securities class actions, products liability cases, construction litigation, oil and gas litigation, trademark infringement cases, internal corporate investigations, and appeals.
I have developed special expertise in patent infringement and other technology-related litigation. I have been trial counsel in three patent trials, one of which involved damages claims in excess of $100 million. I also was the primary author of a major Federal Circuit appeal brief on which my client prevailed on all issues. I have taken and defended the depositions of key fact and expert witnesses on technical issues, damages, inequitable conduct, and prosecution history issues and have participated in numerous Markman hearings. My technology litigation experience includes cases involving medical devices, genetic diagnostics, prescription drugs, computer software, computer hardware, highway safety equipment, and video and telecommunications technologies.
I graduated summa cum laude from Harvard College and cum laude from Harvard Law School. Before joining AZA, I worked in the Houston office of Baker Botts L.L.P.
REPRESENTATIVE MATTERS
Below are some of the representative matters that I have worked on during the past five years:
- AMSF v. Halliburton (represented Halliburton in securities class action related to financial reporting of asbestos liabilities and losses on fixed price contracts).
- Coleman Holdings v. Morgan Stanley (represented Morgan Stanley in appeal of $1.58 billion judgment).
- ConocoPhillips v. G. B. Boots Smith (represented ConocoPhillips in dispute with pipeline construction contractor).
- Enron Corp. Savings Plan v. Hewitt Associates (represented benefits plan in litigation concerning misallocation of settlement funds from Enron-related class action).
- Ford Motor Company v. Navistar (represented Ford in contract litigation against main diesel engine supplier for Ford pickup trucks).
- Gammino v. Southwestern Bell (represented Southwestern Bell in patent litigation and appeal involving international call-blocking technology).
- Hercules v. OneBeacon Insurance Company (represented London market entities in insurance coverage dispute involving hundreds of millions of dollars in asbestos liabilities).
- Internal Investigation (represented audit committee of Fortune 500 company in Foreign Corrupt Practices Act investigation involving Middle Eastern and Central Asian operations).
- Kothmann Enterprises v. Trinity Industries (represented Kothmann Enterprises in patent litigation involving roadside safety technology).
- Legacy Academy v. LLC Concepts (represented Legacy Academy in trademark litigation involving daycare centers in Houston and Dallas areas).
- Sky Technologies v. IBM (represented Sky Technologies in patent litigation involving software patents).
- SuperSpeed v. Oracle (represented SuperSpeed in patent litigation involving computer hardware technology).
- Texas Instruments Employment Matters (represented Texas Instruments in ERISA and civil rights cases).
- Texas Vioxx Litigation (represented Merck in cases involving novel products liability legal issues).
- TIP Systems v. AT&T (represented AT&T companies in patent litigation involving inmate telephones).
- Two-Way Media v. AT&T (represented AT&T in patent litigation involving U-Verse system).
RECENT PUBLICATIONS
- "Navigating Hypothetical Negotiations," Managing Intellectual Property, October 2008 (Maria W. Boyce, co-author)
- "The New Presumption of Adequate Warnings in Texas Pharmaceutical Litigation," Texas Bar Journal, July 2006 (Travis J. Sales, co-author)
