Our Attorneys

• Won a defense victory at trial in a $205 million breach of contact claim brought by an upstream natural gas company against the client, a pipeline company, in a dispute over the parties’ gas gathering agreement. After a full trial to the court on the merits, the court awarded the plaintiff $1 out of its $205 million claim. (Antero Resources Corp. v. Stonewall Gas Gathering)
• Obtained $44 million jury verdict for two upstream energy companies asserting trespass claims against a midstream entity for its injection of natural gas waste products into the subsurface. (SilverBow Resources Operating LLC et al. v. ETC Field Services LLC et al.)
• Prevailed at trial and defeated a permanent injunction application seeking to shut down the client's 200-mile chemical pipeline responsible for hundreds of millions of dollars of annual revenue. (Express H20 v Westlake Chemical)
• Won a $28 million dollar jury verdict for the Port of Houston in a commercial property dispute with an international grain trader. (Port of Houston vs. Louis Dreyfus Company)
• Achieved a $62 million win at trial for the plaintiff in a commercial lending dispute, defeating a slew of defenses raised by the defendant under the parties’ loan documents, at common law, and in equity. (Virage GPV 1 LLC et al. v. Plezia & Associates, et al)
• Obtained a defense verdict for a Houston petrochemical company in a two-week $10 million trademark infringement jury trial. Todd also convinced the jury to invalidate the trademark on which the plaintiff had sued the client. (Sentinel Integrity Solutions, Inc. v. MISTRAS Group, Inc.)
• Won a defense victory after a four-week $50 million misappropriation of trade secrets jury trial. (MB Industries, LLC et al. vs. Hunter Buildings & Manufacturing, LLC et al.)
• Defeated at trial claims of roughly $15 million for a refiner sued for fraud, trade secret misappropriation, and breach of contract related to a fuel sales contract, and prevailed on the client’s counterclaim also. (Penthol, LLC v. Vertex Energy Operating, LLC.) Two months later won a second trial and obtained a complete defense victory for the same client facing multimillion dollar claims of fraud and breach of contract related to a marine fuel supply contract. (Martin Energy Services LLC v. Vertex Refining Alabama LLC)
• Obtained $82 million in damages and declaratory relief on summary judgment in a secured transaction dispute. (Virage SPV 1 LLC v. Bailey et al)
• Defended an oilfield services company in a patent infringement matter and achieved a walkaway settlement where the plaintiff sought over $50 million in damages. (Sandbox Logistics, LLC et al. v. Proppant Express et al.)
• Successfully defended a family of oilfield services companies in a trade secret matter where, after eliminating nearly the entirety of the plaintiff’s claim through pretrial motions, obtained a settlement of less than one percent of the plaintiff’s alleged damages.  (Harris et al v. Proppant Express Investments et al.)
• Obtained a defense verdict in a two-week trial for a pipeline company sued for over $10 million dollars for breach of a shipping contract. (Sun Coast Resources, Inc. v. Plains Marketing, LP)
• Won a jury verdict for an industrial gas company in a three-week multimillion dollar fraud and breach of contract trial. The jury rejected the plaintiffs’ claims, awarded the client millions of dollars on its counterclaims, and the Court issued a permanent injunction against the plaintiff. (Air Liquide Large Industries U.S. LP v. NRM Investments, Inc. et al.)
• Achieved a defense victory for a fuel supplier in a one-week trial where the plaintiff alleged AZA’s client owed millions of dollars for breaching multiple purchase contracts. (Trafigura v. Texas Fueling Systems)
• Lead trial counsel in a $100 million trade misappropriation lawsuit for the plaintiff, an international EPCI company. The case settled on confidential terms after a week of pretrial proceedings and the day before jury selection. (FMC Technologies, Inc. vs McDermott et al.)
• Won a bench trial and obtained an injunction against a competing drilling company that shut down the competitor’s manufacture of infringing technology. (Conroe Machine, LLC, et al v. C&J Spec-Rent Services, Inc.)
• Achieved a walk-away settlement for a Houston-based midstream company in a $100 million breach of contract lawsuit related to an offshore pipeline system. (Tennessee Gas Pipeline Company v. Columbia Gas Transmission)
• Achieved a plaintiff’s verdict against a media outlet in a two-week trial that included $1 million in punitive damages. The verdict represents one of the largest defamation verdicts against a media company in Texas history. (Brady v. Fort Bend Star)
• Won a plaintiff’s verdict in a four-week trial relating to the negligent manufacture of components for a start-up aftermarket automobile technology company. (Innovative Truck Storage, Inc. v. Airshield, Inc.)
• Successfully defended an international energy services provider in a $50 million earnout dispute. (Hudson et al. v. Weatherford Holdings et al.)
• Currently lead counsel for secured creditors pursuing claims for over $500 million in multiple state, federal, and bankruptcy courts.

• Won a defense verdict in a two-week jury trial against a financial institution in a property ownership dispute. Todd took over the case from prior counsel shortly before trial. (Frankel v. Wells Fargo Bank, N.A.)
• Prevailed at trial and won defense verdict in a three-week jury trial for a downtown Houston hotel in a real estate battle. The jury rejected the plaintiffs’ claims for millions in damages and awarded the client its full damages and punitive damages as well. (Al Mamounia, Inc. v. Lusk Properties, Inc et al.)
• Obtained a $30 million judgment for an international terminal company related to the construction of a subsea pipeline in the Caribbean. (NuStar Terminals, N.V. v. REDS Caribbean Limited et al.)
• Obtained a dismissal of a bet-the-company real estate lawsuit that included issues of first impression under a new Texas law on contracts for deed. (Najera v. Millennium Interests, Ltd. et al.)
• Defended a national pipeline company where the general contractor alleged the client owed it more than $20 million.  The case settled for less than two percent of the plaintiff’s demand. (Prairie Contractors, Inc. v. Plains All American Pipeline)
• Won a complete defense victory at trial in a fraud, breach of fiduciary duty, and breach of contract dispute related to the ownership of an investment property. (Prasad v Bahadur et al).

• Obtained a defense verdict for the Chief Financial Officer of a publicly traded company in a two-week breach of fiduciary duty trial. (Malallah v. Noble Logistic Services, Inc.)
• Achieved a plaintiff’s verdict for an executive of a seismic equipment manufacturer. The verdict was the second-largest employment verdict in Texas that year. (Watkins v. Input/Output, Inc.)
• Won a bench trial for an EPCI company defending against a competitor’s non-compete and trade secret action. (Cameron International Corp. v. Abbiss and FMC Technologies Singapore PTE, Ltd.)
• Won a plaintiff’s verdict against a Houston physician’s group for engaging in disability discrimination against a practice member. (King v. Anesthesia Specialists of Houston)
• Prevailed in a collective action arbitration on behalf of Houston Police Department officers against their union and the department itself arising out of the parties’ collective bargaining agreement. (Longworth et al. v. City of Houston et al.)
• Defeated a California wage and hour class action on summary judgment. (Bacerra-Mata v. PSC Industrial Outsourcing L.P.)
• Won dismissal of a New Jersey prevailing wage class action. (Taveras v. PSC Industrial Outsourcing, L.P.)
• Obtained dismissal of a False Claims Act lawsuit against a Houston-based medical group. (Whitney v. Altus Hospice Management, L.P.)
• Achieved a settlement of one-tenth of one percent of the alleged class damages in a national overtime collective action for an international subsea and surface drilling company. Then, defeated a FLSA collective action lawsuit for the same client on summary judgment (Moten v. FMC Technologies, Inc.; Hebert v. FMC Technologies, Inc.)
• Won numerous other bench trials and obtained injunctive relief or defeated injunctive relief applications arising out of restrictive covenants across several industries.

• Successfully defended an international chemical company following a Harris County refinery chemical release, by achieving complete dismissal of catastrophic injury claims asserted by over fifty workers, on statutory immunity grounds.  (In Re MDL July 27 Chemical Release)
• Defended Chevron in multidistrict Winter Storm Uri litigation which resulted in the complete dismissal of all the plaintiffs’ claims. (Bunkley et al v. Centerpoint Energy, Inc. et al; Johnson v Centerpoint Energy, Inc et al.)
• Obtained summary judgment on a wrongful death claim for an energy major relating to a fatality at an offshore drilling platform. (Aguilera v. Chevron U.S.A. Inc. et al.)
• Obtained a defense verdict for a drug provider alleged to have caused the plaintiff permanent injuries. (Ho v. Eckerd Corporation et al.)
• Achieved a defense verdict for a medical group in a malpractice trial in which the parents of the child patient alleged severe and long-term injuries. (Manning v. Angulo et al.)
• Defended an international specialty gas company before OSHA relating to a plant explosion that resulted in catastrophic injuries and death. After a six-month investigation, OSHA did not issue the client a single citation. (In re Air Liquide USA, LLC Chemical Explosion)
• Obtained summary judgment for an industrial equipment supplier in a catastrophic burn injury case. (Mutin v. Genuine Parts Company)
• Defeated a Louisiana wrongful death refinery accident case on summary judgment. (Marshall v. Phillips 66 Company et al.)

• Defended an energy major in an environmental contamination matter where the plaintiff sought over $500 million for over 100 allegedly leaking legacy wells. After AZA defeated a temporary injunction application and numerous liability and damages theories through defense motions, the case settled on confidential terms. (Watt v. Chevron U.S.A. Inc et al.)
• Defended a midstream energy company in a $100 million contamination suit brought by the State of New Jersey. The State released the client for less than one percent of its alleged damages. (New Jersey Dept. of Environmental Protection et al. v. NuStar Energy et al.)
• Defended the same company in a $50 million MTBE contamination suit against the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. After seven years of litigation, the Commonwealth released the client for two percent of its damage model. (Commonwealth of Pennsylvania v. NuStar Energy)
• Defended a downstream energy company in a $100 million contamination suit. Residents of a Montana city accused the client, along with several other defendants, of polluting the city’s water supply over several decades. The client contributed less than two percent of the settlement payment with no ongoing remediation obligations. (Sundquist et al. v. Ashland et al.)
• Achieved a walk-away settlement for a midstream company in a $30 million indemnity dispute relating to wetlands contamination. (BP Oil Pipeline Company et al. v. Plains All American Pipeline et al.)
• Represented a major energy company in $25 million Louisiana groundwater contamination case brought by local landowners. After several years of litigation, the plaintiffs dropped the case with the client paying nothing. (Cecil Clark, et al. v. Exxon Mobil Corp. et al.)
• Obtained summary judgment on a False Claims Act case alleging illegal releases of pollutants brought by the former employee of an offshore platform operator. (Peres v. Greystar Corporation)
• Represented Harris County in a lawsuit against downstream energy companies that resulted in historic fines and groundbreaking concessions requiring that Harris County receive notice of pollution events (Harris County, Texas v. Shell Energy et al.)

• Successfully represented a Texas man prosecuted for capital murder. Prior to this trial, the district attorney’s office had a 75-0 record in capital murder trials. After the week-long trial, the Court declared a mistrial based on the jury being deadlocked after two days of deliberations.  At the time of the mistrial, the jurors (including the alternate) were split 8-5 in favor of a not guilty verdict.  Following the trial, the State dropped all charges against the client.  (State of Texas v. Johnson)
• Achieved a not guilty verdict for a Texas man falsely accused of continuous abuse of a family member. The client faced a sentence of 25 years to life. (State of Texas v. Smith)
• Obtained a not guilty verdict for a Houston university professor falsely accused of assaulting a female student. (State of Texas vs. Yorke)
• Achieved a not guilty verdict for an employee of a Fortune 100 company prosecuted for engaging in an embezzlement scheme. The client had given three separate confessions to authorities. Todd established the confessions were coerced and false. (State of Texas v. Petrie)
• Won a jury verdict for the mother of a minor child in a two-week child custody jury trial.  The Court-appointed ad litem attorney representing the minor child, as well as the father of the child, sought to divest the client of custody rights. The client nevertheless prevailed on all issues. Todd stepped into the case ten days before trial. (In re Xochiitil Trejo Whetzel)

Here’s what Todd’s clients told Chambers USA:

“Todd is the top litigator in Texas. He is client-focused and a strong communicator. He is smart about how he conveys information at the right depth I am looking for. Todd is a tenacious litigator. I can turn him on a case and largely forget, and later on, he will update me as needed. It is great working with him.”

“Todd is an incredible trial lawyer.”

“Todd is just hands down the best commercial litigator I have ever dealt with. He is unequalled amongst the other commercial litigators I work with. He does a very good job at simplifying complex issues for judges and juries in a way I have not seen before.”

“Todd is whip smart.”

“He is a very aggressive attorney and he will fight for his clients. He has a brilliant mind and is a brilliant strategist.”

“Todd Mensing’s client service and general level of service is a ten out of ten. Todd’s level of sophistication is a ten out of ten. His commercial vision is a ten out of ten. He is a superior lawyer with great responsiveness and a commercial mind.”

“Todd’s judgment is consistently sound, which is key in litigation matters where emotions are high and you need a clear head. Even when I don’t want to hear the answer, he still has a way of keeping me grounded. He operates from a logical standpoint and is unbeatable in my mind.”

“Todd is incredibly sharp and aggressive. I completely trust his judgment.”

“I have received an incredible service from him. He is a great trial lawyer.”

“I go to Todd Mensing with critical pieces of litigation. I would pick Todd as my first call.”

“I have to say Todd provides superb service. He is always very attentive to the matter, communicates extremely well and has achieved excellent results. I cannot recommend him highly enough.”

“Todd is a very skilled trial lawyer and understood our business and the facts of the case. We got a great outcome.”

“Todd is a razor-sharp strategist. He’s intuitive, decisive, and driven to win, but he’s also able to pivot easily as a case develops or as client needs shift. He has an imposing presence backed up by a keen intellect, but also has a thoughtful and inclusive attitude which brings out the best in the people working with him. He is an incredibly talented, intuitive and hardworking lawyer, and he wins. He is my first choice for any critical case.”

“Todd is excellent. He has tremendous legal acumen and judgment. He is incredibly effective at getting things done and at making the right decisions at the correct time. Todd narrows down the right arguments to be most effective.”

“He led a trial team that reached a very favorable verdict for us. He displayed a calm demeanor under pressure and was able to quickly adjust his team to some unexpected challenges during the trial.”

“Todd Mensing is a phenomenal attorney. He is a fierce litigator, understanding all the ins and outs of litigation.”

“Todd is a superior lawyer with great responsiveness and a commercial mind.”

“Todd is very strategic with a good ability to evaluate very complex litigation and put it into a good story and a good narrative that is understandable to anybody. He has extensive actual trial experience. He’s very good at knowing what judges and juries will find appealing.”

“Todd Mensing is tenacious. He is exceedingly hard-working and a very impressive lawyer.”

“Todd is an aggressive lawyer who will listen and work to the outcome we want. He’s not afraid of trial and is willing to push through a trial if it makes sense.”

“Todd is extremely on top of things which is appealing to us. We need someone representing us who is cutting edge and on top of their game.”

• Stanford University (A.B., with Honors, 1994)
• University of Texas School of Law (J.D., with Honors, Order of the Coif, 1999)