Susman Godfrey

Susman Godfrey L.L.P.
No. of offices 5
No. of attorneys approximately 92
Major practice areas antitrust; arbitration; bankruptcy; business disputes; class action and aggregate litigation; employment law; energy; environmental law; intellectual property; shareholders law; securities
Key people Stephen Susman (Founder and co-managing partner),
Date founded 1980
Company type Limited liability partnership
Website susmangodfrey.com

Susman Godfrey L.L.P. is a law firm founded in Houston, Texas. The firm has been recognized by Vault as the No. 1 boutique litigation law firm in the U.S.[1]

Susman Godfrey employs more than 90 attorneys in five offices throughout the U.S. The firm provides legal solutions in the areas of antitrust; arbitration; bankruptcy; business disputes; class action and aggregate litigation; employment law; energy; environmental law; intellectual property; shareholders law; and securities.[2]

The firm is known for high-stakes commercial litigation and has won some of the largest verdicts in the nation.[3] Nearly all of its attorneys have held federal clerkships.[4]

History

The firm was founded in 1980 by Stephen Susman. Susman developed a business model that was unique at the time to commercial litigation firms – take cases on a contingency fee basis.[5] In 1982, Susman was joined by Lee Godfrey and both serve as co-managing partners.[6] In September 2011, the firm announced Neal Manne as its third co-managing partner as part of Susman Godfrey’s leadership succession plan.[7]

Notable Cases

In 1980, the firm won the largest antitrust verdict ever at the time in the Corrugated Containers case, a price-fixing suit against 37 corrugated container manufacturers. It recovered $500 million on behalf of plaintiffs as a result of settlements and a verdict after a three-month jury trial.[8]

In October 2009, a Dallas County State District Court judge upheld a $182 million verdict in a contracts case against NL Industries, its CEO Harold Simmons and subsidiary NL Environmental Services. Susman Godfrey was co-counsel to clients Efficasey Environmental, Highland Environmental Management and Industrial Recovery Capital Holdings Company.[9]

The firm won a $58 million judgment in Masimo v. Tyco Healthcare Group, an antitrust case involving exclusionary contracting practices in the U.S. market for pulse oximetry products. The trial court upheld the jury's liability findings, but ordered a new trial on damages. After the subsequent re-trial, the trial court awarded Masimo, Susman Godfrey’s client, a final judgment of $43.5 million in damages in June 2007, as well as attorneys' fees. The judgment was affirmed on appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, and Masimo ultimately was awarded $58.9 million by Tyco.

The firm represented a native Alaskan coastal village in Native Village of Kivalina v. ExxonMobil Corporation. In February 2008, Susman Godfrey filed a climate change lawsuit against five oil companies, 14 electric utilities and the nation’s largest coal producer for damages suffered by the village that is being forced to relocate itself as a result of flooding brought on by the changing Arctic climate. The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California dismissed the suit on preemption grounds on October 15, 2009.[10] The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the dismissal on September 21, 2012.

The firm served as legal co-counsel to the Texas Clean Air Cities Coalition, a group of mayors representing 17 Texas cities and led by Dallas Mayor Laura Miller and Houston Mayor Bill White. The firm won the reversal of a Texas Commission on Environmental Quality order granting a permit for the Las Brisas Energy Center to build a 1,200 megawatt power plant within a few miles of downtown Corpus Christi.[11]

Awards

References

  1. ↑ "The Best Law Firms in Each Practice Area: Litigation Boutiques". Law Firm Rankings 2013. Retrieved 25 January 2013.
  2. ↑ "Susman Godfrey LLP Firm Profile". Chambers USA. Retrieved 25 January 2013.
  3. ↑ Fisher, Daniel (7 March 2012). "Litigator Pushes Mutual-Disarmament Pacts To Cut Costs". Forbes. Retrieved 25 January 2013.
  4. ↑ Chen, Vivia (14 February 2011). "Want a Job at Susman Godfrey? Be Brilliant and Theatrical". The Careerist. Retrieved 25 January 2013.
  5. ↑ Carter, Terry (1 February 2008). "The G Man". American Bar Association Journal. Retrieved 25 January 2013.
  6. ↑ "Susman Godfrey Firm Profile". Super Lawyers. Retrieved 25 January 2013.
  7. ↑ Rozen, Miriam (12 September 2011). "Susman Godfrey elects Neal Manne as third managing partner, creates succession plan". Texas Lawyer’s Tex Parte Blog. Retrieved 25 January 2013.
  8. ↑ Vault Guide to the Top Texas and Southwest Law Firms. Vault. Retrieved 25 January 2013.
  9. ↑ Longstreth, Andrew (21 October 2009). "Texas Judge Upholds $182 Million Verdict Against NL Industries" (PDF). The American Lawyer. Retrieved 25 January 2013.
  10. ↑ "Court dismisses global warming case against Big Oil". Houston Business Journal. 16 October 2009. Retrieved 25 January 2013.
  11. ↑ "Susman Godfrey wins victory for clean air in Texas". PR Newswire. 16 Mat 2012. Retrieved 25 January 2013. Check date values in: |date= (help)
  12. ↑ Heller, Emily (7 January 2008). "Litigator put money where his mouth was" (PDF). The National Law Journal. Retrieved 25 January 2013.
  13. ↑ "Associates Survey 2009: Results by Size, Non-Am Law 100 Firms". The American Lawyer. Retrieved 25 January 2013.
  14. ↑ "Susman Godfrey LLP Vault Profile". Vault. Retrieved 25 January 2013.
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