BARRY BARNETT, born January 19, 1959, Corsicana, Texas; admitted to bar, 1985, Texas. Member, Bar of the Supreme Court of the United States of America; United States Courts of Appeals, Fifth and Tenth Circuits; United States District Courts for the Northern, Eastern, Southern, and Western Districts of Texas, the District of Arizona, and the District of Colorado.
You and Me
This profile tells you about me. But guess what? I want to know about you.
Yes, you. I have to understand you, your situation, and your goals before I can help you solve your problem.
So, as you read about me, consider whether I sound like someone you can trust. Somebody who will do every honest and ethical thing to help you achieve the best outcome for you. An individual you'll enjoy working with.
A profile tells you only so much about a lawyer. You might not guess from what appears below, for example, that I grew up in Nacogdoches, Texas; that I sang in the All-Region Choir; that I played football in high school and college; or that my dad worked as a roughneck and my mom as a secretary; or that I've worked only at Susman Godfrey since I started practicing 25 years ago. So, as you get to know a little about me, remember that I need to hear about – and from – you.
What People Say
"In the end it wasn't even close. Not only did Alcoa fail to win any damages, the jury decided the aluminum company should pay damages to the energy firm to the tune of $10 million." So said The Rockdale Reporter, about a $500 million case that Luminant Generation hired me to handle eight months before the May-June 2010 trial in Milam County, Texas. "Barry Barnett was magnificent in trying this case," General Counsel Rob Walters said. "We couldn't ask for more able trial counsel." Who's Who Legal noted that I do "fantastic work for clients." The Legal 500 wrote that "Barry Barnett has an established reputation both for his legal skills and his ability to ‘empathize with the underdog." And Chambers and Partners called me " an expert commercial litigator" who is " smart and creative". Litigation Experience
Since I started at Susman Godfrey in 1985, clients have entrusted me with lawsuits and arbitrations that involved a broad array of claims and defenses in a wide variety of industries and around the country (cities like Atlanta, Boston, Denver, Indianapolis, Kansas City, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Memphis, New York, Philadelphia, Salt Lake City, and Washington, DC, and lots of small towns). The matters included: - Antitrust (price-fixing, territorial and customer allocation, monopolization, tying, price discrimination): telecommunications, computer chips, cable, explosives, airlines, vitamins, pharmaceuticals, concrete, confectionery chocolate
- Patents, copyrights, trademarks, trade dress, and trade secrets: seismic data, computer software, Windows operating system, restaurants, publishing, needlepoint rugs, memory chips, real estate development
- Business fraud: power generation, patent licensing, lender liability, theft of trade secrets, unfair competition, oil and gas, coal mining, telecommunications overcharges
- Covenants not to compete: food services, payday loans, insurance brokerage, commercial real estate
- Environmental: groundwater contamination, emissions controls, power generation, CERCLA liability
- Arbitration: securities, computer software, bans on class and aggregate arbitration, breach of services contract
- Class actions: price-fixing, monopolization, ERISA, consumer fraud, securities fraud, pyramid scheme
- Contracts for goods and services: power supply, contract mining, tools, aircraft, delivery services, licensing agreements, distribution agreements, franchises
- Lender liability: real estate, oil and gas, improper seizure and sale of collateral
- Securities fraud: microprocessors, telecommunications gear, real estate, short-swing profits
- Insurance coverage: D&O, oil field casualty, fiduciary bond
- Oil and gas: seismic data, duties to survey and lease, pooling/unitization, oilfield services, lease disputes, operating agreements
- Fiduciary duties: officers and directors, partners, trustees, special relationships
- Minority shareholders: majority abuse, voting rights, failure to pay dividends
- Corporate control: seizure of control by insurgent shareholders
- Stock purchase and shareholder agreements: cinema chain, medical device maker
- Golden parachute: former CEO
- Employee Retirement Income Security Act: breach of duty of care over pension plan investments
- Partnerships and joint ventures: control, distribution of profits, dissolution
- Sexual harassment and discrimination: spying, physical injury, peeping tom
Cases have ranged from two-party lawsuits to class actions involving millions.
Examples of Clients (Current and Former)
A partial list of companies I've had the honor to represent includes these:
Public companies: Cisco Systems, EMC, ENSCO, AmWINS, Forest Oil, The Shaw Group, Trammell Crow Company, Texas Instruments, New Century Financial.
Private companies: ACADIA, Energy Future Holdings, Luminant Generation, Luminant Mining, Mewbourne Oil & Gas, Olympia Minerals, Neiman Marcus Group, Gobeli Research, Swift Cash, Wagner & Brown, Ltd., and Morris & Dickson Co.
Examples of Opponents (Current and Former)
Your foes also say something about a law practice. I've gone toe-to-toe with these and others:
Abbott Labs, Alcatel-Lucent, Alcoa, Anadarko, AT&T, Cadbury, Chick-fil-A, Comcast, Computer Associates, Dow Chemical, du Pont, Eastman Chemical, Hershey, HSBC, ICI, Korean Airlines, Microsoft, Prudential, Samsung, SBC, Schlumberger, Sprint, Visa, Westinghouse.
Fee Arrangements
Even in a strong economy, clients – you – should look at ways to get the most value from your lawyer's services. That starts with picking the right lawyer, of course, but aligning your interests with him or her matters a lot, too.
Different fee arrangements create different incentives. An hourly engagement tends to give you more control in the day to day conduct of your case. But it also puts the risk of inefficiency – especially by the other side – on you.
A contingent fee, on the other hand, shares risk between you and the lawyer and gives the lawyer an incentive to maximize your recovery because he or she will earn a percentage of it. The percentage varies from case to case, depending in part on the probability, timing, and size of the recovery. Don't feel shy about negotiating.
Flat fees work best in cases that involve more or less predictable levels of activity. A docket of employment litigation comes to mind. But flat fees can also function well in complex litigation, including patent and antitrust suits.
You can also combine hourly, contingent, and flat fee components.
Just let me know which you prefer.
Education and Clerkship
Nacogdoches High School (Diploma 1977); Yale University (B.A., Economics and History (honors), magna cum laude, 1981); legal education, Harvard Law School (J.D., cum laude, 1984). Law Clerk to The Honorable Jerre S. Williams, United States Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit (1984-85).
Professional Honors Publications and Presentations
Co-author, "Techniques for Expediting and Streamlining Litigation" for American Bar Association Section of Litigation's second edition of Business and Commercial Litigation in Federal Courts (2005-08). Creator and blogger-in-chief, Blawgletter®, which ranks in the top three percent of law blogs on Justia.
Interviews by and articles for NPR's " Marketplace" report, Law Blog of The Wall Street Journal, Texas Lawyer, ABA Journal, business torts "Hot Topics" by the Litigation Section of the Texas Bar Association, Kansas City Business Journal, The Dallas Morning News, Blawg Review, Texas Cable News, D CEO, and Dallas Business Journal.Author and speaker at continuing legal education seminars, including "Techniques for Expediting and Streamlining Litigation" for the Harris County Civil District Judges Summer Conference; "How to Bust or Follow Through with an Arbitration" for the State Bar of Texas's Advanced Civil Trial Course; "Rule-Making and How It Affects Your Practice" for the State Bar of Texas's Advanced Personal Injury Law Course; "Current Developments in Business Litigation", American Bar Association. Civic, Business, and Professional Affiliations
Trustee, Greenhill School. Alumnus member, Texas Lyceum. Member, State Bar of Texas; American Bar Association; Section of Litigation and Section of Antitrust Law; American Association for Justice; Dallas Bar Association; Houston Bar Association; Yale Club of Dallas; Harvard Club of Dallas; Yale Club of New York City. Life Fellow, Texas Bar Foundation, Dallas Bar Foundation, and Houston Bar Foundation.
Top Three Reasons for Hiring Me
1. Although I went to Yale and Harvard, I think, act, and talk like somebody who grew up in East Texas.
2. I know it's not about me and my goals. It's about you and your goals.
3. We will have fun working together.
Bill the Buffalo
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