Partner Dallas, Texas Phone: 214.754.1925 Fax: 214.665.0856 jbridges@susmangodfrey.com* Print this Profile (PDF) Download Business Card EDUCATION University of Notre Dame (J.D., magna cum laude, 2000) Ball State University (M.A., summa cum laude, 1993) Friends University (B.A., high honors, 1991) HONORS & DISTINCTIONS Editor in Chief, Notre Dame Law Review Law Clerk to The Honorable Thomas M. Reavley, United States Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit Named "Rising Star" by Super Lawyers and Texas Monthly 2005, 2006, 2007 Named "Future Star" by Benchmark Litigation's Guide to America's Leading Litigation Firms and Attorneys, 2009, 2010 PUBLICATIONS "Hooding the Jury," 35 University of San Francisco Law Review 651 (2001) "Suing for Peanuts," 75 Notre Dame Law Review 1269 (2000) "Mitigating Measures Under the Americans with Disabilities Act: Interpretation and Deference in the Judicial Process," 74 Notre Dame Law Review 1061 (1999) Bridges is a tough, battle-tested lawyer who is at his best preparing his witnesses for trial or teaching complex facts to a jury in an accessible and memorable way. He never shies away from confrontation, he is quick on his feet, and he has a keen ability to prepare for the unexpected. Bridges's experience teaching high school students in at-risk programs in Kansas City and Indianapolis served him well in honing these very skills. Teaching, convincing and motivating a jury are right in his wheelhouse. Writing is another of Bridges's strengths. As an undergrad, he received his university's highest award for writing: the Mary Hamilton Neary Writing Award, an endowed scholarship awarded by the English faculty to the university's most outstanding writer each semester. Bridges received the award four times. His graduate work in English further sets him apart from most attorneys. His master's program, which he completed with a perfect academic record, included a major critical and analytical writing component in every course.  A brief that Bridges authored and argued before the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals is available here. A feature article on Bridges and this pro bono case is available here. Bridges has a nationwide practice in high-stakes commercial lawsuits, and he regularly appears in federal and state courts across the country. For example, he has tried cases as lead or co-lead counsel in Washington, D.C., Indianapolis, and St. Louis, in addition to his home state, Texas. He has served as lead or co-lead appellate counsel in the Fourth, Fifth, and Tenth Circuit Courts of Appeal, as well as the U.S. Supreme Court. Bridges routinely represents and consults with clients, both plaintiffs and defendants, in qui tam litigation under the federal False Claims Act and its state counterparts. Bridges has learned from the very best. Trials with Steve Susman and Bill Carmody have taught him precisely what it takes to prepare for trial. Preparing opening statements, closing arguments, witness exams, mock trials, and mediation presentations under the tutelage of these preeminent trial lawyers is the very best kind of trial by fire, and it has paid off. Below are some examples of Bridges's body of work: This summer Bridges and colleagues Barry Barnett and Joseph Portera defended Luminant Generation and Luminant Mining in a trial instigated by Alcoa in Milam County district court. The suit concerned operation, maintenance, and contractual obligations at a power plant, mine and aluminum smelter. The jury rejected Alcoa's $500 million claims and awarded Luminant $10 million on its counterclaim. Bridges crossed the first witness and later the most difficult of Alcoa's witnesses and also presented a key third-party witnesses for Luminant, among other significant contributions to the trial effort. Texas Jury Verdict Review & Analysis featured this trial in its June issue, available here. Currently, Bridges is one of the lead lawyers in the New Orleans hurricane Katrina qui tam litigation under the federal False Claims Act. The case concerns fraudulent overbilling of the National Flood Insurance Program for Hurricane damage not caused by flooding. As co-lead trial counsel along with firm founder Steve Susman, Bridges won a 42.4 million-dollar judgment in the Superior Court of Marion County in Indianapolis, Indiana, last year. This class action involved equal-pay claims on behalf of thousands of state employees against their employer, the State of Indiana. Bridges and partner Terry Oxford filed a record-setting whistleblower suit under the federal False Claims Act against Oklahoma's Gold Bank on behalf of a group of the bank's customers and the federal government. In this loan-fraud action, which Bridges and Oxford litigated on behalf of the federal government, they successfully negotiated what the U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Oklahoma called the largest single settlement ever recovered by the United States in his district. View the Department of Justice's press release here. In a subsequent class action against the bank, Bridges and Oxford, as co-lead counsel, obtained a settlement that paid an average of more than $20,000 to each member of the class, which consisted of several hundred of the bank's customers. When Brent Redstone hired Susman Godfrey's Steve Susman and Mark Wawro to sue to dissolve the eight-billion-dollar family company controlled by his father, Sumner Redstone, they called on Bridges to handle key aspects of the case: drafting the complaint, retaining experts, negotiating discovery agreements, and contributing heavily to briefing efforts. The court's order denying the defendant's motion to dismiss is available here. No additional details can be provided here. On behalf of IMCO Recycling, the world's largest recycler of aluminum and zinc at the time, Bridges and partner Bill Carmody successfully defended a declaratory-judgment action, winning both contract damages and attorney fees from the plaintiff. This St. Louis jury trial involved an insurance coverage dispute between IMCO and one of the Hartford Insurance Companies. REFERENCES The following individuals are familiar with Bridges's work first-hand and are happy to talk with you about it. Client Brent Redstone National Amusements, Inc. Shareholder/Director 303.670.0141   Judge Thomas M. Reavley Senior Judge 5th Circuit Court of Appeals 713.250.5185   Opposing Counsel Patrick Stark Partner Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard & Smith 213.250.1800   Former Client Jim Walburg Senior Vice President & CFO First American Payment Sys. 817.317.9149   Co-Counsel Larry D. Lahman, Senior Partner Mitchell & DeClerck P.L.L.C. 580.234.5144   Colleague Bill Carmody Partner Susman Godfrey LLP 212.336.8334   *Internet mail is not fully secure or private. Therefore, please do not transmit confidential information via Internet mail. Transmission of information is not intended to and does not create an attorney-client relationship. 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