James T. Southwick

Jim Southwick is a partner in Susman Godfrey's Houston office and represents plaintiffs and defendants in commercial cases of all types in federal and state courts around the country. His clients include public and private entities and individuals in the United States, Canada, and Mexico. In 2009, Southwick recovered more than $179 million in trials and settlements.

College of William and Mary (B.A. 1982)
Syracuse University College of Law (J.D., magna cum laude, 1989)

• Editor-in-Chief, Syracuse Journal of International Law, 1988-89
• Order of the Coif
• Andrews Scholar
• Justinian Society
• Wall Street Journal Award
• Houston Bar Foundation Life Fellow
• Texas Bar Foundation Fellow

• New York State
• State Bar of Texas
• United States Supreme Court
• United States District Courts: Southern District of New York, Eastern District
• of New York, Northern District of New York, Southern District of Texas, Eastern District of Texas, Eastern District of Wisconsin
• Association of the Bar for the City of New York
• American Bar Association (Litigation and Antitrust sections)
• Houston Bar Association (Antitrust Section vice chairman 2008-09; Fee Dispute Committee)
• Houston Trial Lawyers Association

Milwaukee County v. Mercer Human Resource Consulting
Jim Southwick was lead trial lawyer for Milwaukee County and the Milwaukee County Pension System in a highly publicized actuarial malpractice case against the largest actuarial firm in the country. The case went to trial in federal court in Wisconsin in May 2009. After several weeks of testimony, the defendant, a division of Marsh McLennan, paid $45 million settlement to Milwaukee County — one of the largest actuarial malpractice recoveries on record.

State of Mississippi, Jim Hood ex rel. v. Microsoft
Southwick represented the Mississippi Attorney General, the Honorable Jim Hood, in a long-running action against Microsoft in Jackson, Mississippi, alleging the software maker violated Mississippi's Consumer Protection Act and Antitrust laws through its actions in the operating systems and office applications markets. The Attorney General announced the $100 million plus settlement of the case on June 11, 2009.

Floorgraphics Inc. v. News America Marketing In-store Services
Southwick was lead trial counsel to Floorgraphics, Inc. on claims of unfair competition and computer espionage by a division of Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. In March 2009, the case went to trial before a jury in federal court in New Jersey. Midway through the trial, the case settled favorably for Floorgraphics with a confidential settlement.

At the conclusion of the New Jersey trial, the judge remarked on the record: "And I think the jurors feel as though, I do, that the lawyers have been extraordinary. Don't you? I see you shaking your heads because the lawyers are clearly, as we would say, the cream of the crop, extraordinarily well prepared, articulate, well spoken, in command of the material. I know I have my law clerks here and I said to them yesterday afternoon, ‘Well, these are pros,' referring to the lawyers, and they behaved like pros and . . . I said to my law clerks, this is the way I want to see you in 10, 15 years, whatever, however long it takes. But obviously this case has been presented in a most professional way. And it's a pleasure for the Court to see lawyers conduct themselves the way these lawyers have, and to see how their whole presentation is supported by professionals who are working with them to make sure everything just goes like clock work. I appreciate it as a judge, and I'm sure you could appreciate it as well."

The Ranis Company v. Hebei Welcome Pharmaceutical Co. et al.
Southwick currently serves as co-lead counsel for a class of direct purchasers of vitamin C in this first-ever federal price-fixing case against industrial defendants from the Peoples Republic of China. The case raises important new issues concerning the Chinese central and provincial governments' roles in the pricing and output decisions of Chinese manufacturers and is pending in the Eastern District of New York.

Enron Corp. v. Citigroup et al.
This adversary proceeding on behalf of Enron's bankruptcy estate sought recovery from eleven major investment banks for aiding and abetting the breaches of fiduciary duty and fraud of Enron's top officers. Southwick was part of a team of Susman Godfrey lawyers prosecuting the estate's claims in the United States Bankruptcy Court in New York City. Susman Godfrey reached settlements worth hundreds of millions of dollars to the estate's creditors.

Allapattah Services et al. v. Exxon
In 2006, with Steve Susman, Southwick successfully represented a small Florida law firm through a full bench trial in federal court in Miami concerning the rights of multiple law firms to one of the largest-ever awards of attorneys fees in a class action. Southwick and Susman recovered more than $50 million for the three-man law firm that originally filed the case.

In re Vitamins Antitrust Litigation
Jim Southwick was Susman Godfrey's lead trial lawyer representing a class of vitamin purchasers asserting claims that the world's largest vitamin manufacturers colluded and fixed the price of bulk vitamins for more than a decade in the 1990s. At the June 2003 trial in Washington D.C. against Mitsui and DuCoa, Inc., Southwick won a jury verdict in favor of the class of $49.5 million, before trebling under the antitrust laws. Settlements before and after the trial with roughly twenty defendants recovered more than $400 million for class members, net of fees.

Campbell v. Goodman Enterprises and Amana Corp.
Southwick was the lead attorney representing a nationally known manufacturer of air conditioners and kitchen appliances against class action claims of age discrimination brought by former employees. Mr. Southwick defeated class certification and won the case, all claims, on summary judgment in federal court in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

American Garment Finishers v. Levi-Strauss
Steve Susman and Southwick represented AGF in a breach of contract action against Levi's. The case settled for a multi-million dollar sum after two-weeks of trial in federal court in El Paso, Texas.

Caldera Inc. v. Microsoft
As part of a team of Susman Godfrey lawyers representing Caldera, we sued Microsoft in federal court in Utah for illegally monopolizing the market for personal computer operating systems. The case settled on the eve of trial for a confidential sum. The Wall Street Journal reported the settlement was worth $275 million.

Patir v. MFC International Corporation
Southwick was the lead defense trial lawyer representing the owner and seller of oilfield interests in far northern Russia. Plaintiff sued to recover a fee for allegedly brokering the sale of the oilfields to Russian buyers. Southwick defended the owners and sellers at trial in state court in Houston. The Plaintiff recovered nothing at trial. The decision was affirmed on appeal.

Horan v. Ensearch
Jim was lead trial lawyer representing an energy trader suing his former employer for stock options he was owed based on performance criteria. The client recovered a confidential sum following a two week arbitration in Houston, Texas.