Overview
Max Tribble is recognized as one of the premier trial lawyers in America. A permanent member of Susman Godfrey’s Executive Committee, Tribble has obtained momentous victories for plaintiffs and defendants in a diverse range of commercial lawsuits.
Tribble has handled over a hundred cases across a variety of practice areas including misappropriation of trade secrets, trusts & estate, law, patent infringement, insurance law, breach of contract, bankruptcy, fraud, shareholder rights, antitrust, product defect, negligence, breach of fiduciary duty, and tax law. Likewise, Tribble’s work has spanned across a diverse range of industries. He has faced off and won against industry giants such as Apple, Samsung, American Express, Oppenheimer, Comcast, Lehman Brothers, Google, Microsoft, Intel, Wyeth Labs, IBM, AMD, Oracle, and TSMC.
“Max Tribble comes recommended for his highly successful litigation practice. He regularly represents clients in trade secrets and patent disputes, with notable expertise in the oil and gas and technology sectors. Sources describe him as “a terrific lawyer who handles very sophisticated matters” and highlight his “good intuition.”
As quoted in Chambers USA 2020 Rankings
“[Max Tribble] a true delight, very creative, and just a great lawyer.” He has a strong litigation practice, with broad experience covering disputes over patents, trade secrets and licensing issues.
As quoted in Chambers USA 2019 rankings
“[Max Tribble’s] level of intelligence and strategic nous really sets him apart. Though formidable for opponents, he partners well and makes great use of the expert advice available to him”
As quoted in the 2017 IAM Patent 1000 Leading Patent Professionals in Texas
“Max Tribble has an enviable record securing favorable results for plaintiffs in patent disputes, usually with an electrical engineering and software bent. Sources remark, with knowing understatement, that he “knows his way around a courtroom.”
As quoted in the 2015 Chambers USA rankings
Note: The testimonials above and the prior case outcomes below do not constitute a guarantee, warranty or prediction regarding the outcome of your legal matter.
LANDMARK WINS
A depended-upon IP trial whiz, Tribble won a $65.7 million jury verdict on behalf of repeat client, Paltalk Holdings, a global communications software innovator, in a patent infringement lawsuit against Cisco Systems for Webex’s audio server technology. He previously secured patent wins for Paltalk in litigation against Sony, Activision and Microsoft.
Just a few months before the Paltalk win, Tribble won a $37.5 million verdict for Atlas Global Technologies in its patent infringement case against Chinese telecom equipment manufacturer TP-Link. A Texas jury issued the verdict against TP-Link for infringing five patents for wireless routers that meet an industry standard known as “WiFi 6,” which was developed to provide fast, efficient internet connections for high-density locations such as offices, shopping malls and apartment buildings. Following a five-day trial and just a few hours of deliberations, the jury determined TP-Link owes Atlas $37,481,264 in damages. Read more
Tribble represented MicroUnity in a hard-fought patent infringement action against Intel and forced Intel to pay his client $300 million to license the MicroUnity patents. In follow-up cases, Tribble represented MicroUnity in cases against Apple, Samsung, AMD, and Texas Instruments—each of which also paid to license the MicroUnity patents.
INDUSTRY PRAISE
Tribble is widely recognized for his litigation savvy. The National Law Journal called him a Winning Litigator in 2019 and a Litigation Trailblazer in 2018. Managing IP recognized him with their Outstanding IP Litigator – Managing IP in 2018. Tribble has also has been named among Lawdragons’s List of the Top 500 Attorneys in America for over ten years, earning him title of “Legend” by the prestigious legal publication in 2021.
Benchmark Litigation previously named Tribble and National Intellectual Property Litigation Attorney of the Year and has repeatedly recognized him as Litigation Star in both General Commercial Litigation and Intellectual Property. Tribble has also been regnized as a Texas leader by both Super Lawyers and The Best Lawyers in American for over ten years. In 20xx, Tribble was interview on the Great Trials Podcast about his experience on the HouseCanary trial. He was also quoted in Law360’s “Texas Powerhouse – Susman Godfrey” story.
Tribble previously served on a special committee appointed to propose local rule changes in the Eastern District of Texas concerning discovery in patent cases.
Notable Representations
- Paltalk v. Cisco (W.D. Tex.) Won a $65.7 million jury verdict on behalf of Paltalk Holdings, a global communications software innovator, in a patent infringement lawsuit against Cisco Systems for Webex’s audio server technology. The win was covered by Bloomberg Law, Law360, Reuters, and USA Herald, among others. Tribble and co-lead counsel were interviewed by World Intellectual Property Review regarding this major win. Read more.
- Atlas Global Technologies LLC v. TP-Link Technologies Co., Ltd. et al (E.D. Tex.) Won a $37.5 million verdict for Atlas Global Technologies in its patent infringement case against Chinese telecom equipment manufacturer TP-Link. A Texas jury issued the verdict against TP-Link for infringing five patents for wireless routers that meet an industry standard known as “WiFi 6,” which was developed to provide fast, efficient internet connections for high-density locations such as offices, shopping malls and apartment buildings. Following a five-day trial and just a few hours of deliberations, the jury determined TP-Link owes Atlas $37,481,264 in damages. Read more.
- Rockstar v. Google Inc. (E.D. Tex.) Represented the Rockstar consortium—which was owned by Apple, Microsoft, Blackberry, Ericsson, and Sony—in a lawsuit against Google over infringement of foundational patents purchased from Nortel. The case settled soon after the Markman hearing for $900 million. Read more in Reuters.
- MicroUnity v. Intel (E.D. Tex.) Represented MicroUnity Systems Engineering, Inc. in its patent infringement lawsuit against Intel, Corporation and Dell, Inc. MicroUnity alleged that Intel’s Pentium III, Pentium 4, and Pentium M processors, and Dell’s use of those processors, infringed several MicroUnity patents covering “mediaprocessor” technology. Grinstein was involved in all aspects of the case, including arguing the Markman hearing. In October 2005, one month before trial was to commence, the parties reached a confidential settlement of the case, the financial terms of which Intel disclosed in its Third Quarter 2005 10-Q. Articles discussing the importance of the case and the magnitude of the settlement appeared in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, San Francisco Chronicle, San Jose Mercury News, and various high-tech websites.
- Fractus, S.A., vs. Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., et al. (E.D. Tex.) Served as lead counsel representing Fractus in its patent infringement lawsuit against Samsung in a case involving internal antennas in cell phones. A jury returned a verdict in Fractus’s favor, and the district court entered judgment for over $38 million plus interest. While an appeal was pending, the parties reached a settlement, the terms of which are confidential. Read more. This verdict was recognized as one of the top verdicts of the year by National Law Journal.
- Two-Way Media LLC vs. AT&T, Inc. (W.D. Tex) Won a $27.5 million verdict against various AT&T entities relating to the streaming of audio and video content over the Internet. The Court awarded Two-Way Media $40 million in damages and interest. Tribble and his team successfully defended numerous post-trial motions and AT&T’s appeal to the Federal Circuit. The Federal Circuit affirmed the trial court’s judgment in full. The Federal Circuit later denied AT&T’s petition for rehearing en banc. The matter was resolved thereafter. Read more.
- PalTalk v. Microsoft (E.D. Tex.) Served as lead attorney in patent trial against Microsoft on behalf of plaintiff PalTalk, an Internet audio and video conferencing company over allegations that Microsoft was using Paltalk’s patented technology for its video game systems, specifically Halo 2 and Halo 3 combined with Microsoft’s Xbox Live communications network. Paltalk defeated Microsoft’s motions for summary judgment, leading to a jury trial in Marshall, Texas. On the fourth day of trial, Microsoft agreed to settle the case, with Microsoft agreeing to take a license to the two PalTalk patents for a confidential sum of money. Read more.
- UniRAM Technology v. TMSC (N.D. Cal.) Won a $30.5 million jury verdict ($36 million after interest and expenses) on behalf of UniRAM Technology, Inc. in a trade secrets case. UniRAM alleged that defendant Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp. (TSMC) had misappropriated UniRAM’s trade secrets regarding specialized computer memory devices known as embedded DRAM. The case was identified as one of the “Top 10 Plaintiff’s Verdicts” that year in California. The case settled on confidential terms while on appeal. News of the verdict was reported widely in both the U.S. and Taiwan. Verdict Search listed the verdict as one of the top 100 plaintiff’s verdicts nationally in that, and the Daily Journal pegged it as one of the top 10 plaintiff’s verdicts in California in 2007. The case settled on confidential terms while on appeal.
- Mass Engineered Design v. Ergotron & Dell, et al. Won a jury verdict of infringement and validity on behalf of client, Mass Engineered Design. Tribble also secured a permanent injunction for his client. The case has since settled under confidential terms.
- Sky Technologies v. IBM (E.D. Tex.) Represented Sky Technoligies against IBM in a lawsuit alleging patent infringement, breach of contract and misappropriation of trade secrets relating to Sky’s software and technology for conducting online contract negotiations. Days before trial, IBM agreed to license Sky’s patents and technology. The amount is confidential. Read more in Law360 (subscription required).
- Sky Technologies v. Oracle (E.D. Tex.) Represented Sky in a lawsuit against Oracle. After a successful Markman hearing, Oracle agreed to license Sky’s patents and technology. The settlement amount is confidential.
- SuperSpeed Software v. Oracle (S.D. Tex.) Secured a confidential settlement for client SuperSpeed Software’s patent infringement suit against Oracle Software. The suit alleged that Oracle’s software products infringed a number of SuperSpeed patents regarding data caching. Oracle settled soon after the District Court issued a claim construction opinion that was highly favorable to SuperSpeed. Read more in Law360 (subscription required).
- SimDesk Technologies v. First Genesis. Served as lead attorney for SimDesk, successfully representing the technologies company against First Genesis in a suit alleging misappropriation of trade secrets relating to SimDesk’s proprietary server-side applications and server-client communications protocol. Tribble obtained a temporary restraining order and, after a bench trial, an injunction, barring First Genesis from using the software and system at issue.
- Pavilion Technologies v. Computer Associates (W.D. Tex.) Represented Pavilion Technologies in a patent suit against Computer Associates regarding neural network and expert system technology. The case settled after claim construction.
- Western Atlas v. Garmin/Rockwell/Motorola. Represented Western Atlas in a world-wide licensing and litigation program involving patented GPS technology. Western Atlas received substantial settlements and royalties under this program.
- PalTalk v. Sony and Activision (E.D. Tex.) Represented PalTalk Holdings, Inc. in its patent infringement lawsuit against Sony’s World of Warcraft, Activision Blizzard’s Call of Duty and other video game offerings. The case settled before trial after PalTalk received a favorable Markman ruling.
- PalTalk v. Microsoft (E.D. Tex.) Prosecuted PalTalk’s patent claims against Microsoft Corp. for its Xbox video game offerings, culminating in a 2009 jury trial. The parties settled on the fourth day of trial. Read more.
- VariLite v. High-End Systems (N.D. Tex.) Defended High-End Systems in a patent and trade secret suit brought by VariLite regarding computer-controlled lighting systems. The case settled after claim construction.
- Trinity Industries v. Road Systems (E.D. Tex.) Defended Road Systems in a patent suit brought by Trinity Industries in the Eastern District of Texas (Judge Schell) regarding roadway safety devices. The case settled favorably after Tribble obtained a summary judgment of non-infringement.
- GTE Sprint Communications v. GTE Sprint Communications. Successfully defended GTE Sprint Communications against a service mark infringement suit brought by Texaco v. Pennzoil attorney Joe Jamail. Tribble persuaded the court to uphold the validity of our client’s “Sprint” service mark and to enter a take-nothing judgment against the plaintiff.
- London Insurance Market Asbestos Cases. Defended groups of insurers in the London insurance market, including Equitas, a Lloyds of London runoff company, in bankruptcy actions relating to asbestos liability, asserted to be in the tens of billions of dollars. After taking one of the cases to trial and winning, the cases settled on terms that were extremely favorable to Tribble’s clients.
- First Capital Holdings v. American Express and Shearson Lehman Brothers. Represented the unsecured creditors committee of FCH in bankruptcy court against American Express and its subsidiary Shearson Lehman Brothers. After a 3-month trial, the case settled for over $100 million.
- Wolter v. Delgatto. Defended pro bono Joe Delgatto, the Minister of Heights Presbyterian Church, and his wife, in a lawsuit brought by attorney John Worldpeace on behalf of his mother, Joyce Wolter, alleging various claims, including claims relating to Wolter’s objection to the church participating in a project to build and operate a retirement facility in a predominately-black area of Houston. The court dismissed the lawsuit and declared Wolter to be a vexatious litigant. Attorney Worldpeace was disbarred.
- Shell Oil Shareholder Appraisal Action. Represented shareholders in a class action against Shell in a fraud and appraisal action over a squeeze-out merger by Royal Dutch. The case went to trial and the court awarded the shareholders a substantial premium over the tender offer.
- Robert East Estate Dispute. Tribble represented King Ranch heir Robert East in a dispute over his inheritance rights. Tribble was lead counsel at trial and prevailed. After trial, the Court awarded Tribble’s client everything he was seeking, with the property being valued at over $80 million.
- Lisa Raphael v. McGregor Medical. Tribble represented the widow and child of the deceased patient of a HMO that had failed to detect and treat a pheochromocytoma tumor. After handling lengthy discovery and motion practice, Tribble tried the case to a jury and obtained a substantial verdict for his clients. The proceeds of the final judgement and other settlements were placed in trust for the benefit of his minor client.
- In re Preston. Represented Preston Marshall (then married to Anna Nicole Smith), grandson of the late J. Howard Marshall II, in a multi-jurisdictional dispute against his mother Elaine Marshall and older brother Pierce Marshall, Jr. regarding the family business, his father’s will, and several trusts. Elaine and Pierce, Jr. attempted to deny our client his inheritance in contravention of the express wishes of his father and grandfather. Susman Godfrey obtained a preliminary injunction preventing Elaine Marshall from her continued breaches of fiduciary duty, and a year later, obtained summary judgment that Mrs. Marshall’s attempt to siphon away trust assets by grossly overpaying unqualified co-trustees constituted a violation of the controlling trust documents.
Honors & Distinctions
Honors and Awards
LAWDRAGON
- 500 Leading Lawyers (2015 – 2025)
- 500 Global Plaintiff Lawyer (2024, 2025)
- 500 Leading Plaintiff Financial Lawyers (2019 - 2025)
- 500 Leading Litigator (2022, 2023, 2024)
- Legend (2021)
CHAMBERS
- Leading Lawyer, Intellectual Property Litigation: Texas, Chambers USA (2015 – 2025)
IAM PATENT 1000
BENCHMARK LITIGATION
- National Intellectual Property Litigation Attorney of the Year, Benchmark Litigation (2020)
- Litigation Star, Benchmark Litigation (2015, 2016 2022, 2023 Euromoney)
AMERICAN LEGAL MEDIA
- Winning Litigator, National Law Journal (2019)
- Litigation Trailblazer, National Law Journal (2018)
MANAGING IP
- Outstanding Intellectual Property Litigator, Managing Intellectual Property’s IP Stars (2019)
LAW360
- Secured Susman Godfrey’s recognition as an Intellectual Property Practice Group of the Year by Law360 (2018)
BEST LAWYERS IN AMERICA
- Included in The Best Lawyers in America for Intellectual Property and Patent Litigation, 2011 – 2025, Commercial Litigation, 2019 – 2025 (Woodward White Inc.)
SUPER LAWYERS
- Texas Super Lawyer, Law & Politics Magazine (2005 – 2024, Thomson Reuters)
- Super Lawyer”, Corporate Counsel Edition Patent and Intellectual Property Litigation
- (2009, Law & Politics Magazine, Thomson Reuters).
- Rising Star, Law & Politics Magazine (2004, Thomson Reuters)
OTHER
- Top Lawyer in Houston,- Patent Litigation and Intellectual Property Litigation, H Texas Magazine (2006-09, Bayou City Publishing, LLC)
Education
Education
- Harvard Law School (J.D., 1988)
- The University of Texas (B.A., 1985)
Wins
- Atlas Global Technologies LLC v. TP-Link Technologies Co., Ltd. et al (E.D. Tex.) Won a $37.5 million verdict for Atlas Global Technologies in its patent infringement case against Chinese telecom equipment manufacturer TP-Link. A Texas jury issued the verdict against TP-Link for infringing five patents for wireless routers that meet an industry standard known as “WiFi 6,” which was developed to provide fast, efficient internet connections for high-density locations such as offices, shopping malls and apartment buildings. Following a five-day trial and just a few hours of deliberations, the jury determined TP-Link owes Atlas $37,481,264 in damages. Read more.
- Rockstar v. Google Inc. Tribble represented the Rockstar consortium—which was owned by Apple, Microsoft, Blackberry, Ericsson, and Sony—in a lawsuit against Google over infringement of foundational patents purchased from Nortel. The case settled soon after the Markman hearing for $900 million.
- MicroUnity v. Intel. Tribble represented MicroUnity in its suit against Intel relating to infringement of MicroUnity’s mediaprocessor patents. Weeks before trial, MicroUnity, Intel, and Dell reached a settlement of a case that SG brought on behalf of MicroUnity for $300 million.
- Fractus, S.A., vs. Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., et al. Tribble served as lead counsel representing Fractus in its patent infringement lawsuit against Samsung in a case involving internal antennas in cell phones. A jury returned a verdict in Fractus’s favor, and the district court entered judgment for over $38 million plus interest. The parties argued an appeal to the Federal Circuit in December 2013. While the appeal was pending, the parties reached a settlement, the terms of which are confidential.
- Two-Way Media LLC vs. AT&T, Inc. As co-lead counsel to technology company, Two-Way Media, Max Tribble won a $27.5 million verdict against various AT&T entities relating to the streaming of audio and video content over the Internet. The Court awarded Two-Way Media $40 million in damages and interest. Tribble and his team successfully defended numerous post-trial motions and AT&T’s appeal to the Federal Circuit. The Federal Circuit affirmed the trial court’s judgment in full on March 19, 2015. In June of this 2016, the Federal Circuit denied AT&T’s petition for rehearing en banc. The matter was resolved thereafter.
- London Insurance Market Asbestos Cases. Tribble defended groups of insurers in the London insurance market, including Equitas, a Lloyds of London runoff company, in bankruptcy actions relating to asbestos liability, asserted to be in the tens of billions of dollars. After taking one of the cases to trial and winning, the cases settled on terms that were extremely favorable to Tribble’s clients.
- PalTalk v. Microsoft. Tribble served as lead attorney in patent trial against Microsoft on behalf of plaintiff PalTalk, an Internet audio and video conferencing company. Paltalk filed suit against Microsoft in late 2006, alleging that Microsoft was using Paltalk’s patented technology for its video game systems, specifically Halo 2 and Halo 3 combined with Microsoft’s Xbox Live communications network. Paltalk defeated Microsoft’s motions for summary judgment, leading to a jury trial in Marshall, Texas. On the fourth day of trial, Microsoft agreed to settle the case, with Microsoft agreeing to take a license to the two PalTalk patents for a confidential sum of money.
- First Capital Holdings v. American Express and Shearson Lehman Brothers. Tribble represented the unsecured creditors committee of FCH in bankruptcy court against American Express and its subsidiary Shearson Lehman Brothers. After a 3-month trial the case settled for in excess of $100 million.
- UniRAM v. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC). Tribble led a Susman Godfrey trial team to obtain a $30.5 million jury verdict on behalf of his client, UniRAM Technology, Inc., in a trade secrets case tried in federal court in San Francisco. The trial court later entered judgment in favor of UniRAM for approximately $36 million. UniRAM alleged that defendant Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp. (TSMC) had misappropriated UniRAM’s trade secrets regarding specialized computer memory devices known as embedded DRAM. Tribble handled opening, closing, and the majority of witnesses. News of the verdict was reported widely in both the U.S. and Taiwan. Verdict Search listed the verdict as one of the “Top 100 Plaintiff’s Verdicts Nationally” in 2007, and the Los Angeles Daily Journal pegged it as one of the “Top 10 Plaintiff’s Verdicts in California” in 2007. The case settled on confidential terms while on appeal.
- Mass Engineered Design v. Ergotron & Dell, et al. Max Tribble, serving as lead attorney, won a jury verdict of infringement and validity on behalf of client, Mass Engineered Design. Tribble also secured a permanent injunction for his client. The case has since settled under confidential terms.
- Sky Technologies v. IBM. Tribble represented Sky Technoligies against IBM in a lawsuit alleging patent infringement, breach of contract and misappropriation of trade secrets relating to Sky’s software and technology for conducting online contract negotiations. Days before trial, IBM agreed to license Sky’s patents and technology. The amount is confidential.
- Sky Technologies v. Oracle. Tribble also represented Sky in a lawsuit against Oracle. After a successful Markman hearing, Oracle agreed to license Sky’s patents and technology. The settlement amount is confidential.
- SuperSpeed Software v. Oracle. Tribble, serving as lead attorney, obtained a confidential settlement for client SuperSpeed Software’s patent infringement suit against Oracle Software in the Southern District of Texas. The suit alleged that Oracle’s software products infringed a number of SuperSpeed patents regarding data caching. Oracle settled soon after the District Court issued a claim construction opinion that was highly favorable to SuperSpeed.
- SimDesk Technologies v. First Genesis. Tribble served as lead attorney for SimDesk, successfully representing the technologies company against First Genesis in a suit alleging misappropriation of trade secrets relating to SimDesk’s proprietary server-side applications and server-client communications protocol. Tribble obtained a temporary restraining order and, after a bench trial, an injunction, barring First Genesis from using the software and system at issue.
- Pavilion Technologies v. Computer Associates. Tribble represented Pavilion Technologies in a patent suit against Computer Associates in the Western District of Texas (Judge Samuel Sparks) regarding neural network and expert system technology. The case settled after claim construction.
- VariLite v. High-End Systems. Tribble defended High-End Systems in a patent and trade secret suit brought by VariLite in the Northern District of Texas regarding computer-controlled lighting systems. The case settled after claim construction.
- Trinity Industries v. Road Systems. Tribble served as lead attorney and defended Road Systems in a patent suit brought by Trinity Industries in the Eastern District of Texas (Judge Schell) regarding roadway safety devices. The case settled favorably after Tribble obtained a summary judgment of non-infringement.
- Wolter v. Delgatto. Tribble served as lead attorney while defending pro bono Joe and Madeline Delgatto, the Minister of Heights Presbyterian Church, and his wife, in a lawsuit brought by attorney John Worldpeace on behalf of his mother, Joyce Wolter, alleging various claims, including claims relating to Wolter’s objection to the church participating in a project to build and operate a retirement facility in a predominately-black area of Houston. In 2004, the court dismissed the lawsuit and declared Wolter to be a vexatious litigant. Attorney Worldpeace was disbarred.
- Western Atlas v. Garmin/Rockwell/Motorola. Tribble represented Western Atlas in a world-wide licensing and litigation program involving patented GPS technology. Western Atlas received substantial settlements and royalties under this program.
- GTE Sprint Communications v. GTE Sprint Communications. Tribble successfully defended GTE Sprint Communications against a service mark infringement suit brought by Texaco v. Pennzoil attorney Joe Jamail. Tribble persuaded the court to uphold the validity of our client’s “Sprint” service mark and to enter a take-nothing judgment against the plaintiff.
- Shell Oil Shareholder Appraisal Action. Tribble represented shareholders in a class action against Shell in a fraud and appraisal action over a squeeze-out merger by Royal Dutch. The case went to trial and the court awarded the shareholders a substantial premium over the tender offer.
- Robert East Estate Dispute. Tribble represented King Ranch heir Robert East in a dispute over his inheritance rights. Tribble was lead counsel at trial and prevailed. After trial, the Court awarded Tribble’s client everything he was seeking, with the property being valued at over $80 million.
- Lisa Raphael v. McGregor Medical. Tribble represented the widow and child of the deceased patient of a HMO that had failed to detect and treat a pheochromocytoma tumor. After handling lengthy discovery and motion practice, Tribble tried the case to a jury and obtained a substantial verdict for his clients. The proceeds of the final judgement and other settlements were placed in trust for the benefit of his minor client.
Admissions
Admissions
Bar Admissions
- Texas
Leadership & Professional Memberships
Associations
- Nancy Atlas IP Inn of Court
