Overview
Hunter Vance successfully litigates high-stakes matters across the United States, representing both plaintiffs and defendants. Hunter has tried cases in federal and state courts, playing a pivotal role in every stage of litigation, from pre-suit strategy to appeal. His practice covers a wide variety of subject matters, including intellectual property, breach of contract, fraud, construction, antitrust, oil and gas, and other complex commercial disputes, reflecting both technical litigation prowess and a strategic, business-minded approach to advocacy. Hunter’s courtroom successes have been widely covered in the legal press—one of his recent jury trial wins, a $341 million victory on behalf of Dutch telecommunications firm KPN, was recognized as “Impact Case of the Year” at the Managing IP Awards 2025.
In addition to his trial practice, Hunter serves as co-chair of Susman Godfrey’s Employment Committee.
“Hunter is highly capable and always cool. He knew our cases inside and out, and at every turn found smart, creative solutions.”
Koenraad Wuyts – Chief Intellectual Property Officer, KPN
LEGAL WINS
Some of Hunter’s notable representations include:
- Koninklijke KPN N.V v. Samsung Electronics Co. (Texas State Ct.) Won a $341 million jury verdict on behalf of Dutch telecommunications firm KPN in a breach of contract dispute with Samsung. A Texas state court jury returned the verdict, awarding 100% of the damages sought. The win was covered by Bloomberg, Texas Lawyer, Law360, and IAM, among others. Read more.
- Orange, S.A. and 3G Licensing v. HTC Corporation (D. Del.) Secured a verdict from a Delaware federal jury finding that HTC willfully infringed two asserted patents declared essential to LTE wireless standards. At trial, Hunter examined the corporate representative from French telecommunications company Orange and directed and cross-examined all of the damages experts. The jury ultimately found that HTC owes up to 74 cents per infringing phone. The win was covered by Law360, Reuters, and IPWatchdog. Read more.
- Netgear, Inc. v. Huawei Technologies (C.D. Cal.) Successfully defended Huawei from antitrust, RICO, and breach of contract claims asserted by Netgear relating to alleged FRAND violations. After an argument on Huawei’s motion to dismiss, the case settled with Netgear taking a license to Huawei’s standard essential Wi-Fi patents. The “favourable settlement” was a decisive result for Huawei that “validates both its licensing program and its enforcement efforts.” The case was covered by IAM, Law360, and IP Fray, among others.
- Midtown Commons v. Trammell Crow Company et al. (Texas State Ct.) Successfully defended CBRE subsidiary Trammell Crow Company in a $100 million+ dispute regarding the construction and sale of multiple commercial real-estate properties. After a series of litigation wins, including summary judgment for Trammell Crow on plaintiffs’ case-critical fraud claims, the case settled for a confidential sum.
- Mabee Ranch Royalty Partnership v. Concho Resources et al. (Texas State Ct.) Secured a confidential, favorable settlement for hydrocarbon exploration company Concho in a business dispute involving oil and gas leases in West Texas.
“Hunter combines sharp intellect, composure under pressure, and meticulous preparation. In our genuinely bet-the-company case, he and his team navigated every challenge with precision and delivered an outstanding result.”
Jay Old – General Counsel, Zachry Group
BACKGROUND
Hunter joined Susman Godfrey after clerking for Judge Jerry E. Smith of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. He graduated with high honors from the University of Chicago Law School, where he served as an Online Articles Editor for The University of Chicago Law Review. Hunter received his undergraduate degree summa cum laude from the University of Georgia.
“Hunter is a dedicated, thoughtful, and practical attorney whose responsiveness and knowledge of the matter is second to none. He knows the law well and excels even further in meeting the clients’ legal and business needs.”
David Schwan – Senior Counsel, ConocoPhillips
Notable Representations
- Netgear, Inc. v. Huawei Technologies (C.D. Cal.) Successfully defended Huawei from antitrust, RICO, and breach of contract claims asserted by Netgear relating to alleged FRAND violations. After an argument on Huawei’s motion to dismiss, the case settled with Netgear taking a license to Huawei’s standard essential Wi-Fi patents. The “favourable settlement” was a decisive result for Huawei that “validates both its licensing program and its enforcement efforts.” The case was covered by IAM, Law360, and IP Fray, among others.
- Koninklijke KPN N.V v. Samsung Electronics Co. (Texas State Ct.) Won a $341 million jury verdict on behalf of Dutch telecommunications firm KPN in a breach of contract dispute with Samsung. A Texas state court jury returned the verdict, awarding 100% of the damages sought. The win was covered by Bloomberg, Texas Lawyer, Law360,and IAM, among others. Read more.
- Netgear, Inc. v. Huawei Technologies (C.D. Cal.) Successfully defended Huawei from antitrust, RICO, and breach of contract claims asserted by Netgear relating to alleged FRAND violations. After an argument on Huawei’s motion to dismiss, the case settled with Netgear taking a license to Huawei’s standard essential Wi-Fi patents. The “favourable settlement” was a decisive result for Huawei that “validates both its licensing program and its enforcement efforts.” The case was covered by IAM, Law360, and IP Fray, among others.
- Fasken Oil and Ranch, Ltd. v. COG Operating LLC (Texas State Ct.) Defended ConocoPhillips subsidiary COG against royalty underpayment claims from landowner Fasken. After a summary judgment hearing and several key depositions, Fasken agreed to nonsuit its claims against COG.
- Mabee Ranch Royalty Partnership v. Concho Resources et al. (Texas State Ct.) Secured a confidential, favorable settlement for hydrocarbon exploration company Concho in a business dispute involving oil and gas leases in West Texas.
- LSB Industries v. Benham Constructors et al. (Arkansas State Ct.) Defending Benham Constructors (a Haskell subsidiary) in major construction litigation related to the completion of an ammonia plant and several nitric acid plants in El Dorado, Arkansas, in which the plaintiffs seek hundreds of millions in damages.
- Zachry Industrial v. Golden Pass LNG Terminal (Bankr. S.D. Tex.) Represented construction firm, Zachry, in claims related to the $10 billion+ Golden Pass LNG Terminal in Sabine, Texas. After Zachry was forced into bankruptcy, we brought an adversary proceeding asserting multi-billion fraudulent transfer claims. The case settled on favorable terms, as covered by Bloomberg and Reuters, among others.
- Midtown Commons v. Trammell Crow Company et al. (Texas State Ct.) Successfully defended CBRE subsidiary Trammell Crow Company in a $100 million+ dispute regarding the construction and sale of multiple commercial real-estate properties. After a series of litigation wins, including summary judgment for Trammell Crow on plaintiffs’ fraud claims, the case settled for a confidential sum.
- SemGroup et al. v. Quanta Services et. al. (Oklahoma State Ct.) Successfully represented midstream energy company SemGroup against its EPC Contractor (Quanta) related to the construction of multiple pipelines. After defeating Quanta’s motion to dismiss and engaging in extensive discovery, we resolved the claims on a confidential basis that Quanta insisted be kept confidential.
- SemGroup et al. v. Quanta Services et. al. (Oklahoma State Ct.) Successfully represented midstream energy company SemGroup against its EPC Contractor (Quanta) related to the construction of multiple pipelines. After defeating Quanta’s motion to dismiss and engaging in extensive discovery, we resolved the claims on a confidential basis that Quanta insisted be kept confidential.
- Fasken Oil and Ranch, Ltd. v. COG Operating LLC (Texas State Ct.) Defended ConocoPhillips subsidiary COG against royalty underpayment claims from landowner Fasken. After a summary judgment hearing and several key depositions, Fasken agreed to nonsuit its claims against COG.
- Mabee Ranch Royalty Partnership v. Concho Resources et al. (Texas State Ct.) Secured a confidential, favorable settlement for hydrocarbon exploration company Concho in a business dispute involving oil and gas leases in West Texas.
- Zachry Industrial v. Golden Pass LNG Terminal (Bankr. S.D. Tex.) Represented construction firm, Zachry, in claims related to the $10 billion+ Golden Pass LNG Terminal in Sabine, Texas. After Zachry was forced into bankruptcy, we brought an adversary proceeding asserting multi-billion fraudulent transfer claims. The case settled on favorable terms, as covered by Bloomberg and Reuters, among others
- Koninklijke KPN N.V v. Samsung Electronics Co. (Texas State Ct.) Won a $341 million jury verdict on behalf of Dutch telecommunications firm KPN in a breach of contract dispute with Samsung. A Texas state court jury returned the verdict, awarding 100% of the damages sought. The win was covered by Bloomberg, Texas Lawyer, Law360,and IAM, among others. Read more.
- Netgear, Inc. v. Huawei Technologies (C.D. Cal.) Successfully defended Huawei from antitrust, RICO, and breach of contract claims asserted by Netgear relating to alleged FRAND violations. After an argument on Huawei’s motion to dismiss, the case settled with Netgear taking a license to Huawei’s standard essential Wi-Fi patents. The “favourable settlement” was a decisive result for Huawei that “validates both its licensing program and its enforcement efforts.” The case was covered by IAM, Law360, and IP Fray, among others.
- Orange, S.A. and 3G Licensing v. HTC Corporation (D. Del.) Secured a verdict from a Delaware federal jury finding that HTC willfully infringed two asserted patents declared essential to LTE wireless standards. At trial, Hunter examined the corporate representative from French telecommunications company Orange and directed and cross-examined all of the damages experts. The jury ultimately found that HTC owes up to 74 cents per infringing phone. The win was covered by Law360, Reuters, and IPWatchdog. Read more.
- Koninklijke KPN N.V v. HTC Corporation, BlackBerry, LG, et al. (D. Del) Successfully represented KPN in multiple suits relating to infringement of KPN’s telecommunications patents declared essential to LTE and 3G standards. After multiple litigation wins, including a precedent-setting venue victory from the Federal Circuit (as covered by Law360 and Delaware Business Court Insider), a successful overturn of an invalidity ruling on one of the most debated patents (also covered by Law360), and a series of key summary judgments entered on plaintiff’s behalf, the defendants agreed to settle for amounts they insisted be kept confidential.
- Koninklijke KPN N.V v. Sierra Wireless (D. Del) Successfully defended KPN against breach of FRAND claims from module manufacturer Sierra Wireless. After obtaining summary judgment on all of Sierra Wireless’s breach claims, the case settled on confidential terms.
Honors & Distinctions
Honors and Awards
- Online Articles Editor, The University of Chicago Law Review
- Order of the Coif
- Kirkland & Ellis Scholar
- Sidley Austin Prize for Excellence in Brief Writing
- Fellow, Texas Bar Foundation
Clerkships
- Honorable Jerry E. Smith, United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
Education
Education
- The University of Chicago Law School (J.D., with High Honors)
- Order of the Coif
- The University of Georgia (B.B.A., Economics, summa cum laude)
Admissions
Admissions
Bar Admissions
- Texas
Court Admissions
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
- U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas
- U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas
