- University of Texas (B.A., 1986)
- Yale Law School (J.D., 1990)
ROBERT RIVERA, Jr., an honors graduate of the University of Texas and the Yale Law School, joined Susman Godfrey in 1990 and became a partner in 1995. He has had tremendous success representing plaintiffs and defendants in complex high-stakes litigation throughout the United States.
Mr. Rivera has a nationwide practice and has successfully handled cases in Texas, California, New York, Iowa, North Carolina, Nevada, Pennsylvania, and Louisiana. His cases, which have arisen under the laws of the United States and foreign countries, have taken him to England, Brazil, Bolivia, Scotland, and France. Mr. Rivera has substantial experience in various types of commercial litigation, including antitrust, patent and trademark, securities, contract disputes, fraud, accounting, and insurance coverage, as well as mass tort and products liability.
Mr. Rivera has recovered more than $1 billion for his clients by way of judgments and settlements. Most recently, as lead trial counsel for Nevada Gold & Casinos, Inc., Mr. Rivera obtained a jury verdict and judgment in excess of $9 million in favor of his client in a dispute involving the development of a casino. He has also successfully defended clients facing multi-million and multi-billion dollar lawsuits. For instance, in another case for Nevada Gold & Casinos, Rivera successfully defended his client by obtaining summary judgment on all claims in a lawsuit brought against it in California by Rinaldo Corporation. The plaintiff sought more than $400 million in alleged damages. As lead counsel for Amazon.com in an adversary proceeding brought in bankruptcy court by the Liquidating Tort Trustee for Living.com, he also obtained summary judgment on all claims in favor of Amazon.com and subsequently settled the case for a nominal sum. He also represented Philip Morris in litigation brought by a number of Brazilian states seeking to recover billions of dollars. The cases were dismissed and the dismissals upheld on appeal. Philip Morris paid nothing. In another recent matter filed in bankruptcy court, by Dresser Industries and a large number of additional subsidiaries of Halliburton, Mr. Rivera represented Equitas Ltd., one of the world’s largest insurers, in a coverage dispute involving hundreds of millions of dollars of exposure. The matter settled at a substantial discount following litigation in the bankruptcy court.
Representative Defense Cases