Jeffrey Oldham

Practice Areas

Jeff Oldham chairs Jackson Walker’s appellate section. He is a Texas-based appellate lawyer with a distinguished record of success before the United States Supreme Court, the Supreme Court of Texas, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, and other appellate courts across the country. A former U.S. Supreme Court law clerk, Jeff brings more than two decades of experience across high-stakes appeals, complex commercial litigation, and strategic counsel at both the trial and appellate levels.

Jeff has argued and won cases of national significance, including before the U.S. Supreme Court, and has handled appeals involving billions of dollars in claims. He is board-certified in Texas in appellate law and is consistently recognized as a leader in appellate advocacy, including by Chambers USA and Lawdragon’s 500 Leading Litigators in America.

Jeff’s experiences prior to joining the firm include serving at the highest levels of state and federal government. He served for over three years as General Counsel to Texas Governor Greg Abbott, managing all litigation involving the Governor’s office and advising on a wide range of legal and policy issues. After law school, Jeff clerked for Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist of the U.S. Supreme Court and for Judge J. Harvie Wilkinson of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. He also served as Counsel to the U.S. Attorney General in the Department of Justice.

Professional Memberships

Texas Supreme Court Historical Society, Greenhill Fellow

Bar Association of the Fifth Federal Circuit, Board of Directors, 2025-present

Texas Bar Foundation, Sustaining Life Fellow; Houston Nominating Committee, 2011-2017

Houston Bar Association - Board of Directors, 2022-2025; Appellate Section: Member; Vice Chair, 2017-2018; Secretary, 2016-2017; Treasurer, 2015-2016; Council Member, 2012-2018; Professionalism Committee, Co-Chair, 2023-2024; The Houston Lawyer Editorial Board, 2012-2018; Associate Editor, 2017-2018; Project TRAIN Committee, 2017-2018; CLE Committee, Co-Chair, 2014-2015; Seminars Subcommittee Co-Chair, 2013-2014

Houston Volunteer Lawyers, Board of Directors, 2023-2025

Houston Lawyer Referral Service - Board of Directors, 2012-2018; President-Elect, 2017-2018; Treasurer, 2015-2016, 2013-2014

State Bar of Texas Appellate Section, CLE Committee Co-Chair, 2014-2017

Law360 Appellate Editorial Advisory Board, 2022-2024

Work Highlights

- Carl v. Hilcorp Energy Co., 2024 WL 2829245 (5th Cir.) & 689 S.W.3d 894 (Tex. 2024): Successfully defended Hilcorp Energy in a class-action lawsuit alleging underpayment of natural gas royalties. The appeal involved certified questions to the Supreme Court of Texas and resulted in a judgment for Hilcorp, shaping royalty litigation in Texas.

- In re Weatherford Int’l, LLC, 688 S.W.3d 874 (Tex. 2024): Obtained mandamus relief in the Supreme Court of Texas, resulting in dismissal of wrongful-death claims against Weatherford entities. The decision reinforced the standards for dismissing cases that are not appropriately litigated in a Texas forum.

- BMC Software, Inc. v. IBM Corp., 100 F.4th 573 (5th Cir. 2024, cert. denied): Handled appeal involving a $1.6 billion trial-court judgment for BMC Software against IBM for claims of fraud and breach of a licensing agreement. Jeff led BMC’s appellate team in the Fifth Circuit and U.S. Supreme Court and also managed legal briefing and error preservation at trial, demonstrating his ability to handle high-stakes commercial disputes from trial through appeal.

- Apache Corp. v. Apollo Exploration, LLC, 670 S.W.3d 319 (Tex. 2023): Assisted in the Supreme Court of Texas on behalf of Apache, which secured reversal of a judgment in which plaintiffs sought over $1.1 billion in damages related to a disputed asset sale.

- NGL Supply Wholesale, L.L.C. v. FERC, No. 22-90 (U.S. 2022): Successfully opposed U.S. Supreme Court review on behalf of Phillips 66 after a favorable ruling in the D.C. Circuit, defending a FERC order in a dispute over pipeline access. The outcome preserved important regulatory decisions affecting the energy sector.

- Baker Botts L.L.P. v. ASARCO LLC, 576 U.S. 121 (2015): Successfully argued before the U.S. Supreme Court on behalf of ASARCO in a landmark case that resolved whether bankruptcy professionals could recover fees for defending their own fee applications. The Court’s decision, in ASARCO’s favor, set a nationwide precedent impacting bankruptcy fee litigation in every federal jurisdiction.

- Equistar Chemicals, LP v. Westlake Chemical Corp., 739 F. App’x 628 (Fed. Cir. 2018): Prevailed at trial and on appeal, on behalf of Westlake Chemical, with a non-infringement finding in a case seeking over $30 million in damages based on allegations of patent infringement relating to a process for making adhesive resins.

- Forest Oil Corp. v. El Rucio Land and Cattle Co., 518 S.W.3d 422 (Tex. 2017): Defended the confirmation of a $27 million arbitration award in an environmental contamination dispute, prevailing in both the court of appeals and the Supreme Court of Texas. The decision reinforced the enforceability of arbitration awards in Texas.

- Branzan Alt. Inv. Fund, LLP v. The Bank of New York Mellon Trust Co., 677 F. App’x 496 (10th Cir. 2017): Successfully defended on appeal a major banking and trust company in a class action brought by oil and gas royalty trust unitholders, with the Tenth Circuit affirming dismissal and clarifying the nature of unitholder claims against trustees.

- Aspire Commodities LP v. GDF SUEZ Energy N.A. (ENGIE), 640 F. App’x 358 (5th Cir. 2016): Defended GDF SUEZ on appeal in a first-of-its-kind case involving novel legal and regulatory issues in the energy sector, with the Fifth Circuit affirming dismissal of the claims against GDF SUEZ. The case was recognized as one of Law360’s Biggest Energy Rulings of 2016.

- Cardoni v. Prosperity Bank, 805 F.3d 573 (5th Cir. 2015): Prevailed in substantial part on appeal, on behalf of Prosperity Bank, from an adverse temporary-injunction ruling in a dispute with former employees over enforcement of the parties’ non-compete and non-solicitation agreements.

- Hourani v. Mirtchev, 796 F.3d 1 (D.C. Cir. 2015): Defended the dismissal of RICO claims alleging extortion and money laundering, with the D.C. Circuit affirming dismissal and addressing significant issues regarding the extraterritorial application of RICO and the act-of-state doctrine.

- Phillips v. Carlton Energy Grp., LLC, 475 S.W.3d 265 (Tex. 2015): Successfully defended a judgment in favor of Carlton Energy in a major business dispute involving breach of and tortious interference with gas lease contracts, with the trial court ultimately signing a $50 million judgment that the Supreme Court of Texas allowed to stand.

- Funeral Consumers Alliance, Inc. v. Serv. Corp. Int’l, 695 F.3d 330 (5th Cir. 2012): Successfully defended, on behalf of SCI, the denial of class certification and dismissal of most individual claims in antitrust suit alleging damages over $1 billion.

Education