Robert Burford

Practice Areas

Commercial Litigation

Business Litigation

Fiduciary Duty Claims

Securities Fraud

Mergers & Acquisitions

Directors' and Officers' Liability

Legal Malpractice

Oil & Gas Law

Partnership Disputes

Intellectual Property Disputes

Trade Secret Theft

Healthcare Law

Complex Contract Disputes

Career

After working as a public accountant for two Big Eight accounting firms, Robert Burford graduated from the University of Houston Law School in 1986 with honors. He was a member of the Houston Law Review, Order of the Coif, and Order of the Barons. Mr. Burford worked as a tax lawyer for three years at Mayor, Day, Caldwell & Keeton, and then began his career as a commercial litigator in 1989 with Gibbs & Bruns, L.L.P., one of the nation’s most highly recognized boutique firms. There he earned such accolades as finalist in the American Lawyer’s Boutique Litigation Firm of the Year, the Plaintiffs’ Hot List, and numerous other awards.

Mr. Burford became a partner with Gibbs & Bruns in 1993 and served as managing partner or co-managing partner of the firm for many years. Mr. Burford left Gibbs & Bruns in 2009 to start his own firm, where he was named to Benchmark Litigation’s “Litigation Stars” list for 3 successive years. He founded Burford Perry, LLP with partner Brent Perry in 2015.

Mr. Burford has worked on complex commercial litigation matters for nearly 30 years and has been listed in The Best Lawyers in America© (2020-2023) for Commercial Litigation. He has been recognized in the Chambers and Partners USA 2022 listing for Litigation: General Commercial – a prestigious independent research company operating across 200 jurisdictions delivering detailed rankings and insight into the world’s leading lawyers. He has been selected to Texas Super Lawyers by Thomson Reuters for the last 18 consecutive years (2004 – 2022), a long-term recognition that few trial lawyers share. He was selected for inclusion in America’s Top 100 Civil Defense Litigators (2019), an honor given to less than one-half percent of active attorneys in the United States — the most exclusive and elite level of litigators in the community.

Mr. Burford focuses his practice exclusively on business and commercial litigation. He has handled complex, high-stakes business disputes of nearly every variety for both plaintiffs and defendants, including litigation involving fiduciary duties, securities fraud, mergers and acquisitions, Director’s and Officers’ liability, legal malpractice, oil and gas matters, partnership disputes, intellectual property disputes, theft of trade secrets, healthcare related matters, and complex contractual disputes.

Clients have come to rely on Mr. Burford’s extensive legal knowledge and depth of experience for complex commercial litigation matters. With his background in tax law and decades of trial experience, Mr. Burford appreciates the intricacies involved with these types of issues and has a detailed understanding of the underlying accounting principles involved in financial legal matters. His attention to detail and thorough approach benefits his clients, no matter what type of legal issue they may encounter.

Work Highlights

WTG Gas Processing, L.P. v ConocoPhillips Company, et al.

Obtained a summary judgment for his client, ConocoPhillips, in a $500 million breach of contract, fraud and negligent misrepresentation action. The case involved the sale of pipelines and gas processing facilities in West Texas. The Court of Appeals affirmed the trial court victory, and the Texas Supreme Court denied further review.

Francis D. John v. Key Energy Services, Inc.

Represented the former CEO of a public oil field services company in his suit for wrongful termination. The case involved the dismissal of the client after he was blamed for the restatement of Key Energy’s financial statements following acquisition of more than 100 companies under the client’s stewardship. The case was hotly disputed but resulted in a multimillion-dollar settlement for the client.

Houston Police Officers Pension System v. City of Houston

Represented the Houston Police Officer’s Pension System in seeking police officers pension benefits from the City of Houston. The case settled out of Court with the City of Houston agreeing to pay more than $3 billion to police fund pension obligations.

D. Bobbit Noel Jr. v Chief Energy and Devon Energy Holding, L.L.C., et al.

Represented Vinson & Elkins attorney D. Bobbitt Noel in a fraud and breach of fiduciary duty case against billionaire Trevor Rees-Jones, Chief Energy and Devon Energy. Noel alleged an old friend, Rees-Jones, cheated him when he bought out Noel’s stake in a highly successful shale gas company, Chief Energy. After a several week trial and favorable jury verdict, the trial court awarded a $196 million judgment for Noel.

In re: Azurix Securities Litigation

Obtained pretrial dismissal of a multimillion-dollar securities claim against Azurix, Ken Lay, Jeff Skilling and Rebecca Marks. The suit involved a securities fraud action brought by Azurix shareholders in the company’s IPO. The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the win for Azurix, Lay, Skilling and Marks during the midst of the Enron scandal.

Goodrich Leasehold, LLC and Goodrich Drillers, L.L.C. v Stone Energy Corporation

Successfully defended Stone Energy Corporation in a multimillion-dollar jury trial involving allegations of fraud in connection with drilling operations under a farm-out agreement. The trial court rendered a Take Nothing Judgment against the Plaintiff.

Integrated Health Concepts, Inc. v U.S. Diagnostic, Inc. Mohammad Athari, M.D. and Don Ballard

Represented Don Ballard in his breach of employment contract case against U.S. Diagnostic. After several days in a bench trial, the judge entered a judgment for more than $1 million in Ballard’s favor.

Kellogg v Quantum Chemical Corporation

Successfully defended M.W. Kellogg against fraud claims made by Quantum Chemical Corporation. The case involved M.W. Kellogg’s proprietary millisecond technology that was installed in Quantum’s polyethylene plant in Lake Charles, Louisiana. Quantum claimed more than $300 million in damages. After a trial that lasted several weeks, jurors found no liability against M.W. Kellogg and assessed more than $13 million in damages against Quantum on a counterclaim for trade secret theft.

Awards

Education