Tom O'Brien

Practice Areas

Board Governance and Fiduciary Duty, General Commercial Litigation, Litigation, Professional Liability, Securities and Shareholder Litigation, Texas Corporate Advisory

Career

Tom O'Brien is Chair of the Baker Botts Dallas Litigation Department and a first-chair trial lawyer with a national securities, shareholder, professional liability, and commercial litigation practice. He enjoys and thrives at representing companies and professionals in their most critical moments, such as when they face a major securities fraud case or a malpractice suit challenging their work. Two cases he has litigated have reached the Supreme Court of the United States, and one case he tried ended in a $7 billion judgment described by the District Court and the Fifth Circuit as a “once in a lifetime result.” In re ASARCO, LLC, 751 F.3d 291, 296 (5th Cir. 2014). In the recent past, Tom was co-lead counsel in a seven-day federal jury trial that resulted in a $210 million trade secrets verdict for Baker Botts' client (Computer Sciences Corporation v. Tata Consultancy Services Limited, No. 3:19-cv-00970-X, in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas), and was lead counsel in a five-day final arbitration hearing after which the arbitrator found in Baker Botts' client's favor on all liability issues and awarded it attorneys’ fees and costs. Tom also argued the appeal before the Fifth Circuit in which the court affirmed the $210 million trade secrets award.

In addition to serving as Chair of the Dallas Litigation Department, Tom is Chair of both the Baker Botts Professional Liability Litigation Practice Group and the Baker Botts Partner Admissions Information Committee.

Following graduation from law school with high honors and before joining Baker Botts, Tom served as a law clerk to the Honorable Kim McLane Wardlaw of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.

Professional Memberships

State Bar of Texas

United States Courts of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, Fifth Circuit and Ninth Circuit

United States District Courts for the Northern, Southern and Eastern Districts of Texas

Dallas Association of Young Lawyers - Life Fellow of the DAYL Foundation

Dallas Bar Association

Member of the Board of Directors of the Texas Law Review Association

Former Member of the Board of Trustees for the North Texas Chapter of the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society

Former Chairman of the Law Firm Challenge for the North Texas Chapter of the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society

Former Member of the Light The Night Walk Executive Committee for the North Texas Chapter of the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society

Personal

J.D., The University of Texas School of Law 2004

with high honors

Order of the Coif

Chief Notes Editor, Texas Law Review

Outstanding Editor Award

Outstanding Constitutional Law Note Award

Outstanding Memorandum Award

B.A., Government & International Studies, University of Notre Dame 2001

summa cum laude

Publications

A Year in Review: Highlights from the Texas Business Court’s Inaugural Year - https://www.law.com/texaslawyer/2025/09/25/a-year-in-review-highlights-from-the-texas-business-courts-inaugural-year/?slreturn=20260518140359

Making Its Case: The Texas Business Court's Q3 Milestone - https://www.law.com/texaslawyer/2025/07/21/making-its-case-the-texas-business-courts-q3-milestone/

Texas Business Court: What We Know So Far - https://www.law.com/texaslawyer/2025/03/27/texas-business-court-what-we-know-so-far/?utm_source=linkedin&utm_medium=social&utm_content=dlvrit&utm_campaign=automated_post

Texas Business Court Update After One Quarter in Operation - https://www.law.com/texaslawyer/2025/01/21/texas-business-court-update-after-one-quarter-in-operation/?slreturn=20250813105107

10 Principles That Will Guide the New Texas Business Courts in Breach of Fiduciary Duty Litigation - https://www.bakerbotts.com/~/media/files/thought-leadership/publications/2024/september/ten-principles-that-will-guide-the-new-texas-business-courts-in-breach-of-fiduciary-duty-litigation.pdf