McKool Smith

Managing Principal: Mike McKool

Number of partners: 87

Number of lawyers: 165

Firm Overview:

With more than 130 trial lawyers across offices in Austin, Dallas, Houston, Los Angeles, Marshall, New York, and Washington, DC, McKool Smith has established a reputation as one of America’s leading trial firms. Since 2006, the firm has secured 14 nine-figure jury verdicts, as well as 15 eight-figure jury verdicts. The firm has also won more National Law Journal and VerdictSearch ‘Top 100 Verdicts’ than any other law firm in the country. Courtroom successes like these have earned McKool Smith critical acclaim and helped the firm become what The Wall Street Journal describes as ‘one of the biggest law firm success stories of the past decade.’ McKool Smith represents leading clients in complex commercial litigation, intellectual property, bankruptcy and white collar defense matters.

Main Areas of Practice:

Complex Commercial Litigation:

McKool Smith’s commercial litigators are experienced in all facets of complex commercial litigation, including matters involving antitrust; appellate; arbitration; bankruptcy; business and stock valuation; class actions; contract; corporate governance; energy; fiduciary duty; mergers and acquisitions; real estate; securities; insurance recovery; and whistleblower actions, among others. The firm’s attorneys have represented clients in complex commercial litigation in every available forum, including state and federal trials and appeals and domestic and international mediations and arbitrations.

IP Litigation:

McKool Smith’s courtroom track record in intellectual property cases is unrivaled. The firm represents clients in all aspects of intellectual property litigation, including patent litigation; ITC/Section 337 disputes and investigations; copyright, trademark and false advertising litigation; and trade secret disputes. McKool Smith employs skilled and experienced trial lawyers with the legal and technical expertise necessary to persuade judges and juries who decide technologically complex issues. Many of the firm’s attorneys hold technical degrees and have previously worked as engineers or scientists, which offers clients an enhanced perspective in complex technological matters. Additionally, the firm’s attorneys include six former Federal Circuit clerks. McKool Smith was awarded ‘IP Firm of the Year’ by Bench mark Litigation for the second consecutive year. The firm was also named ‘Intellectual Property Group of the Year’ by Law360 and ‘Plaintiff IP Firm of the Year’ by Managing IP.

Insurance Recovery Litigation:

McKool Smith’s award-winning insurance recovery practice consists of more than 30 trial lawyers across offices in New York, Texas and California who have more than 30 years of experience representing corporate policyholders in high-stakes coverage and liability disputes against their insurance providers. Collectively, the firm’s lawyers have obtained more than $8 billion in insurance-related recoveries for clients across a broad range of industries, including manufacturing, chemical, entertainment, pharmaceutical, financial, education, and healthcare, among others.

Bankruptcy Litigation:

McKool Smith’s bankruptcy litigation practice focuses on the defense and prosecution of complex lawsuits arising under bankruptcy and related state and federal laws on behalf of debtors, creditors’ committees and other parties. The firm also represents clients in complex reorganization proceedings and out-of-court restructurings. McKool Smith’s attorneys have litigated complex multi-party disputes in courtrooms and forums throughout the United States and were among the first called before congress to provide insights on proposed changes to the Federal Bankruptcy Code.

White Collar Defense:

McKool Smith’s white collar defense practice is led by former federal prosecutors with decades of experience in virtually every type of government investigation and prosecution. The firm’s attorneys have represented both companies and individuals in a variety of white collar matters, including allegations involving securities fraud, insider trading, bank fraud, tax violations, antitrust violations, racketeering, the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), environmental violations, Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), government procurement violations, insurance fraud, political corruption and criminal antitrust investigations. The firm’s attorneys also effectively guide major corporations, boards and committees through sensitive internal investigations. The American Lawyer recognized the firm as an honoree for 2015 ‘Global Dispute of the Year’ based on its achievements in handling investigations related to Swiss Tax Settlements.

International Work:

McKool Smith represents international clients in US courts and international arbitration proceedings. The firm has represented many international businesses in countries across the globe, including Canada, Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan and the United Kingdom.

Clients:

McKool Smith clients have included Affiliated Computer Systems; Alcoa; American Airlines; Ericsson, Inc.; Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (Freddie Mac); HM Capital; Hunt Oil; KB Home; Koch Industries; Halliburton; Hunter Douglas; Lennox International, Inc.; Lockheed Martin; Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT); Medtronic, Inc.; Novartis; Oaktree Capital Management; ParkerVision, Rambus, Inc.; State of New Mexico; Summit 6; TiVo, Inc.; Toll Brothers; US Synthetic Corp.; and Versata Software, among others.