User:Samcollier953/sandbox

Stephen D. Susman is an attorney and co-managing partner of Susman Godfrey, Inc., a Houston-based law firm with offices nationwide. He was born in Houston, Texas; admitted to bar, 1965, Texas; 1999, District of Columbia; 2000, New York, Colorado. Susman stands as a formidable litigation opponent and as a pioneer in anti-trust litigation, with respect to both advocacy style and billing practices, trying anti-trust and other high-stakes litigation on a contingency-fee basis.

Academics and Legal Successes
University of Texas (J.D., with highest honors, 1965) Yale University (B.A., magna cum laude, 1962) Law Clerk to Justice Hugo L. Black, United States Supreme Court, 1966-67 Law Clerk to The Honorable John R. Brown, United States Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit, 1965-66 Susman’s initial success came in 2009, when he won the largest anti-trust verdict in history in the Corrugated Containers case. Thereafter, he continued on to establish himself as a pioneer in anti-trust litigation as well as in major global-warming related litigation, when he represented a coalition of 37 Texas cities in their opposition of coal-fired electric generating plants by TXU. Other high-profile clients include Massimo, Texas Instruments, Candlewood Timber, Indiana state employees and the unsecured creditors in the Chrysler bankruptcy.

Susman enjoys such accolades as: “Although the stakes are high and the challenges immense in his private practice, that doesn't stop Susman from tirelessly pursuing issues of justice and reform.” While he is known as one of “11 Lawyers You Definitely Don’t want to See Across the Aisle”, he also instructs his lawyers to always be courteous to opposing counsel and witness and not fight over the small stuff. As a proponent of trial reform and justice, Susman also engages in teaching, public speaking, writing and other advocacy activities. These characteristics and beliefs are alive and well in the law practice philosophy of his firm, Susman Godfrey, LLC.

The Legacy of Susman Godfrey
Originating in Houston in 1980, Susman Godfrey has expanded to include offices in Los Angeles, New York, Dallas and Seattle. Their expansion was built unconventionally on a desire to keep good lawyers who wanted to move to other parts of the country.

As a litigation boutique firm, Susman Godfrey has gained a strong reputation in antitrust litigation, representing both plaintiffs and defendants. The firm has recovered millions of dollars for plaintiffs in claims including price fixing, market allocation. The firm’s practice areas also include accounting malpractice, commercial and securities litigation, energy and natural resources, intellectual property, family and shareholders dispute, and financial fraud. It has also gained significant recognition in IP litigation. Its clientele include ACE Insurance Company, Aetna, American General, Apache Corporation, ARMCO, ABB Lummus Global Inc., Joe Brand, and Caldera Corporation.

Susman Godfrey’s business model is based on litigating commercial cases on a contingency-fee basis. Susman believes that if a lawyer was not willing to take a case on contingency, the case should not be filed. He started promoting the idea of contingency fees in the commercial context long before the phrase “alternative fee” came into fashion. The firm is one of the most prestigious firms to routinely work on alternative fee basis, having mastered the practice of picking the best cases and pricing them so that both lawyer and client receive fair shares of risk and value. They have proven that big cases do not require long hours if a firm develops a very efficient approach.

Trial by Agreement
As a result of Susman’s belief in a contingency-fee model and the law firm efficiency necessary to make it work, he began a new venture, Trial by Agreement. The website is a repository of pre-trial and trial agreements that lawyers can use to reduce the often needless expense of unwarranted discovery and associated motions. Susman himself has used these agreements for years. The site is open-source, enabling lawyers to download them for free, modify them, adopt them and make suggestions for other useful agreements.

Susman advises lead counsel to discuss pretrial agreements at the very beginning of the case, before discovery begins. This sets a tone of reducing the burden and cost of pre-trial conduct, while keeping the focus on an eventual trial.

Awards
University of Texas School of Law Outstanding Alumnus 2001
 * The International Who’s Who of Business Lawyers: 2006 and 2007 Leading Commercial Litigator
 * November 2010: International Who's Who Legal: Among Top Ten Leading Litigators in the world
 * Texas Association of Civil Trial and Appellate Specialist's 2010 Lifetime Achievement Award
 * Recognized in BENCHMARK Litigation Guide as one of America's Leading Litigation Attorneys (2009)
 * Recognized in Best Lawyers in two categories: "Bet the Company" lawyers and commercial litigation (2008-2010)
 * Recognized as a Lawdragon 500 — Leading Lawyer in America (2006-2010)
 * Recognized in Chambers Global Guide: The World's Leading Lawyers as Leader in Their Field in 2007 & 2008.
 * Recognized in Who's Who Legal: Texas 2007 and 2008 as a pre-eminent lawyer in the areas of commercial litigation and competition.
 * Recognized in Expert Guides, Legal Media Group of Euromoney Trading LTD as "Best of the Best" — one of the world's top 25 pre-eminent Litigation lawyers.
 * Distinguished Counselor Award from the Antitrust and Business *Litigation Section of the State Bar of Texas (2005)
 * Board Certified, Civil Trial Law, Texas Board of Legal Specialization, 1978
 * Editor: "ABA Civil Antitrust Jury Instructions" 1985
 * Special Counsel to Attorney General of Texas, 1975
 * Visiting Professor of Law, University of Texas, 1975

Publications

 * Streamlining Litigation: Try to get along with opposing counsel
 * Better Litigating Through Pre-Trial Agreements
 * Texas State Bar articles
 * Exxon Corp. V. Preston (Jay) U.S. Supreme Court Transcript Of Record With Supporting Pleadings

Professional and Civic Affiliations

 * State Bar of Texas (Chairman, Section on Antitrust and Trade Regulation, 1976-77)
 * District of Columbia Bar Association
 * New York Bar Association
 * Colorado Bar Association
 * American Bar Association, Current member of the Commission on *Impact of the Economic Crisis on the Profession and Legal Needs, Section of Antitrust Law (member of Council, 1989-91), Section of Litigation (current co-chair of the Fellows Program, current member of Trial Advisory Board and Federal Practice Task Force, former co-chair of Task Force on Training the Advocate, chairman of Task Force on Fast Track Litigation, and member of Committee to Improve Jury Comprehension), and Section of Intellectual Property
 * American Law Institute
 * Editorial Advisory Board, BNA Civil RICO Reporter
 * Advisory Board, University of Texas School of Law's Review of Litigation
 * Texas Supreme Court Advisory Committee
 * Trustee, U.S. Supreme Court Historical Society
 * Director of Texas Association of Civil Trial and Appellate Specialists
 * American Board of Trial Advocates
 * Director of the University of Houston Law Foundation
 * Charter Member of the Institute for Responsible Dispute Resolution
 * The University of Texas Law School Foundation Board
 * Union Internationale des Avocats
 * American Intellectual Property Law Association
 * Houston Intellectual Property Law Association
 * The New York Intellectual Property Law Association
 * Member, Warren Burger Society
 * Board Member, American Constitution Society
 * Trustee, Yale University Art Gallery
 * MD Anderson University Cancer Foundation Board of Visitors
 * The University of Texas Health Science Center Development Board
 * The University of Texas Development Board
 * Leadership Council of the Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies
 * National Eagle Scout Association

Professional Giving

 * Stephen Susman made a gift of $5 million to the School of Law at the University of Texas. In honor of the gift, the UT System Board of Regents named a newly renovated space in the Law School’s Jesse Jones Building the Stephen D. Susman Academic Center.  The gift will be used to meet the highest priority needs of the Law School.
 * Susman Godfrey previously donated $2 million to the school to establish the Susman Godfrey LLP Fund for Faculty Excellence and has contributed generous amounts to the Mark G. and Judy G. Yudof Research Professorship in Law; the Susman Godfrey Endowed Moot Court Competition; the Charles Alan Wright Chair in Federal Courts; and the Judge Robert M. Parker Endowed Chair in Law.
 * The firm also sponsors annual awards for members of the Texas Law Review and has sponsored symposia organized by the Texas Law Review.